Reluctant Retiree

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis 1:3 “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

Genesis 1:6, 8 “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse,’ And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven.”

Genesis 1:9 “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.”

Genesis 1:11 “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation.’ And it was so.”

Genesis 1:14 “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night.'”

Genesis 1:20 “And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth.'”

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.'”

God created all things. When God speaks life appears. Apart from God, life does not exist.

Jesus often spoke in terms that go against modern thinking. One recurring theme that Jesus spoke of was humbling ourselves before God and serving the interests of others even before our own. Jesus said that it is when we humble ourselves that God can make us better and even exalt us.

James added to this conversation when he wrote, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:10 Make God bigger in your life and He will exalt you. He wants to give you the peace, joy and love that you desire. But first, you need to let Him work these things into your life.

We are bombarded by people with big ideas? In a variety of media, they boast of hacks and advice that will change our lives. Most have little background, experience, training or expertise to be making such bold claims. They rely almost completely on their limited personal observations. But their voices are loud and their presentations are slick, gathering a large audience and many followers.

God has loftier standards for wisdom, standards we must use to evaluate the one who purports to expound great ideas. James 3:13 says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” The person who is truly wise will demonstrate his wisdom by his good conduct. Otherwise his words are mere smoke. Also, the wise person will not use blustery speech, but rather gentleness when providing wise counsel. Let’s quit following ones who are loud and showy. Instead let’s examine the character of the ones providing counsel. Let’s look for those who demonstrate wisdom by their good conduct and gentleness.

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:16-17

If we ask Him, God will give us what our hearts truly need. If we need some peace, all we need to do is ask God. When we need some kindness, we can ask Him for that also. If we just need some joy in our lives, God will gladly provide joy. Don’t be deceived into believing that you can achieve these things through your own efforts or that they come through what the world provides. Only God can satisfy the hungry heart, by providing what the heart truly needs. God never changes. He has always been in the business of providing for our sincere needs, and He will also do so.

Many people have ideas of what God desires from us. They are not shy about speaking their opinions. Most of these ideas are derived from their opinions about what God is like. For instance they may believe that God is peace, so He wants us to live in peace with each other. Unfortunately these opinions are biased toward what we want God to be, rather than what He is.

James 1:27 clearly explains what God really wants for us. It says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Simply stated, God wants us to do good things for others and to keep ourselves pure from the wicked influences in the world. In other words, God wants us to have pure hearts and clean hands.