Reluctant Retiree

“So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.” Luke 23:24-25

This story tells of the last moments of Jesus trial as He is turned over to those who would crucify Him. The crowd of jealous and arrogant leaders had asked for a murderer to be set free, while, at the same time demanding that the sinless and innocent Jesus to be crucified.

We may not have committed murder, but we have all committed crimes against our Heavenly Father. In His righteousness justice, God has every right to punish us for our insurrection against Him. Instead, He gave up His own Son to suffer in our place. Jesus bore the punishment for our sins. So, just like in this story, we are set free from the chains that hold us. The convicted criminal in the story accepted the gift of freedom that Jesus provided. We too must accept the gift of salvation and redemption provided by Jesus. Why not accept His gift today and be set free?

The comedian Flip Wilson became famous for his line,”The Devil made me do it!” We still often see the image of the Devil standing on one shoulder and an angel standing on the other shoulder of a person. The Devil is trying to get the person to surrender to some temptation, while the angel is suggesting that the person do good. Whether you believe in this imagery or not, we all are aware that we face temptation to do wrong every day.

In Luke 22:46 Jesus instructs His disciples by saying, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Immediately after these words are spoken, all the disciples gave into the temptation of fear and abandoned Jesus. In order to stand strong against the enticements of wrong, we must be alert to identify their allures. But even more importantly, we must ask God for strength to stand strong and courageously do the right thing.

I know a few things well. I know something about some things. And I have no knowledge of most things. Even the things that I think I know well, I will admit that I don’t know everything about the subject. I certainly do not know something so well that I can accurately predict the future in that area.

Psalm 139:4-6 says, “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” God knows us intimately, the good and the bad that we think and do. His knowledge of us is even far beyond what we can know about ourselves. Before we speak, He knows every word that we will say. He knows your yesterday, what today will bring to you, and your future into eternity. He walks before you and behind you.

Most of us will admit that we have done some things that we are not proud of. We can’t hide these things from God. He knows all of them. Yet, He still loves us with a steadfast love. He eagerly desires that we return that love by trusting Him with our lives and for our salvation. God knows your heart. He loves you. Why not give Him your heart today?

All of us have dreams of the great things we want to do. When we have the courage to pursue these dreams, we move forward. However, we are often left frustrated by the little progress that we make. When the frustration becomes strong enough, we give up. The dream seems to be too big.

Zechariah 4:10 says, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” We should take courage from the small steps of progress rather than becoming frustrated with the slow advancement. God rejoices when He sees us start projects that designed for good according to His purpose.

In verse 6 of this same chapter of Zechariah we learn another principle of success. It says, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” When we desire to accomplish any good thing, we must remember to rely on God’s strength and wisdom. We won’t be able to do these works by trusting in the collective might of many people or in our own strength.

It is our small steps of faith plus the power of God that brings maximum impact. To accomplish the good works that God has designed for each of us, we must begin by taking small steps while trusting in God’s power.

Our God is a God who eagerly desires that His people draw near to Him. A name given to Jesus at His birth was Immanuel, which means “God with us”. Jesus came to dwell amongst us and experience all that we do. Our God is exalted and enthroned on high, but He is also near to us.

Luke 19:37-38 says, “As he was drawing near, already on the way down the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'” The crowd only had this one opportunity to be close to Jesus. We have the awesome opportunity to draw near to God daily. This should cause us to rejoice and fill the earth with praises of God.