Reluctant Retiree

I often find myself in a conversation with someone who loves to talk. Actually, these are more monologs than conversations. I find it hard to get in a word. Later, I will try to avoid engaging this person in conversation, thus our relationship diminishes.

It is often said that Christians do not follow a religion, but rather the person of Jesus Christ. But sometimes we act like it is a one-way relationship. We pray and tell God what we want, but we don’t take the time to listen to Him speak to us through His Word and by His Spirit. God does not want us to have this type of relationship with Him.

Proverbs 28:9 says, “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” These are pretty harsh words. God says that if we do not listen to Him, our prayers are no longer sweet offerings to Him, but rather meager grumblings of an impertinent child.

To have the full two-way relationship with God, we must take time and make the effort to listen to Him. He has so much to tell us that will give us joy and peace. Listen to His words and find the loving relationship that you long for.

When we were children, we believed what our parents and other authority figures told us. With great anticipation, we waited for our parents to fulfill their promises to us. Unfortunately, they were unable to fulfill all their promises. Work gets in way way of taking us to the ballgame. The car breaks down so they can’t take us shopping. The refrigerator stops working, so there is no money to go to the movies. Or simply, “I forgot.” Most of the time broken promises are not because they didn’t want to, but because life problems interrupted their plans. I will admit, however, that sometimes mean spirited people do intentionally break promises in order to hurt people.

Fortunately, those negative circumstances or attitudes never affect our faithful God. He is able to fulfill every promise He has ever made. In addition, He loves us enough to give us every good thing. Nothing can ever keep Him from faithfulness to His Word, His promises, and His nature.

Abraham knew God to be faithful. Even though he had to wait 25 years for God to give him the promised son, Abraham believed God. Romans 4:20-21 speaks of Abraham when it says, “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”

Sometimes we will have to wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises. But God will faithfully do what He has said. These times are building our faith. Other times we demonstrate faith by obeying God’s commands immediately, trusting that He knows what is best for us. Trust in God’s glorious promises. He will never let you down.

When I was about 10 years old, we took a boat from the Southern California coast to Catalina Island. It was a short and enjoyable trip. Once we got to Catalina I made the mistake of eating too many hot dogs. During the night my stomach was upset, resulting in vomiting for quite some time and ruining everyone’s night.

Hot dogs were not available in ancient Israel, so Solomon warns against eating too much honey and relates it to seeking glory among man. Proverbs 25:27 says, “It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory.”

He instructs us not just to seek the attention and praise of man. In other words, “Aim higher!” The accolades of men are temporary and fleeting. Men’s praise is generally based upon selfish motives and what best suits them at the moment. God’s is pleased when our motive is love from a pure heart. Anytime we do something that pleases God, it will have eternal impact and benefit many. These things are truly worth doing and are praiseworthy.

When cooking a meal for someone special, it is best to first find out what foods they enjoy. When trying to do something nice for someone, it is prudent to first discover their needs and desires. When buying a gift for someone we should first learn their interests. To really please someone, we consider what we can do that will please them. Otherwise we will miss the mark, doing something that doesn’t please them.

To please God, we must first ask what does please God. Colossians 1:10 says, “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” According to this verse, we can do two things that are fully pleasing to God. First, we can do good works that bear fruit for His glory. Secondly, we can grow in the knowledge of God. Trying to do the first, without doing the second is useless. We must know God before we can do any good work that will bring Him glory.

People often get this backwards. They think that they must do good deeds before they can know God. They form long lists of rites, festivals, self-deprecating works, and things that they can and cannot do. They demand strict adherence to these lists in order to practice their religion. They are relying on self effort to be good enough to please God.

God is not impressed with these human efforts to know Him. He sent Jesus Christ to be our salvation and redemption because He knew that we could not redeem ourselves. We cannot please God without first knowing Him as Savior and Lord. Then we will be able to understand His Word and thereby know what pleases Him.

The noise of blaming others for the problems we face is deafening. “It’s Trump’s fault”. “Biden’s to blame”. “Democrats caused these problems”. “Republicans messed this country up”. “They hurt me, so I had to…” “They said that and I was offended, so I…” “The economy is bad so I stole… to survive”. Lots of words, plenty of excuses, but little accountability for our own actions.

Proverbs 19:3 says, “When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.” When something bad happens to us, it is natural for us to lash out at others and even against God. It is natural, but not helpful. We must examine ourselves to evaluate how we contributed to the problem.

We cannot always easily fix the problems that others cause, but we can take responsibility for our own weaknesses and move to correct our errors. So often the problem starts with us. Understanding our own weaknesses and failures is fundamental to having a relationship with God. We must confess our sins and accept His forgiveness. Pride wants us to prevent us from humbly coming to God in this way, but God does not receive us any other way. We must stop blaming others and God for our troubles, but seek the wisdom and understanding that God provides.

In Hebrews 4:16 God promises: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” God’s infinite grace and mercy is found by humbly drawing close to Him.

Sometimes I think that it would be fun to take on a new identity. Perhaps I could be an undercover police officer who unravels sophisticated criminal operations. Or I could become an government insider working with the power brokers to achieve significant improvements for all of us. Maybe I could lead a top philanthropic organization to help millions of people. These are just dreams and probably unlikely, given my age.

But it is possible to receive a new identity, far greater than the ones I mentioned and greater than we can even imagine. In Romans 9:25-26 God is quoted as saying, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people’, and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved’. And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people’, there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.'”

No matter what kind of person you have been. No matter what kind of environment you have come from. No matter what you think of yourself or believe others think of you. You can have a new identity. When we believe in Jesus Christ for salvation and redemption, God calls us His child, His beloved, and one of His people. Past identities are covered by the blood of Jesus and washed away, never to be remembered by God. Our new identity destroys the former ones. We become God’s beloved child. This is life’s highest honor.

Don’t delay in joining the family of God with your new identity and the forever blessings of God. Contact me through this site if I can assist you.

I have noticed that young children speak loudly when they are learning to talk. It is like they only have one volume level. They haven’t yet learned the subtleties and nuances of varying volumes. A native of New York once told me that he only had two volumes, loud and off. As we age we begin to enjoy soft speech and whispers. The whispers are intended to reveal secrets, but to a limited audience.

Nowadays, social media has almost eliminated the ability to keep secrets as information is spread quickly and without sensibility. Availability to more information and quickly is generally a good thing. But too often social media becomes a means of spreading false information and quick judgments. These are harmful in so many ways. Proverbs 16:28 says, “A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.” As disinformation is spread, disagreements and broken relationships also increase.

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Let’s ask God to put a guard over our mouths so that we speak wisdom, truth and love. Let our words encourage and build up others, instead of destroying lives.

In the past two weeks I have undergone two heart procedures. The first, a heart catheterization, checked for significant blockage. The second, a heart ablation, removed incorrect electronic signals that caused the heart to beat irregularly. The doctors used highly sophisticated equipment to see into my heart and complete their analysis and initiate corrective treatment.

Proverbs 15:2 says, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.” Just as we can look healthy on the outside, but have significant health problems inside, we can also display a healthy emotional and spiritual exterior while hiding a heart of evil. If we are hiding a heart consumed with evil, God is not fooled, because He sees our hearts clearly and judges rightly. He doesn’t need fancy equipment to know and understand our true intentions.

Don’t try to fool God by covering up your weaknesses and sin. Instead, confess your sins and accept His forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Your spirit will be much healthier as you receive new life in Jesus.

Over 20 years ago, a scandal broke out at the Little League World Series. Coaches and parents conspired to alter birth records so that players older than the limit could play. The coaches were banished from the Little League and several leagues in the area were dissolved. Players and coaches from the area are still blackballed from many competitions. Just the name of the head coach still brings strong reactions.

If you come from a loving and supportive family, you are most likely proud of your family name. But more and more people come from abusive and unloving families. This people, and families rocked by some scandal, are not proud of their family names.

Where can we find a secure place of love and affection? Believers in Jesus Christ are adopted into God’s family. They receive the everlasting love, endless mercy, and amazing grace of God. But that is not all. Ephesians 3:14-16 says, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” God has also promised to give His family members the power to be the person we want to be. By His Spirit, we also can be loving, merciful, and kind.

The blessings of adoption into God’s family are endless and certain, resting on the power and faithfulness of God. God stands ready to adopt you. He is just waiting for you to come to Him and ask. Become a member of a family where you can always be proud of the family name.