Reluctant Retiree

I’ve noticed that my excitement about most things decreases over time. I buy a new car and am really excited about it, but in a short time the new car commands less of my interest. I start a new work project fervently, but weeks or months later the project just seems to drag on and pull my joy down with it.

We can’t let this happen with the important things in life. We don’t want our marriages to fall apart because we haven’t stirred up passion. We don’t want relationships to fade because we haven’t put in the effort to remain close and involved. We shouldn’t let our interest in our jobs wane so that our performance is negatively impacted.

And we can’t let the passion fires of faith die down due to neglect on our part. Paul wrote in Romans 12:11; “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” If we feel far from God, it’s not He that moved away. Stir up your zeal for God by reading His Word and meditating upon His promises. Talk to God often, letting Him into your heart and concerns. Find a way to serve Him and be inspired by how He uses you. If your spiritual embers are dying out, add fuel to the fire.

By the way, if you have never had any spiritual passion, you can find it by doing these same things. Investigate God’s promises by reading the Bible, get to know God a bit more by talking to Him in prayer, and find a worthy project where you can meet needs. See if you can obtain a passion for God in these ways. Your life will be changed forever.

The internet gives us access to more problem solving solutions than ever before. We can meet with a doctor online and get help for our physical ailments. We can obtain advice and counsel for a variety of problems through effective internet searches. And yet, we still have to come close to receive help for some problems.

If you needed surgery, you wouldn’t just drive near to a hospital and expect the doctors inside to be able to operate on you. If you receive advice on a car problem that you are unable to fix, you don’t just drive by a mechanic to have your problem fixed.

People of Jesus’s day had health problems that even the physicians could not heal. Desperate for healing they came to Jesus. Mark 3:10 says, “for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.”

The people recognized that they had a problem which they couldn’t fix themselves. So they came to the One who could heal them and He did. Why do we hold onto our problems so tightly? We even try to hide our problems from others. We can find peace and comfort by coming to Jesus and turning our problems over to Him. He is good and His love is everlasting. Draw close to Jesus today and let Him know your concerns. His “consolations will cheer your soul.”

In ancient times a royal message or decree was marked by the seal of royalty. Wax was applied to the message and then the king would press his ring into the wax. The seal would ensure that the message was not tampered with and reflected the king’s true words and intentions.

We do something similar today with wills and other legal documents. The signing of the legal document is witnessed by observers, who also sign the document. Often a Notary Public then affixes their stamp and signature to the document, verifying the authenticity of the signers. The document then is held in safekeeping until needed. In the case of a will, at the death of the will owner, the will determines how property will be distributed.

Every believer in Jesus Christ also has an inheritance promised to them. Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

God has prepared an inheritance for us. He has done all the work to make a place for us with Him for eternity. He has readied the blessings of heaven in anticipation of our arrival. He has placed His unbreakable seal of the Holy Spirit upon us so that nothing can change His royal decree and our possession of the inheritance.

So the question remains, will you be there to take possession of the inheritance of the saints? Only those who have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation and redemption will be invited.

We all know people who want to make good changes in their lives but keep going back to the same environment. Perhaps you know of an alcoholic that wants to quit drinking but spends time in bars and clubs. Or you may know a drug addict who wants to quit but spends his time mostly with friends who are also addicts. These situations are extremes but we can all fall into the trap of doing bad things, simply because we hang out with the wrong people and go back to old ways of doing things. You have probably heard the saying, “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

The Bible says something similar in Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

In these verses there is a downward progression into evil. We start by simply accommodating the counsel of those who do wrong. Then we find ourselves in their places doing the evil that they do. Finally we find ourselves comfortable with the evil, consistently amongst wrongdoers.

The way to victory over this downward spiral is spending time in God’s Word. Read it. Study it. Meditate upon it. If we do these things our minds will be cleansed. We will bear good fruit and we, ourselves, will find that we are dwelling in God’s favor and goodness.

I am not a history buff, but I do enjoy going to historical sites and remembering the events that took place there. Generally these places are marked with a museum of some sort or at least some kind of memorial plaque. A lot of information can be obtained on the events that have impacted lives, even those of today.

The marking of historical places is not a recent phenomenon, as you may well know. Even in early Biblical times, the Israelites often set up altars or memorials on the sites of God’s miraculous intervention in their lives. Sometimes the memorials were set up at the Lord’s command, but other times they set up memorials as spontaneous acts of thanksgiving and worship.

One such memorial was set up where God stopped the waters of the Jordan River from flowing, so that the Israelites could pass over to the Promised Land. Joshua 4:7 speaks of God’s command at this time; God said, “then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”

We are familiar with memorial stones, especially on a day like today, Memorial Day. These stones mark the graves of so many who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Please be sure to honor them as you remember their valor.

But also take advantage of this holiday to remember the many great and awesome things that God has done for you and given to you.