Reluctant Retiree

Fresh fallen snow is covering almost everything in our area. Everything seems to be spotless and pure. It is a beautiful sight.

Unfortunately, the snow turns to mush and quickly becomes quite filthy. The slush attaches itself to everything. Cars pick up the slush on the road and appear muddy. Clothes and shoes are quickly covered in the stuff. It makes you want to stay inside until the weather changes.

God calls us to spotless character and living. He calls us to leave the slush and filth of the world’s ways. This mush has attached itself to us and we are identified with the filth. II Peter 3:13-14 says, “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

All of us want to be people of good character. But even with the best intentions we fall short of our own standards, as well as surely short of God’s. How can we be found to be without spot or blemish? Jude 24 says, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Only through the redemption and salvation of Jesus Christ can we be made spotless and blameless before God. Only through His power and authority can we live righteously and blamelessly in His presence.

He is coming soon. The time to choose righteousness and salvation is short. Don’t wait and miss your opportunity to be spotless.

Our weather has been brutal lately. We’ve had several systems come through the area, dumping snow and bringing frigid temperatures. This has obviously affected my walking regimen. Fortunately our complex has a workout room with a treadmill. I still walk outside some, but I have to be especially careful. Even a thin layer of snow can hide dangerous ice underneath. It is pretty easy to slip on the ice and hurt myself.

We all face many dangers throughout our daily lives. Whether it be a distracted driver or just cracks in the sidewalk, physical obstacles endanger our health. These may be easy to identify, but many dangers are hidden, like the person seeking to harm others. Still other things are easy to miss, but could take us on a harmful path that we will regret later. These influences are distractions and temptations that hurt our hearts and souls.

I Corinthians 16:13-14 says, “Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done with love.” It takes courage to do the right things, when those around you are encouraging you to do otherwise. It takes strength to resist what the world tells you what to do, but you know that following their way will harm you. It takes insight and wisdom to reject the lies you are told. We can’t do it on our own. We need to stand strong in faith, asking God for strength, wisdom, and courage. He stands ever ready to help us when we depend on Him and choose to be true to what we believe. He will keep us secure and hold us,so that we don’t slip on the ice of hidden dangers.

In my lifetime, I have been a child, son, student, graduate, husband, father, grandfather, business manager, teacher, bank teller, clerk, internal auditor, janitor, statistical clerk, and missionary. All of these were titles given to me by others. But none of these titles really describe who I am or was at the time. They only partially describe what I did or the relationship with others that I possessed.

I was given other titles based upon what others thought of me. Some were kind, some were not. They said I was quiet, angry, wise, sullen, foolish, soft-spoken, opinionated, and other characteristics that we won’t get into right now. While these titles were perceived, and therefore, accurate for others, they were not always true for me.

Titles leave us in the dark as to who we are and what we should do. They haven’t given me the light I need to live right nor accomplish my purpose in life. That is, until I was given new titles by my Heavenly Father. When I became a believer and His child, He gave me the titles that Peter wrote about in I Peter 2:9; “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

The moment I trusted Jesus as my Savior, God removed me from darkness and placed me in His light. All of a sudden I could see His purposes for me and I began to understand how I could live in the light of His love. He called me a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for his own possession. Clearly He had higher expectations for me than I had. Now I am free to proclaim the excellencies of Him.

Join me in His marvelous light. Leave the darkness behind. Discover the love of the Almighty, our Heavenly Father. And enjoy the privileges and glory of being a child of the One True King.

Jesus told His disciples, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” So, according to Jesus, one way to distinguish truth from lies is in the freedom truth gives us. If we believe something that is false, we become bound by its lies, to live by them and protect them. Truth does not come with such chains. Truth allows us the freedom to choose, knowing right from wrong. Falsehood is always condemning us. Truth supports and encourages us.

In the verse just before the one I quoted above Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” So Jesus links abiding in His Word with knowing the truth, and thereby being set free. Knowing the truth begins with knowing God, since He is the originator and embodiment of truth. In fact, Jesus said in another place, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The reason we struggle to find truth, and our purpose in life, is that we don’t start at the beginning, the source. As I quoted yesterday, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”

Leave the chains of falsehood behind. Believe the truth and be set free. Believe in Jesus Christ.

They used to say that you could tell what a person values by looking at their checkbook. In other words, what people spend their money on reflects their interests and priorities. I realize that this saying does not have the same impact today when checkbooks are not used much, but the truth remains that we spend our money based upon our perceived personal benefit.

The same basic idea is true with how we spend our time. Do we engage in a lot of selfish or frivolous pursuits? Or do we involve ourselves in selfless endeavors to benefit others? Are we spending much time trying to improve ourselves or are we just feeding our base desires? Do we try to do the right thing or do we simply concede to doing the expedient thing?

Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” It is true that our time on earth is limited and we don’t know how many days we have. Numbering our days does not mean to stay busy all the time. It does mean making the right choices and doing the right things with our time and efforts. By making the right choices we learn wisdom and multiply the benefits to ourselves and others. However, to make these right choices we need help. God’s Word gives us the truth to base our decisions on. And God’s Spirit enables His children to do the right thing. Submitting to the Word of God and His Spirit, then, are the first steps to living wisely. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. “