Reluctant Retiree

What gifts are you expecting this Christmas? Are you expecting some glorious new tech item like a phone, tablet, or computer? Are your desires more basic like clothes or kitchen supplies? Perhaps you have even loftier dreams like a new car or diamonds.

If you receive these gifts, will they bring lasting satisfaction? Depending on your needs and the gifts durability, these gifts may satisfy for a significant period of time. However, no gift can satisfy forever.

That is because only heavenly gifts can satisfy our deepest needs and desires. We want more than outward satisfaction. We want our heartfelt needs met. God has already provided for those needs. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” If you have asked Jesus to be Lord of your life, God gives you every spiritual blessing.

I am certainly not a perfectionist. If you’ve read any of these blogs you already know that. Perfectionism is sometimes a good trait to have, and other times it is not. It is good to want to do your best work. Employers appreciate that. However, it is not good to demand other people be perfect. Nobody is perfect and expecting them to be perfect will soon cause the relationship to deteriorate.

The desire to become the best people we can be is admirable. We should all seek to improve ourselves. This ambition, however, can frustrate us when we don’t make the progress we desire. If we will let Him, God will take this project of self-improvement upon Himself. He is a much better contractor for this job than we can ever be. Philippians 1:6 says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Give your self-improvement job to the Master Contractor, Jesus. He promises the best results.

The international distress signal is SOS. A cry for help is understood to mean that someone is in distress and we should find a way to help.

Our bodies often find a way of letting us know that we are in distress. These signals could be as simple as pain, irritability, nausea, or headaches. The signals may be more serious like depression, suicidal thoughts, or addiction. Whatever the signal, we need to take action to alleviate the distress.

Often we need help to relieve the distress. We can look for this relief in good or bad places. The bad places, like drugs or alcohol, don’t work and delay progress. The good place to look for help is God. He is available, reliable and able to provide help. Psalm 107:6 says, “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses.” Whatever our problems may be, God can and will help if we call Him.

I know that Thanksgiving Day is long gone and that we are all thinking about Christmas now. But this blog is not about the holiday, but rather it is about the act of giving thanks.

Our culture doesn’t think much about giving thanks. We are more into complaining. It is socially acceptable to complain about politicians, the government, our marriages, our relationships, the weather, store clerks, customer service and almost any other subject. There are even websites and apps that allow you to register any complaint. They proudly boast that they care about your complaints. Mind you, they do not do anything about your complaint. They just let you post it.

On the other hand, I have not heard of such a site that asks you to post thanksgiving. Why is that? Why are we so willing to post complaints and not thanksgiving. We surely have something to be thankful for. We overlook many of the things we can be thankful for like reasonable health, food to eat, sunshine, a friendly hello from someone, good customer service occasionally, shelter, a smile, friends and family. I understand that some people are dealing with bad circumstances and have fewer things to be grateful for, but we all have something we can give thanks for. Studies have shown that grateful people are happier, healthier and more successful. So it is worth trying to be grateful.

Of course, the Bible tells us many things we can be grateful for. Not the least of which is found in Psalm 107:1, which says “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” God loves his people with a love that lasts for eternity and never changes. I think that I will thank him for that. How about you?

There are several commercial building projects going up around us. A Popeye’s Chicken is going up around the corner and a solar farm is under construction down the street. It is interesting to watch these projects progress. You notice that different people with different skills contribute their abilities and knowledge. The timing of each person’s contribution is critical. Coming too early or too late hampers progress.

God expects us to do good works. He gives us talents, abilities and wisdom to contribute to these good works. He gives us these gifts through His grace. Often we are contributing as a part of a group, but sometimes God calls us to do good things without others.

One of my favorite verses is II Corinthians 9:8, which says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” God promises to pour out his grace in abundance, so that we always have sufficient power to do these good works.

John Newton was engaged in slave trading while rebelling against the faith of his mother. By his own admission he was consumed with all forms of wickedness. Yet, God called to him in mercy and grace and Newton surrendered to God. Newton then wrote the iconic hymn, “Amazing Grace”. This song speaks of a wretched man saved by God’s grace and has been sung by church congregations and recorded by Christian and secular artists for decades.

Saul was a man driven by his religion. So much so that he pursued and arrested Christians. These Christians were then put to death for their faith. Then, on the road to Damascus, God stopped Saul in blinding light and spoke to Saul. God, in His grace, called Saul to be His voice and witness to the Gentiles. Now called Paul, because he had been transformed by God’s grace, he went on to write much of the New Testament and witness to most of the known world at the time.

I did not grow up in the church. My family did not speak of any God, lovingly or otherwise. During my first year of college I heard several fellow students talking about their relationship with Jesus. I had never heard of such a thing. Through a series of events and searchings, I came to know this personal and loving God. By His grace He called me into His family and offered me forgiveness of my sins. Since then He has used me to tell the story of what He has done for me in several countries and in books.

Like Newton and Paul, I don’t deserve the forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life I have been given by Jesus. It has all come through His grace and mercy. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” The same grace is offered to you. What will you do with this gift?

During the pandemic we have changed our habits. Besides social distancing, wearing a mask and washing our hands, we’ve changed how often we go out and where we choose to go. We must really need to go any place we choose to enter. The benefits must outweigh the risks of entering their doors.

God gives us a special invitation to enter into His presence. Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.” He offers us His goodness, lovingkindness, and faithfulness. But we must approach Him with thanksgiving and praise.

We’ve all heard the expressions “good things come in threes” or ” bad things come in threes”. I am not sure if these expressions are true but they are pretty much universally accepted. Whether it be deaths within a family or births, three of these events seem to happen within a short period of time. I don’t know if we are just sensitive to these occurrences or are actively looking for them.

The apostle Paul tells us about three gifts God gives us in Colossians 1:3-5. “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel.” Faith, hope and love are the greatest gifts you can receive this Christmas. They are also the greatest gifts that you can give. Ask God to give them to you so that you can pass them onto others.

I went in for my annual health assessment today. All the signs were good and I was pleased. That was just my physical check-up. What about my emotional and mental health? I don’t get those checked very often. In fact, it has been over ten years since those parts of my soul were evaluated.

I would wager that you are the same. When anything in our body is not functioning well, we go to the doctor. If something in our mental or emotional state is malfunctioning we think we can handle it, if we notice at all. What makes us think we are so capable in the mental and emotional realms? Everybody around us can probably tell we are having problems as these problems affect interpersonal relationships.

What about spiritual problems? Where do we go to evaluate our spiritual health? Only God can tell us how we’re doing in this area. We have to ask him to reveal the state of our spiritual health. Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” I encourage you to ask God to search your heart and reveal any hurtful ways in you.

The leaves have all fallen and the trees are bare. The fields have all been plowed under so that only the dirt remains. Flowers have wilted until the blossoms of spring. Creeks and ponds are drying up and mud is coming to the surface.

The landscape, once colorful, is now mostly shades of brown. The only fruit or produce to be found is on grocery shelves.

This is the natural cycle of things. Barrenness will yield to fruitful seasons to come. God implemented the seasons in part to remind us that we were created to be fruitful as well. He doesn’t want us to live in barrenness, but rather he wants us to experience the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience and goodness.

He has made the way for us to be fruitful through his son, Jesus Christ. As we know him more each day and become like him, we will bear fruit. Colossians 1:6 says, “the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing even as it has been doing in you since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth.” The gospel is the kingdom of God coming to us in Jesus Christ. Accept this truth and live for him, then you will bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, and goodness.