To-do list for old timers (and newcomers too)

Bette Midler once said regarding her body, “After fifty, it’s just maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.” Those in that age bracket will agree. However, I try not to focus on the state of my body since this is too easy the topic of conversation for us seniors. It tends to fill my head with a ‘me’ focus that is not healthy for my spiritual life.

At the end of 2 Peter, this disciple writes about focus as God’s people wait for the end of life and the return of Jesus Christ. He puts the focus on my spiritual state and gives me some practical assignments . . .

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him . . . You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . . . . (2 Peter 3:14–18)

Be found by Him without spot or blemish. This isn’t about freckles or pimples but about sin. No one is sinless in this life, but keeping short accounts is possible. That is, God wants me to confess and forsake any sinful and selfish attitudes and actions as soon as I realize they are present. The benefits include continual fellowship with God and His people, having a child-like humility and attitude toward life, and a good night’s sleep!

Be at peace. No worrying. How is that even possible? For me, it means trusting the Lord with everything, and to do that, I must believe in His love and power. He is sovereign over this world and all that is in it. If not, I’d be in a stew about everything because nearly everything seems to be coming unraveled. Trusting the Lord means being able to take my burdens to Him and leave them in His care. I cannot do that without firmly believing He hears me and will answer my prayers. His answers may not be what I expect, but trust isn’t concerned about my thoughts and opinions, only about His loving wisdom.

Count patience as salvation. Peter also said that I’m to consider patience as a huge factor in salvation. Impatience is me trying to run things my way — and that is the essence of sin. Patience is evidence of faith, of knowing God is taking care of things and being okay with that. It is not an anxious ‘wait and see’ but a settled and peaceful yielding to His will.

Don’t get carried away. Spiritual maintenance includes standing firm on what I believe, not carried away by the teaching of those who have no regard for the basic principles of faith. The foundations of trust and obey, of knowing and believing, are the firm places. I don’t need to study error to know it — I only need to study truth.

Grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Last but not least I am to grow by studying Him, spending time with Him. Listening. Following His leading. Seeking His face. Reviewing and remembering His words. Doing whatever is necessary to deepen my relationship with this man who is God — who saved me for all eternity!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, this is simple stuff for this old-timer, basic for those who are new to the faith, yet powerful. Doing the will of God is not as challenging as wanting to do the will of God. I must want to abandon the habits and old sinful ways and dictates of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Keep me close as I desire to stay close. I love You and want to bring You glory in this life and in the life to come!

Today’s thankful list . . .

- having basics to keep me growing and in God’s will.

- faith is practical!

- a good workout at the gym.

- motion detector light switches.

- time for a much-needed nap this afternoon.

- chicken tacos and salt-free chips.

Faith means . . .

Isaiah 7:1–8:22, Luke 2:22–52, Job 2:11–13

When I first became a Christian, my sister who was saved earlier told me to “read the Bible until God spoke to me, then write down what you heard.” Doing this has filled dozens of journals and many more computer files.

Today, the words that jumped off the page at me came from the last part of Isaiah 7:9: “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” (Isaiah 7:9)

I’ve felt somewhat wobbly lately, less than firm. Part of it is physical as I don’t have the energy that once kept me going. But the other part is being discouraged by what is happening around me, and by not seeing God at work as much as I’d like.

Isaiah goes on as he writes children of God who are also wobbly. His advice was good. He said, “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” (Isaiah 8:12–13) I do not fear what they feared, but whatever I do fear, God must be at the top of the list. He is in charge of all the events in the world. Faith means having no fear of anything but Him.

Isaiah also wrote to those who went elsewhere for advice. Others challenged them to, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” and his answer was, “Should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isaiah 8:19) This also speaks to me. I’m not into their kind of research, yet else I might look for guidance besides my God is folly. He is the only one who knows all that I need to know. Faith means seeking God before anything else.

The reading in Job reminded me of my struggles to help those who are in trouble: “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place . . .  and made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.” (Job 2:11–13)

If these friends had stopped there, they would have been a comfort. Instead, they did not seek advice from the Lord and made the incorrect assumption that Job was being judged for doing something wrong. The rest of the book is filled with their accusations and rants. Faith means waiting on God when I don’t have any answers.

The NT reading is about the baby Jesus. One man named Simeon “was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”  

The Spirit led him into the temple, and there he met this child Jesus. He held him and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:25–32) Faith means knowing that God keeps His promises.

Anna was another one. She was an eighty-four year old widow and a prophetess. She lived in the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day and also gave “thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36–38) Faith means worship and praise, but also telling others about the Lord.

A few years later, Jesus and family went to the city and when they left, Jesus stayed behind. His parents finally realized He was absent from their group and went back to find Him. He was in the temple and when they saw Him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:48–52)

They did not understand, a bit of a surprise to me. However, this tells me that faith means believing that Jesus is doing what He is supposed to be doing, even when I cannot see or understand what that might be. If I am not firm in faith and trusting Him no matter what, then I will be wobbly. There are no other options.

To Live is Christ — not my will, but Thine be done

The scribes in Jesus’ day accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan. Interesting theory, but it does not make sense. Such an idea is something like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Even the prince of darkness is not so much in the dark that he uses his own demons to defeat his own demons. Jesus responded to the scribes with a similar argument . . . 

So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.” (Mark 3:23–26)

While Jesus used players from the kingdom of darkness to make His point, this principle speaks to individuals with divided loyalties too. I cannot get anywhere if part of my time is given to building up and the other part devoted to tearing down.

This applies to families too. A family falls apart when the people in it attack one another. A feuding family is doomed. Church congregations also fall under the same logic. If they become divided against themselves, without a resolution their in-house strife will lead to ruin. True strength comes to those who are united in their goals and purposes, and steadfast in their loyalty to each other.

The New Testament speaks about those who are disloyal. It happens when selfishness moves in and causes a split in the love and unity God gives to His people. Instead of being motivated by the Spirit of freedom and their loyalty to one another, a fighting church is caught in the bondage of division and selfishness. 

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (Galatians 5:13–17)

The cure is love and reliance upon the Holy Spirit, but both require faith in God. James wrote about the “double-minded” person who is unstable in all his ways because of doubt, the opposite of faith. Such a person might believe some things, but he cannot stand because he is always second-guessing everything he does. He is divided against himself and not trusting God either.

I’ve had those days. My turmoil and uncertainty make clear the words of Paul, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7:15) When God shakes me out of my double-mindedness, I cannot understand why or how I had been so foolish as to work against what I believe in or had been so divided in my desires.

Jesus was never divided. His heart was set to do the will of His Father and He never wavered from that determination. The world and all it offered was not a temptation for Him. He knew where He came from and where He was going. He knew why He was in this world, and was set to fulfill His purpose.

I fall far short of that. Some days I spin my wheels and at the end of the day wonder why I keep shooting myself in the foot. I want to do the will of God, but other wants distract me. I make excuses that my will doesn’t appear to be a terrible thing.  I’m just quietly doing my own thing, not biting or devouring anyone.

But I know where the flaws are — there is no fruit from doing my own thing. No lives are changed. No souls are won. Christ is not glorified. Instead, His will is that I demonstrate His love to my neighbor and walk always in the Spirit, bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Not my will, but His will — and that requires being single-minded and obedient.

To Live is Christ — with a solid foundation

Figures of speech delight the poet and confuse a new immigrant. From cliches like “Go jump in the lake” and “That’s the way the cookie crumbles” to more original expressions, our language is liberally seasoned with word pictures.

I’d be dismayed if someone took some of these literally. That is, we don’t want people to actually take a dive into a lake or think life’s unexpected events are cookies. This feature in our language is intended to give richer explanations, but generally not precise directions.

Jesus used figures of speech that made His statements more vivid to those who hear Him. On one occasion He was explaining that not all religious-appearing people are pleasing to God with what they do. 

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21–23)

These people were doing what appeared to be Christian activities and even used the name of Jesus to do them. Yet Jesus condemned them on the basis of relationship. He said, “I never knew you.” He used a word that in those days described the deepest intimacy between a man and woman. In this case, He was not talking about sex but about that incredible knowledge of God that happens when He comes to live in a person’s heart through faith and genuine salvation.

All the external actions in the world cannot make a person right before God. We are saved by faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9). As Jesus explained elsewhere, first the heart needs to be made right. Then the actions that proceed from a new heart will be acceptable. Here is the figure of speech Jesus used to describe someone who is pleasing God:

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24–25)

The firm foundation is obedience to all that Jesus says, not picking the parts that I can easily do. This is about first knowing Him, then knowing what He asks of Me, and then doing what He says.

The promise is vivid. Those who obey Jesus Christ from the heart are like a house solidly planted on a rock. No matter what hits them, they do not fall because they have been obedient.

As I think about my walk with Christ, I could list the times my foundation has been obedience and when the trials of life hit but didn’t make me fall. But I can also remember those times that I’ve not obeyed Him. I crashed.

These crashes are not the same as those Jesus describes as, “I never knew you” and that lead to eternal separation from Him. Instead the crashes in the life of a disobedient Christian are like a glass tipping over (see yesterday’s post). I can get up again and walk with Him again, but first need to get my feet out of the sand and unto the rock . . . Jesus is my rock.

To live is Christ is simple — do what He says. Standing on the Rock is the only way to resist the subtlety, selfishness and stubbornness of temptation and sin. Simple — yet far too often I’m such a Duh. My crashes are good reminders of how much I need God’s help to keep me firmly grounded in Him. 

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Stand Firm

In two episodes of NCIS (taped reruns) we watched Gibbs and Tony each face someone with a raised weapon who started shooting. Both officers stood their ground, drew their weapon, and successfully defended themselves. Of course this is television not real-life, yet their actions illustrate my devotional reading for today.

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! (Philippians 4:1)

Standing firm means just what it says. While this is not necessarily about an enemy with a gun, it could involve harm of some sort, so no matter the threat, whenever something challenges my faith, I am supposed to face it, not run, nor give up, nor turn away.

If the danger is physical, and it could be, the context gives the grounds for standing firm. The verses just previous to this say,

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21)

In the face of an extreme threat, like death, I can be fearless because I know that death is my doorway to eternity with God. This gives me pause. My life is hardly ever in danger, but I have friends who work in other parts of the world where this threat is real and constant. Their lives are often threatened simply because they are Christians and this promise is for them too. No matter what happens to the old body, we are guaranteed to receive new bodies that are like the body of the resurrected Christ. Death is not the end for us, far from it.

Standing firm is also the attitude God wants me to have when I face temptation, or when my faith is challenged. Ephesians 6:11 uses a similar term, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Satan would love to see my back. He tries to make me fearful so I will not face or defend my faith or stand firm in the face of his strategies to ruin my Christian life. God commands me to never compromise my Christian testimony or allow myself to be overwhelmed by trials or temptation. He gives me what I need to obey.

Sadly, there are times when I do not take God and His commands seriously enough. The writer of my devotional book laments that many Christians do need seek the knowledge of God, but prefer to be pampered and entertained. Some even are apathetic to the point of acting as if His commands are mere suggestions, and the alternatives are desirable options.

I like watching NCIS, partly because the characters are believable and with human quirks and flaws, but more because of their zeal to “stop the bad guys” and stand firm against evil and wrong doing.

However, as I think about those two shows, I get a picture in my mind of what would happen if the script writers decided to show Tony or Gibbs as not willing to stand firm. They would die. The end. Show over.

In real life, standing against sin, could mean death. Jesus is a prime example. He refused to sin and was crucified because of it. Yet because of His firm stand, I can do the same. 

Therefore . . . let me stand firm against everything that hinders me and the sin that so easily entangles, and let me run with perseverance the race marked out for me. Let me fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. May I consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that I will not grow weary and lose heart. In my struggle against sin, I have not yet resisted to the point of shedding my blood. (Hebrews 12:1-4)

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