Old Age
“O God, you have taught me from my
earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you
do. Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let
me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who
come after me. Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the
highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things. Who can compare with you,
O God? You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift
me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and
comfort me once again (Psalm 71:17-21).” One of the benefits of growing old is
the many times we get to tell younger generations of all the wonderful things
the Lord Jesus Christ has done. Yet, when our bodies begin to fail and we begin
to suffer through the challenges of old age, it can make us feel that God has
abandoned us. We pray to the Lord to not let those challenges rob us of the joy
that leads us to proclaiming all that He has done and continues to do for us.
We know that as time goes on, His faithfulness and holiness only solidifies in
our hearts that He is the only true God. The suffering and hardship we face
only makes us long for the time when we can be at home with Him. We are comforted
by the promise that one day we will be raised to glory with Him as our precious
Lord returns to gather His people to Himself and take us home to live eternally
with Him. Thank you Jesus for all You have done and all You have promised to do
for those that have placed faith in You.
The Path of Sinners
“Blessed is the man Who walks
not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But
his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
(Pslam 1:1-2).” The Psalmist reminds us that a man is divinely favored if they
do not associate with the ungodly or participate in their ungodly ways. When
you are not standing in the path of sinners you are no longer conducting
yourself in the same manner as they are; developing habits not consistent with
your faith in the Lord. Unlike the scornful, you no longer display open
contempt for a person or thing. Rather than engaging in these activities, the
psalmist took pleasure in the law of the Lord and reflecting on it day and
night. As Christians, we can go one step further. Because of our faith in Jesus
Christ, we are no longer under the law. However, as the Apostle Paul states,
“clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink
but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of
flesh, that is, of the heart (2 Corinthians 3:3).” We have been blessed
by the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, who guides
us from within as we respond to the love He is giving to us. And when love
others with the love we are receiving from Him we will not be sinning with or
against them. We will not be seeking the counsel of the ungodly, standing in
the path of sinners or sitting in the seat of the scornful because “Love does
no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law
(Romans 13:10).” We don’t have to meditate on the law of the Lord day and night
because loving others as Christ loves us is fulfilling the law of the Lord.
That is what we delight in doing.
Lack of Understanding
“So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us,
since You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise
it up.” Then the Jews
said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it
up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore,
when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this
to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said
(John 2:18-22).” It is interesting to note that when Jesus was speaking about
His coming resurrection from the dead, His disciples did not know what he was
talking about until after He rose from the dead. That was a few years after
this exchange between Jesus and the Jews in John 2. A lesson to take from this
is that if there is something that you do not understand about the Word or the
Lord, it is okay not to understand. Instead, look to your God in prayer and
say, “You know what Lord, I have no idea what you are talking about.” You can
do this with confidence. It is okay to say, “Lord, I have no clue who You are.
Are you aware of that?” And God, in His graciousness, might respond with, “Yes,
I am aware.” God is okay with you not knowing and you should be okay too. The Christian
life is an adventure of discovery. It takes time to understand all that God
wants to share with you through your faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, enjoy
the life that you have, enjoy the struggle, enjoy those things He has revealed,
enjoy those things that He has not revealed and do so with thankfulness. Trust
that the Lord will reveal things to you when He is ready to reveal them to you
and when you are ready to handle them. Take heart in the fact that as
Christians we have an eternity to get to know our God. Therefore, there will be
plenty of time for Him to teach us about Himself. 
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