Are You Getting Better With Age?

Col. Harlan Sanders got his first $99 Social Security check at age 65 and decided he needed to do something else to make some additional cash.  The result?  Fried chicken popular the world over.  After becoming an astronaut and later, a senator from Ohio, John Glenn retired.  And then went into space again at age 77!  You have, no doubt, heard of Grandma Moses, whether you know her work or not.  She became perhaps the most famous primitive artist in American history though she never picked up a brush until she was 76.

This quick choice will tell you a lot about yourself: “Do you think things become more or less valuable with age?”  Your likely answer: “It depends.”  In fact, it DOES depend, doesn’t it?  What do you think is the key factor that drove each of the aforementioned antiquarians to make such profound contributions so late in life?  What is it that drives those who seem to age well, “like fine wine”?  There are MANY examples in Scripture of amazing acts completed by those who have a little gray on their temples, but this one will serve to make my point:

Joshua was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord said to him, “You have become old, getting on in years, but a great deal of the land remains to be possessed.  This is the land that remains: All the districts of the Philistines and the Geshurites…all the land of the Canaanites…the land of the Gebalites and all Lebanon…all the inhabitants of the hill country…all the Sidonians.  I will drive them out before the Israelites, only distribute the land as an inheritance for Israel, as I have commanded you.  Joshua 13:1-6

OK, then!  I can testify that I KNOW I’m getting old, yet when someone else says it (especially if it’s GOD) it really drives home the point.  I don’t believe God was just reminding Joshua of his increasing age, but instead reminding him that IF he was going to complete his work for God, he’d better get on with it!  Time was running out for Joshua and he still had a job to do.  So Joshua did as God commanded and fulfilled his purpose.

When God makes us His through the power of the Gospel and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, He does it with a purpose.  In Joshua’s case, God commanded him to take the land and possess it – not just to find a nice shady spot and wait for eternity.  There is no such thing as a retired rescuer of Israel, nor a retired follower of Jesus.  What, you thought retirement was your reward for working hard?  Your cessation from punching a clock doesn’t mean you get to stop what you’re doing for God.  It just means you have more flexibility to finish whatever God has challenged you to be and do.  Joshua’s victory in possessing the land didn’t end his work or anyone else’s.  It was just one victory along the way.  The rest we’re all waiting for is still to come!

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day…For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His.  Hebrews 4:8,10

Perhaps the key to FEELING valuable as we age is purpose.  If you don’t know yours yet, find someone who can help you identify it. But don’t doubt that God has something for you to do.  So get up out of that recliner and get busy!  There’s work to be done.

Getting on in years, but ready for what’s next,

Jacob

Sibling Rivalry and Global Religious Conflict

When my sister and I were young, we weren’t necessarily the best of friends.  I was a few years older, and my little sister was always finding a way to get under my skin or get me in trouble.  At least it seemed that way then.  But as we have grown, we’ve become best friends and I’m blessed to have an amazing sibling who has more than made up for being such a crazy pain when she was small.  I have stories, but I won’t share them here.  As in all sibling relationships, I’m sure she has some tales to tell, too. 

Not all sibling relationships grow stronger with age.  Some fester and eventually fall apart, because the perceived wrongs by one or both parties are considered just too egregious.  The Bible is full of examples of sibling conflict – Jacob & Esau and Cain & Abel to mention the most obvious.  But the most significant conflict, at least in terms of today’s headlines, was that between Isaac and Ishmael, the half-brother sons of Abraham.  Isaac was the child promised to Abraham and Sarah, while Ishmael was Abraham’s son from his own ill-conceived plan to fulfill God’s promise.  Here’s a glimpse into the text:

The child (Isaac) grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the (other) son mocking – the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.  So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”   Now this was a very difficult thing for Abraham…  But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac.   But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.”  Genesis 21:8-13

Abraham’s offspring traced through Isaac?  Israel – the Jewish nation.  The nation traced through the “slave’s son” Ishmael?  The Arab nation.  See the problem?  One son exiled because he was the product of a man’s own solution to his problem.  Another exalted and blessed because he was the product of God’s promise.  Talk about competing for a father’s love!  And the battle continues to this day.  Isaac eventually led to Jesus, who reconciled us to our Heavenly Father by grace through faith.  Ishmael eventually led to Mohammed, the founder of Islam, who ushered in a religion based on works, in a misguided effort to help his descendants find a different way to the Father.

Every time we (mankind) think we can come up with a plan to accomplish what only God can do, we mess things up.  Even at the end of Abraham’s life, Isaac had an opportunity to patch things up and perhaps change history:

Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac…He took his last breath and died at a ripe old age (175)… and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah…Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac….   Genesis 25:5-11

Imagine the funeral.  Doesn’t this happen a lot?  Siblings who fuss and fight for much of their lives are reunited over the grave of a parent.  Does the death that brought them together for a brief time change anything?  Not if their hearts are still at war.  Isaac would receive the blessing of God and might have changed the direction of history with an arm around his older brother’s shoulder.  Isaac was destined to be blessed by God.  But don’t you wonder if Ishmael might have been drawn closer to a Father he never really knew if he had been accepted by a brother who never really cared? 

If you have siblings, do your part to let them know they are loved.  By you AND your Heavenly Father.

Jacob

The Lord’s Supper and Special Effects

I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was sitting in a darkened theater watching movie preview trailers, when suddenly I was enveloped in a world of things to come – swirling spacecraft, stirring music, and the heavy-breathing, deep-voiced villain of Star Wars.  I can easily recall that the final scene in the preview was a direct attack by a dark-side fighter that exploded in a ball of fire.  Amazing!  And unlike anything I’d ever seen.  Though it was more than 40 years ago, I still recollect the excitement it generated and I couldn’t wait to see the movie!

So, let’s be honest – did you get that same feeling of excited anticipation the last time you shared in the Lord’s Supper with your church?  Silly comparison?  I think not!   Whether your church asks you to share the Lord’s Supper together weekly, quarterly, or when you show up at Christmas and Easter, it IS an event to be eagerly anticipated.  Why, you might ask?  I acknowledge that the Church’s practice of remembering the Passover exchange between Jesus and His disciples might lack the visual pizzazz of Hollywood and may even seem to lack rudimentary planning at times, but it is the content and INTENT that are vital. 

You can read the story of the Last Supper in the Gospels, but the apostle, Paul, wrote this for us, making sure we understand clearly, not only the content, but also the intent of sharing in the Lord’s Supper:

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”  In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  1 Corinthians 11:23-26

“Until He comes.”  WOW.  Cue the music and prepare to be amazed!  Talk about special effects!  When you take the Lord’s Supper, what do you see in your mind’s eye?  I usually think about His meal, then His prayer time, then His suffering and crucifixion.  I celebrate His victory over death and partake in the elements of the ritual in gratitude for my salvation.  Maybe my problem is I usually stop there, instead of remembering that one day, I’ll be dining with Jesus Himself! 

After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.  While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.  They said…”why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.”   Acts 1:9-11

Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle.  On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley…Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with Him.  Zechariah 14:3-5

You recognize the Mount of Olives, right?  That’s where Jesus prayed in the garden, “If it’s possible, let this cup pass from me.”  Then He drank from it anyway – the cup filled with the punishment for your sin and mine, paid for by His blood.  Someday, you can thank Him in person for what He did for you.  Until then, eat and drink in remembrance.  But get ready, because He’s coming again soon.  Cue the music!

Maranatha (Revelation 22:20),

Jacob  

Four Things You MUST Understand About Prayer

Prayer, in the context of the Christian faith, could be defined as “a communication directed to God, through which we, His children, share our hearts, our hopes, and our love with Him” (my definition).  We sometimes get all caught up in whether we have expressed our prayers in the “right way” so they will be effective, as if form matters more to God than the substance of our effort.  We must never worry that though we express ourselves with all the fervor we can muster, that God will somehow ignore our outreach to Him because we didn’t put the words in the right order or close with just the right benediction.

Why is prayer a bit of a mystery to us?  It shouldn’t be.  People have always spoken to God about their circumstances, believing He cares and can and will do something in response.  There is great variety in our prayer experiences, from those who just “wing it” to those who only pray the “Lord’s Prayer” from the pages of Scripture.  But if form doesn’t matter, what does?

The prophet, Daniel, found himself exiled in a foreign land trying to maintain his own faith, while reaching out to God on behalf of his people.  Daniel 9:4-19, records the eloquent words of Daniel in prayer to God, and I encourage you to read them.  But I want to focus on what happened AFTER Daniel prayed, because he got an answer, and isn’t that what we’re all hoping for when we hit our knees?

“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.  But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.  Now I have come…   Daniel 10:12-14

The words, “Do not be afraid, Daniel” were uttered by an angel.  How great would that be?  Not only would we get an obvious answer, but it would be delivered in person by a servant of the most-high God.  But Daniel was awe-struck, just as we would be.  Note, though, the pronouncement of the angelic messenger:

1. God knows your desire is to gain understanding about your situation. (Isn’t that what most prayer is about?)  See James 1:5-6 for another example.
2. God recognizes your humility in approaching Him, knowing He cares for you.
3. God hears you when you pray, and He responds.
4. And perhaps most important for us to realize, Your prayer and God’s response sets up conflict in the spiritual realm, about which most Christians seem to know very little.

It’s important to realize that God heard Daniel’s prayer the very first day – perhaps that even implies Daniel prayed the same thing over and over.  But the angelic messenger wasn’t able to respond, delaying Daniel’s answer, because the angel was forced to do spiritual battle with another “prince” – a fallen angel determined to impede God’s answer to His servant, Daniel.  Do you ever feel like God hears you when you pray, but something keeps getting in the way?  That may be exactly what happens.  In Daniel’s case, it even took the archangel, Michael, to come and help in the battle.

Just because you can’t see the spiritual conflict doesn’t mean it’s not being waged all around you.  Never fail to pray, always believing that God hears, He cares, and He answers.  Because your prayers are worth fighting for.  Even the angels know that.

Jacob