DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH TO RETIRE?

A man came to Jesus complaining because he

did not get the part of an inheritance he wanted.

This first comment is not the essence of the post.

But over many, many years I have noticed something.

Nearly every inheritance I have seen people receive

was SQUANDERED.

We want to do good for our children and pass something

on along to them.  But I am beginning to think that 

passing on material things to them - only hurts them.

But this situation is what cause Jesus to say;

"Then he said, 'Beware!  Guard against

every kind of greed.  Life is not measured

by how much you own.'" 

(Luke 12:15 NLT) 

Then Jesus told the people a story about a rich

man with a very prosperous farm.  The crops 

were excellent and he decided to store up enough

to retire.

"But God said to him, 'You fool!  You

will die this very night.  Then who will

get everything you worked for?

"Yes, a person is a fool to store up

earthy wealth but not have a rich

relationship with God."

(Luke 12:20,21 NLT)

This is the only precedent in the Scriptures 

I am aware of for retiring [Other than one 

exception - if you are a Levitical  priest.] and

even in this one God calls the retiree a fool.

What made him a fool.  Concentrating on 

material acquisition rather than a relation

ship with God.

In truth, the poor widow that Jesus tells us

about in chapter twenty one of Luke is better

off than this rich man.  She only had about two

cents, but she gave all she had to God.  And 

Jesus tells us that she gave more than all the

rich people who were putting into the offering

out of their surplus.

Yes, prepare for retirement if that is your 

desire.  But. if you don't put God first in 

your planning you will end up being a fool.

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

“Whenever I found the peace of God

ruling in my heart and obeyed His

voice, my meetings were a success.”

- A.C. Valdez -

 

 

 

KEEP ON KNOCKING

Do you have some unanswered prayers?

I do.  Over the years I have had literally

hundreds and hundreds of prayers answered.

It has become a normal thing for me to ask

God for help, direction or for something all the

 time. Yet, there are still some that are not 

answered, at least yet.

Perhaps that is why one time the disciples

came to Jesus and ask, "Lord, teach us to

pray, ...".

We need to note that Jesus is talking to his "disciples".

Not just the people of the world.  His obligation is to

his "people", not just anybody,  though He often does

answer sincere prayer offered to Him by those in no

relationship with him.

When Jesus answered his disciples He of course 

mentioned keeping the name of God holy and 

forgiving etc.  But the thing that stands out to me

is His spending more time telling us to keep on

asking and asking.  He goes into a lengthy illustration

of going to a friend in the middle of the night asking

for bread and the man don't want to get out of bed.

"But I tell you this - though he won't do it for

friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long

enough, he will get up and give you whatever

you need because of your shameless persistence.

"And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will

receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and 

you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door

will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks,

receives.  Every one who seeks, finds.  And to 

everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

(Luke 11:8 - 10 NLT)

God wants us to "pester" Him with our prayers

until it is time for Him to answer the prayer.

Just a closing illustration.

George Mueller that great man of faith in England

years ago kept track of his prayers and their answers.

He had thousands of prayers answered.  But two men

he knew he prayed for their salvation for twenty five

years.  When George died they still had not been saved.

But one of these men turned to the Lord at George's 

funeral and the other within a month after George died.

LETS KEEP ON KNOCKING.

TODAY'S PROMISE

“For the LORD God is our sun 

and our shield.  He gives us 

grace and glory.

The LORD will withhold no 

good thing from those who do 

what is right.” 

(Psalms 84:11 NLT)

 

FIRST THINGS FIRST

FIRST THINGS FIRST.

You no doubt know the event where Jesus was a guest

at the home of Martha and Mary as well as I do.  Martha

was very busy trying to prepare a big dinner for Jesus 

while Mary just sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to 

him talk.

You and I would be just like Martha, we would be

upset over our lazy little sister just sitting there 

doing nothing but listening to the conversation

Jesus was having.  And like Martha we would

complain.

"But the Lord said to her, 'My dear Martha,

you are worried and upset over all these

details!  There is only one thing worth being

concerned about.  Mary had discovered it, 

and it will not be taken away from her.'"

(Luke 10:41,41 NLT)

The Scriptures teach us that God saved Christians

to do good works.  So, I want to be obedient about

doing good.  You know.  Be in Church every time

the doors are open.

Give all I can to help the poor.

Encourage people in their walk of life.

Pray for the sick.

Be kind to my neighbors.

In my case, fix all the broken things I can for 

people.

etc. etc. etc.

But the truly important thing is,

am I getting my Bible out and sitting at the

feet of Jesus letting him talk to me.

Or, am I too busy?

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

“In reality a Western university education

or even theological training is often more a 

hindrance than a help on the mission field.

In frontline situations it can erect another

barrier that has to overcome in relations to

lost souls.

“Indeed, most native Christians find that a 

Western education had to be consciously

unlearned before they can begin to minister

to their own people.”

- K.P. Yohannan in Why the World Waits 

REFLECTING HIS IMAGE.

 

Yep!

That is the mirror in my bathroom.

And I took it at that funny angle so you would

not see my ugly face.

You kids will not understand this.  But us old folks

find that everything about us seems to fail.  We get

weaker and weaker.  Our memory is not as good as 

it use to be, etc. etc. etc.

Well, the last couple of months as I shave, wash my

face, comb my hair or whatever old men do, I was

not seeing a clearly as I used too.  I was beginning

to think that perhaps I should go have my eyes

examined again.

Then one day I finally noticed something.  The

mirror was getting dirty.  My wife passed away 

about nine months ago and she used to keep it clean,

but I had never once washed it.

Would you believe that getting all that dirt off

cleared up my vision.  Even I looked better.

As a professed Christian I knew that I am supposed

to reflect the image of Jesus Christ.  That is, my life

should show the change in it because of my relationship

to Christ.  But does it?

"For those whom He foreknew, He also

predestined to become conformed to the

image of His Son, so that He would be the

firstborn among many brethren".

(Romans 8:29 NAS)

Now I have to wonder.  Have I allowed so much

of the ways and thinking of the world enter my 

life that when people see me, they do not see 

Christ in me?

TODAY'S PROMISE

I do not particularly consider this a promise.

But it gives me insight into some of the trials

life has thrown at me and this truth is a blessing

to myself.

See what you think.

“Good people pass away;

the godly often die

before their time.

But no one seems to care or 

wonder why.

No one seems to understand

that God is protecting them

from the evil to come.

For those who follow godly paths

will rest in peace when they die.

(Isaiah 57:1,2 NLT)

 

MALNOURISHED

Most people you see are malnourished.

In fact they are starving to death and do 

not even know it.

I am talking about the real person.  The one

that is down inside of you.  Not your body,

but the life inside of your body.  Your hopes,

desires, your emotions.  That inner life that

makes you different than the person beside

you.  Your heart or very soul.  The you that is

 going to exist for ever somewhere.

That is why Jesus said,

“People do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from

the mouth of God.”  

(Matthew 4:4 NLT)

Sitting with. your hands folded looking like a frog

pretending to pray won't do it.  Even going to a 

Church and listing to someone talk won't do it.

Get the book, the Holy Book, the BIBLE out and

read it.  Digest it and nourish the real you.  Let

the words of life from the one who gives you life

nourish you in both body and soul.

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

"God feels our sorrows, our misery, our  anxiety.

He weeps with us.  He also feels our elation, our

joy, our relief -- and He laughs with us.  The greatest

thing Jesus taught us about God is that He is a God

who cares."

- Jamie Buckingham

 

THE RICH YOUNG RULER

THE RICH YOUNG RULER

A very rich young man came to Jesus with a question.

"What can I do to receive eternal life."

(My paraphrase.)

This event is recored in Matthew 19:16 -----, Mark 10:17--

and Luke 18:18 ---- each giving some added details.

Lets note several things about this man.  One, he was

a young man.  Two he was a ruler, official or leader 

depending on the version you are reading and he 

was very rich.  In other words, HE HAD IT ALL.

He had even keep all of the laws and commandments

from childhood without breaking any of them.

I can't say that, can you?

But deep down, despite being a religious leader,

he knew something was missing.  He did not have 

the assurance that when he died he would go to 

heaven.  That is a concern all of us, if we are

honest with ourselves, have or have had.

It is obvious that being religious was not doing the

job.  So he wanted to know what he could do, or

perhaps how much it would cost, so he could go

to heaven.  I just love Jesus's answer.

"Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love

for him.  'There is still one thing you haven't

done,' he told him. 'Go and sell all your 

possessions and give the money to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then

come, follow me.'"

(Mark 10:21 NLT)

The man went away sad.  His wealth meant too

much to him.  And unless something happened

so he changed his mind, he is still in hell regretting

his choice to this day.

Most of us are not rich like that man was.  But,

what else is there that we cling so tightly to that

keeps us from following along with Jesus.  Wealth,

fame, pride, pleasure, etc. etc. etc.

We cannot earn or buy our way into heaven.

We must give it all up for him and then follow

Jesus if we expect to get there.

TODAY'S PROMISE

 

“Give your burdens to the LORD,

and he will take care of you.

He will not permit the godly

to slip and fall.”

(Psalms 55:22 NLT). 

SAVED FROM THE COMING TERRORS.

We are all going to die someday.

We all know that.  All our lives we have been seeing

people of all ages die around us.  So that is nothing new.

God himself said;

"And just as each person is destined to 

die once and after that comes judgment,"

(Hebrews 9:27 NLT). 

But it is that coming judgment that should worry us.

Everyone of us is going to stand in judgement before

Jesus Christ after we die.  And if you will read in your

Bible what God said is coming on this old unbelieving

world when Christ returns it should scare you to death.

The terrors that are going to be poured out on this 

old world are unimaginable.

"And they speak of how you are looking

forward to the coming of God's Son from

heaven - Jesus, whom God raised from the

dead.  He is the one who has rescued us from

the terrors of the coming judgment." 

( 1 Thessalonians 1:10 NLT) 

But catch that last statement.

"He is the one who has rescued us from

the terrors of the coming judgment."

PRAISE GOD.

If my hope and trust is in Jesus Christ and 

the fact that he died for me I do not need to

be terrified of standing before Jesus Christ

in judgement nor of the terrors this old world

is going to have poured out on it.

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

“God took care of His people

who lived by the Word and

had simple faith.”

- A.C. Valdez in

Fire on Azusa Street.

·

 

HOW CAN HE TAKE IT?

HOW CAN HE TAKE IT?

I am thinking of the Apostle Paul.  From the very start of

his Christian life it was a constant fight.  A few days after

Paul's encounter with Jesus God sent Ananias over to pray

for Paul.  God told Ananias when he sent him to Paul;

"And I will show him how much he must

suffer for my name's sake."

(Acts 9:16 NLT)  

If you have read the book of Acts you know that from

the day Paul became a Christian and he begin to speak

out for Christ the Jews tried to kill him.  In fact they kept

trying to kill him in one way or the other thought out 

Paul's entire life.   They would follow him from one town

to another staring up trouble for Paul.

Is it any wonder when I begin reading in 2  Corinthians

Paul said;

"We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond

our ability to endure, and we thought we

would never live through it.  In fact, we

expected to die.  But as a result, we stopped

relying on ourselves and learned to rely on

God, who raises the dead.  And he did rescue

us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us

again."

(2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NLT)

Being as I have lived past my three score and ten

years.  Even well past my four score years I can

so well relate to Pauls comment in 2 Corinthians

chapter five.

"While we live in these earthly bodies, we

groan and sigh, but it's not that we want

to die and get rid of these bodies that

clothe us.  Rather we want to put on our

new bodies so that these dying bodies will

be swallowed up by life." 

(2 Corinthians 5:4 NLT)

So where does Paul go when in a life that is 

constantly trying to destroy him when he is 

discouraged?

"But God, who encourages those who

are discouraged, ..."

(2 Corinthians 7:6 NLT)

Yes, I was sorta at a low point when I read over

all this.

"BUT GOD".

Where do you turn when you are discouraged?

 

TODAY'S PROMISE

 

“So humble yourselves before 

God.  Resist the devil, and he will 

flee from you.  Come close to God 

and God will come close to you.”

(James 4:7,8 NLT)

DIRECTION IN A MIXED UP WORLD

I know.  I know.  I have used this photo before.

But I love it because of the truth contained in it.

This morning while reading Psalms chapter 73

again I was impressed with the questions in the 

mind of the writer.  Was his living for God all

in vain?  He apparently was a poor man trying

to live for God, and all the wicked people seemed

to be having it all.  They were rich, fat, prosperous

and enjoying every minute of it.

You know how it is.  You are barley scrimping

by trying to live for God while corrupt politicians

and business men seem to be getting it all.

But the writer of this Psalms gives us the clue.

"So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.

But what a difficult task it is!

Then I went into your sanctuary O God,

and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.

Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send

them sliding over the cliff to destruction." 

(Psalms 73:16 - 18 NLT) 

   

Today I would hate to even use a Church as an

example of a Sanctuary.  So many are teaching the 

precepts of man rather than the teaching of God.

Our clue is that child in the image.

GET THE BOOK OUT AND READ IT FOR YOURSELF. 

   

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

“A boys’ team hired a wizened fisherman

to take them to an island in a small boat

even though there was a squall.  The boys

prayed.  And the white-capped water smoothed

In front of them.  The amazed man ran ahead

when they landed, calling people to come

hear the young ‘men of God’“.

- Loren Cunningham in

Is That Really You God.