Not Stamped with a Use-By Date

A couple of years ago, Bonnie was talking with our physician about our plan to move into a house with fewer stairs. We both had fallen several times and felt a one-story would be much safer. Our physician said, “That makes sense; at your age, you have to be extremely cautious.” She then added something that made Bonnie freeze, “It is nice that you have someone to be with ‘in your end times’.”

“My end times?” Bonnie repeated to me what the doctor had said. “Holy Moly, I never thought of these as my end times.”

For those who don’t know us, as of this writing, Bonnie is Seventy-three and I am seventy-five (Chronologically). When it comes to our thinking, either of us can be as child-like as a five-year-old or as wise as a sage, depending on what each day presents. To us, a day without laughter is sad.

A wise man once said, “Old age is a state of mind. If you don’t like the state you are in, move!”

Perhaps you recall the story of Abram (later renamed Abraham). He lived to be one hundred seventy-five years old. Abram was seventy-five when he packed up his family and set out for the promised land. Seventy-five! Imagine what we would have missed had he decided he was too old.

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. Genesis 12:4 (NIV)

Feel like you are in your end times? If so, make the most of them. Hear and claim for yourself the words Jeremiah gave to the Israelites: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

Every evening, I call my eighty-eight-year-old sister and ask, “What adventures did you have today?” Our dad used to tell us, “As long as you are green, you continue to grow…That’s biblical:

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green. Psalm 92:12-14

Do you realize that you can be a tremendous natural resource? If you have children and grandchildren, you can share your life experiences with them.
Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.
Proverbs 17:6

You can also share your faith and wisdom with friends and/or caregivers.
Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
Job 12:12

Perhaps Bonnie’s doctor was speaking about the end times rather than Bonnie’s end times. If so, words from the book of Daniel encourage us to be prepared.

“‘Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever. Daniel 12:3 (MSG)

None of us is stamped with a “use-by” date. The end times are just the beginning.
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made
you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

Blessings,
Don & Bonnie Sennott

Image courtesy of justbeingme1.blogspot.com

WHO IS GIVING THE MARCHING ORDERS?

Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. Romans 12:2 (TPT)

The apostle Paul was writing to the church in the First century, but his warning against imitating “the culture around you” is relevant today. I recall reading an article a few years ago in which the author theorized that in a majority, a relatively small number of individuals have strong convictions and the power to champion an issue. To get the majority opinion to change, all an advocate needs to do is sway the thinking of the opinion leaders. This leads to the condition described in Proverbs: Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. Proverbs 18:2 (NLT)

We see evidence of this in the way late-night talk show hosts, athletes, politicians, and other public figures, whose message is contrary to the Word of God, have become opinion leaders. As a result, our nation’s moral standards are being eroded. God is becoming persona non grata in schools, the entertainment industry, news organizations, and even some churches. Things Christians of thirty years ago would have considered an anathema, we now see sanctioned from the pulpit and legitimized in legislation.

It is not an exaggeration to say that many in entertainment, education, the arts, politics — and sadly — in the church seem to be taking their marching orders from Satan.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Who gives us our marching orders? If we are not careful, we can become little more than “pretending” Christians.

Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ’s presence and power more and more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all? 2 Corinthians 13:5 (TLB)

How do we remain authentic? The below verses may help you check your progress as you navigate our broken world:

Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ.
So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always. Philippians 4:6-8 (TPT)

Are you familiar with the term “Stinking thinking?” Those negative, condemning thoughts that slip into our minds are part of Satan’s effort to keep us from knowing the joy that is found in a relationship with Christ. The devil wants to keep our focus on what we may have been instead of on what we are becoming.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

So, move onward Christian soldier, remembering it is the King of glory who gives us our marching orders.

Who is the King of glory? The Lord of Heaven’s Armies— he is the King of glory.
Psalm 24:10 (NLT)

Blessings,
Don & Bonnie Sennott
Authors of Your Heart is an Open Book: Finding Answers in God’s Word
Image courtesy of Globalawareness101.org