Daily Living for Seniors

[Judy Harder]

The profound impact of human connection

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. - Romans 12:10

There was a woman who always went to a certain post office in her town because the postal employees there were just so friendly. One year just before Christmas, she walked in to buy a book of stamps, and the lines were particularly long.

Another customer waiting next to her in line pointed out that there was no need to wait because the post office had installed a stamp machine in the lobby. "I know," said the woman, "but that machine won't ask me about my arthritis."

So often today in our world of mass communication and high-efficiency processes, it's easy to miss the human connection that's so badly needed in our lives. And sadly, this has even become the case in many of our churches, where people get in and get out as quickly as they can in order to jump back into their busy schedules.

But what a remarkable change we would see in our world today if we slowed down a step to talk to others. Instead of rushing out of the store, what if you asked the clerk how her day was going? Instead of hurrying to meet a deadline a work, what if you stopped to wish the secretary a good morning?

A simple human connection can do amazing things in your life and in the lives of others. So as you go throughout your day, don't let busyness get in the way of the important task of connecting with others!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would remind you to slow down a bit each day and spend quality time connecting with others.

[Judy Harder]

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. --Colossians 3:12

A man waiting in between flights at an airport went to a store and bought a small package of cookies. He then sat down in the waiting area to read his newspaper. Gradually, he became aware of a rustling noise next to him. From behind his paper, he was shocked to see a neatly dressed woman helping herself to his cookies sitting in the next seat.

Not wanting to cause problems or make a scene out of the situation, the man leaned over and took a cookie himself from the package. A couple of minutes passed and then came more rustling. The woman was helping herself to another cookie!

By this time, the man was so angry he had a good mind to tell her off for digging in his things. Then, as if to add insult to injury, the woman broke the last cookie into two pieces, pushed half across to the man, ate the other half, and left.

Still fuming when his flight was announced, the man opened his briefcase to get his ticket. And to his embarrassment, there he found his package of unopened cookies!

How wrong our assumptions can be sometimes. Christ has called us to demonstrate kindness and love toward others in all situations—even those such as the one mentioned above.

"'Let...the wise man boast...that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

If the Lord delights in kindness, so should we. In any situation, remember to take hold of and possess the qualities of kindness and brotherly love that our Lord demonstrates so you can be an effective witness to others (see 2 Peter 1:5-8).

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask the Lord to remind you to practice kindness toward others and to be an effective witness in all situations.

[Judy Harder]

The destructive power of unforgiveness

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." - Matthew 6:12

The famous writer Leo Tolstoy thought he was getting his marriage off on the right foot when he asked his fiancée Sonya to read his diaries, detailing all of his sexual indiscretions. Instead, Tolstoy's confession sowed the seeds for a marriage that would be held together by bitterness, not love. Sonya wrote in her diary, "When he kisses me I'm always thinking, 'I'm not the first woman he has loved.'"

Some of his adolescent flings she could forgive, but not his affair with a particular peasant woman who continued to work on the Tolstoy estate. Another diary entry dates from January 14, 1909. "He relishes that peasant wench with her strong female body and her sunburnt legs, she allures him just as powerfully now as she did all those years ago..."

Sonya wrote those words when this peasant woman was eighty years old. For half a century, jealousy and unforgiveness blinded her and destroyed all love for her husband.

It's difficult to truly comprehend the power of unforgiveness. Years, even decades, after a person was wronged, he or she can hold onto bitterness so tightly that it is as if it happened yesterday.

But God calls us to a higher level of forgiveness, one that understands our own brokenness before Him and forgives others because we were first forgiven. So instead of holding onto bitterness, let it go. Allow God to soften your heart and forgive others because you were first forgiven!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would reveal areas of unforgiveness in your life and give you the strength to forgive others who may have wronged you.

Questions for Thought

As you think back, are there people in your life against whom you still harbor bitterness and unforgiveness?

What would your life look like if it exemplified the forgiveness toward others that God has already shown to you?

[Judy Harder]

Exposing the misconception of meekness

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." - Matthew 5:5

So often today, the Christian value of meekness is overlooked, and often times completely disregarded. Much of this attitude has come about as a result of Christians who misunderstand what meekness really is.

On this subject, the great author A. W. Tozer wrote,

"The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In himself, nothing; in God, everything. That is his motto."

A meek person is not one with an inferiority complex. He is quite the opposite. Meekness is a characteristic within a person which creates boldness and strength, yet at the same time causes that person to humbly understand that everything good in him comes from God, not himself.

Jesus only gave the promise to inherit the earth to one group of people: the meek. So as you live your life, be both bold and strong in your faith while also humble and quiet in your boasting. Be meek... because the reward is great!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would give you boldness in your faith while at the same time giving you a humble heart. Pray for meekness, and you'll inherit the earth!

[Judy Harder]

Are you living a productive life?

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. - Psalm 119:15-16

The story goes that the great entrepreneur Henry Ford once hired an efficiency expert to evaluate his company. This man came into his factories and offices to assess the efficiency level of the workers. After a few weeks, the expert made his report, which was highly favorable except for one thing.

"It's that man down the hall," said the expert. "Every time I go by his office he's just sitting there with his feet on his desk. He's wasting your money!"

Mr. Ford replied, "That man once had an idea that saved us millions of dollars. At the time, I believe his feet were planted right where they are now. He's staying put!"

In today's world, our society measures effectiveness by task completion. If you get all your tasks done in a day that were on your list, then the day was productive. But if you've fallen short of your task list, then the day was unproductive. It rarely matters what else you accomplished. You're measured on your tasks.

But think of all the great ideas that have come about very likely because someone just stopped to think. Albert Einstein... Ben Franklin... Leonardo da Vinci... all of these great minds spent significant time simply thinking!

There's nothing wrong with tasks, but don't let them run your life. Spend daily time meditating on God and His truth because that's the path to truly finding wisdom!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would release you from letting tasks overtake your life. Ask Him to speak to you as you spend quiet time meditating on Him.

[Judy Harder]

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. --Hebrews 13:8

When American author Lloyd C. Douglas was a university student, he lived in a boarding house. Downstairs on the first floor was a retired music teacher who lived in a small apartment.

Every morning, Douglas claimed they went through the same ritual. He would come down the steps, open the old man's door, and ask, "Well, what's the news?"

The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of his wheelchair, and say, "That's Middle C! It was Middle C yesterday; it will be Middle C tomorrow; it will be Middle C a thousand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat, the piano across the hall is out of tune, but my friend, that is Middle C!"

The old man had discovered one thing in his life upon which he could always depend—Middle C. For Christians, the one constant and absolute in this life, of which there is no shadow of changing, is Jesus Christ.

The Bible says that "because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. ... We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:17, 19). God sent His Son to die on the cross so that we might have eternal life with Him. He made a promise, and He kept it.

Because of this, we can rest assured that God will never change. He is ever-present when trouble comes barreling in. He is all-powerful to do exactly as He has promised. And He is all-knowing, and we should never worry because He is in control. He is the same "yesterday and today and forever."

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Thank God for being the constant reality in your life.

[Judy Harder]

Jesus said]: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ... If they persecute me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. --John 15:18-20

What is a Christian? In the Letter to Diognetus, dating back to the second century, an anonymous writer described Christians:

"Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language, or customs; ...they do not live in cities of their own, or speak some strange dialect. ... They live in both Greek and foreign cities....They follow local customs in clothing, food, and the other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the unusual form of their own citizenship.

"They live in their own native lands, but as aliens. ... They marry and have children...but they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table, but not a shared bed. They are passing their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey the appointed laws and go beyond the laws in their own lives.

"They love everyone, but are persecuted by all. They are put to death and gain life. They are poor and yet make many rich. They are dishonored and yet gain glory through dishonor. ... They are mocked and blessed in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others.

"When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when punished, they rejoice as if being given new life. They are attacked by Jews...and are persecuted by Greeks; yet those who hate them cannot give any reason for their hostility."

If you are a believer, the Bible commands you "...not [to] conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12:2). And you can expect the world to hate you as a result (see 1 John 3:13). Continue to be sanctified by the truth of God's Word and be in the world but not of it (see John 2:15).

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Pray that God would empower you to always be set apart, even when the world hates you, so that others can see the difference Jesus has made in your life.

[Judy Harder]

How to learn Scripture with the right motives

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. - Psalm 119:11

A story is told of a village church in Kalonovka, Russia, where attendance at Sunday school picked up after the priest started handing out candy to the peasant children. One of the most faithful was a pug-nosed, pugnacious lad who recited his Scriptures with proper piety, pocketed his reward, then fled into the fields to munch on it.

The priest took a liking to the boy and persuaded him to attend church school by offering other incentives. There, the priest managed to teach the boy the four Gospels. In fact, this little boy won a special prize for learning all four by heart and reciting them nonstop in church!

Fast forward 60 years, and the boy still loved to recite Scriptures, but in a context that would horrify the old priest. For the prized pupil who memorized so much of the Bible is Nikita Khrushchev, the former Communist czar. The same little lad who nimbly mouthed God's Word as a child later declared God to be nonexistent.

Khrushchev memorized the Scripture for the rewards rather than for the meaning it had for his life. Artificial motivation will produce artificial results. So as you learn the Word of God, keep your motives pure and make it an exercise of both your heart and your mind!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to keep your motives pure when it comes to learning His Word. Pray that He would help you absorb it into your heart as well as your mind!

[Judy Harder]

Are you fully available to God?

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. - 1 John 3:16

The famous author Patsy Clairmont was sitting next to a young man on an airplane. She had already observed something remarkable about this young man... he called her "Ma'am." Concluding he was from either from the south or in the service, she decided the latter was the most likely choice.

"What branch of the service are you in?" she asked.

"The Marines. I'm just coming back from a year and a half tour in Desert Storm. My family will be meeting me at the airport."

Clairmont commented that he must have thought about returning to his family and home many times while he was in the Middle East.

"Oh, no, Ma'am," the soldier replied. "We were taught never to think of what might never be, but to be fully available right where we were."

When it comes to living out God's calling in your life, are you fully available right where you are? Or, do you play it safe, sitting on the fence and not wanting to be too committed for the fear of looking like a "fanatic"?

God's calling in your life is of the utmost importance. So just like a soldier, lay down yourself each day and be fully available to accomplish His mission for your life!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to help you be fully available to His calling, willing to forsake everything you have to fulfill His mission for your life.

[Judy Harder]

How you can experience a complete transformation

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior.

As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out all of the garbage.

"Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I'm going to build something completely different. I don't want the building; I want the site!"

Apart from the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as tidying up a warehouse that's slated for the wrecking ball. You see, when you trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, the old life is over and the new life takes over (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When you come to Christ, you give God the site and allow Him to begin His renovating work in your life. So instead of trying to clean up your own life before you trust Jesus, place your faith in Him today because that's where the remodeling begins!

Prayer Challenge

Pray and tell God that you are giving Him your life. Ask Him to renovate you from top to bottom and transform your life in every way!