Daily Living for Seniors

[Judy Harder]

Remaining faithful through persecution

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted... - 2 Timothy 3:12

In 1857, archaeologists digging in the remains of a boarding school in Rome found a picture dating from the third century. It shows a boy standing with his hand raised and worshipping a figure on a cross that looks like a man with the head of a donkey. Scrawled below in the writing of a young person are the words, "Alexamenos worships his God."

In an adjacent room, a second inscription was also found that says, "Alexamenos is faithful." Apparently, a young man who was a Christian was being mocked by his schoolmates for his faithful witness. Yet despite the fact that they made fun of his beliefs, they couldn't deny his faithfulness as a follower of Christ.

Since the inception of our faith, those who have followed it most closely have been persecuted for their devotion. Yet despite arguing against the content of what we worship, the world can never question the genuineness of those who are truly committed to honoring God with their entire lives.

For those who are firmly committed to the cause of Christ, persecution is guaranteed. But remember that while the world may hate you for what you believe, it can never explain away your faithfulness toward Jesus Christ!

Prayer Challenge

Thank God for the faith He's given you. Pray that despite persecution, He would strengthen you in your belief and that the watching world would be in awe of your faithfulness.

[Judy Harder]

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 3:14

On July 4, 1952, a young woman named Florence Chadwick waded into the water off Catalina Island. On the fog-covered morning, she intended to swim the channel from the island to the California coast.

Florence wasn't a rookie when it came to long-distance swimming. She had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. But the water was numbing cold that morning and the fog was so thick she could hardly see two feet in front of her. Several times, sharks had to be driven away with rifle fire from the boats in her party.

She swam for more than fifteen hours before she asked to be taken out of the water. Her trainer coaxed her to swim on since they were so close to land, but all Florence saw ahead was the thick fog. She quit only half a mile from her goal.

Later she said, "I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land, I might have made it."

Florence didn't fail because of fear, exhaustion, or the cold water. It was the fog.

We often fail too—not because we're afraid or tired—but because we lose sight of the goal. This is surely why Paul wanted to remind believers to "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [you] heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).

Two months after her failed attempt at swimming the length of the channel, Florence waded into the water off the same beach on Catalina Island, swam the full distance, and set a new speed record—all because she could clearly see her goal.

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask God to clearly present you with the goals He wants you to strive toward. Pray that He would make your path clear in fulfilling His call in your life.

[Judy Harder]

What to do when life knocks you down

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. - Hebrews 10:36

A story is told that Andrew Jackson's boyhood friends just couldn't understand how he became a famous general and then President of the United States. They knew of other men who had greater talent, but never succeeded like little "Andy" did.

One of Jackson's friends said, "Why, Jim Brown was not only smarter, but he could beat Andy three times out of four in a wrestling match. But look where Andy is now." Another friend responded, "How did there happen to be a fourth time? Didn't they usually say three times and you're out in wrestling?"

"Sure, they were supposed to, but not Andy. He would never admit he was beat. Jim Brown would get tired, and on the fourth try Andy would always beat him."

Picking up on that idea, it's been said, "The thing that counts is not how many times you are beat, but whether you are willing to stay that way." In life, you will face setbacks, but what really matters is whether or not you take courage and go forward in faith despite the challenges and even defeats you will encounter.

The real battle is the Lord's. So when it comes to facing life's struggles, get back up when you get hit because in Christ, your victory is already won!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to give you the strength to get back up when life knocks you down and remind you that your victory is already won!

[Judy Harder]

Waiting Patiently for God's Perfect Timing

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. - 1 John 5:14

There was a family who had a small Scottish terrier who would go to their back door and bark and bark until someone finally got the message and let it out. One day, a handyman had come to do some work on the house while everyone else was gone. That little dog took up his station at the back door and barked incessantly all day.

When the family returned home to find the handyman finishing up, he told them about how the dog had been barking all day at the door. The homeowner told him that his neighbors had said the same thing. "The sad thing is," the owner said, "it never occurs to the little guy that all his barking is totally useless when no one's home to hear!"

The Christian prayer life can sometimes feel like that little dog, can't it? You pray and pray, and often years can go by with no answer until you begin to wonder, "Is anyone even home up there?"

But God's timing is perfect. He knows what you need and when you need it. His timing for answering prayer is never early and never late. So instead of becoming discouraged that no one is hearing your prayers, remember that God knows what's best and will always work everything out for those who love Him!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to teach you patience as you wait for His perfect timing to answer your prayers.

[Judy Harder]

What if you're wrong?

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. - Romans 12:3

For centuries, people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Anyone, of course, at any time, could've taken a heavy object and a light one and dropped them both from a great height to see whether or not the heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years after Aristotle's death.

In 1589, Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight at the same time. To their amazement, both landed at the very same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right!

Modern physics today proves Galileo was correct. Yet it's astonishing that these learned men, despite seeing reality before their eyes, would rather assume their preconceptions were correct than accept a new idea.

Very often, it's our preconceptions and prejudices that cause division among the body of Christ. Even some of the most faithful men and women are guilty of assuming their way of doing things is the right way simply because that's how it's always been done. But true humility pushes our own agendas to the side and puts God's agenda first.

So instead of leaning on what you've always thought, trust in what the Bible says is true with fresh eyes, putting your own preconceived notions aside and promoting unity among believers instead of division.

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to show you areas where you've assumed your way is the only way. Pray that He would release you from that and be a force for unity among the body of Christ.

[Judy Harder]

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.  --Psalm 119:105

Bob Mumford gives a great analogy on how you can discover God's will in his book, Take Another Look at Guidance. He says that one particular harbor in Italy can be reached only by sailing up a narrow channel between very dangerous rocks and shoals. Numerous ships have sunk over the years because the passage is so hazardous.

To alleviate this danger, three lights have been mounted on three tall poles in the harbor to guide the ships safely into port. When these lights are lined up perfectly and seen as one, a ship can proceed safely up the narrow channel to its destination. But if the ship's pilot sees two or three lights, he knows he's off course and in danger.

In his book, Mumford says that God has also provided three beacons to guide us in our spiritual journey down life's narrow and often perilous path. The same rules of navigation apply to us as believers. Three lights must be lined up for us to proceed safely.

The three harbor lights of spiritual guidance are:

1. The Word of God
2. The Holy Spirit
3. Circumstances

God uses the combination of these to lead us on our journey through the often difficult passages of life.

Are you on the right path? Or have you fallen off course? When we follow this three-point navigational path along our spiritual journey, we know that God will lead us safely in His way.

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask God to direct you along the path He wants you to take. Pray that He would reveal the three harbor lights of spiritual guidance to you each and every day as you journey through life.

[Judy Harder]

Jesus said]: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."  --Matthew 23:27-28

At her launch in 1936, the Queen Mary was the largest ship to sail the oceans. She served faithfully for four decades, even through a world war, until she was retired in a Long Beach, California harbor.

After her retirement, she was transformed into a hotel and museum. During the conversion, she was given a complete facelift. Her three gigantic smokestacks were taken down to be scraped and repainted. But once on the dock, they crumbled as soon as the makeover began.

Nothing was left of the ¾-inch steel plates that had once formed the stacks. All that remained were more than thirty coats of paint, which had been applied over the 40 years she was at sea. The steel had rusted away and left the stacks without substance.

Similarly, when Jesus called the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs," He meant they had no substance. They were merely concerned with externals...how they appeared before others. Jesus said, "On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Matthew 23:28).

Oh that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, would never be compared to the Pharisees! As children of the King, we must "first clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean" (Matthew 23:26).

The Scripture says God does not look at outward appearances or the things that man looks at, but instead He looks at the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7). Seek daily a pure heart and your outward appearance will reflect your inner beauty and God's love.

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask God to cleanse and purify your heart, removing anything unclean from your life. Pray that He would create in you the inner beauty of His love,shining through to a lost world.

[Judy Harder]

Avoiding the danger of overconfidence in yourself

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.... - Philippians 3:3

When it comes to overconfidence, golf legend Arnold Palmer recalls a tough lesson he once learned in a tournament:

"It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot. I felt I was in pretty good shape. As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, 'Congratulations.'

"I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus. On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green. I missed a putt and lost the Masters.

"You don't forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again. I haven't in the 30 years since."

It can be easy to act like Arnold Palmer on that day and put too much confidence in yourself for faithful obedience. But the truth is that no one has the ability alone to live the Christian life. We're just not good enough to do that!

Don't make the mistake of becoming overconfident in your ability to obey Christ. Instead, trust in Jesus to live out a life of faithful obedience through you. That's how you can honor God with your life!

Prayer Challenge

Ask Jesus to live out faithful obedience through you so that you can honor God with your life!

[Judy Harder]

Are you too easily satisfied?

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. - 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

Over 2,000 years ago, a young Greek artist named Timanthes studied under a respected tutor. After several years, the teacher's efforts seemed to have paid off when Timanthes painted an exquisite work of art. Unfortunately, he became so enraptured with the painting that he spent days gazing at it.

One morning when he arrived to admire his work, he was shocked to find it blotted out with paint. Angry, Timanthes ran to his teacher, who admitted he had destroyed the painting. "I did it for your own good. That painting was slowing your progress. Start again and see if you can do better."

Timanthes took his teacher's advice and produced Sacrifice of Iphigenia, which is regarded as one of the finest paintings of antiquity. Yet he never would've painted such a masterpiece had he remained too easily satisfied with what he'd done up to that point.

When it comes to their relationship with Christ, Christians all too often remain so satisfied with where they are that they forget where they need to be going. This was the apostle Paul's point in today's passage, where he told the Corinthians they needed to move beyond the status quo and grow in their walk with Christ.

Maybe today you've found yourself so easily satisfied with how things are that you're not growing in your faith. Look ahead. God has something great in store for you if you're willing to grow in Him!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would not let you be too easily satisfied with how you are today and help you look forward to growing in Christ!

[Judy Harder]

Fostering inclusiveness in the Body of Christ

Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. - Colossians 3:11

One Sunday morning in 1865, a black man entered a prominent and fashionable church in Richmond, Virginia. When Communion was served, he walked down the aisle and knelt at the altar. A rustle of resentment swept the congregation. How dare he! After all, believers in that church used a common cup to take communion.

Then all of a sudden, a very distinguished layman stood up, walked forward to the altar, and knelt beside the black man. It was Confederate General Robert E. Lee. With General Lee setting the example, the rest of the congregation soon followed his lead and joined the two in communion.

Since the Civil Rights movement began, our nation and our culture have been become dramatically more inclusive in terms of race. People of all races learn together, eat together, ride on the bus together, and worship together. What wonderful progress our country has made!

Yet despite this overall change in attitude, racism and ethnocentrism still persist among many individuals and communities today. But God's Word tells us that in Christ, everyone has been made one. Our standing in Christ isn't determined by our skin color, our culture, or our country of origin. We're all one in Jesus!

As Christians, it's our role to be an antidote against prejudice by accepting all people of all colors into the fold of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ!

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to help you identify and eliminate prejudice attitudes in your life.

Questions for Thought

Over your lifetime, has God worked in your heart when it comes to your attitudes toward people of other races?

How can you help foster racial inclusiveness in our nation and our churches today?