Daily Living for Seniors

[Judy Harder]

How to persevere through any trial

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:12

As a young man, film director Robert Flaherty spent many months in the far north looking for iron ore and cod. He found neither, but he did shoot 70,000 feet of film in his travels. Someone encouraged him to edit the film and make a documentary, which Flaherty spent weeks doing.

But just as he finished, a match from his cigarette dropped among the celluloid, consuming the entire film and burning Flaherty badly. His response to the disaster was a determination to return to the far north and make a film of Eskimo life "that people will never forget." He did just that, and the result was the classic 1922 documentary Nanook of the North.

What Robert's story can teach us today is that setbacks are going to take place in life. We're going to experience health problems. Finances won't always be as abundant as we'd like. And, relationships will be strained at times. Yet it's not those trials that define us, but how we persevere through them with hopeful, prayerful patience that God is going to do something great.

When others look at your life, they won't define you by your struggles, but how you faithfully persevered through them. So whatever you might be facing today, know that in Christ, you have everything you need to keep going forward with your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would help you stay true and faithful when struggles come your way.

Questions for Thought

In what areas of your life today are you experiencing trials? Are you struggling to persevere?

What does it look like for you to joyfully, prayerfully persevere through those trials?

[Judy Harder]

How to avoid being tempted to sin

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16

Picture yourself walking on a set of train tracks when a train starts coming at you from behind. If the train engineer sees you on a track, he or she will blow the whistle. But at this point, you already have a few things going against you.

First, train engineers say often it takes more than one blast to get the average person's attention. And large trains can't stop the way motor vehicles can because the average freight train has about 100 cars, weighs 12 million pounds, and takes a full mile to stop.

Not only that, but an optical illusion happens with train tracks. When you turn around and see a train coming, it looks as if it is traveling half as fast, and is two times farther away from you than it really is. For example, if it is going 60 miles per hour and is half a mile away, it looks as if it is traveling 30 mph and is one mile away.

Now it's easy to read those facts above and come to the logical conclusion that walking along train tracks is unsafe. Yet in the spiritual life, many people are content to walk along the train tracks of sin, which is much more elusive and dangerous than a train on a set of tracks!

Whatever your sin struggle is, don't walk on the tracks. Avoid the sin that could potentially entangle you by guarding yourself against temptation!

Prayer Challenge

Pray and ask God to give you the strength to resist sin, especially the sin in your life that is particularly tempting.

Questions for Thought

What are some sins in your life that could potentially sneak up on you if you're not looking?

How can you take action to avoid temptation to commit those sins?

[Judy Harder]

What baggage are you carrying?

"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." - Jeremiah 29:11

Many Christians today treat their spiritual life like motor homes. You see, the motor home has allowed us to put all the conveniences of our normal life on wheels. A camper no longer needs to contend with sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, or hauling water from a stream. Now he can park a fully equipped home in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water line, a sewer line, and electricity.

Many people buy motor homes with the hope of seeing new places and getting out into the world. Yet when they deck it out with the same furnishings as their living room and never set foot outside of it, nothing really changes. They drive to new places, set themselves in new surroundings, but they've only carried along their old baggage!

Real life in Christ begins when we let go of the comfortable patterns of our old life and embrace a newness of life that, while it may be different, is so much better.

Maybe today you'd have to admit that you've carried your familiar old habits with you into your relationship with Christ. You're hanging onto those old habits because they're just comfortable. Don't treat your spiritual life like a motor home. Instead, make it an adventure, living each day fully dependent on God to meet your needs!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would help you break free from old patterns of negative behavior and live a new life in Christ.

Questions for Thought

What are some old patterns of behavior you've carried with you into your Christian life?

What would it look like for you to let go of those old behaviors and live fully dependent on God for fulfillment?

[Judy Harder]

Can you trust the mediator?

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. - 1 Timothy 2:5

A folk story is told of the bandit Jose Rivera who became notorious in several little towns in Texas for robbing banks and businesses. Finally a Texas Ranger caught up with Jose as he was taking a siesta at a local saloon.

He walked over to the sleeping bandit, tapped him on the shoulder, and asked, "Are you Jose Rivera?" The man mumbled, "No speak English." The ranger beckoned a young barkeep to help him communicate. The ensuing conversation was tedious. Finally, the ranger warned Jose Rivera that he had two choices: let him know where all the loot was hidden, or be shot dead instantly. The young man translated the ultimatum.

Jose Rivera pulled himself together and said to the young man, "Tell him to go out of the bar, turn to the right, go about a mile, and he will see a well. Near the well he will see a very tall tree. If he digs on the north side of the tree, he will find all of the money I have taken."

The young man turned to the ranger, opened his mouth, paused, and then said, "Jose Rivera says, 'Go ahead and shoot!'"

Very often, we find ourselves reliant on an intermediary to transmit a message to us. Yet the reliability of the message we receive is only as good as the mediator. But in Christ, we have a perfect mediator, who gave us the message of eternal life that came from God. So thank God today for sending Jesus as the perfect mediator that we may know Him!

Prayer Challenge

Thank God that He sent Jesus Christ to be a mediator so that you can know Him!

Questions for Thought

What does it mean to you that God sent a mediator, Jesus Christ, so that you can have a relationship with Him?

How can you let others know that God has made Himself accessible through Christ?

[Judy Harder]

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. - Hebrews 13:2

Today's verse is fascinating. Because according to the writer of Hebrews, you and I have the chance to entertain angels when we open our homes up to strangers!

But more than opening yourself up to entertaining angels, being hospitable and serving others is a tangible way you can show the love of Christ to those who don't know Him. In fact, Christ commanded that we should love our neighbors as ourselves (see Matt. 22:39).

As you get older, serving and entertaining does become more difficult. But there are still ways you can love your neighbor without exhausting yourself. For instance, doing little things like letting someone merge into your lane in traffic or simply talking to someone who appears lonely. It doesn't take much energy to show someone you love and care about them!

Today, think about ways you can serve and be hospitable towards others. And remember, you just might be serving an angel!

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask God to give you creative ways to serve and entertain others who may not know Him.

[Judy Harder]

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. - Titus 2:2

Few passages in Scripture apply to older men exclusively. Which is why I'm so grateful the Lord gave us today's verse!

After listing the attributes of a qualified elder in the church, Paul instructs Titus on the character of mature men in general. He first lists three qualities: temperance, dignity, and self-control. Then, he follows that with three areas in which senior men should be grounded: faith, love, and endurance.

All of these qualities work in concert with each other. Temperance indicates a level of restraint. You should practice moderation. If you cannot exercise this quality, you'll certainly risk undignified behavior. It could even result in public embarrassment and loss of respect. Such actions do not indicate self-control.

Older men should also strive to be "sound in faith, in love and in endurance." James 1 tells us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. If you are grounded in your faith, then a natural side-effect should be spiritual endurance. Paul also reiterates the importance of love. We are always to be acting from a position of love.

Men, look at these qualities. Examine them as a checklist. How are you doing in each of these areas? Where could you use a little more work? In what area do you have consistent success? Tomorrow, I'll turn my attention and focus on the Paul's characteristics for older women.

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask God for strength in the area you are most lacking. Then thank Him for success in the area where you are most unwavering!

[Judy Harder]

Trusting Christ when it means rejection

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ. - Philippians 3:8

At his father's funeral, American track and field star Carl Lewis placed his 100-meter gold medal from the 1984 Olympics in his father's grave. "Don't worry," he told his surprised mother. "I'll get another one."

A year later, in the 100-meter final at the 1988 games, Lewis was competing against Canadian world record holder Ben Johnson. Halfway through the race, Johnson was still five feet in front. Lewis was convinced he could catch him. But at 80 meters, he was still five feet behind. "It's over," Lewis thought. As Johnson crossed the finish, he stared back at Lewis and thrust his right arm in the air, index finger extended.

Lewis was exasperated. He had noticed Johnson's bulging muscles and yellow-tinged eyes, both indications of steroid use. "I didn't have the medal, but I could still give to my father by acting with class and dignity," Lewis said later. He shook Johnson's hand and left the track.

Then came the announcement that Johnson had tested positive for anabolic steroids. He was stripped of his medal. The gold went to Lewis, a replacement for the medal he had given his father.

There are times that standing firm for what you believe will result in you losing. You might lose respect from those you want to please. You could lose a job. You may even lose friendships. But when the pressure is on, stand firm in your faith knowing that a better reward is on the way!

Prayer Challenge

Pray and ask God to help you do what's right even when it means losing something. And thank Him that a much better reward is on the way!

Questions for Thought

As you think back on your life, are there times when being a believer in Christ has cost you something?

What would your life look like today if you had no fear of rejection and lived fully for Christ?

[Judy Harder]

Keeping your focus where it belongs

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. - Colossians 3:2

A pastor tells a story of how he spent a summer teaching in Mexico and took both of his children with him. To pass the time as they drove, his 13-year-old son watched for license plates. The trip to Mexico netted him plates from 24 states!

So when they started back, the son was almost halfway to having seen plates from all 50 states. And their return trip would take them through Yellowstone National Park—a license plate collector's paradise. By the morning of the second day there, he had just one more state to go: Delaware.

When the three stopped to see Yellowstone's magnificent sights, the boy wouldn't even glance at them. He preferred to run up and down the parking lots, looking at license plates. He had become so obsessed with finding that Delaware plate, it was as if his life depended on it. When they stopped near the picturesque Yellowstone Falls, he kept looking for license plates.

"Come here! You've got to see it!" the father heard. As they ran to the parking lot, they saw a blue Volkswagen bus with Delaware license plates. The family still has that picture, and even today, that picture that tells more about what they did in Yellowstone than anything else.

It's easy to become so focused on the petty things of life that you miss the big things that really matter. So don't let life's distractions keep you from focusing on God. Instead, concentrate on what really matters in life: knowing God and making Him known!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would reveal to you the things in your life that compete for His attention and ask Him to help you focus on Him over and above everything else.

Questions for Thought

What are some things in your life today that are competing for God's attention?

How can you put those things into perspective so that you don't miss God because of trivial things?

[Judy Harder]

Is knowledge enough to save?

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. - James 2:19

When General Douglas MacArthur was a young West Point student, he was asked to give a report on a section of reading about the time-space relationship later formulated by Einstein as his Theory of Relativity. The reading was incredibly complex and, being unable to comprehend it, MacArthur committed the pages to memory.

When he was called upon to give his report, he solemnly reeled off almost word for word what the book said. The instructor looked at him somewhat quizzically and asked, "Do you understand this theory?"

"No, sir." You could've heard a pin drop in the lecture hall. The student braced himself and waited. And then the slow words of the professor: "Neither do I, Mr. MacArthur. Section dismissed."

Is often easy to know something without understanding or accepting it. You can know that Jesus Christ came to earth, died for your sins, and rose again, but never really accept it for yourself. Today's passage says even demons believe the things of God, but they are certainly not saved by it!

Instead of just letting the Bible be head knowledge, know it in your heart. Meditate on God's Word so that it becomes more than what you believe, but what you truly accept!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would give you eyes to see and ears to hear and accept His message of salvation.

Questions for Thought

Throughout most of your life, would you say you've been more of a "knower" or an "accepter" of the things of God?

What can you do to move from simple head knowledge to a heart knowledge of the Gospel?

[Judy Harder]

The incredible value of what God's given you

However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived"—the things God has prepared for those who love him. - 1 Corinthians 2:9

When the Western Union company asked the great inventor Thomas Edison to "name his price" for the ticker he had invented, Edison asked for a few days to think it over. His wife suggested he ask for $20,000, but Edison thought that was too much.

So when the time came for the meeting, the Western Union official asked Edison for his price. Edison wanted to say $20,000, but couldn't get the words out of his mouth. So the official broke the silence. "Well, how about $100,000?"

It's sometimes easy to undervalue things that haven't come to full fruition yet. Edison hadn't really seen the full potential of his world-changing invention, so he wasn't aware of its incredible value. The same is often true of salvation. You see, no living person has seen what God has prepared for those who love Him, but its true value is beyond what anyone could imagine.

As a believer, what you have in Jesus Christ is the most valuable thing in the world. Yet there are still those who take it for granted, using it as license to live as they please. But a Christian who knows its value will live every day in thankfulness to the glory of God.

Live today in light of your salvation, giving thanks to God and doing everything to bring honor to Him!

Prayer Challenge

Thank God for His saving work in you and pray your life would bring glory to Him!

Questions for Thought

What are some times in your life when you might have taken God's salvation for granted?

What would it look like for you to live each day in thankfulness, bringing honor and glory to Him?