BiblicalInsights.net

     I have just uploaded a new book review.  The book is titled, Already Gone and is written by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer with collaborator Todd Hillard.  This book explores the reasons why 20 somethings are leaving mainline religious groups and becoming inactive.  One thousand individuals were surveyed from fifteen different religious groups including some from the church of Christ. Two different groups of those becoming inactive were discovered.  One of these groups did not have faith in the Bible’s historical record of events and another lost confidence in churches that did not live the Word of God.  Ham and Beemer discovered that young people were buying into secular humanism and postmodernism (relevancy of truth, feelings over reason). 
    The authors recommend a remedy of teaching the Word of God, defending the Word of God and living the Word of God.  This book is worth reading for an understanding of how secular humanism and postmodernism undermine confidence in God’s Word.

     Are you afraid to grow old?  Many fear aging because of the negative aspects related to it.  Some of these are:  loss of health, diminished activities that make us feel worthwhile, loss of physical abilities, loss of friends and social structure.  We associate aging with loss and we fear, even dread, getting older. 
     Why not embrace old age and make the best of these years?  As you get older you don’t just decay, you grow.  You grow in knowledge and experience.  You grow in understanding who you are and your purpose for being here.  Character counts at all times and in every aspect of our lives.  It is invaluable in old age.  Here are some qualities that will help you grow old gracefully.
     First, you need dignity.  Dignity is our sense of worthiness.  Ultimately, our sense of self worth comes from the fact that we are created in the image of God and that we are in covenant relationship with God (we are a Christian).  Speaking of Christians, Paul states, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).  Physically, God made us special through the act of creation.  Spiritually, God makes us special through the act of redemption!  Pride is an enemy of dignity.  Grudges, ill-will, and mean-spiritedness will ruin old age.
     Second, you need courage.  Courage is the conviction to do what is right in the face of danger or difficulty.  The fear of loss associated with old age can be overcome through courage.  As we become more infirm physically, it is possible for Christians to become stronger spiritually.  “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16).  Fear is the opposite of courage.  Lovelessness is the opposite of courage.  Paul declares that love “beareth all things” (I Cor. 13:7).  Love is strong.  Unbelief is the opposite of courage.  Faith in God makes us courageous (Heb. 11:33-40). 
     Third, you need humor.  “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Prov. 17:22).  Don’t take yourself too seriously.  Be optimistic.  Love believeth all things and hopeth all things (I Cor. 13:7).  The opposite of optimism is dread and pessimism.  Is the glass half-empty or half-full?  You decide.
     Fourth, you need meekness.  We must face life with good emotion.  Meekness is an inner strength that is closely associated with humility.  It is not weakness.  Meekness helps us cope with change.  When we are faced with burdens to bear, we can bear them by using all of the resources available to us as Christians.  We supply our own strength.  We get help from fellow Christians (Gal. 6:1-2) and we take our burdens to the Lord (I Pet. 5:7).
     Fifth, you need love.  Love enhances all that we are and all that we do (I Cor. 13:1-3).  Love is broken down by Paul through the prism of inspiration into sixteen constituent elements (I Cor. 13:4-8).  “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, charity never faileth…”  
     Sixth, you need a sense of importance. Why do people say, “Oh, to be young again.”  Perhaps the answer is unsatisfied lives.  Lives that haven’t found meaning.  The purpose for which God created us was twofold.  First, God created us so He could delight in us and have fellowship with us.  Second, God created us so that we could glorify Him (Rev. 4:11).  Christians fulfill their redemptive purpose as well whenever they glorify God in their bodies and in their spirits (I Cor. 6:20).  We find true meaning in life by serving God and others.  Don’t be selfish and self-centered.
     Seventh, you need relationships.  People are important.  They are more important than material things.  If you want to grow old gracefully, invest in your family, friends, neighbors and brothers and sisters in Christ.  You can’t substitute material things for love.  In old age, be generous in giving and receiving love. 
     The best way to grow old gracefully is to live each day in God’s grace and bask in His goodness.  This requires that you be a New Testament Christian.

     Professor Sheena Lyengar has a new book called The Art of Choosing.  Readers Digest ran an article recently (April, 2010) titled, Make Up Your Mind, which gave several good ideas on decision making.  One of those ideas came from Professor Lyengar who has coined a new word, “satisficing.”  “Satisficing is being satisfied with what’s sufficient.”  Let’s say you’re buying toothpaste.  There are literally dozens of options and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.  Just pick one.  It doesn’t have to be the best.  It just needs to be good enough. 
     The concept is a valid one.  The idea expresses what is involved in contentment.  Here are some passages of Scripture that point out the value and need for contentment.  “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5).  Covetousness is the desire for more and more.  The insatiable appetite for things can destroy one’s life.  The opposite of covetousness is contentment.  The word contentment means “to be satisfied.”  The basic meaning of the word relates to being satisfied with what one already has.  Sounds familiar to professor Lyengar’s new term.  When we are content, we can say “it is enough.”  I am satisfied with what is sufficient to meet my needs. 
     Paul writes, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phil. 4:11).  Paul knew how to satisfied with the Lord’s provisions for his life.  After stating these words, he makes the marvelous declaration of Christian optimism, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  Paul completely relied upon the Lord to take care of him. 
     Please consider one more passage from the pen of Paul.  “But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And  having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (I Tim. 6:6-8).  Paul follows these thoughts with a stern warning against trusting in riches.  Misplaced trust produces untold misery!  “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” (I Tim. 6:9).  
     We have discovered a great formula for true blessedness.  Godliness with contentment is great gain.  Your broker won’t tell you that, but God is more interested in your soul than your bank account.

     Recently, many people throughout the world have experienced dramatic earthquakes.  In the last 30 days, the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) has recorded several hundred earthquakes all over the world.  Some of the worst earthquakes have hit in Haiti, Chile and Taiwan.  The earthquake in Haiti was 7.0 in magnitude.  Its epicentre was 16 miles from Port-au-Prince.  It hit Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010.  Between 217,000 and 230,000 people have been identified as dead.  300,000 have been injured.  1,000,000 people are homeless.  250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings have collapsed.  The earthquake in Chile was a magnitude 8.8.  It occurred on Feb. 27, 2010.  The total costs have not yet been determined, but hundreds have been killed.  The earthquake in Taiwan occurred on March 4, 2010 (more than one quake it on this day).  It was magnitude 6.4.  Its epicentre was 40 miles east southeast of Tai-nan.  How do we explain these natural disasters? 
     Some natural disasters occur as the result of the physical design and forces necessary to the operation of the universe.  God has created the best of all possible worlds as a “vale of soul-making.”  The phrase, “vale of soul-making” was first used by John Keats in 1819 in a letter to George and Georgiana Keats.  In this letter, Keats sets aside the phrase “vale of tears” preferring the phrase “vale of soul-making.”  The phrase helps define the purpose for which the world was created.  Keats states, “Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?  A place where the heart must feel and suffer in a thousand diverse ways.  As various as the lives of men are–so various become their souls, and thus does God make individual beings, souls, identical souls of the sparks of his own essence” (www.alpheratz.f2s.com—  March  1, 2010).  Suffering develops patience (endurance), compassion, love (Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-37), good-will toward men.  Suffering also impresses each of us with the brevity and uncertainty of life.  Through suffering we learn our own helplessness and the great need we have for God, His help and His mercy and grace. 
     Some disasters are the result of God’s chastening men for their sins.  This fact is illustrated by:  the flood in Noah’s day (Gen. 6-9); the plagues brought upon Egypt (Ex. 8-10); the drought in the days of Ahab (I Kings 17:1; Luke 4:25; James 5:17).  These calamities were brought about by the miraculous hand of God and were designed to be punitive in nature.  The reason we are aware of this fact is the revelation that God made in Scripture specifically indicating His involvement.  Today, we do not have direct revelation from God concerning whether or not He is involved in the disastrous event.  God is still ruling among the nations (Dan. 4:17).  While it is possible that God is chastening a nation, it is not possible for us to know this with certainty.  We may only say “perhaps” (Philemon 15) and recognize God’s providential Will.  Christians should withhold judgment in such matters simply because they do not know with any certainty what directly caused the disaster. 
     The sufferings of this present time should cause us to reflect upon the brevity and uncertainty of life.  They should cause us to realize that this world is not our final abode.  In the face of the reality of disasters, we grow in our understanding of the need of God and of being in a right relationship with Him through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.  Whenever our soul is secure in the hands of God, we can confidently face life or death.  Christians look forward to an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled and fadeth not away reserved in heaven for us (I Pet. 1:4;  See also Rom. 8:18-25). This world is not our home, but it is a vale of soul-making!