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“Blessed is the man that walkest not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standest in the way of sinners, nor sittest in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringest forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doth shall prosper” (Ps. 1:1-3).
The righteous will bear fruit and prosper because they have entered into covenant relationship with God and God’s grace supplies them all that they need in order to be spiritually successful.
Fruit trees teach us something of value.  Fig trees must be 3 to 5 years old before bearing fruit.  The olive tree must be 7 years old before bearing fruit.  A mature tree can pr0duce 1,000 pounds of fruit and live to be 1,000 years old.  Some of the best fruit is produced in the last season of life.  What is the last season of life?  The answer may be somewhat difficult to define with a specific age, but certainly in our older years in contrast to our younger years of life.    How should Christians spend these years in the kingdom of God?
A Real Tension Between Personal Desire and Cultural Norms
Our personal desire is the live a full, meaningful, and fruitful life.  However, our culture shouts that we are too old to be of any use.  Retire and live a life of ease.  After all, you’ve earned it.  But, this expectation causes us to turn inward and makes us more self-centered and self-indulgent.  This view conflicts with the Scriptural instructions that we receive from God.  A Christian has opportunity to bear the most fruit in the last season of life.
Leadership
Elders in the Lord’s church must not be novices (I Tim. 3:6).  Elders must be seasoned, experienced, wise, godly and skilled in the use of God’s Word.  The development of godly character and the proving of that character takes time.  Wisdom is knowledge plus know-how.  Experience in the use of God’s Word takes time to acquire.  The word “elder” itself indicates that leadership in the Lord’s kingdom does not come from the youngest Christians, but from older Christian men.  An elder proves himself in his own home (I Tim. 3:4-5).  Godly leadership in the home is a prerequisite to godly leadership in the church.  Such leadership takes time to develop and prove itself so that other members of the church can observe it and accept it as validation for of the office of an elder.  An elder leads in promoting and defending the purity of the church (Titus 1:9-10).  It takes time to acquire a knowledge of God and His Word.  It takes even more time to become skillful in the Word (Heb. 5:14, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”).  Spiritual discernment is the same as righteous judgment (John 7:24).  Both utilize the principles and truths of God’s Word to solve problems, recognize error and refute it, and provide answers to doubtful disputations.  Self-mastery is also a qualification of elders.  Spiritual maturity is reached when a person has grown to acquire the fruits of the Spirit in his life.  The moral qualifications for elders given in I Tim. 3 and Titus 1 confirm that this man is not a novice.  He is tried, tested, and has demonstrated that he possesses the godly character that commands respect from within the kingdom of God and from without.  There is no doubt, that God’s Word indicates that leadership is a fruit that can be born in the last season of life.  While it is possible for a man to qualify to be an elder before he reaches this stage of life, it is certainly true that men in this last season of life can bear the fruit of godly leadership.  If we are going to build the kingdom of God, we need good spiritual guidance from men sound in the faith and qualified by the Holy Spirit to lead.
Teaching God’s Word
Often Christians, who have taught God’s Word in the earlier years of their lives, but reach the retirement years, resign from teaching God’s Word and “let the younger generation do it.”  However, God’s Word declares, “The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers,  not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedience to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3-5).  Actively teaching the Word of God is a fruit that should be born in the last season of life.  Aged women should be exemplary in godly character bearing the fruits of the Spirit in the their lives.  They are to be holy, not false accusers (gossip by definition is a partial truth), and “not given too much wine” (abstain from the inebriating effects of alcoholic beverages).  They are to be teachers of good things and they are to teach the younger women.  Older women must seize this opportunity to teach the younger women to be sober (have the full powers of reasoning unobscured by drugs or alcohol), to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, and obedient to their own husbands.  This is a significant responsibility given to older women.  The fruit of a godly example and positive instruction in righteousness are to be born in the last season of life.
Spiritual Maturity
“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in the faith, in charity, in patience” (Titus 2:1-2).  Our older years should be characterized by spiritual maturity.  This is not to say that we should not display true godliness in our younger years as Christians.  But, older members of God’s kingdom should demonstrate Christian maturity.  Spiritual maturity is characterized by spiritual discernment.  Spiritual discernment is dependent upon knowledge of God’s Word and know-how or experience in using God’s Word in daily life.  God’s Word is a great source of the wisdom which is from above (the revelation of the mind of God to the mind/heart of human beings).  Life itself gives us opportunities to utilize God’s Word through application (obedience) in our lives.  The disciplined life results.  The Christian life is a disciplined life where temperance or self-control is manifested and the lusts of the flesh are defeated. Youthful lusts are slain by faithfulness to God.  Spiritual toughness is the result of exercising ourselves in godliness.  Older Christians should display Christlikeness and possess a depth of knowledge and wisdom in the grace of God.
Relationship Building
The apostle Paul was characterized as “the aged” in Philemon 1:9.  He was probably around 61 or 62 years of age at this time.  Paul appeals to Philemon on the basis of love to heal a broken relationship between Philemon and Onesimus.  Paul was involved in peacemaking.  Through peacemaking, a better and stronger relationship could be forged between Philemon and Onesimus.  Paul was instrumental in the conversion of Onesimus (Philemon 1:10).  The spiritual transformation of Onesimus changed the relationship between him and Philemon.  On the spiritual grounds of this new relationship, Paul appeals to Philemon to be merciful and forgive.  If Philemon follows through with Paul’s desire, there is no doubt that the relationship between them would be preserved and strengthened.  Older Christians have an antidote to loneliness.  They can build new relationships in Christ.  Find someone to minister to and make the investment of your life in their life.  Unleash the power of love to form new bonds between Christians.  Unleash the power of the gospel to bring others to Christ.  Building lasting relationships is a fruit that can be born in the last season of life.
Other Fruits 
Can you think of more fruit that can be born in our last season of life?  Paul mentions nine fruits in Gal. 5:22-23.  Consider also: Rom. 6:22; James 3:18; and Col. 1:10.  Jesus teaches us that if we abide in Him, He cleanses us so that we can bear more fruit (John 15:1-8).  God desires that we bear “much fruit.”  Faithfulness is a key to fruitfulness!  If we really desire to please God in all things, we should bear fruit in His kingdom during the last season of life.  The faithful servant is the fruitful servant (Matt. 25:23).  Only the faithful servant will be welcomed into the “joy of thy Lord.”

Our English word worship means worthship and denotes the worthiness of an individual or being to receive special honor in accordance with that worth or value.  The principle Hebrew and Greek words indicate an act of obesience which is divine honors paid to deity.  Since there is only one, true and living God, there is only one deity worthy of worship (Matt. 4:10, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve”).  No injury to God compares with the denial of His uniqueness and the transfer to another of the recognition that belongs to Him.  Any perversion of worship is Satan’s avid effort to secure to himself what belongs to God alone (Matt. 4:9).  Worship involves praise and prayer directed to God and the offer of sacrificial gifts that honor Him and glorify His name.  Worship is generally an act of God’s people who desire to draw nigh unto Him and honor Him for His uniqueness, greatness, and goodness.
Psalm 95
This effort is clearly present in Psalm 95.  Psalm 95 was written by David (Heb. 4:7).  The Psalm is referenced twice in Hebrews, i.e. 3:7 and 4:7.  In both contexts, the Psalm is referenced to warn and encourage the saints to faithfulness to God by maintaining a close relationship with God through divine acts of worship. That faithfulness to God will result in the heavenly rest.
The Invitation (Psa. 95:1-2).
“O Come….” is an invitation inciting to join heart and lips in praise to God.  This is worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  Without the engagement of the heart, the acts of worship are vain.  The invitation contains an exhortation.  Let us is repeated several times. The phrase indicates unity and it is defining worship that is corporate.  Let us sing unto the LORD. Let us make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.  Let us make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. Notice that the call to worship also contains the means of accomplishing it.  Worship brings us into the presence of God.  As an act of devotion to Him, it manifests our love for Him.  Worship is one way in which we love God supremely (Matt. 22:36-38).
The Grounds (Psa. 95:3-5).
The LORD is a great God.  He is unsurpassed in all of His perfections.  The greatness of God is seen in His creative power.  The LORD is unique and stands above all other gods.  The idols of man are pure vanity (I Cor. 8:4).  In His hands are: the deep places of the earth, the heights of the hills, the sea and the dry lands.  Truly, God is the creator of all things (Exodus 20:11).  This includes humanity.  Yes, we owe our very existence to Him (Acts 17:28).  As our Creator, He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion.  We worship because of who God is!  I know that worship is something that God desires for His people to do, but we do not worship merely because God has commanded it.  We worship because we know God.  We worship because we love God.  We worship because we cannot restrain our soul from crying out in honor of His name.
The Invitation Repeated (Psa. 95:6).
“O, come…” is repeated.  Let us worship and bow down.  This defines worship as an act of great humility.  In worship to God, we have a sense of our own unworthiness.  Let us kneel before our Maker.  Only from a position of deep humility would we even think of approaching God.
The Grounds Continued (Psa. 95:7).
For He is our God and we our His people.  This phrase indicates covenant relationship with God brought about by His lovingkindness.  Only God can save.  In the act of saving us, God redeems us to Himself and consequently, we belong to Him.  He is our God and we our His people.  We worship God because we are in covenant relationship with God.  David wrote while under the covenant God made with Israel through Moses.  However, we live under a better covenant that Jesus has made possible through the power of His blood (Heb. 9:14-15; Heb. 8:1-13).  The covenant of Christ reveals both grace and truth that is available to all people.  Only those who respond to God’s love by loving Him back participate in the blessings and promises of the New Covenant (John 14:23).  If those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ do not worship God, then, who?  Any substitution for God is an act of unbelief and this unbelief will keep us from the heavenly rest.
An Admonition (Psa. 95:8-11).
David warned against hardening one’s heart against God.  The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psa. 95 in Heb. 3:7 and 4:7 in order to emphasize this warning to his readers.  The human heart is hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:11-12).  The author makes a historical comparison.  Remember the provocation in the wilderness!  The period of Wilderness Wanderings lasted forty years.  During this period of time, God’s people tested Him and provoked Him.  They saw His works but did not believe.  As a result, they faced His wrath.  God was grieved with them forty years.  He said it is a people that do err in their hearts.  He said they have not known my ways.  He swore in His wrath that they should not enter into His rest.  They missed the promised land because of unbelief.  Likewise, the saints of God today, can manifest unfaithfulness to God by worshiping idols and fail to enter into the heavenly rest.  We worship God as a manifestation of our faithfulness to Him because of who He is and what He has done for us in giving us physical life as our Creator and saving us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Summary:
Worship brings God and His people into oneness.  Worship flows from a heart that is fully aware of who God is and what He has done in creative and redemptive acts.  Worship is manifested in human hearts who are in covenant relationship with God and who love God deeply.  Worship is expressed in praise and prayer directed to God.  Worship involves the whole person, body and soul, in devotion to God.  Worship enhances faithfulness to God.  Worship binds us to the heart of God and is an expression of the wonder we experience in His presence and the value that we ascribe to Him that is worthy.

Between Sundays is a workbook written by Steve Miller.  The book examines thirteen topics:  observance of the Lord’s Day (Sunday); living by faith, personal Bible study; developing love, being light and salt, serving the Lord and others, practicing the Golden Rule, developing moral purity, working honestly, balancing responsibilities to God, self and others, praying without ceasing, fulfilling one’s personal role and responsibilities in the home, and being a faithful member of the church of Christ.  A review of this book is posted on my Book Reviews page.  The emphasis of the book is maintaining integrity between one’s profession of faith on Sunday and performance of that faith in daily life.  All Christians should live lives of integrity.

“Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matt. 4:5-7).  What does it mean to tempt God? (Deut. 6:16).  Tempting God is exemplified in the Old Testament period of the Wilderness Wanderings referred to as the Provocation (Heb. 3:14-19).  Tempting God is when we challenge God to prove Himself faithful.  Tempting God is when we provoke God to act in a way that is not in harmony with His perfect character or expressed or unexpressed Will.  His expressed will is given in the Bible and His unexpressed will is manifested through Divine Providence and in answer to prayer.  Tempting God violates the sovereignty of God.  We must not and we cannot coerce God to do anything.  God acts freely based upon His own sovereign will and His love.
The Provocation (Heb. 3:14-19)
The Israelites tempted God.  “Wherefore the people did chide with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink.  And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me?  Wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?” (Exodus 17:2,7).  “And he called the name of the place Massah (temptation) and Meribah (chiding), because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, and said, Is the LORD among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7).  God had already proven Himself in the miracles of the Exodus.  God’s presence among them was not a matter of doubt.  However, their words indicated unbelief (Heb. 3:14-19).  Out of this unbelief, they demanded that God act to provide them water.  They directly challenged the faithfulness of God to them.  But it is not the place of the people to dictate to God how He is to express His covenant commitment to them.  They were dissatisfied with God’s provisions for this.  This is ingratitude.  Unbelief and ingratitude are often joined together in the human heart.  Disbelief, demands, and dissatisfaction, seem to be at the heart of the problem which involved them in tempting God.
“Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice” (Num. 14:22).  “Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah” (Deut. 6:16).  Jesus quoted from this passage in Matt. 4:4-7 in response to Satan’s temptation.  “And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.  Yea, they spake against God; they said, “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” (Psa. 78:18, 41, 56).  They challenged God to provide for their own lusts of the flesh.  God provided manna for a little more than 40 years.  They were not satisfied with God’s sufficiency (His grace).  “How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel” (Psa. 78:41).  You cannot put God in a box!  God cannot be limited or controlled by man’s desires.  “Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies.”  Unbelief leads to disobedience.  The Israelites challenged God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises.  This act was actually a denial of God’s faithfulness.  If they trusted in God’s faithfulness, then, they would have accepted God’s provisions for them.  They would have been grateful for the measure of God’s grace that was supplied.
The Temptation (Matt. 4:4-7)
One of the temptations of Jesus by Satan involved challenging God to keep His covenant promises.  Satan quoted scripture (Psa. 91:11-12).  “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Satan challenges Jesus to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and force God to keep His promise to protect Him.  Satan gives too broad an interpretation/application to this Psalm.  God is faithful to His covenant promises.  But, God’s promise does not mean that we can foolishly put ourselves at risk and force Him to act.  This is tempting God. Jesus answers Satan’s misinterpretation of Scripture with Scripture (Deut. 6:16).  Scripture forbids us from tempting God.  Another aspect of this temptation is Satan’s attempt to produce confusion between trusting God and tempting God.  Jesus trusted God.  However, Jesus knew the difference between trusting God to act according to His promises by His own sovereignty and demanding God to keep His promise by risky behavior.
Challenging God’s Redemptive Work (Acts 15:10)
“Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers or we were able to bear?” (Acts 15:10).  Acts 15 contains the historical information of the Jerusalem Conference.  This conference was convened to address and settle the question as to whether or not Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised and  keep the Law of Moses.  To tempt God in this context meant that they were demanding God to act in a way that was not in harmony with His Will (expressed or immediate revealed Will).  Some were making a law that God never made and binding it on others.  God is true to His Word, but not to the traditions of men.  God never said that Gentile Christians had to be circumcised or keep the Law of Moses (Acts 15:2, 24, “to whom we gave no such commandment”).  The Law of Moses and the Law of Christ cannot be in force at the same time (Rom. 7:1-4).  They were tempting God to set aside the gospel of Christ and bind the Law of Moses.  This could not be done and was not in harmony with God’s Will.
Tempting God or Trusting God?
Tempting God involves provoking God to act in a way specified by us in order to fulfill His covenant promises to us.  Tempting God violates God’s sovereignty.  It challenges His faithfulness to His Word.  Finally, it usurps His authority and puts us in the place of God.  We must not put ourselves at risk and, then, call upon God to deliver us because He said He will never fail us or forsake us.  This is tempting God.  Trusting God is permitting God to act according to His Will and His purposes and believing that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

Fox News had a guest on Oct. 18 named Johnnie Moore.  Moore wrote a book titled, The Martyrs’ Oath.  The book reveals the current levels of persecution of Christianity around the world.  The word Christianity is used in the general sense of those who follow Jesus Christ and affirm faith in Him.  Moore said that 322 Christians (general sense of the word) are killed every month.  Additionally, he said that 214 churches are destroyed every month.  He said that there are 70,000 Christians imprisoned in North Korea.  North Korea is a communist country.  In some Muslim nations, Christianity has nearly been eliminated.
World Watch List (2017) (Open Door ministries) is an annual report on global persecution of Christianity.  The report ranks the top 50 nations involved in persecuting Christians.  The rankings are determined by five areas of Christian life:  private life, family life, community life, national life and church life.  The criteria for rankings also include violence against Christians and churches.
The report lists eight engines of persecution.  The first is Muslim extremism.  Nine of the top ten countries persecuting Christianity today are Muslim: Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and Eritrea.  The second is communist and post-communist oppression.  North Korea is the number one nation in the world persecuting Christianity today.  As noted above, 70,000 Christians are imprisoned in North Korea among the twelve prison camps scattered throughout the country.  The other six engines of persecution are: religious nationalism, ethnic antagonism, denominational protectionism, organized corruption and crime, secular intolerance and dictatorial paranoia.  Two hundred and fifteen million Christians experience persecution in the top 50 countries which persecute Christianity.
Three facts to consider are: (1) worldwide persecution of Christianity has risen for the past 4 years. (2) North Korea is the number one nation persecuting Christianity and has been since 2002. (3) Islamic extremism fuels persecution in 14 of the top 20 countries and 35 of the top 50 countries persecuting Christianity.
There is not only a culture war occurring in the United States and other places, but there is a spiritual war being waged worldwide.
Jesus spoke of persecution in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:11-12).  Those who follow Jesus will be persecuted from many different sources and in many different ways.  However, great is their reward in heaven for being willing to suffer for His name’s sake. Jesus warned His disciples, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:6).  Jesus also said, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matt. 10:22).  The apostle Paul wrote of true Christians, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (II Tim. 3:12).  Paul knew this first hand because he has suffered much for the cause of Christ being stoned, beaten, and imprisoned (II Cor. 11:21-27).
Paul words to Timothy are especially needed in the face of persecution, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (II Tim. 2:3). Satan uses persecution to separate Christians from God.  Jesus warned of this in Luke 8:13 in the Parable of the Sower.  “They on the rock are they, which when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.”  The parallel passage in Matthew 13:21 specifically mentions tribulation and persecution as reasons why some become offended and give up on God.
Persecution tests faithfulness to God.  “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).

II John 7-11, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  This is a deceiver and an antichrist.  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.  He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
There are four warnings in this passage.  First, there is a warning against deceivers.  Specifically, these deceivers do not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  In so doing, they reject the deity of Christ and His Messiahship.  These deceivers are antichrist (opposed to Jesus Christ).  These deceivers are not abiding in the doctrine of Christ.  They must not be heeded.  Second, there is a warning against losing your reward (v. 8).  The reward is a reference to eternal life or heaven.  This plainly teaches that a Christian can lose his/her reward.  To hearken unto the deceivers and so renounce Jesus Christ is sufficient for such a loss of reward.  We must examine ourselves and make sure that we stand steadfast in the faith to prevent such a loss.  Third, there is the warning against losing God.  Failure to abide in the doctrine of Christ results in the loss of fellowship with God (“hath not God”).  The doctrine of Christ is the teaching from Christ.  This teaching was imparted by the Lord during His earthly ministry.  And, it was imparted through the guidance of the Holy Spirit of holy men of God who spoke and wrote Scripture.  Jesus promised His apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall  hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:13-14).  There is one author of the Scriptures.  That author is Jesus Christ.  All that the Father hath is Christ’s.  The Triune God is the author of the Bible and Jesus is the Second Person of the godhead.  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (the Triune God) (II Tim. 3:16).  The Scriptures are authoritative.  They are infallible.  They are binding upon men.  Failure to abide in the doctrine of Christ is a transgression of the Word of God.  To transgress in this sense is to “go aside” or walk a pathway that the Lord has not given.  It is to violate the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit.  Such is a salvation issue.  Many are saying that first this doctrine and then that doctrine is not a salvation issue.  Recently, someone argued that the age of the earth is not a salvation issue.  Another argued that marriage, divorce and remarriage is not a salvation issue.  Some have declared that instrumental music is not a salvation issue.  Some have boldly asserted that there are no salvation issues.  The teaching of John in this text refutes all such nonsense.  Fourth, there is a warning against complicity regarding aiding and abetting the deceivers.  You do not have to be a false teacher to be guilty of the sin of false teaching!  If you aid or abet a false teacher (financially support his work or in the case of the elect lady, to provide food and lodging for such) you become an accomplice in advancing his false doctrine.  An accomplice becomes a partaker of his evil deeds and so bears the guilt of his sin.  A partaker is joined together with the evil person and his work and must bear the consequences of such activity.  A partaker bears both the guilt and the penalty of such sin.
We must heed the warnings in these verses in order to preserve our own relationship with the Lord and maintain our hope of everlasting life.