Old Age In The Lord

Psalm 92:12-15

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, Proclaiming, "The Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him."

What a wonderful assurance this is for us who are getting up in years, to know that we can still flourish and bear fruit, remaining fresh and green like a healthy tree. We never need to succumb to the stereotypical doddering of "old age," but remain active and healthy. This is not only possible, but actually probable as we gain strength in the Lord. Nowhere in Scripture do I see anyone "put on the shelf" in retirement, but God's saints continue to serve Him no matter how many years they lived on this Earth.

Why Did Noah Get Drunk?

Noah in Genesis:

6:13 "I will destroy them with the earth."

7:11 "All the springs of the Great Deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened."

2:5-6 "No shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth [land], and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain [first mention of rain] on the earth [land] and there was no man to work the ground, but streams [a mist] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground."

7:4 "I will send rain (Hebrew: rain) on the earth for forty days and forty nights."

7:12 "And rain (Hebrew: showers) fell on the earth forty days and forty nights."

9:3 "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, now I give you everything."

9:11-17 This is about God's covenant-sign, the rainbow, first seen here.

9:21 Noah becomes drunk, possibly unexpectedly, as the whole climate of the earth has drastically changed.

1:6-8 On the Second Day of Creation: "Let there be an expanse [firmament] between the waters to separate water from water. So God make the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse [firmament] 'sky.'"

So God separated the waters below the atmosphere from the waters above the atmosphere (a water canopy), and gave mankind all the green plants (herbs) and fruit trees for food.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were also given the "plants of the field" (grains) to eat.

The first mention of "rain" is when God had not sent rain, but a "mist" came up from the ground to water the whole land. There were also rivers. (No irrigation needed.)

When Noah came off the Ark, there was no more "water canopy" over the earth, so now that it would rain, God placed His "bow" (iris) in the sky, the "rainbow" (iris) that surrounds His own throne in heaven in Revelation 4:3, which could not appear on earth until the sun could shine on/through rain. Also, Noah drank "wine" which apparently had never fermented before. And God gave mankind the animals for food now, as well as the herbs, fruits and grains. The whole earth was no longer a tropical paradise, and lifespans grew shorter without the heavy pressure of the "water canopy."

My Prayer

I Thessalonians 4:11-12

Pray it:

O my Father, help me to make it my ambition to lead a quiet life; help me to mind my own business and not be a busybody in others' affairs. Help me to work with my hands as well as my mind, so that my daily life may win the respect of outsiders, and so I will not need to be dependent on others for what You have given me to accomplish. Teach me to manage my own finances to provide for my own needs and have also to give to help others.

Our Own Fault?

Lamentations 3:22-40

(38-40) Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.

(22-23) Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

(32-33) Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

When we are honest with ourselves, we see how our own rebellions and self will bring many of the problems we experience in life, and God loves us enough to allow us to suffer through the consequences of our own poor choices. We are to accept what comes, learn to make wiser choices, and grow emotionally and spiritually. Let the hardships and troubles we encounter lead us to lean on the Lord, seek His face and His ways, and trust Him fully.

No Excuse

Romans 1:19-20

Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

One day I was agreeing with my son, an atheist, how God's person is unknowable by merely natural means. But He has chosen to reveal Himself to us through His Word and all the natural things He made. I asked him how he would answer a friend who denied that my son even had a father, but just made him up? His reply was that he would show his friend the things his Dad had made, like the house. So I pointed out that it would be foolish to suggest that natural, environmental processes over a long period of time could produce a beautiful house suitable for dwelling in. It is equally foolish to deny the existence of a Creator who made this world suitable for our living here. This was answered by a period of silence.

Good Medicine: A Personal Letter

Proverbs 17:22

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Personalized:

My sweet daughter, Bonnie, your cheerful heart, the way you rejoice in Me and let My ways be the joy of your heart has resulted in your good health, has caused your body to repair itself and maintained the order I have built into it. Bonnie, I made your body to be healthy and to last to serve you for all your days, even to advance age. Daughter, dear, do not allow your spirit to be crushed by the sorrows of this age--that would only be detrimental to your very bones, possibly to even bring on osteoporosis. I want you to keep your skeletor framework strong because I have planned for you to serve Me for many years hence.  Continue to seek My face, Bonnie, and continue to focus on My provisions and blessings; continue to let Me bring cheer to your heart, and rejoice in Me. I love you, and I want the very best for you, more than you can even imagine--that's what I have planned for you.

Love,

Dad

Paul At The Areopagus In Athens, Greece

Acts 17:27-31

He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being. 

We are all "inside" God; He surrounds us as water surrounds the fish. The whole universe exists inside Him. We exist because He is thinking about us. His Word alone created all that is, and He holds everything together. Just as my hand "knows" where my ear is without my looking for it, so God is aware of everything that goes on in His universe, down to our very molecules. I think of it as we are God's imagination, if He ever ceased to think of us, we would not exist.

As some of your own poets have said, "We are his offspring." Therefore, since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill.

Since we as human beings are the offspring of God, then we bear an image, a likeness of God; so He must be more like a living, organic being than like inanimate, earthly materials.

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commends all people everywhere to repent.

Now that we know better, we have a responsibility to respond to His call, to turn around.

For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice.

This is a specific day; He will not judge at a whim, but according to the laws and rules He has set down for us to obey. He is a God of order, and always has and always will do everything in an orderly manner.

By the Man He has appointed.

Jesus Christ.

He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.

Jesus' resurrection is the proof that God accepted His sacrifice in payment of all our sin; and Jesus also purchased the world of mankind which gives Him the Authority to be the legal Judge of all of us. Therefore, each one of us will see Him as either our Savior and Redeemer, or our righteous Judge.