6 April 2016

CONTINUING THE JOURNEY

By John Ollis

It is 64.5 years since as a 10 year old boy I knelt at the Penitent Form,  in a Salvation Army Hall in Melbourne Australia and asked for the Lord’s forgiveness and to for Him to come into my life. What an exciting journey it has been, some of which I shared in yesterday’s blog.
Some of the retired men at our local church meet for coffee every couple of weeks, and they ask me to bring a short devotional. The Lord placed Psalm 37 25 (Amplified) on my  heart. King David says “I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the (uncompromisingly) righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread”.
What a testimony David had, and I want to echo those words in my own life today, as the Lord promised He will NEVER leave us or forsake us, in the previous verse (24) David said “Though the righteous man fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and uphold him”. I am so glad this morning that no one can pluck me out of the Father’s hand (John 10:28). With every promise comes responsibility in verse 23 David says The steps of a good man are directed and established by the Lord WHEN He delights in his way (and busies Himself with every step). We must daily make the decision to delight in the Lord and His will and make it a top priority  never to relax, and the result is an AWESOME GOD BLESSED LIFE.
In yesterday’s blog “Walking in the will of God” I concluded by telling you of my with decision I have made to conclude my overseas ministry, this has been an extremely difficult decision to make, and at the moment it is like having a death in the family. The decision was made exclusively as a result of the “aging process” and the ongoing debilitating effects of the staph infection I picked up three years ago.
In the verses we have looked at today, David clearly says that if we want this AWESOME GOD BLESSED LIFE  we must CONTINUALLY DELIGHT in the Lord. Speaking personally knowing my own heart, it is so easy to get slack and lazy and think “I’m ok” and  relax.  This attitude can create the SPIRITUAL SIGNS OF AGING. Paul said he needed to “beat his body and bring it under subjection” so that these signs did not occur in his life, WE NEED TO DO THE SAME.

WE CAN’T DO MUCH ABOUT THE NATURAL SIGNS BUT…….

I am going to list  some of these potential spiritual signs of aging, and initially ask you to ask the lord to search your heart and let Him show you if there are any signs of “spiritual aging”.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE SIGNS

Fever   (bad temper)

Poor spiritual sight

Poor spiritual hearing

Spiritual paralysis, or at least stiffness of joints (unwilling to move)

Heart disease

Depression

Fleshly growths

Loss of desire to reproduce

Tiredness

Feelings that you have passed your peak

Burnout

Osteoporosis (bowed over, easily broken.

Many of the above we can deal with ourselves, sometimes, we need a Pastor or Counsellor or Mentor to help us, but all have a cure, we need to recognise the signs and throw ourselves on the grace of God.

I WANT TO FINISH WELL DON’T YOU ?