Author: Dave Dishman (Page 12 of 450)

I’ll admit I’m getting older. Joints creak, aches develop in ever new places, and print gets smaller and smaller in the books I read. But aging comes with advantages, like a slew of discounts and an occasional flash of hard-earned wisdom.

I speak with and hear about people who get lost on their old age. What purpose do we serve when work comes to an end and the kids grow up and move away? As if wrestling with this very question, an ancient writer offered this thought:

The righteous still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

The purpose of old age is to proclaim the goodness of the Lord. Let younger generations know of your faith in the One who stands upright, pure, holy, and righteous. Point them to the hope of the world. Unashamedly spout off about Jesus.

Allow the wisdom of old age, earned in the fires of life, to trickle down. Young people today find themselves in a morass of unreal, inauthentic philosophies and beliefs. Many are searching for a solid place to stand. Help them find the Rock. Speak your faith, write your faith, pray your faith, stutter your faith—whatever works for you.

Declare the goodness of God until the last breath leaves your body.

Psalm 92:14&15

Photo by Kshitij Shukla

It pays to take God at his word.

When the exiles left Israel for Babylon, they hoped for a short stint in the land of their conquerors. God let them know, however, that they would be in Babylon for 70 years, no less. With that in mind he told them:

Build houses and make yourselves at home. Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country. Marry and have children. Encourage your children to marry and have children so that you’ll thrive in that country and not waste away. Make yourselves at home there and work for the country’s welfare. Pray for Babylon’s well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you.

Then God made a promise:

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

It’s a rather long paragraph, but notice what the Lord says toward the end, I will restore your fortunes. Fast forward 70 years, when a group of exiles, with the full support of King Cyrus of Babylon, return to Jerusalem. When they arrive the families gave money and resources to help rebuild the temple:

When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments.

In modern day equivalents, 61,000 darics of gold is valued at $70 million dollars, and 5,000 minas of silver is valued at $6.6 million dollars. $76.6 million dollars freely given—fortunes restored. The grandparents and parents of these people left their homeland with nothing. They traipsed to Babylon with only the clothes on their back. But what did they do in their new home? The took the Lord at this word, sought him with all their hearts, and prospered.

Do the math. You want to flourish in life? Take the Lord at his word. You may get wealthy or you may not—flourishing comes in all manner of appearances. Regardless, call on the Lord and seek Him with all your heart, because things will go well for you.

Ezra 2:69; Jeremiah 29

Photo by Willfried Wende

My response when hearing something that sounds too good to be true is hmm…doubtful. I’ll admit, I’m a doubter. When we were kids my brother and I enjoyed our Cheerios. We learned on TV how Cheerios fortified us with “Go Power,” so he tested his power by walking into the street in order to stop the next car that went by. As he settled into his stance, I climbed a nearby tree and waited, doubtful but curious. Does he have the power? Sensing things were too quiet, our mom looked out the door and loudly called the experiment off. True power rests in a mother’s intuition.

Thomas remains the most famous doubter in history. After the resurrection, the other disciples told him they’d seen Jesus in the flesh. He responded, Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.

Jesus graciously appeared to the disciples once again, this time with Thomas present. As he presented his scars, Thomas broke down and exclaimed My Lord and my God!

Thomas had to see for himself and Jesus indulged him. As a doubter, I’m always encouraged that Jesus met Thomas in the midst of the doubts. Doubts don’t bother the Lord, in fact I think he expects them. As he told Thomas, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. The scars of Jesus mark the end of sin’s dominion over the world. Though we cannot see them or touch them, their efficacy remains.

It’s OK to question. The Lord works with our uncertainties and helps us either overcome them or set them aside. Some fade while others may remain for a lifetime. We want to believe, but need help in our unbelief. All such wrestling is a normal, healthy aspect of faith. While you and I cannot put our hand into the side of Jesus, we can believe, even when our belief dances in a roomful of doubts. Keep in mind that it only takes a sliver of faith—in Jesus—to open ourselves up to the magnificent blessings of God.

John 20:24-29

Photo by Jon Tyson

Isn’t it strange to wake up after a weird dream? It feels disconcerting to find myself in bed when an instant before I was searching unsuccessfully for a toilet in a foreign land. Thankfully, I tamp down that particular nightmare in my own bathroom.

King Nebuchadnezzar awoke in the midst of a confusing dream. He called his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans (astrologers who read the stars for guidance) to explain the meaning to him, but with one catch—he refused to tell them the actual dream.

They freaked out, especially after the king laid out these terms: If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb. These advisors knew Nebuchadnezzar to be a man of his word, and they begged for more information. But the king refused.

The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.”

Nebuchadnezzar may have puzzled over his strange dream and its meaning, but he certainly understood that his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans were full of hooey. His test was meant to clear them out. As king of a vast empire he needed honorable advisors who spoke truth, not a gaggle of self-aggrandized wizards mouthing falsehoods and foolishness.

Daniel, of course, saved the day. Thanks to the Lord, he interpreted the dream. In doing so he found himself promoted above all other leaders in the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar finally found a man he could trust.

As a side benefit, Daniel bailed out the magical advisors. You’d think they’d be grateful, but later they turned on Daniel anyway. They never got over their shame-faced humbling before the king. Jealousy is unbecoming, but not uncommon in a Chaldean.

Daniel 2

Photo by Javardh