Sunday, July 21, 2013
Ravi Zacharias - The Mystery of Evil and the Miracle of Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsIPrasmvAQ
Friday, July 5, 2013
Ken's corner: “Retirement”
Ken's corner: “Retirement”: ahhhh Retirement! What a wonderful thought. No more work. No more early mornings. No more working late. No more out-of-town trips. ...
“Retirement”
ahhhh Retirement!
What a wonderful thought. No more work. No more early
mornings. No more working late. No more out-of-town trips. No more answering to
anyone.
If you’re retired, you know that this is not so; especially
if you have grandchildren. I am not retired, nor am I a grandparent, but I
witness daily, many that are. Most of them work harder now than they did before
retirement.
As I get older and think more about the day I may no longer
be able to work (and hear the concerns over social security and Medicare), I think
about retirement and what it will mean for me. Perhaps, “what I would like it to mean” would be a better statement. I use to imagine retirement being a camper and traveling all
over the country and maybe a trip or two abroad. Fishing, sightseeing and
relaxing would be how I spent my days.
Over the years I have watched many colleagues finish out
their careers doing very little. They merely rode out the last few years having
achieved the level where they knew they would retire and feeling a sense of
“I’ve earned this.” Unfortunately, many lost much respect because they refused
to do the work they were still being paid to do and some even refused to help
their employees/co-workers. Within a week or two of retirement, they were all
but forgotten; life did indeed go on without them.
Within the last few
years, my attitude has changed. I now realize, my retirement comes when I enter
heaven. As long as I am on this earth, I work for my heavenly Father. As the
old sayings go, “I’m just a pilgrim traveling through” or, “I am Christ’s
ambassador in a foreign land.” So, if my retirement comes when I reach my
heavenly (retirement) home, how do I want to spend my last working days?
When I think of aged persons who accomplished much in their
final years and did not retire until death, I think of biblical characters such
as Moses, Abraham, Joshua and one of my personal favorites, Caleb.
“Moses was 120 years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his
vitality had not left him” (Deut. 34:7, HCSB).
“This
is the length of Abraham’s life: 175 years. He took his last
breath and died at a ripe old age, old and contented, and he was gathered to
his people” (Gen. 25:7-8, HCSB).
For Caleb, I would like to add a bit more information:
“Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!” (Num. 13:30, HCSB)
At this time, Caleb was about 40 years old and he and Joshua were the only two spies to suggest they could drive out the inhabitants of the land.
“As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these 45 years as He promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then. Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as large fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised” (Joshua 14:10-12, HCSB).
“Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised. Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak who lived there” (Judges 1:20, HCSB).
Caleb was 85 years old at this time and the Lord was indeed with him and he did drive out the giants.
So how do I want to
retire?
I want to go out working harder than I have ever worked
before. I want to achieve things I never
thought possible. I
want to leave an indelible footprint that cannot be erased. I want to have lived for something besides myself.
I want the honor and glory to go to God.
.
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