Psalm 92:12-15 (NIV)
12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
My husband, Lester and I have only
been living in our current home about nine months. We’re renting it from a lovely man
who is 85 years of age. His name is Ben and he told us when he first met us, “I’m
old. But, I’m not dead. I’ve got a lot of growing yet to do.”
Ben and I had several conversations, in the first six weeks, or so, about our common Christian faith and our different faith journeys. He has some awesome stories to tell.
For instance: Ben was raised a Catholic—from the time of his birth until just seven years ago he was devoted to his parish and his priests and his Catholic doctrine. “At 78,” he said, “I thought I was too old to change.” However, a whisper in the night changed all that.
Ben heard God speak to his heart one night, long after midnight and the message was: Find a new way to serve Me.
After much prayer, many sleepless nights and much thought Ben bought for himself a new Bible and began to read it, cover-to-cover. Something he'd never done before. It only took a few weeks and in that time he made notes, wrote down questions and prayed and prayed and prayed. He went to his priest and shared his concerns, asked his questions and begged for help. He became more and more convinced that the Lord was turning him away from his Catholic faith. This was upsetting and just a little bit frightening.
Finally, Ben’s priest said, “I don’t want to lose you Ben…but, it seems to me that the Lord is moving you elsewhere.” And so He was.
Ben and I had several conversations, in the first six weeks, or so, about our common Christian faith and our different faith journeys. He has some awesome stories to tell.
For instance: Ben was raised a Catholic—from the time of his birth until just seven years ago he was devoted to his parish and his priests and his Catholic doctrine. “At 78,” he said, “I thought I was too old to change.” However, a whisper in the night changed all that.
Ben heard God speak to his heart one night, long after midnight and the message was: Find a new way to serve Me.
After much prayer, many sleepless nights and much thought Ben bought for himself a new Bible and began to read it, cover-to-cover. Something he'd never done before. It only took a few weeks and in that time he made notes, wrote down questions and prayed and prayed and prayed. He went to his priest and shared his concerns, asked his questions and begged for help. He became more and more convinced that the Lord was turning him away from his Catholic faith. This was upsetting and just a little bit frightening.
Finally, Ben’s priest said, “I don’t want to lose you Ben…but, it seems to me that the Lord is moving you elsewhere.” And so He was.
Ben went home, opened
the phone book, prayed for God to lead him in the right direction and then
called the number of the first church he saw in the yellow pages. Seven years
later he still attends that church—a Seventh Day Adventist church—and he
studies the Bible diligently every day.
More importantly, Ben is still growing. He’s a member of his church’s governing cabinet. He’s a Sunday school teacher AND he leads a Men’s prison ministry here in Nevada.
Ben may be 85 years old, but he’s still bearing fruit for the Lord (Galatians 5:22-23) and he’s still relevant and fresh in God’s kingdom.
You can be too!
It doesn’t matter your age, your income, your status…God can and will use you to bring glory to His kingdom. All you have to do is answer the call!
More importantly, Ben is still growing. He’s a member of his church’s governing cabinet. He’s a Sunday school teacher AND he leads a Men’s prison ministry here in Nevada.
Ben may be 85 years old, but he’s still bearing fruit for the Lord (Galatians 5:22-23) and he’s still relevant and fresh in God’s kingdom.
You can be too!
It doesn’t matter your age, your income, your status…God can and will use you to bring glory to His kingdom. All you have to do is answer the call!
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