Monday Memo 1186: Purpose And Money
I have a set of questions I pose to people who come to me for help finding their purpose. One of those questions is, "If you had all the money you needed to live, what would you do with your life? How would you fill your time?" More often than not, people struggle to answer. They may tell me they would travel, but when I ask...
Monday Memo 1185: Follow Your Star
Who were those wise men known as Magi who came from the east to visit Jesus and bring him gifts? (You can read this brief story by at Matthew 2:1-12.) We aren't really sure. We also don't know what they were looking for as they studied the heavens and what kind of star they saw that caused them to follow it hundreds of miles to find an infant king.
Monday Memo 1184: God Is With You
During this holiday season, I want to share a few observations about the significance of John 1:14: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." In a sense, God endorsed humanity as the crown of His creation when He willingly took on human form so we could...
Monday Memo 1183: Down But Not Out
I enjoy spending time in London, although I haven't been there in a while. One year, I went to see Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Music Hall there. What a wonderful way to enjoy a timeless masterpiece of music and Scripture in the city where it was composed. That visit sparked one of my Christmas favorites from the Monday Memo archives.
Monday Memo 1182: Daylight
I receive many requests every year asking how to find purpose. Many say they have "no idea" what their purpose is and ask me for help. While I respond as best I can, after all these years I know that I can't help anyone see their purpose. I know the One who can, however, and how He does it is reminiscent of the story of the shepherds at Christmas, something I call...
Monday Memo 1181: Mary
As we enter Advent and the holiday season, I will post some of my favorite Christmas entries from years past in the coming weeks. We'll start a new series in January, but for now, it's time to glean some purpose lessons from the Christmas story and the lives of those who played a part. Let's start this week by looking at the purpose story of Mary.
Monday Memo 1180: A Time to Die
When I was younger, I would read Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes and think he had a fatalistic and pessimistic view of life. Now that I'm older, my perspective has changed—on life, death, and his words. How so, you may ask? For the answer, let's look at another one of Solomon's conclusions for one last lesson in our 'Never Too Old For Purpose' series.
Monday Memo 1179: Decide Now
How and when will you die? No one knows the specifics but we can decide the conditions where we are at right now. Will you be a person of purpose to the end? That you can decide. I invite you to join me in that pursuit as we seek to honor God with all our days, both the ones with youthful vigor and the ones with diminished capacity.
Monday Memo 1178: A Crown of Splendor
This week and next, I’m going to finish this series on “Never too Old for Purpose” the way I finished the previous series, “Never Too Young for Purpose,” and that is by focusing on the wisdom books of the Bible, of which Proverbs is a part. Proverbs addressed many aspects of life including finances, leadership, family, and business, and specifically...
Monday Memo 1177: Term Limits
No one owns their position, whether they work in a church or business. There's a season when they have energy and creativity to fulfill certain roles but when that energy and creativity wanes, it must be recognized as happening. That can occur when someone is 50 or 60 or 70 but it will happen. And when it does...
Monday Memo 1176: Share Your Wisdom
There's an old adage that says, "you should respect your elders." I would agree but it's always best if an elder is respected not because of their past but because of their ongoing service to others. We read in Job that those up in years should have one important thing to give people: Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old (Job 12:12, NLT).
Monday Memo 1175: To The End
We know that David was quite lax in his paternal duties throughout his life. First Absalom tried to snatch the kingdom by force and many people died in the battle resisting his efforts, including Absalom himself. Then Adonijah tried his hand at treason and was almost successful. What's my reason for sharing this story?
Monday Memo 1174: Your Legacy
It's wonderful to leave a financial legacy for those coming after you, but it's even better to provide a spiritual one. Jacob or as God renamed him, Israel, did both. He left land (a bit more to his favorite son Joseph—he played favorites to the end) and then made a faith prediction that Joseph would return to the land of his fathers.
Monday Memo 1173: Faith Reasoning
You can use the reasoning skills God gave you to find a way to do His will or to excuse your self from doing it. What God expects of the old(er) is for them to lead the way in faith because their experience qualifies and equips them to do so. What faith lessons of the past can you apply to the present in a way that will enhance and...
Monday Memo 1172: Depression
In this series, Never Too Old for Purpose, we have looked at various aspects of those who purposefully serve the Lord in their latter years. We see in today's lesson that depression and fatigue are two of the obstacles that we all face no matter our age.
Monday Memo 1171: The Way You Should Go
An oft-quoted proverb about raising children is found in this familiar verse: "Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he grows older he will not abandon it." (Proverbs 22:6)Of course, first and foremost, it would seem that this training pertains to instruction concerning God's requirements for righteous living. But I think it's more than that.
Monday Memo 1170: A Gift From God
The key to a happy old age is to enjoy the Lord while you are young and do meaningful, purposeful while you can, remembering that life is short. Older folks always told me that my senior years would be here before I knew it—and they were right. Now I encourage you to make the most of the days you have, for they truly are a gift from God, and...
Monday Memo 1169: Old-Age Anger
Elisha was a prophet, the successor to Elijah who was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. When Elisha was on his deathbed, the king of Israel came for some counsel of what to do against his enemies. Elisha gave him this directive... read more
Monday Memo 1168: Thrive or Just Survive?
So what is your fruit? What is the purpose of your life? You must answers those questions regardless of your age, for God's promises or expectations don't have an expiration date. What's more, since the joy of the Lord is your strength, if you want strength in your latter years, you must...
Monday Memo 1167: "I Did It"
You have choices to make if you're a person of purpose. God isn't going to direct your every step. You'll have to do things that are consistent with who God made you to be if you want God to "remember" you. You'll have to be able to list what you've done if you want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Monday Memo 1166: Gray Hair
In our series titled 'Never Too Old for Purpose," I include some personal reflections on a passage from the psalms: I will always put my hope in you; I will praise you more and more. I will tell of your goodness; all day long I will speak of your salvation, though it is more than I can understand. I will go...
Monday Memo 1165: God's Good Pleasure
Because Moses was 120 years old, we may tend to dismiss his age as an aberration, an indication that people lived to be older "back then." But if that's the case, why would the Bible make sure we understood Moses' condition if it was so common then? Let's see if we can find out.
Monday Memo 1164: Run Your Race
The beauty of Paul's life is the clarity he had of his mission and his absolute commitment to it that allowed him to run the race and finish the course. I urge you to be as focused and resolute as Paul was to that when your end is near, you can be as matter-of-fact about your purpose race, declaring yourself the winner by God's grace.
Monday Memo 1163: The Dreams of the Old
The Spirit of God is no respecter of persons. That means if He wants to use you, He doesn't care how old (or young) you are. He's looking for people of faith who will partner with Him to rock the world. God knows how old you are; you don't have to inform or remind Him. Therefore...
