BENEFITS

I Was Just Thinking About – BENEFITS.

Pontificating politicians as well as politics with its lack of perspicacity, are noteworthy. In the current debates and posturing about the Affordable Care Act; the wall on the Mexican border and the needed concerns for the infrastructure throughout the nation are a few places where there is much rhetoric but little focus on the benefits for the people who comprise the citizenry of the nation. People seem to be a reference point only as a means to an end for the politician.

There are several citizens who are dependent on Social Security and Medicare. With all of the political posturing, it causes them a degree of alarm and consternation. When people have reached an age where they are incapable of engagement in gainful employment, what will happen to them and what does it mean for their future? How will their needs be met? What will be their source and resource?

For the Biblical Christian, there should be a different and unique focus for those who walk by faith and not by sight. First, Psalm 103:1-5, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name… and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Second, Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus said: “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” There are two words in Matthew 6:30 that should encourage the child of God. They are “much more”! Be confident of the “much more” of God for you.

The “much more” of God dovetails nicely with the words Peter wrote to the scattered believers and persecuted church in I Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety (cares, concerns, needs) on Him, because He cares for you.” This echoes the words of Psalm 55:22, “Cast your cares (burdens, anxieties) on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”

My wife and I have taken refuge in the words of David when he wrote in Psalm 37:25-26, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.” We have served the Lord in the smaller churches of our denomination. None of them made any contribution to the Annuity Fund of the denomination in our behalf. In all these years, God has faithfully provided and sustained us by His grace. The words of the aging Psalmist in Psalm 37 and the “much more” words of Jesus in Matthew 6 have and are proving true for us and we give Him the praise and glory for “all His benefits.”

Prayerfully – consider these things with me!

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