“Remind them of these things…” (2 Timothy 2:14)

All right, here’s the deal.

You’re getting up in years and all those fears you thought you had nailed to the cross decades ago begin reappearing.  Where did these come from, you wonder.

Old memories of sins forgiven (and of which you are ashamed) crop up and nag you.  You worry about dying. Subtle doubts about the most elemental teachings in the Christian faith pull at you.What if this is all a sham, if the Bible is not true, if you were fooled.

You’re normal.

However, you need to get back on track. Otherwise, your fears and worries could throw you off course and hurt you just when you are most vulnerable and will be needing faith the most.

I’ve heard that tightrope walkers are most in danger toward the end of their walk. They have defied death in crossing the width of the circus tent on that thin wire, and now they are almost to the end.  If they let down their guard now and relax, they could lose their concentration and a misstep would plunge them to their death.

This is no time to lose your focus, senior saint.

You need to return frequently to these most basic truths of the gospel.

For those who work with seniors–you are employed by a nursing home or retirement villa, you teach a class of oldsters, you lead the church’s golden-age ministry, or you care for your elderly parents–I suggest you give them one of the following assurances per day.

1) Your Lord is faithful.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 9:5).

“Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies” (Psalm 36:5).

“He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

“If it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:2).

You may trust Him.

2) Your salvation is secure.

“I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).

“You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13).

“Not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by His mercy He has saved us….” (Titus 3:5).

“…that whosoever believeth in Him has everlasting life” (John 3:16).

You may rest in Him.

3) Heaven is real.

“If I told you earthly things and you did not believe, how shall you believe when I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man” (John 3:12-13).  He is our Authority on Heaven.

“In my Father’s House are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:2).

“Come you blessed of the Father; inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

“Today, you shall be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

“I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

“Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (I Corinthians 2:9).

We may look forward with anticipation; the best is yet to come.

4) Your prayers are being heard.

“I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me” (John 10:14).

“Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand” (Revelation 8;3-4).

“And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things which are pleasing in His sight” (I John 5:14).

“Call unto me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

“…they ought to pray and not faint (not give up)” (Luke 18:1).

“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8)

We may give Him our heart’s desires.

5) Your sins are gone.

“…having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

“Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

“Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

“Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of the Father….” (Hebrews 10:11-12).

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Your sins are gone forever; rejoice.

6) Your acts of obedience matter.

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…that they may rest from their labors. And their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13).

“Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share….” (I Timothy 6:18).

“In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified….” (Titus 2:7).

“He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14).

“Let us not lose heart in doing good; for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9).

“She has done what she could” (Mark 14:8).

Do what you can while you can.

7) Your small gifts pay eternal dividends.

“And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins…. Calling His disciples, He said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury. They all put in out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:42-44).

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (II Corinthians 8:9).

“Whoever…gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42).

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven….” (Matthew 6:20).

Keep on giving as unto the Lord.

8) You can still make a difference.

“God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong….” (I Corinthians 1:27).

“They will still bear fruit in old age; they will be full of sap and very green….” (Psalm 92:14).

“If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry bush, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6).

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless…it is good for nothing anymore….” (Matthew 5:13).

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

God can still use you.

9) You are not the judge of you.

“To his own master (a person) stands or falls….” (Romans 14:4).

“For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:18).

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things: I will make you ruler over many” (Matthew 25:21).

“Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

Trust in Him, not in yourself.

10) No matter what you did in the past, you can still finish strong.

“The tax collector stood at a distance…. He beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me a sinner.’ I tell you that this man…went home justified before God” (Luke 18:9-14).

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:11).

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

“I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

“I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown” (Revelation 3:11).

Of course, these ten truths are not just for seniors. We can all benefit from daily applications of these divine revelations and heavenly blessings to keep us on track.