Beyond the Horizon

Daily Devotions for Seniors

Harry A. Renfree, Gordon H. Renfree, Renfree

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781498232258
  9781498232272
• eBook ISBN:
  9781498232265
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

The fastest growing age group in the United States and Canada is seniors. As seniors go through the trials and tribulations that come with their advancing years, they are seeking peace, comfort, and hope. Beyond the Horizon contains a treasure chest of devotions that focus on these areas. This positive, encouraging book contains a compilation of devotional thoughts based on actual devotions presented to a group of seniors by a senior. The devotions follow a daily format. Included are devotions for Christmas, Easter, Valentine's and other special days. Beyond the Horizon is written in a straightforward style, making use of pertinent, thought-provoking illustrations to engage the interest of the reader. The numerous Scripture references are used effectively to clarify, enhance, and extend the theme of the devotions. These inspirational devotions will strengthen you and bring an increased consciousness of God's daily presence in your life.

A Superior Woman

(Part One)

February 06

There is very touching story of answered prayer in the Old Testament concerning Hannah.

After many years of marriage, Hannah had no children and seemed unable to bear children, despite her longing for them. In a society where children were particularly cherished—both for their own sakes and to build up the nation—her state of childlessness became almost unbearable. Constantly, Hannah traveled to the house of the Lord to pray . . . and to cry . . . for she was being mocked about her condition. One day while praying in the Lord’s house, Hannah made a vow. If God would give her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord. So earnest were her prayers and so copious her tears that Eli, the priest–in–charge, chided her for being drunk—her lips were moving, but no sound was coming. “‘Not so, my Lord,’ Hannah replied, ‘I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD’” (1Samuel 1:15).

“Eli answered, ‘Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him’” (1 Samuel 1:17).

God did. And she named her son Samuel, meaning “heard of God” in Hebrew.

True to her word, Hannah took the boy back to God’s house as soon as he was weaned and there presented him to Eli the priest for service to the Lord God. “I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD. And he worshiped the LORD there” (1 Samuel 1:27–28).

Samuel, of course, became one of Israel’s greatest prophets.

Some of us have prayed for many years for some dream to come to pass or for someone near and dear to us to be touched by God. God still answers prayer.

A Superior Woman

(Part Two)

February 07

Continuing yesterday’s devotion about Hannah, let us notice her song of triumph (really a prayer) found in the second chapter of the first book of Samuel. The song and prayer of Mary, the mother of Jesus, following His birth a thousand years later, has similarities indicating that Mary obviously knew of Hannah’s Song.

In that song, Hannah prayed for those who stumble and for the hungry; she thanked God for supplying food and for His help, as she sang, “And lifts the needy from the ash heap.”

Every year during Samuel’s growing period, Hannah made him a coat or a robe to fit the office Samuel gradually assumed in God’s sanctuary. Hannah was a practical, loving, caring, prayerful mother. After Samuel, Hannah had five more children, three sons and two daughters.

Many of us were fortunate to have had practical, loving, caring, and prayerful mothers— mothers worthy of praise. We may be doubly fortunate to have had these praiseworthy women as wives and also as mothers to our own children.

The book of Proverbs has an epilogue to end the final, the thirty–first chapter. It is made up of 22 verses and is titled “The Wife of Noble Character,” one of the finest tributes to womanhood in all of literature. The last few lines go like this:

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

But a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned,

And let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Fortunately, those fine qualities that fitted Hannah are still present in many of the women of today.

Spiritual Signs

February 08

Signs are very prevalent in our lives. They are all around us. In all sizes and colors. They tell us where to eat, what to buy, where to buy it, how to proceed in our cars, and so on. Then there are less tangible signs, like the signs of nature that show us spring is coming or the worry lines on someone’s face.

There are also spiritual signs. The Pharisees approached Jesus on one occasion and asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. Matthew, the Gospel writer, intimated that the Pharisees, who had made themselves Jesus’ enemies, asked for this sign to test Him.

In any event, Jesus turned their request into a very ordinary statement of amateur weather forecasting and signs that were very familiar day after day. He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘it will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky,” He went on to say, “but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” Then He added this terrible condemnation: “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 16:2–4a). He left them puzzled.

They should not have been so puzzled. Earlier Jesus had said to another group of Pharisees who sought a sign: “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). He was making explicit reference, of course, to the very death that even then His enemies were planning for Him—death on the cross. But after His death, He arose, marking that first Easter and the defeat of death. A sign of wonder, grace, and glory . . . a sign of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

The signs in our world direct us on our way in the world. God’s signs direct us on our way to eternal life

The Bible . . . God’s Word

February 09

Over the years, many interesting and perceptive comments have been made about the Bible. Here are a couple of examples.

Woodrow Wilson, president of Princeton University and later twenty–eighth President of the United States, made this comment:

“The Bible is the Word of life. I beg you will read it and find out for yourself. . . . You will not only find it full of real men and women, but also of things you have wondered about and been troubled about all your life, . . . and the more you read, the more it will become plain to you what things are worthwhile and what are not.”2

Henry Ward Beecher, nineteenth century American Preacher and Writer said this:

“The Bible is God’s chart for you to steer by, to keep you from t...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Fear or Hope?
• A Double Future
• Something New
• Sufficient Grace
• From the Beginning
• Keep Looking
• Decisions
• The Greatest Satisfaction
• Trust
• Immortality
• Walking With God
• A Glorious Vista
• Have Patience
• The Ways of God
• Good Sportsmanship
• Dependable Promises
• Reminded
• A Singing Light
• Misunderstood
• Can We Change?
• The Fruit of My Labor
• What About Tomorrow?
• An Honest Servant
• Favorites
• Every Christian Has a Cross
• Looking to the Creator
• The Wings of a Dove
• A Tax on Sunshine
• Enlightened Eyes
• Is Your Life Flat?
• Houses and Homes
• Knowing Everybody but God
• Reaching for the Stars
• The Central Figure
• What Is Love?
• “Why Don’t You Come in, All of You?”
• A Superior Woman (Part One)
• A Superior Woman (Part Two)
• Spiritual Signs
• The Bible . . . God’s Word
• Time and Eternity
• Out of the Blue Comes the Whitest Wash
• Reverence
• The Footsteps of Thy Soul
• St. Valentine’s Day
• Sharing Similarities
• Going off the Map
• How Do You Stop a Volcano?
• Try Something You Can’t Do
• Why Not Ask?
• Calmed Fears
• Open Your Hand
• Our Advocate
• Trustworthy—Absolutely
• Targets
• Work to Do
• Discipleship
• Real Steeple chasing
• Do It for Somebody Else
• Sacrifice
• Believing Impossible Things
• Then Jesus Came
• Against Wind and Tide
• Our Duty
• Cocoons
• Self–Made
• Dreams . . . and God
• A Quiet and Holy People
• My Brother
• A Sign of Spring
• Out of Ashes, a New Life
• A Woman Called Deborah
• Relationships
• We Would See Jesus
• Care and Prayer
• The Importance of Little Things
• Confused by Grace
• Seeds
• Gentle Peace
• Knowing God
• Come, Let Us Bow Down
• Facing Problems
• The Ten Commandments
• Not Always What They Seem to Be
• Cheerful Music
• Surprised by Joy
• Darkness and Light
• Redeemed
• Jesus or Judas
• Caring to a Careless World
• Last Words?
• The Light Is on Again
• Missing the Master?
• A Foolish Cross
• Greater Love
• Remember to Forget
• Broken Crystal
• Heart Music
• Foolish Man
• The Lord Is My Shepherd
• “Sympathy’s Sustaining Bread”
• Faith Plus
• Taxes
• Aim High
• I Tell You the Truth
• The Unspoken Word
• A Homing Experience
• Signs
• Signs 2
• Well Done
• About Greatness
• “Just Not My Day”
• Mary Magdalene
• Pass It
• False Hopes
• Where Is God?
• Our Legacy
• Changing the Course of History
• Seniors with Experience
• Naomi
• Ruth
• A Fine Honor
• Growing, Though Weary
• “Songs of Praise”
• Obstacles
• Memories
• New Opportunities
• True Freedom
• Just Ask
• God’s Laugh
• “Plumb Line over the City”
• Ethics
• Reading the Manual
• The Prodigal Son
• The Proper Son
• When We Suffer
• Life’s Most Important Lesson
• A Consuming Passion
• An Encouraging Word
• Walking the Right Way
• A Knock on the Door
• A Suffering, Singing Heart
• Blowing the Future
• The Christian Citizen
• The Dark Before the Dawn
• God’s Handiwork
• Twisting the Truth
• Dreams Die . . . Hope Brightens
• On the Rails
• For Others
• A Strong Tower
• Ambassadors for Christ
• A Scarecrow in a Melon Patch
• Love in Action
• Bits of Time and Opportunity
• Savior
• For Ballplayers and Others
• Noble Character
• The Supreme Pearl
• The Eternal Dimension
• Needed Pardon
• We Matter
• Reaching Out
• Like Jesus
• Humble Men and Women
• The Quality of Love
• Good News
• A Happy Face
• Be Perfect
• Closed Doors, Open Doors
• The Sun Has Come Out Again
• Worthy of Our Calling
• The Lawnmower Has Been Eaten
• Coolness & Balm
• God, Are You Listening?
• Removing Rocks
• The Race of Life
• Losing Our Freedom
• In the Hands of the Master
• Sowing Seed
• Integrity
• Bread on the Waters
• Prayer for the Nation
• Where We Live
• A Perspective on Living
• Permanent Treasures
• Changed Lives
• Faith in Action
• Life’s Struggles
• Servant of the Lord
• Do You Want to Be Well?
• What You Do; What You Are
• Color Blue
• A Good Conscience
• Give Me This Mountain
• God’s Assurances
• “My Grace Is Sufficient”
• The Face of God
• Growing and Running
• The Quality of Giving
• A New Religion
• Being Forgiven
• On the Sea of Life
• A Famine of Hearing
• Unknown
• Good News
• “Little Notes Which Like Each Other”
• Prayer and the Call of God
• Does God Answer Prayer? (Part One)
• Does God Answer Prayer? (Part Two)
• I Believe
• Role Models
• Try the Up-Look
• Putting Our Best Into Life
• No Light at the End of the Tunnel
• Known to Him
• Doors
• Making a Difference
• Walking to Emmaus
• God Lost?
• Personal Witness
• Changeable
• Treasures—Old and New
• Competing According to the Rules
• Living Water
• A Parable of Life
• Training
• Accompanied by the Master
• Perseverance
• Christ’s Vineyard
• Retired
• No Time to Listen
• A Work of Art
• Life’s Meaning
• Sharing
• Self–Sacrifice
• Encouragers
• A Ministry of Mercy
• True Beauty
• Our Reason for Hope
• Ode to Joy
• Stop the Frantic Search
• Measuring Another
• Together for Good
• Thank God for Something to Do
• Impressing
• Bobby
• Building Bridges
• Insight
• Struggles in Life
• Very Special People
• Giving Up Too Soon
• Tests
• Whatever Happened to Responsibility?
• Testing the Vibrations
• A Mirror Maze of Self–Pity
• Go and Do It for Somebody Else
• Pass It On
• Does God Believe in Me?
• Comfort When Hurting
• Someone to Love Me
• Loving Others
• Filthy Rags
• The Human Cry
• Where Do You Want to Go?
• God Laughs
• Nearer Than Hands or Feet
• Win a Bushel of Bucks
• “Towering O’er the Wrecks of Time”
• Cold Iron
• Like a Little Child
• Twisted Morality
• In the Crises of Life
• Fit to Play God’s Music
• Do As I Have Done
• Thanks for New Life
• A Feeling of Uncertainty
• Mastering the Difficulties of Growing Old
• Singing Again
• Music in the Soul
• Stuck
• Thank Him
• Small Forces
• Peace and Quiet
• God’s Hand in Ours
• Deep Roots
• Enjoyment to the Full
• Come in Here With Me
• Wailing Walls
• The Empty Cross
• Does Jesus Care?
• Early Failure
• Peace Not of This World
• Forgiveness
• Caring
• Sitting On It
• Please Sound the Note
• Blest Be the Tie
• The Process of Making New
• Reconciliation
• Cling and Wait
• Peer Pressure
• The Peace of God
• The Road of the Loving Heart
• The Capacity to Love
• The Sound of Your Name
• Entertaining Angels—Without Knowing It
• Crisis
• Will You Have a Cup of Tea?
• Humble Service
• Proclaiming
• Victorious Over Suffering
• Sacrifice and Honors
• Well Done!
• The Supreme Sacrifice
• The Final Peace
• Sharing
• Prayer Like a Telephone
• Doing For Others
• Faith in God
• Glory in the Cross
• God’s Caring
• Meekness
• A Staggering Finish
• A Striking Conversion
• Thanksgiving Day
• Outreaching Love
• Letters
• The Silence of God
• Press On
• “Leave Me My Men”
• Time and Eternity
• High Ways Are By–Ways
• With Jesus
• Andrew and I
• Going the Second Mile
• River of Delights
• Gold or God
• Is That All There Is?
• Faith’s Good News
• Trust and Faith
• An Overgrown Path
• At The Door
• Flower of Holy Night
• Taking Notice
• Comfort Ye
• Have We Forgotten?
• Because He Lives
• Doing Christmas Right
• Kneeling in Prayer
• Expectations
• Trees
• Willing to Share
• The Greatest Golden Text
• A Wheelbarrow for Christmas
• Through the Furnace
• Caring for Each Other
• Let Your Light Shine
• Doing Without the Baby
• No Vacancy
• The Key
• Hopelessness
• Humility
• Our Need: a Savior
• Missed
• Why Don’t You Lay Down Your Load?
• Notes