EPISODE S4E5: Happy New Year

Leaning into a new year and all God has for us in it is a wonderful way to enter 2025.

Listen to Hal as he shares his heart for God’s purposes in 2025 both personally for him and his family and for the work of Finishing Well Ministries.

Transcript

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Music.

Dr Hal Habecker: 0:04

Welcome to the finish and well podcast where we encourage seasoned believers to find meaningful ways to impact their world for the kingdom of God, whether you're 65 and up or not quite there. Yet, our mission is to prepare and encourage every person to finish well. Our prayer is that this podcast will encourage and strengthen you to glorify Christ as we intentionally engage our aging fears. Good morning. It's morning here in Dallas, January 13. My name is Hal habecker, and this is our first podcast for the year 2025, looking forward to what's ahead. And I just want to share a few thoughts with you to encourage each of us as we press on and finishing well, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the deep satisfaction of our own lives, because I think our deepest satisfaction is when God is most glorified in our lives. So let's press on with his purposes in our life. So just this is a random just a lot of thoughts, but you'll see where they're focused. So stay with me a couple verses. I want to kick off the year with Psalm 118, verse 24 this is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. You know this day is the first day of the rest of our lives, of this week of this month of this year. So when the psalmist says, This is the day the Lord has made, the Lord is making all of our lives. He's ahead of us. He's made this day before we ever walked into it, this week, this month, this year. He knows all the things that are going to happen to our lives, and we have a choice in responding to that. Do we embrace that? Can we say this is the day that I love? I anticipate it. I can't wait to walk through it. I can't wait to do what God has called me to do. I can't wait to enjoy all the things he has made for me. So it causes us to think ahead a little bit with just an affirmation, I'm glad I'm alive and I want to do what God wants me to do. Psalm 90, verse 12, I love So teach me Moses praise to number my days that I might present to you, O God, a heart of wisdom we have this day, this week, this month. You know, we can think through it. We can plan. So teach me. Help me learn the value of measuring each day, seeing what you O God, have put in it for me to embrace. And let's live it. Let's do it week by week. Let's do it as a marriage. Let's do it as a family. Let's do it as an individual. It doesn't matter what our age is, maybe in our 80s, 90s, 70s, 60s, 50s, 40s, whatever it is. And then I love Philippians, three verses, 1213, and 14. I won't read them, but they're etched in my mind. The concept there Paul is writing from a jail cell in Rome, and he's thinking about when he is going to get out,

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and he says, there's things you have for me to do God. I want to forget what's past, what I've done in the past of my life, and I want to press on for the reason Jesus laid hold of me for this day and this week and this month and next year, to be what God wants me to be. So here's the apostle Paul in his early 60s, asking God to give him days ahead. And he says, I want to press on to know what you laid hold of me for. Then he says, in verse 14, so let us press on to know the Lord. Well. That's, I think, in verse 12, but he says in verse 10, I press on for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ, Jesus. So let me ask you. I ask myself this every day, am I pressing on for the goal that God has for me? You know, I can develop my own goals, and I do a lot of times, but I'm thinking back across my life. I mean, God has goals for me. He has a purpose for my life. Am I embracing that? Am I getting into that? So that's just a few verses to start. I don't know what God has for you this year, but I don't know what he has for me, but he has a purpose in our lives. Some thoughts about. Finishing well as we start this year. You know, in general, I think of this year in finishing well Ministries as a year long, 10 year celebration of what God has already done in finishing well. In February of 2015 Vicky and I walked away from Dallas Bible Church, having finished over 21 years of being lead and senior pastor there, God gave us a marvelous ministry, marvelous friendships. But we walked away from that place and we launched finishing well ministries, having no idea what God would do and from where we started that day, really March one. And even before that, as we were thinking about how to develop the ministry to today, where there are hundreds, literally hundreds of churches all across America using the finishing well, ministries seven essentials. And by the way, I just think they're marvelous gifts, a way of thinking about aging that God has for us. And there are hundreds of churches across the United States, Canada and even elsewhere in the country. There are people in other countries finding our discovering our information on the web, and it just is making a big difference in people's lives. And I love that, you know, fitting God is doing things and finishing well, ministries that I don't think I ever would have imagined. And now where it is today, I'm wondering what the next 10 years might be. How will God lead it? In other ways, it's exciting just to think about that. So that's a big picture of ministry and and I want you to think and pray with me about that. And that's not the only thing. I mean, not just ministry. I want to talk about some personal things as well later on. But would you pray for us as we go into this first of the next 10 years, laying plans for the future? Would you support us financially? You know, the big thing in the United States, and there are some videos we have out on our Web. Look at them. You know, in the next 30 to 36 years, those that population 65 and older, will grow from like 54 million to 95 96 million. I mean, that's crazy. We call it the graying tsunami of America and really of the world. I think the question of aging, and how we help people in their aging years, and how they live out their own aging years, like me, I'm 75 I mean, what do I do? What is God going to do through my life? How is he going to impact the world? I think this is a huge question. I have a good friend here in Dallas called Mike. Mike and Pam Grayson, they lead our ministries at a local church. And Mike says, you know, if every older person, plus 65 or would catch a vision of how God really could use them in their aging years, how would the church be different? How would our world be different, instead of retirement and going into less activity in that sense and ease, and this is my time to play golf and do whatever it is I want to do, as opposed to catching a vision for what God wants to add to your life in these important, critically important years. How would life change? Would you support us financially to reach that mission? It's going to take dollars and a commitment to from a lot of people to expand the ministry, doing things that we haven't yet done though. You know, expanding the seven essentials, developing new content for our ministry, seeing expand and grow training leaders. There's a whole list of things. Would you send us ideas that we might pursue as you think about finishing well for your own life. What are the things you would like to see? See finishing well ministry develop more. For example, we've had a couple interviews on our podcast with Jerry Wiles on brain health. I'd like to see Jerry become more active in our ministry and develop a series of resources on brain health and thinking well and adapting to change and growing. I mean, these are all things that are a part of the seven essentials, and we can develop a whole number of things like that. And you may have other ideas. I mean, I'd love for you to interact with me, Ray me and Hallet finish you all ministries.org, and send us your thoughts and your ideas. And let's do it together with your help. I think all kinds of ways God will use to help finish. Well, ministries make a difference. Now, I mentioned earlier, just about a personal application. I read a fascinating book last year. You know, I love to read a book. I read, and I don't know how I got in touch with it. I think I heard somebody mention it, but it is by Ray and Jenny ortland, O, R, T, l, u, n, d, called to the 10th generation. The subtitle is God's heart for your family far into the future. And this book really captured my imagination, and it really helps. I mean in terms of not only would, what does God want you to do? Back to Psalm 18, 118, verse 24 this is the day. Well, this is the day for you and your family. What does God want to do from for your and through your family? So let me just share this idea that the ortlands have. They're imagining what 10 generations into the future will look like, you know? I think that's a great question. You know, let's just say Vicki and I are the first generation of our three children. So our children are the second and then grandchildren, then great grandchildren. What would our family look like 10 years into the future? Well, Ray and Jenny really picked that out. You know, first of all, and I just want to read a section out of their book, she said. And when you think about it, 10 generations are not an unimaginably long time, the two of us already have a living experience of five generations with our own family, our grandparents, our parents, ourselves, our children and five, our Gen, our grandchildren. The story is big, yes, but look how quickly it unfolds, and they go through 10 generations in their family, and at the multiplication rate of the first generations, they says this, Ray and Jenny, if our family keeps growing as it at it At its present rate of acceleration in 10 generations, these 1971 starry eyed love birds, that's Ray and Jenny, will have multiplied to around 55,000 people, a city about the size of Sarasota, Florida, and It's our fault, and we can't say to those 55,000 people, we have nothing to do with you. Why do we owe you anything? Sitting here where we live today, and they say No way, by God's grace, we can, we must. We will think future, all those people traceable to our marriage, who will appear in this world according to God's plan, they will be facing unimaginable challenges in their time. They deserve and they will need all the prayer and all the help we can send on ahead. Crawford loretz has a great phrase from a sermon I heard him preach years ago. He says, we pray for generations we will never see, you know, Ray and Janney and any one of us after five generations, we may not see the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th. And Ray and Jenny get this idea of the 10th generations from a segment in Deuteronomy that where Moses thinks about the impact of the next 10 generations. Well, you've I mean, as I stop to think about it, that's the way God is always thinking. He's always thinking ahead to generations following us, and what will our role be in helping those generations to develop. You know, it's a personal thing for Vicki and me. You know, if you and your spouse are still living together, you know what? What are the challenges God has for you and the impact of your adult kids, your great great grandkids, your great grandkids, and even your great great grandkids, officiated a memorial service last year of a friend who was 103 I'll officiate memorial service this coming Saturday again for another friend she was in her mid 90s. And you know, life rolls on, and you have the opportunity to take advantage of this day, this week, this month, and thinking ahead about what kind of impact you dream of your life having on generations following you. And by the way, I would say it will not happen unless we intentionally develop this. So I would encourage you number one by Ray and Jenny ortland's book is. It's entitled to the 10th generation. Let me see. Is published by b and h Publishing Group Brentwood, Tennessee. Find it and read it. It'll be a great encouragement and challenge to you. So these and other issues will keep developing and finishing well. Ministries. So pray for us. Support us financially and give us your feedback. You know our mission is to age with purpose and encourage everyone else to age with purpose, equipping and encouraging seniors to actively pursue and fulfill God's calling in their lives, in my life, in your life, in your marriage, if your spouse is gone in your life as a single, as a widow or as a widow, and let's keep making an impact for Christ through every day we live. So I'll finish by going back to Psalm 118, verse 24 this is the day the Lord has made. Let us accept it, embrace it, and live it purposefully and intentionally, not just for this day, but for this week, for this month and for this year, may God bless you and Let's fulfill God's dreams and his plans for us in every way. In 2025 Have a blessed day. Thank you for listening to this finishing well podcast. We hope you were encouraged by today's conversation and living out your God given purpose. Subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcast, or you can find us at finishing well ministries.org, forward slash podcast, if you have a question, a comment or a suggestion or an idea, send a note to me. How@finishingwellministries.org check out our website and our vision to change the way we think about our aging season of life. Go to finishingwellministries.org and visit our website. We'll see you next time, and may the Lord bless and encourage you.