As Christian's we have cause to celebrate with a party

Philippians 1:2922But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.23I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

The other day I was reflecting on the contrast between life in heaven and life on earth. There couldn't be a more opposite contrast than that scenario. Heaven is a place where sin reigns no more. Scriptures remind us that in heaven there will be plenty of celebrating with lot's of food, fun and festivities. This is what our loved ones are experiencing once their life ends. The Apostle Paul knew this dilemma well when he penned those words above.

After Jesus Christ died on the cross and ascended to heaven He assured us that as followers of Christ we would be given his holy spirit. In other words, a simple commitment to invite Jesus into your heart is the beginning of what will be an amazing journey of discovery of becoming more Christ like all the days of our lives.

 Paul knew that although it would be better for him to be with Christ ( he said this while suffering many afflictions while in chains) While it was obvious Paul was in discomfort he decided it was worth living to encourage believers around him.. Just as Paul knew our mission in life is to share our new life experiences with those who may still be living in darkness.

One of our families favorite movies was the movie about a dog named Winn Dixie. Because of Winn Dixie is a story about a Pastor who's wife left him because she could no longer stand being a pastor's wife. It was a story about his daughter believing that her mom couldn't stand being a mother to her and that was the reason she left her. This pastor, played by Jeff Daniel's, moved to a small southern town to preach at a church that met in a store front. The movie is all about the loneliness of grief. A story about a town that once cared for each other were now entrenched with trying to cope with their own grief.

 One day Ophal went to the local Winn Dixie grocery store when this dog started causing havoc by knocking over fruit stands, canned goods and people. Ophal looked at the sign and began calling this dog Winn Dixie and to her amazement the dog came to her. From that point on this dog became her friend and helped her see the town's people through his eyes.

One of the characters was a young girl who sucked her thumb past the point when most kids stopped . What Ophal the daughter, played by AnnaSophia Robb discovered was this girl lost her younger brother who died an unexpected death.

How often when we are in grief that we forget to enjoy life and have fun? How often do we neglect spending time with good friends after we lose a loved one? There seems to be this unwritten rule that when someone is grieving we go inside or ourselves, close the door and the window shades. Some will do this for months, while others may never return to their former selves and take their pain to their graves.

It was only when I understood what heaven was going to be like for all of us that I began asking, "if heaven is a place of celebrations, food and festivities,, then should we have cause to celebrate on earth as believers in Christ?" I started reflecting on the importance of having earthly celebrations as a way of demonstrating to those around us of the amazing things Christ is doing in our lives. Since God has given us an amazing ability to carry joy and sorrow forward after the death of a loved one then wouldn't it be right for us to celebrate on earth?

This was exactly what Ophal and her friends decided to do when an older lady named Gloria, played by Cicerly Tyson gave permission to her friends to have a party and invite the people who had been entrenched with grief and sorrow. They didn't planned on a thunderstorm to spoil their fun, or that her dog winn-dixie who was afraid of thunderstorms would run away or that all the food had to be bought indoors. Ophal was naturally heart broken that her party didn't go as planned and that her dog had abandoned her just like her mom did.

How often do we feel when we are in a storm of life that everyone has abandoned us? We sit dejected, depressed and unable to move. 

What Ophal discovered in the final scene when she returned to her party was a miracle. While her dad lead a group prayer  Winn-dixie returned to her. Ophal discovered another lesson. Out of the storms of this life blessings do pour. Her dog returned and her friends still wanted to have a party.

There are many lonely people who are looking for opportunities to celebrate. All it takes is someone to initiate.

The next time you are feeling depressed and sad do what Ophal and her friends did and throw a party. As Christians we have many reasons to celebrate. because of what Christ has done and continues to do for us.

I encourage you to watch this movie with friends and use it as a prelude to talking about changes in your life since your commitment to Christ. Make sure you have lot's of snacks to enjoy with your friends.

We are the hands and feet of Jesus

In this modern age Jesus Christ is still touching lives through ordinary people like you and me

God uses stories of people who were once lost, but now found to reach lives of people still lost.  No matter what kind of pain you have in your life and no matter how you have been hurt our Lord Jesus died on the cross for you. He is writing your story. A story to share with the world around you. A story to bring others to Christ. Over the centuries God has given redemption stories to people who one day will share their story with those around them.

Like sweet smelling perfume these redemption stories are the aroma that brings people to the cross. They may never step foot in a church, nor will they see the inside of a children's Sunday school classroom as a child, but they will rub shoulders with people who have amazing stories of how God touches lives. In this brief video you will meet a man with such a story.

 I encourage you to take a moment and hear his faith story.

On my way to St. Paul to help some friends unload their moving van I realized I was becoming invigorated knowing I was using my gift of service

Hebrews 13

13 Keep loving each other like family. 2 Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it. 3 Remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place. 4 Marriage must be honored in every respect, with no cheating on the relationship, because God will judge the sexually immoral person and the person who commits adultery. 5 Your way of life should be free from the love of money, and you should be content with what you have. After all, he has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.

In a Facebook posting was a urgent need by a couple to help them unload their moving van. A friend of mine and I showed up at their home at 8:00 am on a Saturday morning. As strange as this may seem I was invigorated the closer I traveled to their destination. I was listening to KTIS FM to some amazing worship songs when I realized I was actually using my spiritual gift of service! As I look back over my life it was those moments when I was helping someone in need that I completely felt like I was in the center of God's will for my life.

Grief has a way of causing us to being entrenched and inward focused. When we stay in this self centered position for long we allow ourselves to develop a cynical view of the world. We see the world as a very evil place, full of untrustworthy people and organizations. You can imagine that this entrenchment mentality really is not a healthy place to be for even a short period of time!

Which is one reason God desires us to look outward at the world by performing acts of service. In Hebrews we read in the following:'13 Keep loving each other like family. 2 Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it. 3 Remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place. Again in verse five,  Your way of life should be free from the love of money, and you should be content with what you have. After all, he has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.[a] 6 This is why we can confidently say,

The Lord is my helper,
and I won’t be afraid.
What can people do to me?[b]

Later on in that verse and this is the part that invigorates me and it goes like this: 13 So now, let’s go to him outside the camp, bearing his shame. 14 We don’t have a permanent city here, but rather we are looking for the city that is still to come.

15 So let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise through him, which is the fruit from our lips that confess his name. 16 Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices.

The beautiful part of helping our brothers and sisters in need is we are honoring God because we are becoming the hands and feet of Jesus.

Finally, in a conversation with a friend I was reminded  that in World war II there was a massive carpet bombing that decimated a city. When they toured the wreckage of a nearby cathedral they discovered a large statue of Jesus that formerly had arms and hands outstretched with the phrase 'come unto me those with heavy burdens'. They decided not to reattached the hands and arms in order to be reminded  that we are the hands and feet of Jesus to meet the needs of the world.

I encourage you to look around you today and search for some way to meet the needs of those around you. As you do so you may discover, like me, a feeling of being more invigorated because God is using you in the lives of people around you. The more you reach out to the world around you, the more you will see the needs of others and the more peace you will feel just knowing that God is using  your hands and your feet to meet the needs of others around you.

 As far as my friends I helped yesterday just a few of us were able to empty the moving truck. 

Every day find something that makes you smile

Romans 15:13New International Version (NIV)13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yesterday was a great day for our family. My son had a very good afternoon connecting with friends who called him not longer after arriving home from their Florida vacation. These guys are like brothers to him with a friendship that dates back to preschool. I picked up my wife and helped her tidy up the school media center by pushing in all the chairs around the room. Since time was getting away from us I suggested we call our son and offer to meet him at Baker's Square for dinner. The same Baker's Square we ate at when Maria was alive.

Have you ever had the experience where time seems to slip by because you are having so much fun? We had that experience last night. Originally, we entertained the idea of going to a movie since this was the final weekend before our son returned to the college campus for the final quad at his school, but instead we spent the time laughing and listening to each other. As I laughed I could feel the benefits of that laughter on my whole being. My wife quoted a study she heard about the benefits of thinking positively and what it can do to our bodies. To those who first enter the grief thinking positively is not an easy thing to do. To them it is much easier to lay under the covers with a box of Kleenex at your side in a darken room than to take the effort to get up and look at the sunny side of life.

To those who are grieving I encourage you to keep a joy journal. Each day find something that brings a smile to your face. There are many things that will do this if you take the time to find them. Some of the things I did while grieving were taking a walk, having a quiet time in a place that had warm memories with my family (I was able to create new memories), sit out in the sunshine and feel the warmth of the sun, exercise simply by going on a long walk, calling a friend, keeping my long established rituals like going to Sunday worship with my family and being involved in a small group, volunteering, and the list goes on.

As you keep your joy journal you will discover in time you will have a new reason to live. Yes, your loved one is no longer here, but there are other's around you that make living all the more worthwhile. We need each other because grief impacts us all.

The bible is the most amazing book ever written because within those pages are examples of how much God loves his people. The same God who rescue the Jewish people by opening up the sea allowing safe passage from their attackers is the same God who desires to walk with you when your day light turns to darkness.

Go ahead and look for things that make you smile!

Nick Vujicic Bully talk

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

My wife, son and I watched a video about one of his bullying talks in our Home builder's Sunday school class. He is an awesome speaker who shares a powerful testimony that in one school he spoke at radically changed the school when all bullying stopped months after his talk. 

It seems that bullying has hit rampant proportions in our schools across the country.  Because of bullying hundred's of kids have taken their lives. When I was a kid bullying took the role of name calling and practical jokes, but in this day bullying has become much more insidious. I am referring to cyber bullying. Some kids who bully are so good at this that it is impossible for the victim to find out who is tormenting them.  Reputations are being ruined and kids are taking their lives because of their inability to handle the tormenting.

Nick Vujicic was a man born with no arms or legs, but he had two parents who told him that they loved him and reminded him that he could do anything if he set his mind on it. Nick grew up in a Christian home where he discovered that the bible was his favorite book of all time because it was this book that reminded him that Jesus Christ loved and would never forsake him, even if he had no arms or no legs.

My wife and I always had an open door policy with our children.  They could come to us anytime to talk to us about their problems and we would drop what we were doing at the moment and listen to them. When Maria died unexpectedly we kept the door open to our son and reminded him how much he was loved.  We reminded him that Jesus will never forsake him, no matter how he felt in the coming days, months and years of his grief.  We kept him in the same rituals he had before his loss and this gave him a sense of security.We hugged him often because we wanted him to know that we loved him. We were grateful to  have a son who was a communicator who loved sharing with us his struggles.

Surviving children need that assurance from mom and dad. You may not feel normal after a sudden loss, but simply reminding your surviving children how much you love them may be just what they need to get through the day. Your love for them and your willingness to spend time with them will counter any bullying they may have received during their school day. 

Every child becomes a victim of bullying at some point in their lives, but the best remedy is to love, love and love your children and remind them that you believe in them regardless of what others think of them.

Paul discovers that God really does make everything new again.

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

You might remember that Paul was killed when a speeding car crashed into his and Jesus sent his angels down to  bring him home to heaven. Paul was then brought into Heaven's equipment room where Jesus exchanged his time worn earthly body with a brand new heavenly one. Paul had a chance to run and do things he never could do in his limited earthly body when he proudly announced that he "wasn't even tired". Paul then was brought into the Reception room of heaven where he was greeted by many people he once knew from his past that turned out to be people who had greatly encouraged him in spiritual journey on earth. Paul had a chance to see his child who died years earlier who gently reminded his dad that he really didn't have to worry about him because his new life in heaven has been so much fun.  :Paul would then learn that his new job would be working as a carpenter which he never could do in his earthly existence and has quickly grasp the skills of his new occupation by creating grand pianos for those who love to play.

On this day we find Paul looking out of his workshop at a landscape of beautiful flowers with shimmering colors he had never seen before on earth and looking at a small lake with water much more cleaner than anything he had ever seen where he came from and tall mighty oak, elm and birch trees with their leaves gently blowing in the wind. In one oak tree he noticed several kids playing in one and decided to set down his carpenter tool and walk over to talk with them.

Paul: " Hi It looks all of you are having fun up there!"

The kids look down to see who it was that was talking to them. One young girl was the first to speak up.

Girl: "I am having so much fun being up here with my friends"

Paul: : "When I was a kid I use to love climbing trees. Say, what are your names?"

All the kids volunteered to say their name first before the girl that initially spoke put everything in order.

Girl: " The boy up there is Matty and the one way up there is Joshua and the other girl way out on that limb is Suzanne"

Paul: " And how bout your name?"

Girl: " My name is Maria"

Paul: " Can you kids tell me  a little more about yourselves?" He paused to reflect on his words. " When I first came to heaven I was brought into this equipment room where Jesus gave me this brand new heavenly body."

Matty: " I know that room. It was the same room I came into where I got this awesome body that allowed me to do the things I never could do on earth."

Joshua: " Me too."

Suzanne: " also me".

Maria finally speaks up. "  I never could climb trees before I got this brand new heavenly body. I remembered watching my brother and his friends climbing and having so much fun and wishing I could just once sit on a tree branch"

Paul looked quizzically at each of the kids and wondered more about what their lives were like on earth before Jesus brought them home.

Paul: " Matty can you tell me a little more about yourself about your life on earth?"

Matty chirped up. " My parents told me that I was born with Spinal Bifida. I never did learn how to walk right and I was in this wheelchair designed for me."

Paul: " Joshua, how about your life?"

Joshua: " I was in a car accident when I was a kid and was in the hospital for many months until the doctor told my parents that I would never walk again.  One night I remembered going to sleep and the next thing I knew Jesus and his angels were standing at my side. I came into the equipment room of heaven and Jesus gave me this body where I could climb trees, run, and do all the things I never could do in my accident prone body on earth."

Paul: " and how bout you Maria?"

Maria: " My mom and dad adopted me from Guatemala.  When I was in my new home they noticed I wasn't walking as well as most kids my age and took me to see doctors. I was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy and with my mom and dad's help I went to see a physical therapist every week. Then I had this surgery to help me walk better, but the first night I came home from the hospital I remembered going to sleep after my dad kissed me on the forehead and saying "see you in the morning". It seemed like only minutes later when I saw Jesus at my bedside. Next thing I knew I was brought into the equipment room where, like Joshua, Matty and Suzanne I was given this awesome heavenly body that allowed me to do many things I couldn't even do on earth."

Paul: " Those are awesome stories!" He pauses before continuing, " Anyone want to race? I bet you can't beat me?"
All the kids jump down and began running at full speed. Paul takes off in his own mad dash to beat the kids.

Paul quickly learned that God had fulfilled his promise of making all things new again. Through Matty, Joshua, Suzanne and Maria he learned that life in these new heavenly bodies would not compared with the ones they had on earth.  After saying so long to his new found friends Paul heads back to the carpenters workshop where he picked up his tool and continued to work on the grand piano that was beginning to look like one.