Praise the Lord! He is good.
God’s love never fails.
2 Praise the God of all gods.
God’s love never fails.
3 Praise the Lord of lords.
God’s love never fails. Psalm 136
I buy Life cereal because after all Mikey eats it
http://youtu.be/vYEXzx-TINc .
I renew my policy with Allstate because their commercials resonate with my need for security. http://youtu.be/TscHTLOL9bY
I drink milk because the commercials remind me that milk builds strong minds and bodies as this commercial suggests: http://youtu.be/82yZVB7IDlE.
I buy cars partly because of the emotions that advertisers want me to associate to their cars. http://youtu.be/FoGGDKV88Fg
When I see movies I see them in hopes of having my heart strings tugged. Film makers know that which is why they spend money to add musical scores to their films. This clip from Star War's movie beautifully illustrates the difference the film comes across when the music is taken out: http://youtu.be/G5z2ECXo33s. I doubt very few of us would plunk down money to see a movie without any musical score
Because we are emotional human beings it should not surprise us that when someone you love dies these feelings come to the surface and cause deep sorrow. It also should not surprise us that the intensity of our feelings is connected to the length and depth of our relationship we had with the one who died.
When God created us in the first place he did so because he wanted us to be in a loving relationship with the creator of the universe He wanted us have emotional connections with those around us. He wanted us to fall in love, get married, and raise a future generation. He knew that we live in a fallen world when unexpected things occur that will bring pain into our lives and so he provided us with each other. God reminds us in Ecclesiastes 4:12 that a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
God knew there would be trouble in this world and provided a Savior to walk with us when unexpected grief become our constant companion. I am reminded through scripture there is hope in our grief because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. http://youtu.be/HaS-9AP96gE
The hope we have in Christ is that our grief is made more palatable knowing that when the lives of our loved ones end we have the peace in knowing that their lives continue in heaven. There is hope that we will recover from grief. I encourage you to lean into your grief and trust God that he knows what he is doing with you. After all, you were wonderfully made by God and wouldn't you think he would know how to help you in your time of need? I know that full well from the commitment I made in 1974. A simple decision to invite Jesus into my heart has lead me on a lifetime journey of seeing God blessings. Even when I was in the valley of the shadow of death following my daughter's sudden death God was still there for me. He wept just as I wept. There were times that he had to carry me through the days I didn't think I had the strength to survive. Even the days I didn't have the strength to even look at God's word he gave me godly people who assured me of his promises.
As we celebrate the Christmas season let us remember all of the past blessings God had given to each of us. Then share the love of Christ with someone who may not know him on a personal level as you do. If we all did this as believers in Christ great things will happen, one life at a time. Now that would be very pleasing to God!
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