It seems my life is up for another change.
Monday, I began a new job. I am training to drive a school bus for the Medford
school district. This will give us a little money to fill in the gaps that
exist right now and hopefully a little extra. It will only be part time which I
hope will leave time for other things where I want to be involved.
This week David started his message by
asking how many of us liked to party. It seemed like a bit of an unusual
question. Then he reminded us of the stories we had looked at last week; the
lost sheep, followed by a celebration and then the lost coin followed by a
celebration. And then we looked at the story of the lost son. (Luke 15:11-32)
In this story we see 2 sons of one man.
One son, the younger, took his inheritance and left home. Then he wasted all of
the money and found himself in a very low place. Today we might say he found
himself in the sewer. The good thing is that “he came to himself” vs. 17.
*****
What a wonderful thing! How many of us
long for our children or a loved one to come to them self and see the true
condition of their life. At that point they are truly ready to do what this son
did. (my private rant)
*****
He came to himself and said, “My father’s
servants have food and clothing, I will go back home and ask to be made a
servant.”
It didn’t work out like he thought. His
father saw him coming and ran to meet him; he covered him with kisses and put
new cloths on him then said we’re gonna have a party, my son who was lost is
found! ( or something like that)
In both of the stories last week and in
the story this week Jesus pointed out that there is more joy in heaven over one
lost soul who finds the grace for repentance than over 99 righteous souls who
need no repentance. When anyone comes to Jesus there is a party in heaven.
The question then was do we celebrate the
things that they celebrate in heaven?
Sometimes I tend to be a critical of
others and think they are being too interested in natural things instead of
spiritual things. Jesus used 2 very natural examples and made no indication
that there was any problem with that. I see that I need to learn to not be
critical.
Another thing David mentioned is that
mission without celebration is not really mission. He then pointed out how many
celebrations there are in the Old Testament. God apparently wants His people to
be a people who know how to enjoy a celebration. Actually one of the complaints
that the religious leaders had about Jesus was that he was a winebibber and a
glutton. (Luke 7:34)Apparently Jesus enjoyed a good time.
We tend to avoid celebrations and parties
because of all that is wrong in the world. We tend to focus on the ones who are
not following God and they become the reason we feel we cannot celebrate. Or we
simply look at our own difficulties and think, “What do I have to celebrate?”
Then we need to ask, are we looking to celebrate the things that are celebrated
in Heaven or are we only looking for our own comfort or encouragement?
One of the life group questions is, how
does celebrating more often and more wholeheartedly affect our lives? One of
the members of our life group shared a challenge that someone had shared with
her. The challenge is to think of at least one thing each day that you are truly
thankful for and write it down in some kind of note book. She shared that it
had had a very pleasant affect on her life. It made me think of the scripture
in Philippians 4:8-9
Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there
be any virtue, and if there be
any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned,
and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with
you.
I know that
focusing on the negative things around me has no good affect. The word of God
seems to promise a much better affect if I will give my attention to the good
things that God has provided. I would encourage you to join me in taking some
time each day to write one or more things that give you reason to be thankful
for the next month. See if you can notice a difference in your attitude or even
your health. Have a little party each day, eat a cookie or have a cup of tea in
celebration, or whatever you choose, but make it a little party.
David also
pointed out that when the older son found out about the party, he only wanted
to complain and talk about what a good son he was. He sort of took the place of
the religious leaders who were critical of Jesus for spending time with
sinners. Let’s not be like them.
I also noticed
that the father was watching for the lost son. Are we watching for the lost
ones ready to welcome them back to the family of God with love and
encouragement?
Walk with God
this week and
Celebrate your
blessings!
Rick
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