Laughter feels good, doesn’t it? Recent health studies have shown that just 1 minute of laughter boosts your immune system for 24 hours. But 1 hour of anger can depress your immune system for the next 6 hours. Wow. Sure makes you want to laugh more, right?
But sometimes life and its worries steal our laughter. Remember how easy it was as a kid to laugh about anything? But now as adults, it’s so much harder to be carefree and laugh, with all of our worries and concerns. Who will pay the bills? What about finding my future spouse? How can I fix my kids’ problems? The list goes on.
But God laughs at His enemies—and that means we can too. Psalm 2:4 describes God’s attitude toward His enemies: “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.” Can you imagine God laughing? A wonderful image. Sometimes we picture God in heaven worried or mad about the current circumstances. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, God gets mad at injustice, but He is certainly not worried about the future—because He sees the end from the beginning. He knows He will set up His glorious kingdom and all His enemies will perish. Revelation 7:17 says, “For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes."
Take a minute and thank God for the end result. Even take a minute to laugh at your current troubles, because they will soon come to an end. Ask for God’s perspective, seated victoriously in heaven with Jesus. He has a great plan for you and is not at all worried about your current—or future—enemies. He will defeat them, and in the meantime, you can laugh off whatever worries may come your way.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Take Inventory First
Have you ever tried to bake a cake or put together a piece of furniture, only to find out that you don’t have all the necessary ingredients or pieces? How frustrating! Not only have you wasted time, you have wasted all the products you used without anything to show for it. And what if you had told people about it and they were expecting the finished product? That would be doubly embarrassing.
Jesus warned people about starting something they couldn’t finish. He said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish'” (Luke 14:28-30). Jesus was talking about planning to follow Him for your whole life—not just for a season when it feels good and is easy.
So how do you know if you have enough? That’s the beauty: Everyone has enough; it’s just a matter of what you are willing to give. Jesus went on to say, “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Everything he has. Not a certain unattainable quota; just whatever you have, you need to be willing to forsake it.
This should be comforting and not comforting. Yes, it will take sacrifice to follow Jesus your whole life, but at least it will be a sacrifice that you are able to make! Say God required you to give one million dollars and you never were going to be able to get it in the first place! That would be really hard. But all God is saying is, “Give me whatever you have. I will bless it and multiply it in ways you can’t imagine.” Take Abraham, for example. He was willing to give up his promised child, but God blessed him and made him the father of a great nation—and eventually everyone who would believe in Jesus.
What do you have to give up? Is it status? A relationship? Your pride? God can help you sacrifice it and build the greatest life you can imagine, based on His Word and following His Son. Take inventory right now and commit your life to Jesus. It will be worth it.
Jesus warned people about starting something they couldn’t finish. He said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish'” (Luke 14:28-30). Jesus was talking about planning to follow Him for your whole life—not just for a season when it feels good and is easy.
So how do you know if you have enough? That’s the beauty: Everyone has enough; it’s just a matter of what you are willing to give. Jesus went on to say, “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Everything he has. Not a certain unattainable quota; just whatever you have, you need to be willing to forsake it.
This should be comforting and not comforting. Yes, it will take sacrifice to follow Jesus your whole life, but at least it will be a sacrifice that you are able to make! Say God required you to give one million dollars and you never were going to be able to get it in the first place! That would be really hard. But all God is saying is, “Give me whatever you have. I will bless it and multiply it in ways you can’t imagine.” Take Abraham, for example. He was willing to give up his promised child, but God blessed him and made him the father of a great nation—and eventually everyone who would believe in Jesus.
What do you have to give up? Is it status? A relationship? Your pride? God can help you sacrifice it and build the greatest life you can imagine, based on His Word and following His Son. Take inventory right now and commit your life to Jesus. It will be worth it.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Hero
What is a hero? A hero is someone who does something worthy for someone else, often at great cost or sacrifice to themselves.
Jesus Christ is the greatest hero of all times. He came to this earth and sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world. He gave the greatest gift His own life. He took on Himself the punishment for your sins and mine when He hung on the cross and died. He was ridiculed, and humiliated, and beaten all for us.
Sometimes for a family member, someone might give their life, or even for a very good person. But who would give their life for a criminal for one condemned to death? Yet God in His great love sent His own Son Jesus Christ to die for us, who are worthy of death because of our sins. How great is the love of God!
There is a story of a judge who was sitting in court, and one day his own son was brought before him on a charge of stealing; and his son was guilty. The judge pronounced him guilty, but then came off the bench and paid the fine himself. Jesus Christ paid our penalty for sin all we need to do is turn from our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and we receive the gift of eternal life. Praise God for His great love!
Jesus Christ is the greatest hero of all times. He came to this earth and sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world. He gave the greatest gift His own life. He took on Himself the punishment for your sins and mine when He hung on the cross and died. He was ridiculed, and humiliated, and beaten all for us.
Sometimes for a family member, someone might give their life, or even for a very good person. But who would give their life for a criminal for one condemned to death? Yet God in His great love sent His own Son Jesus Christ to die for us, who are worthy of death because of our sins. How great is the love of God!
There is a story of a judge who was sitting in court, and one day his own son was brought before him on a charge of stealing; and his son was guilty. The judge pronounced him guilty, but then came off the bench and paid the fine himself. Jesus Christ paid our penalty for sin all we need to do is turn from our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and we receive the gift of eternal life. Praise God for His great love!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)