Enjoy Yourself!

I was simply talking with an old friend and in the middle of the conversation, they broke out into an uncontrollable laugh at something.  Not something I said, but something they said. Normally this takes me a while to get used to.  If you are telling the joke, you should have already gotten some of the laughs out of your system so we can enjoy the punch line.  But this was not that kind of laugh.  There was no joke, and no punch line, they were really ‘enjoying themselves’…. not at my expense, just enjoying themselves in our conversation.

My friend was not concerned about me at all.  If fact, the more I questioned how much they were enjoying their own conversation, the harder they laughed!  I finally said, “You are really enjoying yourself, aren't you?"    They looked at me and said “Yes, yes I am!”  NO shame at all… just fun! 


As usual, this made me think.  How much of our life’s joy depends on the responses of others?  We are social people, so we love having good times with others, but how often do we wait to see who likes a post before we do?  How many times do we look around the room to see if anyone else is enjoying the preacher’s teaching as much as we are?  Maybe, just a simple movie that you really got a kick out of and almost didn’t go to because you heard it was not that good? 

What I got out of that simple encounter was this….If I don’t enjoy myself, I won’t really enjoy anyone else to the extent I could.  If I don’t enjoy my own company, no one else will make my time worth it.  If I don’t enjoy my own personal jokes, why wait for someone else to laugh?  If I don’t love ME… why expect others to?

Matthew 22:39 says 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

After that conversation, I made a commitment to ME.  I am going to enjoy myself; enjoy my life, enjoy my purpose, enjoy being a Christian and enjoy the great people God allows me to encounter!  I don’t have to wait for anyone to get on board.  No waiting to see if you are compatible with me, I am compatible with me.  My purpose is compatible with me. Everyone else gets to see me enjoying this wonderful life God has blessed me with! 

So I encourage you today, remember you only have one life to live on this earth.  You are your own best or worst ~constant company.  Make a commitment to yourself that regardless to what this world throws at you or who is on your side or not,   come rain or shine,

Enjoy Yourself!  

Jesus Death and Resurrection: Payment and Proof

Think about it… we were sinners.  

Death was the only payment for sin. 

Someone had to die.

By all fairness and justice, it should have been us. 

The ones who sinned. 

Not an innocent man. 

God.

During this time of year, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

Yes, celebrate death which paid for our sins, but why is the resurrection so important? 

What does it have to do with payment for our sins? 

Well, actually... Nothing.

Based on scripture, without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.  Since Jesus shed His blood for us, in death, our sins were taken care of, right?  

So what is the big deal about Resurrection?

I read just the other day about another man who was released after serving many years for a crime that now they realize he didn’t commit. That is not the first time, and it won’t be the last.   When I look at the stories telling of their fight to prove their innocence and the small group of people that believed in them, I always wondered; when you finally win, finally convince someone of your innocence, how do you could come back from that?

Our judicial system has really made some serious mistakes.  The kind you can't take back. 

How do you really feel free when you have lost so much that you will never get back?  You are behind in life, behind in the times, and behind in how people will view you. Loved ones have grown older, children now have children and no amount of money can ever give that back to you.  And if by chance you are one of the unfortunate ones that have been convicted and are executed wrongfully, well…. they may never really admit it.  Money to your family is not enough.

You can never give someone back their life.  Or can you?

The soul that sins, it should die.

Here we see Jesus, the Son of God who died not because of His own sin, but because of ours.  He was wrongfully crucified and killed.*  God knew He was innocent but allowed Him to die anyway because of the actual sin that was placed on Him.  Then as only God can do, after the penalty of sin was paid… God gave Him back His life!  He gave it back because it was unlawful to take the life of an innocent man. 

What we celebrate in resurrection is the fact that God gave Jesus back His life because He was not the one that sinned. Resurrection proves that Jesus was innocent, it proved that He was really a lamb without spot or blemish.  He was a sacrifice that could be slain on our behalf.  If Jesus would have stayed in the tomb, it would have meant or looked like He paid for His own sin; that He was legally guilty before God who is the Ultimate Judge.  Unlike our judicial system that cannot give you back what you lose after being wrongly accused, God can and God did.

When Jesus rose from the dead He did it with a great penalty already paid.  His outstanding payment was now open to be transferred to someone who actually needed it.  He chose me, you and anyone else who will receive it by faith.

So this resurrection and every day, I celebrate Jesus.  I celebrate His death, burial and yes especially resurrection.  I have a right by faith to accept the payment that was already made for me.  And you have the opportunity to accept it too.  Yes, His death was the payment, but His resurrection was the proof.

As a side note: Realize God will never let you take a hit for someone else and not bless you and them in the midst of it all.   He is able to touch those that you are called to sacrifice for, but He will also restore life to you at the same time.  That is the kind of God we serve!

*He willingly laid His life down for us!