Celebrate Our Joy

Revelation 19:1-9

One week from today, my husband and I will celebrate our 22^nd anniversary.  It seems like only yesterday we invited our friends and family to “rejoice and be glad with us.” Our reception was quite the party!

A few days before the wedding, my soon-to-be husband started inviting everyone he saw.  Strangers on the street were encouraged to attend.  Now, anyone who’s planned a wedding knows one of the most important things is to stick to the numbers.  The reception hall was already full and I was afraid we weren’t going to have enough seats or food.

But Corey didn't see it that way.  He's "the more the merrier” type.  He was genuinely excited about our wedding and wanted to share our joy.  Yes, we did have people show up who hadn’t been sent a formal invitation, but it all worked out.

The dance floor was packed, and we celebrated well into the night.  It was a true celebration, filled with unforgettable memories.

I can only imagine that’s what God wants for us when we’re ready to enter into a relationship with Him.  He wants us to be filled with joy and then want to share that joy with others.  “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb” (v. 9).

No one throws a party better than the Father.  Wouldn’t you like to be invited to His feast?

So, as Corey and I celebrate together, we’ll also celebrate Christ.  It’s through Him these past 22 years were possible.  “Amen, Hallelujah!”

PS:  I just found a copy of our wedding program and the cover reads - Celebrate Our Joy.  I think we all did!

    

What Was, What Is and What Is To Come

Thanksgiving.

 

A day for remembering and celebrating. A day to spend time with family and friends.  A day to relax and watch football. A day to eat and eat, rest a bit and eat some more. And best of all, today is the day!

 

At our house we remember all the good things God has given us and give thanks. We look back to the past and reflect on what we have, and we reflect on the good things we have in the present. These include family, new family members, friends, our material possessions and perhaps a special vacation we took over the summer.

 

We give thanks for what is and what was.

 

Today’s reading is Isaiah 25:6-9.

 

Isaiah is describing a sumptuous banquet that at first may seem like a Thanksgiving Day meal. It is greater than that, though. It is the wedding banquet of Jesus and his Church.

 

The banquet is to honor the groom, Jesus, as well as the bride, his church. Since his church includes you and I, we will be there, not as invited guests, but as guests of honor!

 

Preceding this feast, Jesus returned to earth to gather the saints and take them to the banquet. He resurrected the dead; the once deceased saints will be there as well. He perfected us, he destroyed Satan and he removed all sin. All this is done in the “twinkle of an eye” (see 1 Cor 15:52).

 

The banquet will be a celebration of thanks for all that God has done for us.

 

Obviously this great banquet occurs in the future, yet we can be certain that it will happen. We know that Jesus will overcome Satan and his minions. We know that we will be there. What a great joy it will be!

 

Back to Thanksgiving at my household.

 

I have to modify the prayer for Thanksgiving  this year.

 

We will give thanks for what was, what is, and what is to come! (Cf. Rev 4:8)

 

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

Forgiven By God’s Grace

Some of our deepest wounds come from our families. If we allow them to eat away at us, they will fester like a profound sore that won’t heal, consuming and tiring us to the point of exhaustion, and emptying our hearts of the joy the Lord wants for us. Bitterness accompanied by its cell mate jealousy or hate will rob us of relationships God intended us to grow in.

Luke 15 tells of how Jesus shared several parables with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, as they were mocking Him for welcoming sinners and eating with them. Apparently they did not comprehend his intentions, or His Grace.

One parable was about the son who requested his inheritance from his father, set off for another country, squandered his wealth in wild living, and then returned to the father requesting a place with the servants. Upon his arrival the father welcomed him with open arms and orchestrated a grand feast to celebrate his return with music and dancing after adorning him with a fine robe, sandals, and the family ring.  The other son, who had been faithful to his father all along, was very upset and bitter about how his father was treating his brother, after all the wrongs he had committed. Many might say the brother was justified for feeling that way; however the father is the one who “really got it.” In Luke 15: 31-32 when approached by his other son, the father stated, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and now he is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

This father is a symbol of our own Father God, who accepts us back into his family no matter where we have been. In Matthew 8:11 Jesus proclaimed, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven.”  God wants us all back, no matter who we are or what we've done. Jesus modeled unconditional love while He walked this earth and He expects us to do the same. In the long term scheme of things, what does holding on to a grudge or negative emotions do for us?  By His wounds we are healed. By God’s Grace we are forgiven.

           “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Read/Listen to Luke 15:1-3
Read/Listen to Luke  11-32

Listen to: 7X70 by Chris August

Luke 13:22-30

Take the high road
Dance to the beat of a different drummer
Don’t follow the crowd
What’s popular isn’t always right, and what’s right isn’t always popular
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail

These are the types of phrases we often used with our children as they were growing up. We all strive to help our young people see that there are bad influences and evil all around us that we want them to stay clear of. We have lots of good advice, but it is much easier said than done in this world. Apparently the same was true when Jesus walked this earth.

His words were, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, Sir, open the door for us……. But he will reply, I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!” Jesus spoke of many coming from the east, west, north and south who will take their place at the feast in the kingdom of God. Then he reminded us that “Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

This reminds me of the Beatitudes in Matthew where it says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” and “Blessed are the pure in spirit for they shall see God.” I hope I am following God's plan for me, choosing the right path, or door, or narrow passage way that leads to the kingdom we all dream of. As adults, we are good at guiding young people in our lives toward what we see as the righteous way. Are we as adults, choosing the right path when we come upon those forks in the road? When we look into the mirror, do we see the reflection of one who models what is good and true in God’s eyes? I hope and pray God sees me as worthy when judgment day comes, and that I will see all of you at God’s blessed feast!

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