Let's Party!

A couple of weeks ago we attended our nephew’s wedding, a weekend event, a huge party.  We have parties to celebrate wonderful things in our lives.  We have birthday parties, New Year’s parties, even Christmas parties.  We have parties to celebrate graduation, a new job, a promotion. People like parties.

Yesterday I was reading in the Bible about a huge party thrown by King David.  It celebrated God and His goodness. David, the king, wrote a special song for the occasion.  It was a huge event.  Then I asked myself, how often do we have a party to celebrate Jesus?  We sort of do at Christmas, although many of the Christmas parties I attend don’t say too much about Jesus.  No, how often do we really celebrate God and His goodness?  How often do we have all our friends over to celebrate the great things God has done for us?  How often does the church have a huge party to celebrate Jesus and all He has done for them. 

I think we need to party more, celebrate God more, get more excited about our Saviour.  Other people celebrate the causes which are important to them, I think it is time for us to celebrate the One who is everything to us.  Have a Jesus Party.

Secure in the Tempest

Last week a friend e-mailed me a picture of waves crashing against a lighthouse.  Standing at the door was a lone person, protected from the immense crashing waves by the solid, immoveable structure of the lighthouse.  It reminded me of how alone we can feel when struggling with some huge event or illness in life, with work which seems to engulf us, a situation which seems hopeless or when we are overwhelmed by a deluge of things spinning around us.

Do you ever feel like that?  Do you ever feel that you can hardly hang on, that you have been totally engulfed by the things happening around you?  Do you ever feel like the person in the picture of the lighthouse?  As I looked at that picture I once again realized how incredible it is to have Jesus in my life, my Saviour and protector, my constant stalwart companion.  When I am overwhelmed by the stress and troubles of life He is always with me, always has His arms wrapped around me, is my shelter in the storm and He is my strength.  Life can be tough, life can throw some horrible trials at us, but in the arms of Jesus there is security.

Like the person at the door of the lighthouse, I know I am always safe.  My Saviour is holding me and nothing can sweep me away as long as I cling to Him.  Praise God, Jesus is my salvation and my refuge.

A Sunny, Warm Winter

On the west coast of Canada we are having a sunny, warm winter.  Our fellow citizens on the east coast are having one of the snowiest, coldest winters in decades.  Who are the fortunate ones?  It all depends on your perspective.

I would love a cold, wet winter here on the west coast.  I'm a skier and all this sun and balmy temperatures are depressing.  The middle of February and ski areas are closing all around us.  One nearby mountain never even opened this year because of a lack of snow.  Manning Resort where we ski has a third of it's runs open.  I want cold and lots of precipitation!  Most of my friends don't.  Most of my friends love this sunny, warm weather.  It's the year with no winter.  What could be better in Canada. 

Have you ever thought about God's dilemma.  One person wants rain, one wants snow, another wants sunny skies.  One wants housing prices to collapse so they can buy an inexpensive home, another want prices to rise so they can make money on the sale of a home.   A retailer wants our dollar to be strong so imported goods are inexpensive to sell, a manufacturer wants the dollar to be weak so he can export more easily to other countries.  How does God sort through all of it?  I don't know, but I am glad He does. We are told to pray about everything and the Bible says in 1 John chapter 5, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him."  When I walk closely with the Lord I will pray according to His will and  will see answered prayer.

Who cares about the weather!  I'll let God figure it out.  I'll concentrate on asking Him to guide me so closely that I know what He wants and can pray for what I know is His desire.