Blog Redirected

This blog has moved to my new website and can be found here. Also while you're there take a look around to get a better idea of the rest of the story that lead me to start writing these blogs in the first place. Thanks for everything, but most importantly thanks be to God for the inspiration and the words that he has allowed me to type.

Thanks,
Joseph Craig
GodForgives.Us

Pluto Syndrome

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. John 3:9

We have all lived through learning something that shook us. Something that we believed and thought was true was disproven or we were told it was wrong. For many of us that is the scary times in our lives, for others it’s the greatest moment of our lives. Many times these things are new discoveries or miracles in our minds. Now put yourself back 2000 years ago.

I know that most of the people that read the words that I have written are Christian. Many of you are probably very strong in your faith and no one can shake your faith. You could listen to Mormons for weeks and not be shaken or question your faith what so ever. God has blessed you with the foundation that he calls us to have, one built upon rock.

Now 2000 years ago, let us see ourselves as Jews instead of Christians. We have been told that a Messiah would come and save us. And just like today I’m sure that many of us see the world as being so bad that it has to come soon because it can’t get much worse. So we hope, but we see our world as we do and realize that there is nothing we can do about it, just as we could do nothing about the Romans that conquered us.

We go to synagogue and we pray, we keep our laws the best we can. Many of us are hoping that the Messiah will come soon to rescue us from the rule of Rome. We’re good Jews though and hold to our covenant the best we can. We want to be free from the rule of Rome so bad, but we know that it would take God himself to free us from Rome.

We have made up our minds in our fantasies of who and what this Messiah will be. We know that the Messiah will be something beyond belief. God in the flesh, wow. His beard must be perfect and take no grooming. A Jew’s Jew.

So we hear stories and rumors about this man down at the river talking about the Messiah coming soon. We want to believe, but we’ve heard his kind before. They are the crazy ones that yell on the corners holding signs. They are all crazy, he doesn’t even wash his hands properly, he can’t be Jew, let alone someone that God has given sight to.

A little more time goes buy and this carpenter’s son starts teaching that the Law is wrong. Even more that he is the Son of God in the flesh. This is not a Jew’s Jew, he’s no Messiah. That’s what your friends say. He is teaching all the wrong things, and he’s not here to free us from Rome. He is not what you pictured the Messiah as, he can’t be him.

Would we really believe the story unfolding before us? Would we believe that Jesus was really the son of God? That would be like us today believing the story of John Smith. He is adding to the bible, and the bible says that you cannot do that. We can read so many other Christian books to add to our faith as long as they are not adding to the Bible itself we are OK.

What do you think writings like these are doing? Building upon the word of God, but I’m not saying that this is the Book of Joe, stick it in there between 3 John and Jude. But let us go back to Jesus. He was an amazing man, we saw him do miracles, we try to corner him with biblical teachings and he knows the word better than most of us do. But he’s a carpenters son, this can’t be the Messiah.

How hard would it be for us to believe? Each society had their own beliefs and today is no different. Christianity is the largest religion in the world, but yet there are so many people that still do not believe. I want you to think about how hard it would be to believe when you are raised told that those Christians are crazy, they believe in things that Science cannot prove.

I mean let us be honest here, what is your opinion on the sacrifices that Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses make? Is it crazy that the watchtower denies their followers birthdays? Mormonism’s diet is very strict. We as Christians, what do we think of these sacrifices? They aren’t godly because our bible doesn’t say to do these things.

Let me tell you a secret, the same book that we use to guide our belief is the same book that the Jehovah’s Witnesses use to prove their way of life. It is all about interpretation of God’s Word. Am I saying that they are right? No, I can’t believe in that. I cannot believe that only 144,000 people will be allowed into heaven and be with God.  How do I view their personal sacrifices? I think that it is impressive that they believe strong enough to deny themselves of things like that. I am also glad that I am not called to sacrifice in that way.

Going back two thousand years ago, how hard do you think it was for Nicodemus to go seek out Jesus? How hard do you think it was for him to believe Jesus? God opened his heart and lead him to believe, but I don’t think it was that night that it all sunk in, because if that was true I doubt he would have asked some of the questions he had asked later in the gospel.  When our world is shaken to the foundation, it is hard for us to grasp onto everything.

These world changes can happen and they happen every day. Every atheist that sees that God is real, it happens. Every time a Pagan realizes that the Gods they serve are not truly Gods, it happens. Every time a Satanists realizes that Satan is not God, it happens. Every time a non-believer is added to the fold, it happens.

The more solid our foundation in what we are believing now the harder it is to turn from it. If you want to imagine what it was like for Nicodemus, just think about what if the Mormons are right for a moment. That’s all you need to do to put yourself in Nicodemus’ shoes. Now come back to what you believe God is God and Jesus is Jesus.  For Nicodemus to believe Jesus, it took something in his heart. He believed.

Now there are new discoveries nearly every day, but we can handle new understanding and knowledge when we know that we don’t know what’s there. It is when we believe we know what is real, that is when it is hard. It is not hard for us to believe in finding another planet in space that is similar to earth. It’s not hard to believe in discovery of a new star, but you downgrade Pluto from a planet to a lesser classification and that’s hard to believe.

What would happen to your faith if another sentient life form was discovered on many of the near earth planets out there? Would you doubt God’s word? You shouldn’t, nowhere in the bible does it say that he didn’t create man on more than one world. Man might look a bit different somewhere else, but it doesn’t matter, it’s not a faith thing.

So why talk about this? There are millions of people out there that know what they believe just as strongly as we know and believe in Christ. How do you reach them? You can’t only God can. Do you hate child that does not know things? No we teach them. Sometimes all we are called to do is cast a few seeds in the direction of the lost. Live by example and tell them why you believe. Look for opportunities to get to know people and have relationships with them.

You have to invest yourself into people’s lives a bit. Love first, let God be God. You realize that you do not have to tell someone that they are a sinner or damned to fulfill God’s commandments? You can love people as you would desire to be loved without mentioning God. It is when they ask how or why that you can let them know the how or why. That how or why, we all know, is God. Love first, let God be God. Cast the seed and let God water it.

“Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.” D. Elton Trueblood

Pain: the Shortest Path to God

“I’m in pain. I’m in deep trouble. God, save me and keep me safe.” Psalm 69:29 NIRV

There is nothing else in the world that will get a non-believer to pray to God quicker than pain. Physical, emotional, mental it doesn’t matter the stronger the pain the more prayer is involved. I find it funny that men and women every day that do not believe in God turn to him when they are hurting and cannot find a way to get around the problem at hand.

Psalm 69 is one of those psalms that just cry out for the hurting, lost, confused or those in trouble. It is a call and prayer for when you see no other way out. It is moments like these that people realize that we are not Gods and we cannot fix these things on our own. I think it’s a reaction that is hard coded into our being.

For a woman they say the worst pain one can feel is childbirth; for a man kidney stones. That’s physical pain, but there are hurts that we can have that run much deeper than these. Physical pain is something that I have always had a great tolerance for. It’s those pains that you can’t touch; those are the pains that get me.

Pain can call us to a quick call to Jesus, rarely is it not a scream or yelp that would be seen by most as vain. Pain can put us on all fours lamenting to the father to make the pain go away, even if we think he’s not real. People will cry out to him hoping that in this moment there is something more than them to help ease their pain.

There is a power in pain that is found rarely outside of it. When we are hurting in this way there is a vulnerability that can break even the strongest of shells. It is those times that we are but a child crying out to our mother or father to make the pain better. A child learns this because when they hurt and they are screaming it is mom or dad that picks them up and comforts them. It’s natural for the parent to do this.

So when we are older, we still yearn for this. Mom has not been able to pick me up and pack me for a long time, but it’s not mom that I cry out for anymore. It’s not dad either. I cry out to God because I know now that Mom and Dad cannot take care of all the pains that I feel. Today it’s just physical pain of a kidney stone moving around, but I cry out to God to help me through this.

In that pain I plead to God more than I do with just about anything else. That reaction is something that is biblical. The more we hurt the more we cry out to our God. The more guilty we feel for something that we have done; the more grim our earthly situation is; the more we cry out to God. Why?

Why is because we feel so weak and helpless in these situations and we realize the truth that is all through the bible, nothing we do can be done without God. Our weakness is amplified by our pain and with that weakness we draw on the one we should be drawing on for everything. God tells us to bring everything to him. Every hurt, every joy, every question, bring everything to Him. Prayerfully consider each and every action that you take.

It seems like a lot, how can God have time to answer my every question? Because he’s God and he loves you. We can turn to him when we are hurting so much easier because we know we are powerless to do anything about the pains that we are going through. It’s when we are strong and well that our pride keeps us from going to God.

God wishes to be involved in all that you do. There is nothing that you should do that God does not wish to be involved with. God’s not there just for when we hurt, he is there always. God created us and gave us gifts and talents, and he loves to see what we do with them. He calls us to glorify him and lift up his name in celebration.

Every busted knuckle, stubbed toe, twisted ankle is a reminder that God is right there. Why did he create pain? Sin required it. I do not see it completely as a punishment; I think he intended it to be a reminder to us that he is there. That may seem a little sadistic to a lot of folks, but think about it. When we have ran from our God that loves us, and refuse to turn to him, it is only in times of great pain that we reach back to him.

Pain is not a pleasant and happy thing and I’m not trying to make it out to be. Pain hurts, that’s why it’s pain. How many times do you need to touch that hot eye before you remember that it hurts to touch it? How many times do you need to try to fix that absence within you with sex before you realize that it doesn’t work? How many times do you need to hurt before you remember that God is right there?

God doesn’t want us to hurt. He wants us to be with him and love him. He wants us to converse with him always and daily. He wants us to be ever present in his glory. But we can’t do that when we are trying to do it ourselves.

We are the little kids that refuse to let their parents help them reach something that is just outside their reach. We are the teenager that thinks we know best. We are the adult that is too stubborn to listen to someone that is younger teach you a better way to do something. We are the Christians that cling too hard to tradition to realize that we are missing the point of Grace.

The law cannot save us; the Grace of Jesus Christ is something that you cannot earn. The Law cannot stop someone from hurting. The law teaches us a great number of valuable things, but it cannot replace Jesus; it cannot replace grace.

That does not mean that we skip the law. We still have to be told, “Don’t touch that it’s bad for you,” enough times to realize that it’s bad for us. Pain is just that reminder from the law that God is there and with that comes the fact that you don’t have to be perfect, you have Grace. Pain is just another way to get us to let go of the wheel and open up the possibility that God is real. Pain is a reminder that we are not God. Pain is the annoying teacher who you could not stand, but are so thankful you experienced it because of what she taught you.

“The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.” Aristotle

GodForgives.Us

God Loves Fags

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16

So many times I have seen and heard people hurt by misuse of faith. I have heard scare tactics to force someone to change BEFORE they accept Christ or even to say that they must fix themselves before they can accept Christ. We have all seen the “God Hates Fags” sign. God hates the sin, not the sinner.

God is perfect love. God is unconditional love. I have no place to say how God feels about someone being gay. I do have a commandment from God to Love all neighbors as I would love myself and that means loving the Gay couple down the street just as much as it would the atheist across the way. Judgment is not for us to do; we screw that up all the time.

Luckily God accepts all that come calling to him. That is something that I am truly thankful for, because I would not be here otherwise. You can look in the bible, no matter the version you will not find anywhere that God Hates Fags, but yet Gays are attacked by Christians on a nearly daily basis. They aren’t the only groups that are attacked. I’m sorry but my fellow Christians, if we spent all that energy on love the world would be a much better place.

Another story to share, I have a cousin that was starting to go to church after struggling with drugs and bad habits that come along with it. He came forward in the church he was attending and accepted Christ and asked the church to pray for him to get off of drugs. After the service, one of the Christians there and his aunt told him that Christ would not accept him as long as he was on drugs and messing around with the prostitutes in town. He hasn’t been back to church since.

Things like that hurt people in ways that is very wrong to me on many levels. This same kind of mentality hurt me when I was young and contributed to my wandering and seeking peace, understanding and divinity outside of the Christian faith.  We come to the cross broken, and we allow God to come in through us and serve as our guiding light to help us take step after step to become more of what God wishes us to be.

Brian “Head” Welch can tell you his testimony about how broken he came to the cross and what God did for him and through him. You can go out to YouTube and see thousands of videos about how God saved someone from Drugs, Sexual Addictions, and from themselves. Not one person can come to the cross perfect.

We were born into sin, the flesh that we wear is made of sin and thus it dies. So from the moment we are born we are not perfect. There is not one person alive today that can go to the cross perfect. If we were perfect we would not need the cross. So before you cast that stone at the woman at the abortion clinic, or the women walking down the road holding hands, or the guy on the corner begging for food, just stop for a moment and ask yourself, “What would it help?”

You’ll find that throwing stones does nothing but cause harm. Would it be better to love on people like that? The woman at the clinic might feel that this is the only way for her, or there could be a much larger story there. I do not believe that women that go to those places do it because they want to kill their baby. They are probably in a very bad spot and hurting with something that they see no way out of. Love her.

Those women walking together, you ever think they might just be friends. Even if they are not, how many times have these women been hurt by men? Even more than that, if you are truly worried about their salvation telling them they are going to burn in hell won’t help anything. Start your conversation like you would any other couple. Ask them how long they have been together and find out more about them. Then invite them to church, but do it only after you have loved them.

Do you love God? Do you love Jesus? Do you want everyone else to love them? I don’t think a lot of Jews loved Hitler. Don’t make the God we love out to be Hitler. Don’t help people that have a bad opinion about Christ and God have validation for that opinion. You and I know that God is Grace, Mercy and Love. Show that! Love people, show them mercy and grace. Be God in all you do. Stop the hate mongering. Stop the judging. Start the Loving. Start letting hope shine through you so people see the God we love and respect.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Hell's Beautiful Lie

“He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.” John 1:10

We see hell’s lies everywhere we look. The lie of hell is present in all things. Hell is full of many of the best liars that the world has seen. These guys are big on PR and marketing, that’s why Hell looks so beautiful these days and heaven seems like such a boring place. It’s a big PR campaign instead of a war like we see on the news every day.

Hell has everything you are looking for. Hell has everything you need. You do not have to restrain yourself or do anything that you don’t want to do. Sex, drugs, parties, yep it has it all. Fame and fortune you can have that too. Remember to be a Christian you have to sacrifice all of that. Sex, yeah that’s the first thing you have to give up. Only for kids that’s it, just like the other animals. You like sex don’t you? Of course you do, why would you want to be a Christian then?

PR has even hit Christians enough to make them believe it. I know a lot of metal heads that will tell you that will tell you God loves to rock. Sex is a gift from God that we have been given to share with our spouse. But that’s not what Hell’s lie is. No their lie goes deeper than that.

You want to be successful? Well you got to be of the world to be successful and well you just can’t do that being Christian.  Hell will use God’s own works against the followers and believers. When I was a Satanist I read the bible quite a bit. Why would a Satanist use the bible? In the bible there is a lot of stuff that men do not understand without God showing them what it means.

Why would God ask anyone to give his son up as an offering? Better yet, and pagans love this one, why would God say to hold no other gods above him if there were no other gods? Without the understanding that anything that you put above god is an idol or another God their statement would hold water. So using the same words that Christians use against them puts a lot of Christians in a spot where they do not know what to say or do.

That is part of the point, doubt. If one of the lost see this moment of doubt, that is a point for the devil. But again, many times the beautiful lie is not targeting the soul and faith directly. Let’s just occupy you with things that you love. Idle hands are the devil’s plaything, not anymore. Let people become so busy they have no time to even consider God.

Both parents are now working, and can still only just make ends meet. If you are going to be successful, you have to dress the part. You want your kids to be successful, well they have to have a good balance of extracurricular activities and go to a good college. Well that costs more money so we have to work more. Busy, busy, busy…

But hey you got that McMansion. You are driving the latest and greatest SUV this one getting a whole 19 MPG. You’ve got the iEverything. You have it going on. You’ve got everything just like Hell promised. So why are you so unhappy that you find yourself finding a reason to drink, always arguing with your spouse and have no idea what your children actually like, so you buy them the lasts iThing.

You are feeding the machine, just like Hell asked you to do. That’s what you got to do to be successful right? Well you’ve come this far, next you are going to have to join a country club to network with more people. Yep we can make a few sacrifices so daddy can join up to make a little more.

Don’t forget that perfect lawn. What you have is a new law that you cannot fulfill. As Grace Life International would say, you have all these ways that you try to fill your buckets, but they have a whole in them. Hell has you. But you go to church, but do you have the love of God within you. But I always vote republican and fight abortion. Good for you, but you are missing the cause. Do you share love?

The world tells you things, and it doesn’t matter if you are Democrat, Republican, Socialists, Tea Party or Communist, if you take that walk without the Love of Christ you will fall short. If you are doing all these things to be successful, but do it without God you will fall short. You fill your time with bake sales, choir, and helping the homeless, great, but do you do it with the love of Christ in your heart or so people will love you.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. We tried for a long time to live by the law and fell short, that’s why Grace was given to us. Hell’s beautiful lie does not hold water against the one truth of God. You like heavy metal, keep it, God still loves you. You like tattoos and piercings, keep them, God still loves you. You like to play Dungeons and Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, and Shadowrun, keep doing it, God still loves you. If any of these things inhibit your faith, discard it, but let God guide you in that, not man.

Hell’s lie is that the only way to have fun is to not be a Christian, their boring. Hell’s lie tells us that they are the only way to be successful. Hell’s lie is that if you are going to be a Christian you have to do all these things, keep up the law, never sin, be perfect, be a cookie cutter of those church kids that look so perfect. Hell’s lie tells you that’s the only way.

That’s exactly why it’s a lie. There is so many Christian Rock, rap or metal bands out there. Right now there is an organization that is taking up a fund to get oneof their pastors a tattoo, but it’s a 50/50 split between tattoo and supporting a homeless organization. God doesn’t want you to sacrifice fun for him. He wants you to bring him into your fun. If you focus on God and allow him to guide you, you will be successful in ways that you may have never through been possible.

Christians are meek and cannot fight, tell that to Fedor Emelianenko, Matt Hughs, Wanderlei Silva or Chris Weidman. The list is long for Christian MMA fighters, and then there are thousands of Christian men and women in the armed forces. I will quote Pastor Bob Beeman when asked a question of do I have to give up metal music to be Christian, “I think you will find that your love of music will only increase, I know mine sure has.” He also went on to say that the bands specificly that will be a personal conviction.

I know in my walk from Satanism to Christianity there were only a few bands that I stopped listening to and they were Cradle of Filth and Diocide. Later I have replaced them with bands like Demon Hunter, War of Ages and many other Rock groups. My taste in music did not change as much as the taste in what substance I was taking in.

Now I did cut out a lot of things that were not healthy when I converted to Christ, and still fight with cutting a few more things out. Let me let you know a little secret, none of us are perfect. The preacher on stage every Sunday, nope not even him. We are perfected through Grace alone. Through Jesus we have been perfected, not through any act of our own. Don’t believe Hell’s pretty lies, there are a lot of actors, PR guys and lawyers down there to help them out.

God loves you, let him celebrate with you and you will find that Christians can have quite a bit of fun, when they let themselves.

“There should be only one philosophy: Living by God’s commandments. Then people will treat everybody how they would want to be treated.” Fedor Emelianenko

GodForgives.Us

Mustard Seed of Faith

And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. Matthew 8:26

I have been blessed as of late with many things of God and once again taken back by the awesome that is God. I have met people and have had conversations that I could not have had without him. I have been given a wealth of words to put to paper that I will get credit for, when they truly are not my words. Dead asleep by midnight and awake again with words to write by 1am.

Through these encounters however I have been given insight that can build towards a bit of wisdom. One of the people that I have had the pleasure to meet recently is a man named Jeff Harsbarger, a man whose walk to Christ was very like my own, he just returned to Christ 25 years before I did. Listening to some of his words a quote really moved me because of the truth of it, “Too many Christians are concerned with reacting to the Devil, when all they have to do is respond to God.”

There is a truth in that statement of true power. I’m sure that had something to do with the inspiration for this topic. I have talked about faith quite a few times, but this time I want to focus on a few different examples. In the Bible, Jesus tells us time and time again just how powerful Faith is, and even among his disciples who are right there with him, how little faith we can have.

Jesus tells us that with faith the size of a mustard seed a mountain can be tossed into the sea. Jesus tells us that all he does, he does in faith of the Father. The only time that he was not able to do miracles of magnitude was in his home town with doubt and fear around him. There were more people that did not believe than there were believers I feel.

Even with that though, he was able to heal the sick. I have pondered on the parable of the mustard seed more than once and I often asked why a mustard seed was used. We are told that it is a very small seed and it grows into a tree large enough for birds to take nest there. In this there is a deeper meaning of why Christ chose the mustard seed.

Each of us starts with a seed of Faith within us. This seed is watered and nurtured and eventually begins to sprout with proper care, just as any other seed does. This begins to grow in us and develops roots. This seed is the seed of our faith. It sprouts within us and begins to grow. Even in its infancy there is power in that faith.

From the beginning we are called to just draw closer to God through love. We are told that we have been brought into God’s covenant and that he is our tower of refuge. We are told that our faith from the beginning is powerful enough to move mountains. We have a hard time keeping this in our minds when the seas are not calm.

Even the disciples had fears and doubts, we are not perfect. Only Jesus was perfect, and we are made perfect through Christ Jesus. I tell you though, Jesus is right, faith the size of a mustard seed is capable of changing the world. Many times it is changed in ways that we do not recognize or realize.

The faith that we have in God is what keeps us safe. It is what keeps us on track with God’s purpose. How can faith of a mustard seed change the world, by continual growth and willingness to listen to God’s will and purpose. Demons had no power with Christ. Christ dwells within us. The demons even feared the Son of God and begged him. How can they have power of us if Christ dwells within us?

Without faith the sea will remain rough. Without taking up your cross daily and walking with God daily we neglect that patch of dirt that our seed is planted in and allows weeds to grow in to choke out our faith. Ever diligent and ever faithful will we keep to what God wishes for us.  I have been encouraged by what God has taught me through the words he has blessed me with. These things are not mine, it’s a God thing.

What keeps us where the devil wants us? Doubt and fear. The only power that he has over us relies in us forgetting that he has no power over us. “Greater is he that dwells in us than dwells in the world.” I may sound like a broken record, but Faith is that important.

When I was an Occultist there was a question that was asked constantly, “How does magic work?” The answer is one that Christians will be familiar with, through the belief that it will be done. It is our human will that puts forth our belief and our faith that something will be done. We believe that we are protected in Christ and have faith in the father and it is done.

It is not that we are making it happen, we believe in the truths that we have been told in the bible and through the testimonies of those far more wise than we are. I am still a toddler in my walk with God. Even at this point though there is power in the faith that has been built within me that no one can take from me, save the Lord.

Job is always a hard read for me because of all he goes through. And I understand that it is supposed to be a testament to endurance and perseverance, but honestly not many Christians want to experience what Job went through. He was blessed in the end, but went through hell on earth. In that though the encouragement that I get from it is just how much of a stalwart he was to the truth that God was God.

Job questioned why God was doing these things to him, but never denied God the right. We are his children. Job stood his ground against the devil and was blessed. I do not believe that all of us have to go through these struggles as Job did, not to that level anyway, but look at how many people were blessed by his story.

I leave with one last point. Your faith is not something to keep to yourself. Your faith is to be shared, go out and share the good news is what we are called to do as disciples. So where is the light of your faith? Do you have it tucked away under a bowl, or do you have it as a lamp for others to find the God that has blessed you? You want your mustard seed to grow into a tree; it is going to need some sun for that. You got to pull it out and that means other people will see it and want to ask you about it. That’s the scary part isn’t it, talking about your story and how you came to Christ and taking the risk that the person will reject you because you’re one of those crazy “God hates fags” people.

I would not be a Christian right now if someone had not reached out to me and shared their story. Pull your tree out of your pocket and let people see it. You don’t want to have a tree in your pocket anyway, watering it really wouldn’t be that pleasant of an experience now would it?

“We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.” Billy Graham

GodForgives.Us

Remember to Live

“A man may beget a hundred children, and live many years; but however many are the days of his years, if he does not enjoy life’s good things, or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.” Ecclesiastes 6:3

One of the things that I find ironic in the books of wisdom is a theme that goes between each of the books, but in the two books that are seem as the most downtrodden in the bible, Ecclesiastes and Job, the theme is spoken loudest. The theme that I’m talking about tucked away nice and neatly in between suffering is remember to enjoy life. God did not create us just to die; he wanted us to enjoy what he has made.

I have heard many sermons over the years talking about taking the time to enjoy the beauty of the earth and everything that God has created for us. I have also heard as many stories saying just how short this life is going to be and keep in waiting for Heaven. Both are good advice, but I cannot help but go back to Ecclesiastes 6:3 and many other passages in Ecclesiastes.

God created us to be good shepherds and caretakers of creation. We look back to Genesis and see this, it was only after we sinned that we were made to toil. Even in that toiling we are given pleasures that God did not have to give us, but did anyway. God gave us life to live, and if we are not taking time to enjoy life then we are missing out on the little pieces of heaven that God has given us each and every day.

God gave us an imagination so vivid that we can create our own worlds and stories. Storytelling is a big part of who we started out being, that’s how we first shared our religion and faith. I think that is a big reason why we are called to give our testimony and share the good news. I think a lot of the good news that we could be telling has been missed over the years mostly because we have not taken time as Christians to enjoy the blessings of this world to the fullest.

Now am I saying go out and live reckless, not really. What I’m saying is take some time to do the things you enjoy doing. I know a few Christians that can’t answer the question of, “What do you like to do for fun?” That, my friends, is depressing. We are missing one of the biggest blessings that God has given us. We are here for only a short time so enjoy the things that God has given you.

Enjoy your spouse and just love each other. When you got together you obviously had enough fun that you decided you wanted to spend the rest of your life with them. So spend time with them and enjoy what God has blessed you with. Marriage is a covenant and a blessing to those together. Remember it, enjoy it, and love in it.

Take time to smell the roses. God made it all then gave it to us. We are stewards of the Earth and with that we should do our part to take care of the creation and part of that is enjoying it. When is the last time you stopped at a scenic overlook? When is the last time you looked at your spouse? When is the last time you went for a walk, not a run or jog, but a walk? When is the last time you looked up at the sky and noticed it’s beauty? If it’s not been that long good, but when is the last time you took the time to do something you enjoyed.

Are you too busy to be with God? Are you too busy to watch football? Do you enjoy Football? Well God can be there with you when you watch it. God is with us always and in all things. Husbands love your wife. Wives love your husbands. They might irritate you and annoy you at times, but you love them. Love keeps no count of wrongs. Love always forgives. Love is pure. Conduct your marriage this way and you’ll do fine.

You have kids, love them and spend time with them. Some of my fondest memories growing up were passing tools to my dad as we were working on cars or when we were building something.  These things are things that God has given us to enjoy and love. You know those stupid songs that you and your friends in high school or college would sing. When’s the last time you spun one of those songs up and just sung along and allowed your child to come out.

If you play those songs around your kids, you pass them on to your kids. We are made in God’s image and God created man and woman as his children. So he has given us the ability to create sons and daughters in our image. They receive impressions from you. Forgetting that you love your wife and allowing them to only see the negative side of things puts negative impressions on your kids and what marriage is supposed to be.

We are called to Love. We have talents and things that we enjoy. We are called to enjoy life as well. Solomon was clear in his writings that it is godly to laugh, smile and live. It is Godly to take your wife into your arms and embrace her. It is Godly to just get in the car with the windows down listening to music. It is Godly to dance and sing. It is Godly to tell stories. It is Godly to have fun.

So why are Christians seen as so stuck up? God called us to do these things and do them through Love. Love God and love others. How can a person love if they do not laugh? How can a person know love if they know not joy? Without the joys of life you cannot know love, and if you do not know love you cannot know God.

Want to draw closer to God? Start thanking him for what he has done instead of asking why he hasn’t done what’s next for you, or what you think is next for you. God has a plan, and sometimes you have to just trust that he knows what he’s doing and enjoy life anyway. Let me tell you if God did not want me to do things that I enjoy my blessings would be much different.

If anyone has spent time with me they will notice that I love to have fun, but we all do. Do something fun today. We are here only a little while, so enjoy the creation while you can. Don’t sit lifeless waiting to die so you can live forever.  Eternal life doesn’t have to start after you’re dead. I believe that God wants us to start living it now. We live it now and continue living it when we are back with the father. Live Life, laugh and sing, dance and tell stories, play games and be with one another. After all it is Good.

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.” Psalm 98:4