Hymn for the Missing

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I know there will be times in our lives where grief seems to have consumed every aspect of our existence, from the moment you wake up in the morning to the pause at the coffee maker, knowing you only need half a pot, to the silence throughout the evening as you get ready for bed, and the moments when you lie awake unable to sleep in the emptiness they left behind. There will be times when you go to call your mother or father and remember that no one will pick up the phone. There will be times when you want to text your friend about their favorite band playing in concert only to have the message fail to send. There will even be times when you go to wake up your child for school and remember that they've learned all they could from this earth.

But I also know there will be a time when there is no more suffering, no more tears. I know that there will come a time when everyone we have lost only temporarily will be with us for an eternity. I know that when that time comes, all the suffering we have felt here will be meaningless in the joy we are overcome with.

And, until that time comes, we will get through these days. We will survive. And with God's help, we might even thrive. He understands what it is to lose, He lost Adam and Eve to sin, He lost His son for three days following His crucifixion. He understands your grief, and He does not simply say move on, He promises to help us move forward.

Courageous

Never once in the Bible were we ever told to cower - flee fornication, yes - but in each story and parable Jesus told, and in the histories of the Bible and the early church, it was the just who stood strong against all oppression, even unto death. How can this be?

For we are mortal, and to all who do not believe, death is the end - be it conscious eternal darkness or the simple 'off' switch to the magnitude of their being. But that, in itself, answers the question. To all who do not believe, pain, death, and persecution are as curses. To the believer - to us - we are told to see them not as the end, but a test, one He has already passed in a war that has already been won. Death is nothing to fear then, if we know in our hearts that the Savior who came to this earth to redeem us is true to His promise that all who call upon His name shall be saved. Pain and persecution are the ill borne children of a fallen world, and they hold no more power over us than that which we give, because the One in us has already overcome the world. If we believe these things, beyond doubt, beyond what our "false human nature" tells us is rational, if we believe that the God who formed the endless universe, the planet we stand on flying through it at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour, and the very God that did this made us with even greater care and purpose, then NOTHING we face is too dark, evil, or overpowering to overcome. If we believe - if you believe - that God is in You, then there will never be anything you cannot stand against in His name and for His Will.

1 Chronicles 28:20 “And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.”

Psalm 31:24 “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.”

Isaiah 41:10-13 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

Keeping Christ

It will be another 11 months before the phrase "Keep CHRIST in Christmas" becomes a daily occurrence, and the fb pages, bumper stickers, tshirts, and billboards are going to be plastered with it. Articles about the "War on Christmas" will be shared, facebook pages will call for a "Rally", your friends and family will discuss just how crucial it is to refrain from saying "X-mas" even though X is the symbol of the Christ. We will all get up in airs over the day December 25th and what the old church chose to have it represent. 

Now, hear me out: That's great and all, but allow me to challenge you to do something better that debate the origins of the tree, the materialistic nature, the lack of charity. You see, Jesus didn't ask for Christmas. He didn't ask that we do all this, all He wanted done as remembrance among ourselves was communion. His outreach to the world, the showing of His grace to the masses, was supposed to be our daily lives. It was meant to be an every day occurrence, for those who loved Him to show His love to others, with their prayers, gifts, time, and above all, the way we treat people. He didn't say "Do all this around Easter and maybe at Thanksgiving and definitely at Christmas time."  He didn't ask for any of the hype we endure each winter. He asked for every day. Keeping Christ in Christmas is awesome, but the reality is that the true battle we are up against is keeping Him in our every day life. Outreach doesn't end Dec. 26. Charity doesn't. Giving love doesn't. The church made it, the world commercialized it, we falsely fight for it, but the truth is that it isn't as big a deal to God as what we think it is. He doesn't want a birthday party. He wants us to live in a constant state of joy, thanksgiving, and love. Christmas is nothing compared to what Jesus really asked of us, to follow and live as He did, every. single. day.

So if you really want to "keep Christ" do it as He asked you to, always.

Thrive

Go take a walk. Not right now, but tomorrow, or later today. Get outside, breathe deep, and just walk. No headphones. No distractions. Just you, the world around you, and God. We forget that we are our mind, body, and spirit, and even if you're a genius but never exercise, your body will crumble, and even if you're a gym-rat but never pray, your spirit will suffer. We have to take care of ourselves. YOU have to take care of yourself. Redbulls, poptarts, computer screens, and praying less than 30 seconds a day is not living. It's barely surviving when God wants you to THRIVE. Have you ever even felt that? Thriving? I have - and it didn't come from money, or ease of life, it came from seeking Him, taking care of my self, walking and praising every day, and just learning to be healthy in all I do. Thriving is possible. Pray, and your choices will be clearer and your faith stronger. Get out and move and your hormones will level and your sleep will be deeper. Eat well and your skin will shine. Eat the Word and your life will shine. It's all related. Start taking care of yourself. You're one of His most favored creations.