Pity Party for One Please

Taking a deep breath is extremely hard. For the past three days I have been BFF’s with pneumonia. Pneumonia hasn’t been nice to me. Made it nearly impossible to preach this previous Sunday. Pneumonia almost took away my voice, has made it nearly impossible to do anything that requires a little physical effort. It has kept me from taking a deep breath without coughing out a lung. Pneumonia is not cool. Even with this sickness holding me back, there is one thought that pops in my head, so what?

Over three million people have pneumonia in the United States every year, I am not that sick. I can’t have a woe is me personality. There are people a lot worse then me. I can name several people in my congregation that are currently or have in the past battled cancer. Anyone sick with cancer trumps what I am going through. Sometimes in life we can fail to look at the big picture and see there are people a lot worse then us. I look at Paul and what he shares in 2 Corinthians.

Paul while humble, shared what he went through in chapter 11 some of verse 23-28:

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶ I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. ²⁷ I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. ²⁸ Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

What I have gone through is nothing compared to Paul. Everything I went through in life is still a smidge or smidge and a half of what Paul went through. I am not worthy to say I am in the same boat of the pain in my life compared to Paul. Paul ended this section of scripture talking about how guards were doing to arrest him inside Damascenes but he was lowered in a basket and was able to escape. We can’t avoid pain in life.

Everyone goes through trials. We all have different injuries some mental and some physical. When you look at the pain in your life, is there someone who has it worse then you? We have trouble sometimes looking past our own problems. We all have to deal with pain and trials in life. There is a phrase what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, do you believe this?

I know in the past some of the trials in my life made me appreciate when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. You will be tested in life, how are you going to respond when the going gets tough. I will make it through pneumonia, Paul survived through several times when he should have died. Jesus was innocent and yet was put on the cross. What can you do to make it through the tough times? Who can you trust through the rough times? Know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Have a great day.

The sequel is better than the original

The sequel can live up to the original, sometimes. When we think sequels, we usually think about movies. It’s rare, but at times the sequel can be better than the original. Do you remember movies that are better than the original? The first that pops in my head in Shrek 2 (What can I say, I am the parent of young kids). Shrek 2 didn’t have as many hidden jokes and pointless mild cuss words as the original. With kids movies sequels are usually good or really bad.

What are some good and bad sequels?

Sequels can be sweet when you take the greatness behind the original and make it better. Can we do this with life? Can we make things better in life? You can look at products like video game systems or cell phones and say yes. I haven’t seen anyone that has wanted an original tv, everyone wants a rock LCD or plasma. How can we improve on the original in life?

Paul shares this in Romans 11:22… “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness.”

God has the ability to be both stern and kind. He is stern when we live a life that does not accept Jesus when we die, we find how stern God is. Yet he is kind. He is a loving God that wants the best for us and one of the ways we can do this is by trying to be the best sequel possible. I don’t think we can replace what Jesus did for us, but we can sure give it the college try.

Mimicking Jesus is not a bad way to live. Jesus thought of others before himself, he forgave people that nobody else would forgive. He was kind to those nobody else thought of as worthy.  Being a sequel of Jesus isn’t easy, but if I could accomplish any of what he did , I would be happy. I strive to be more like Jesus everyday (You and I will mess up, but we can try). I truly believe if everyone did this, the world would be a much better place.

In Christianity the sequel can’t beat the original, but we can still try. If people never made sequels, imagine what products in your everyday life would look like… Car? Phone? Computer? Jesus is worth trying to follow, try to show kindness today and see if that makes your life and someone else’s life better.

Have a great day.