Dirty jobs

There are jobs nobody wants. There is an entire TV show about jobs that are disgusting, sick, tough and not easy. Most people watching the TV show Dirty Jobs do not think about going and doing the jobs they see on the show. We all had jobs that are dirty and not fun to be at, what makes a dirty job to you?

When we go through these jobs, we want out. Nobody wants to say my job is to clean the bathrooms at Taco Bell or a gas station, but someone has too. There are jobs that are tough on the individual and some people do it for others benefits. Christianity could go up here.

Having faith is not always an easy job. It’s tough to live by a different standard and hard when you fall short of that standard. I give Christians in high school and college a lot of respect. It’s not easy when you are trying to figure life on your own and you get made fun of/treated like a joke because of your beliefs. Life isn’t always easy, but God never said it would be.

1 Corinthians 4:11-13…

“To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world-right up to this moment.”

This is talking about the apostles. The ones closest to Jesus and this is the life they live. It didn’t say they lived close to Jesus and life was always happy, happy, happy. Life is tough, putting your faith on display for the world isn’t easy. Becoming a Christian doesn’t mean life is going to get any easier, chances are it’s going to get harder. Sometimes being an apostle was a tough and a dirty job. Yet they didn’t quit.

Fill in this statement, when life gives you lemons….the first thing in my head is make lemonade. Life is not easy, it’s tough and a challenge, so is following Christ. Christ did nothing wrong and was put on the cross. Life doesn’t always go your way, and can be tough. Through the bad times hang in there.

Following Christ isn’t always easy, but the apostles hung in there. They were persecuted, put on display, lived poor and were beaten yet they didn’t give up. Don’t give up on life or on faith. If it was easy everyone would do it. There is beauty and a time to grow when you go through hardships. The apostles didn’t give up on faith through all they endured and Jesus didn’t give up on them.

There was a line I heard last night at CIY. “When you are angry and scream out, so does God. When you are hurt and in pain, so is God, he is right there with you.” Don’t give up on Jesus because he does not give up on you. I would not be the person I am today without Jesus. The  trials I have faced in my life don’t touch the surface of what the apostles dealt with, but I know I will endure pain for faith and it’s worth it.

Sometimes we have dirty jobs and we put up with the bad for the good. I will take refuge knowing that Jesus is there for me and he can be there for you too! Have a great day.

Pleasure in Pain

Hurt so good. Through the years, I have heard this saying/song many and as a kid I didn’t understand it at all. How could something that hurt be so good? Not really going into the song, can something that hurts be good? It makes me think of going through pain for the greater good.

Pleasure can come through pain. If you watch the Biggest Loser you watch people that didn’t work out and now train hard to lose weight. It is not an easy task, but at the end of the show you are simply amazed at the results. For reality TV it is one of my all-time favorite shows. There is plenty of pain to see those people lose hundreds of pounds and not only change their lives but the lives of the people around them. The training is tough, can you be excited in the rough times?

Is it ok to have an attitude in suffering? The Bible is a noble concept when it comes to this subject. Listen to what Paul shares in Romans 5:3-5…

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Nobody who wins an Olympic medal is done by skill alone. They are in strict training, when Michael Phelps didn’t do so great this Olympics it was because he didn’t train like he did in the previous Olympics, it showed. Yet Phelps worked harder than anybody has a clue. Training all day long without the thrill of that gold medal years down the road, Phelps worked hard. You can grow through the tough times.

Maybe it’s not because of training but real life can take a toll on you. There are always rough times ahead, through the rough times, what do you do? Do you hide from a challenge or do you work through it. Just like Paul talks about, through suffering there is so much benefit it makes who you are today and in the future. Fight through the tough times just like a line in a movie, “Never give up, never surrender.” Hang in there. God is with you when you call on him and is there to comfort you.

Have a great day.

Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering. -Anonymous

Fairy tales aren’t real.

And they lived happily ever after….yeah right.

If you are surprised by that…bless your heart.

No matter how much kid movies show the happily ever after in real life we know this isn’t always true.

What would Prince Charming do if he came home and found his bathroom covered in makeup and other girl products?

How would Cinderalla respond if she found out that Prince Charming has really bad gas?

Nothing is perfect in marriage.

The quote goes…

"Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed." (Albert Einstein)

Nothing is perfect in marriage.

Sometimes things are great and sometimes they are bad.

This is the way so many things are in life.

Whether it’s…

·         Relationships
·         Friendships
·         Jobs
·         Sports teams
·         Faith

There isn’t a perfect faith.

Faith is about having issues, making mistakes, feeling guilt and love at the same time.

It can be a struggle.

Faith is not happily ever after until an earthly death.

When I meet with someone to talk about baptism, I tell them this is the start of faith, not the end.

You get challenged in your faith and need help sometimes.

Listen to how Paul and Barnabas try to help people out in Acts 14:22…

“Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.”

Anything worth doing is worth fighting for.

I have seen many struggles in faith through the years.

I have seen some of the most faithful people I know go through a struggle in their life and turn their back on their faith.

Faith isn’t easy.

It sounds so easy to have faith sometimes.

Just love God and love people.

Sounds simple enough then it turns.

Now we are wondering what faith is about when…

·         People question us on current issues
·         When we wonder how or who to vote for
·         What are views on current issues etc.

Faith is not easy.

If faith was easy, just like marriage, everyone would do it and stay with it through the tough times.

It’s the tough times that are the challenge.

You will never have all the answers in marriage or faith.

Yet through it all I still believe in marriage and I believe in Jesus through thick and thin.

Paul and Barnabas lifted and encourage the people while also letting them know that faith isn’t easy.

If you are struggling in marriage, faith or other areas of your life…

Don’t give up.

Life isn’t always easy but life is so much fun at the same time.

Hang in there, things will improve.

Have a great day.