ENJOY LIFE

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:15 

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)

Today, this day, is a new day, right? It’s not the same day as yesterday or the day before or the day before. Things will happen today in our world that will make it different and unique, special in some way. And the hope is that we will get to have another day tomorrow, a day that will write its own story as today becomes what we call history.

Yes, today is a new day and if you are reading this then you have life just as I have. The Lord has given us another opportunity to rise and breathe and live for Him and others. We get another chance to live and learn and love from the greatest teacher ever, God the Father, while following the example of the greatest role model we’ll ever have, God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.

Indeed, this is the day that the Lord has made and He has allowed us to experience it. We should be glad and rejoice in it, reveling in the occasion to serve the Lord in the way He has planned, following His will and way and purpose while receiving His wise counsel and direction. We should celebrate another day of experiencing the Lord’s love to the fullest, breathing in His grace and mercy while enveloped by His rich love.

This is the day that the Lord has made and we should rejoice and be glad, even if we are in the midst of hardship or affliction. For even in the difficult times, even in the times when this life might be nearing an end, we have hope, an eternal hope that says to death, you can’t have me because I belong to God and Jesus who have prepared a place for me to live forever (John 14:1-4), a place where I will be free from pain and sickness and difficulty and sin.

Of interest, the Psalmist wasn’t the only one who had the proper attitude about life and shared it with us through the word of God. For as we look at today’s words from Solomon, we find him also sending us a simple message, one that echoes the sentiments we read in the 118th Psalm. Look at his words again:

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 8:15

    

Enjoy life for there is nothing better than to eat and drink and be glad.

In other words, live in joy.

Friends, as Christians, there is no other life attitude we should have. While the world is shrouded in darkness, we are always in the light, walking with the One who is the Light of the world. When we allow His Spirit to dwell within our hearts and minds and souls, then His light shines through us so that others can see Him through the darkness they abide in. We are to draw others to the Light, Jesus, but we can’t do that if we choose to not live as children of light. We cannot afford to live in sorrow and sadness and depression and despair like we have no hope, no Savior. We can’t afford to live like everyone else in the world that don’t have or know Jesus.

No, we much enjoy life, we must live with energy and excitement and fervor. We must show the world that Jesus is alive in us for when we do, we will live in a way that is so strikingly different than the world that people will want to ask us what makes us so different. They will want to know how we can possibly live in a way that is always rejoicing and glad in each day, no matter what our circumstances might be. They will ask because they yearn for the kind of life we are living. They long to enjoy life.

When they do, it’s time we tell them about Jesus and the God who gave Him freely to save us all. We tell them the reason we enjoy life and live fearless in a world where fear often reigns supreme. We tell them about the hope and certainty we have despite the complete uncertainty the world is immersed in. We tell them that through Jesus, death is not the end but just the glorious beginning of a life liberated from all the hardships and afflictions of the world including sin. And in doing all this, we lead them to a place where they too can enjoy life and rejoice and be glad in it.

Friends, if you are a Christian, you have no reason to live in misery or gloom or melancholy. Rather, you have every reason to live in peace and bliss and delight.

In Jesus, you are saved. Enjoy life like you know it and help others find their way there as well.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com