Why?

   One day a professor was holding class. He decided to give his students an essay to write. Now, you may be thinking that's not that special. Professors give essays all the time, why is this important? You just asked a very good question because it's close to what the professor gave for his question for the students to write about. The professor said the students had to write an essay answering the question "why?"
   What would you write to answer that question? Many students wrote large essays with lots of citations. They said many different things in those essays. I'm sure many of them were filled with "because" :D
   The professor got the essays back and looked them over. He gave ever student a failing grade except for one student. The student who passed answered the essay with just 2 words: "Why not?"
   The question "why?" can be answered in many ways, believe me I know because I'm a teacher and kids love to ask this question. But, only one student understood what others did not. Matthew 19:26 says: "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" We ask God "why is this happening?" God says "why not?" God had the idea to create a platypus which looks like a funky combination of many animals. He created the basis of life called laminin, which looks like a cross.
   He is the God of "why not?" We ask him "why does my mom have cancer? Why did I lose my job? Why are there so many natural disasters?" He says, "why not?" He is in control. He loves us and has a plan for us. We may hurt when bad things happen but many times we either don't look for good in the situation or play the "woe is me" card. It is our choice to look at the positive and to move on from hard situations.
   Maybe instead of asking all these negative questions we should ask ourselves some why questions. Why can't I focus on the good in life? Why can't I help out others more? Why can't I have joy in all circumstances? Why can't I trust God? Why not?
   Image from here.

Rotten

   As a preschool teacher I tend to do a few activities that I never really thought I would do. One of those things is gardening. I do not have a green thumb. If someone gives me a plant it tends to die very quickly. Sure, I've tried to keep them alive but plants just must not like me.
   Anyhow, one day my co-teacher and I decided it was time to use some old seeds we had in our room. We planted cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers in front of our center. Time passed and only the tomato plants survived. We went out with the kids to look at the plants. Then we let the kids choose one tomato to pick each.
   One child saw a nice, big, juicy looking tomato toward the back of the garden. I went back and helped the child try to pick it. For some reason this tomato did not want to come off. So I pulled and twisted till finally it came off; and another tomato came with it. I discovered why that tomato did not want to come off. It was attached to a rotten tomato. The kids looked disgusted, but then we got to talk about why the tomato became rotten. It was a good science lesson.
   I thought about that tomato after school that day. The tomato the child chose looked so good. But underneath the leaves it was attached to a rotten tomato. Sometimes we meet people who are like that good looking tomato. This person claims to be a Christian but he may do things that don't look like things a Christian would do. Or, in the case of this tomato, this Christian may have friends who begin to make him rotten.
   We must be careful who we allow to influence us. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals.'" If we are not strong in our foundation of faith we will run the risk of allowing others to influence us to sin. We must know God's word. We must be strong in him so we know when to say no. We must not fall into temptation. We must focus on producing good fruit, the fruit of the spirit.
   Now, this isn't to say we are not to try to reach the lost for God. That's what we are to do according to the great commission. But, we are not to fall into temptation and sin as we try to reach the lost. That's why we must spend time in God's word and pray with him.
   So, are you allowing others to influence you in a bad way? How can you focus on spending time with God so you produce good fruit? 

   Image from here.

Do the Next Right Thing: Frozen 2

   The final song in Frozen 2 is actually what I call the sad song. It's a good song and it is actually very profound. However, it is very melancholy. Anna sings it when she has lost basically everything and everyone she loves. She isn't sure what she should do next.
   The end of the song says this:
   "So I'll walk through this night, Stumbling blindly toward the light, And do the next right thing, And with the dawn, what comes then? When it's clear that everything will never be the same again, Then I'll make the choice, To hear that voice, And do the next right thing"
   Anna is walking through the darkness of loss. But she knows she must go on. She must go toward the light. She must do the next right thing no matter how hard it is.
   Romans 8:18 is a good reminder for those feeling like Anna in this song: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." We are going to suffer while we are on earth. Things are going to be hard and we will lose things and people. That happens because sin is in the world. We will hurt and have problems because of that. It is what we do with those problems that matters.
   When bad things happen we can choose to wallow in grief. We can choose to fall away from God. Or, we can choose to walk with God. We can choose to do the next right thing. If someone hurts you by causing you to lose your job will you try to get revenge; or will you forgive and trust in God's plan. If your significant other leaves you will you get angry at them and maybe give up on life; or will you forgive and trust in God's plan? Forgiveness, trust, and doing the right thing isn't always easy; but it's always the right thing to do.
   So, when hard times come what will you do? Will you wallow in pain and try to get revenge; or will you follow God?

Image from here.

Show Yourself: Frozen 2

   Show yourself is a song that happens when Elsa is on her own. She has been led to a place by a voice that was calling her. Now that she has reached the place she is so close to finding out who called her and why she was called there.
   We too are called. We may not be called to an ice river like Elsa but we are called. If you do not know Christ as your personal savior he may call you to him. He loves us all so much that he died for our sins so that none may perish but all may have everlasting life (John.3.16). He calls us to him. We may not all be called in the same way, many will be called. It is up to you if you answer the call.
   If you do know Christ as your personal savior then you have a new call. When we get saved we are called to follow the greatest commandment and the great commission. We are to love God and love others. Love can be shown in different ways, but we are called to love all. We are also to share the good news of the gospel. We are to tell others that Christ died for them to save them. We do that in different ways. We all have different talents, life experiences, and know different people. It is our job to use our talents to spread the Gospel.
   God gave you your talents for a reason. Maybe you are wondering how you can use your talent for the gospel. How could cooking be used for the gospel? You could cook a meal for a neighbor to get to know them, show God's love, and eventually share the gospel. How could you use your knowledge of fixing things for the gospel? You could offer to fix things for people for free, or for a discount, to show love to those people. Then you could share the gospel with them. You see, there are many ways you can share the gospel using your talents. The question is: will you answer the call when the opportunity comes up to use your talent for the gospel?
   What talents do you have that God has given you? How can you use that talent to spread the Gospel?

Image from here.

Lost in the Woods: Frozen 2

   Okay, so I am going to be honest this one's a bit of a stretch; but I am going to pick out 1 lyric from this song and connect it to God. In the song Lost in the Woods Kristoff was going to propose to Anna but she left to help her sister. Kristoff is sad because he feels lost without her.
   Kristoff is like us in a way. He is searching for Anna and feels lost without her. Unlike Kristoff, we are not always searching for God. However, until we find God, we are lost in the woods. The woods represents the world. The woods represents sin. The woods, eventually, represents hell. Without God we are lost. We don't have a direction to go. We don't have a purpose. We don't have hope. Thus, we are "lost in the woods."
   The good news is we don't need to stay lost. God actively searches for us. In Luke 19:1-10 we find the story of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector who cheated people out of their money. He was not a well liked man. He was a sinner like all of us. Jesus chose to go to his house. Jesus sought out Zacchaeus. Because Jesus sought out Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus turned away from his sin. He may not have done that if Jesus wasn't actively seeking him out.
   In verse 10 Jesus said: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Did you catch that? The Son of Man (Jesus) seeks and saves the lost. We are lost. We are sinners. We have no hope without Christ. And, he loves us so much that he seeks us out. He loves us so much that he wants to have a relationship with us. He loves us so much that he died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice as atonement for our sins. He did that for you. He did that for your friends. He did that for the people you don't like. He did it for us all. All we need to do is accept into our hearts, believe that he is the savior, and confess we are sinners and that he is Lord.
   So, are you still lost in the woods? Are you currently walking with Christ through the woods? How can you do a better job of walking with Christ today?

Image from here.