Lessons Learned From a Balloon

 A professor gave a balloon to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it in the hallway. The professors then mixed all the balloons. The students were given 5 minutes to find their own balloon. Despite a hectic search, no one found their balloon. At that point the professors told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The professors said to the students: “These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people's happiness....we'll find ours too.

Happy Holidays! Be there for others during this rough Time you will be surprised by the positive outcome

Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross For Our Sins

When you ask a Christian why Jesus died on the cross, they will almost automatically all answer “to pay for our sins.” This has become a deep rooted Christian belief that is widely taught in churches across the world. It has been accepted by many as Christian doctrine and been passed down from generation to generation. It’s a statement that has been accepted as fact, and one that is the foundation for many Christians.

Therefore it may come as a surprise to hear that the Bible doesn’t actually say this.

No matter how hard you search, you will not find a single passage in the entire Bible that says anything about Jesus paying the penalty for our sins. That’s because this is a “Christian belief” that the Bible doesn’t teach. Rather it was a theology created by humans.

The technical, theological name for this belief is “penal substitutionary atonement.” This theology was not part of Christian doctrine for the first 1,600 years after Jesus was crucified. The idea was originated and developed by human beings who were having trouble understanding what the Bible teaches about how Jesus Christ saved humanity. They worked with what they could to better understand Jesus’ teachings, but missed the mark. This lead to a creation of a belief that wasn’t really based on the Bible.

There are some limited verses that speak about Jesus’ death in relation to our sins, but they only point to Jesus' death somehow being related to our sins, but not that His death was a substitute or penalty because of our sins. His death did not scrub us clean of the sins we would commit in the future, or give us a “free for all” pass to do whatever we wanted. His death is not an excuse for our sins, which the “penal substitutionary atonement” alludes to.

This might seem like a nitpicky point, but the distinction that Jesus did not “pay” for our sins is vital in understanding salvation from the Christian perspective. There is a huge difference between the two ideas and it can dictate how Christians run their lives. In 1 Corinthians 15:3 the Bible reads: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.” Dying for our sins is not the same thing as dying to pay the penalty for our sins. If an innocent person dies because of another person’s wrongdoing, the person who did wrong is still guilty. Whenever the Bible talks about penalties, it always attaches them to the one who committed the offense. We are still held responsible for the sins we commit. At the end, each of us will have to pay for our deeds and there is no way around that. We are responsible for the totality of our actions.

When we look at the world now, we can tell that it has yet to be saved. There is still so much evil and hurt in this world and it’s easy to see simply by watching the news. Dying on the cross did not save us from the darkness of today’s society, and those who choose not to believe in Jesus and commit sins freely will answer for their actions. Jesus didn’t take the sins on Himself to set each of us free. It was only to open a pathway for us to be forgiven for them.

You may now be asking yourself, why then did Jesus die on the cross? This is an incredibly valid question to ask for many Christians. There are many political reasons as to why He died on the cross. Jesus died because he had offended those in power, challenged the status quo and refused to step aside. Jesus knew what He was doing, and that His actions would ultimately cause His death. He knew He was being viewed as a threat from the government at the time and predicted how His crucifixion would take place. As John 15:13 states, however, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Jesus died on the cross to show us what love truly looks like in action.

God is love, and the most important lesson that Jesus teaches us is that when we act in unloving ways, we distance ourselves from God. When asking yourself if something you do would be considered a sin, you should ask yourself if the action comes from a place of love. If it doesn’t, then it’s pulling you further away from living like Jesus.

Sin is what takes us further away from God, and those actions are void of love. The way Jesus led His life here one earth, He was able to show great examples of what love looks like. From feeding those who were hungry to befriending those who were cast out by society, Jesus went above and beyond to help those that needed it the most. He offered them love and hope when no one else would. His life was a perfect example of what love in action can do for others.

Jesus dying on the cross was a sacrifice He made for us. Him doing so gave us the opportunity to ask forgiveness for our sins, and enter into heaven once we had passed. We only have a pathway to heaven because of the loving sacrifice that Jesus made for the world. We are still responsible for what sins we commit, but by turning to Jesus we now have a way to take that weight off of our shoulders.

Jesus did die to save us from our sins, but it wasn't a moment that wiped us clean from all responsibility. Instead, the Bible says that Jesus came to take away our sins (John 1:29), so that we would no longer be sinners. Jesus' death showed us just how amazing God's love is for us. He gave us an opportunity to escape the evils of the world and be reunited with our Father in heaven. Jesus’ death paved that avenue for us.

In Memory of Those Who Have Made You Who You Are.

Self-awareness is a scary thing.

For one, confronting and evaluating yourself can be thoroughly unpleasant. It’s like looking under a rock and finding the nastiest, slimiest slug imaginable, trailing its thread of goo.

It’s possible, though, that self-awareness can be pleasant. You look at where you once were and where you are now, and think, wow, I’ve come a long way. I’m not the person I used to be. That’s a good thing.

In any case, a periodic time to examine yourself is a positive way to be something better than you are. You can see your shortcomings and go to work on them. Or, you can see where you’re thriving and build on that.

Let’s go a step further. 

Self-awareness can be a companion to others-awareness. The idea is that you are who you are in large part because of those who have entered (and perhaps exited) your life.

Think about this. Think about those whose lives have intersected yours. I’d suggest those intersections aren’t random.

This was very much on my mind when I got up this morning. I’m old enough to have known hundreds, if not thousands of people. Some I knew and know intimately. Others are the barest of acquaintances. I know many of them because of personal contact. And, interestingly enough, I truly believe I’ve come to know and love some people because of contact through social media. (And before the chorus of haters break into song, I totally understand that cybercontact is a pale imitation of personal “same space” contact. But it does have it’s place. And there are people I’ve never met physically that sure mean a lot to me. I also know that I only know of people online what they choose to reveal, but that’s another discussion.)

Think about this. There are people who are important to you. People who are unimportant to you. They cross your life, love appropriately, or interact carelessly. You have your ordained time with them. And they move on, and you are fine with that.

There are others who enter your life and you think, “Why in the world did I ever have to encounter them?” They devalue your spirit and suck dry your soul. One day they’re gone. You take a deep breath, mutter “thank God,” and move on. You are fine with that, too.

Then there are the unique others. I can think of a half-dozen of them in my own life. These are the folks that leave and you experience a quiet, piercing, agony and wonder why they had to go and leave such a gaping hole. That’s happened to you, right? They are gone. And you look at those currently present in your life and wonder, “O my goodness. What if they were to go, too?”

This is the way of life.

• Children leave parents.

• Friends leave friends.

• Romantic couples part company.

• People move away to a new home.

• People simply grow apart.

• Enemies hate and move on.

• Friends love and move on.
  
  

There are those who I was especially fond of that have now drifted into the hazy recesses of my memory. I still think about them.

There are those who are close to me now. I look at them and wonder.

What do you do when you are afraid of having to move on from someone? Or, even more significantly, what if you are the one that has to do the moving?

Ancient script says this, through the words of the Apostle Paul to his young student, mentoree, and friend Timothy. (In addition to all his other gifts and responsibilities, Paul may have been the first youth minister.)

”For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

Paul knew he was soon to leave this world. He knew that he wanted to leave Timothy with words to comfort him, but at the same time he wanted to be realistic in saying, “Timothy, my dear friend, I am finished. And it is all good.”

But I am enraptured with this imagery, the word pictures Paul paints! “I have fought the good fight.” “I have finished the race.” “I have kept the faith.” Old Paul. He realized he’d completed what he was put here to do. He was at total peace.

So, we have Paul and Timothy, who are, in effect, saying their goodbyes.

There are times when we have to do the same thing. As I’ve already mentioned, I believe that how we say and experience our goodbyes has to do with the context of what is happening.

I’m so stinking socially awkward and so all up in my head it’s a miracle I can even function outside the house. (That’s a joke. Mostly.) I’ll have a conversation with someone and walk away thinking, “What did I just say? Did it make sense? Did I make it too hard for them to understand where I was coming from? Did I say too much? Did I babble? Did I say something inappropriate? Did I say something to make them dread having any more contact with me? Did I say the right thing for them to know my heart and not be uncomfortable or freak out? Did I simply try too hard?”

I strive mightily to not care about those things. So far, I’m an utter failure.

In spite of that, people, I believe in God’s master plan for our lives. It doesn’t really matter all that much how good I was at communicating or relating.

Back to the goodbyes thing: I believe that God moves people in and out of each others’ lives. I think we each leave our mark on others. I believe we are all made up of little moments, little points of contact, little poignant memories of everyone who has ever touched our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not.

I believe you are more because of it. And I think you would be less if those precious lives had not intersected.

I pray God that we accept everyone who comes into our lives with humility and wonder.

I pray we never question. And I pray we never regret.