"Celebrate God's Time, Come On!"

You probably know I was on the road a lot in January attending church leadership conferences. I'm not the best traveler and am again reminded how grateful I am that I do not have to travel for a living. All this travel talk aside, there was one common theme between the two weeks I spent in learning, and that is, we do not celebrate enough in the Church. I'm not just talking about our own local congregation, but in more general terms...I do not think we celebrate enough with people in their life joys and celebrations.

Often times we come in to worship, just sit back, and allow church to happen. As you might have guessed, this is not the way GOD intends us to live! GOD wants us to live lives of praise to Him for the miracles He is working in our midst. And you know what? We cannot do this very well on our own. Think of it like this: when you're planning a party, one of the first things you think about is the guest list; the type of party you throw is based upon who is invited. I think we would do well to think of church in the same way, but let me offer this caveat - we behave as though church is for us, but worship is for GOD!

That being said, GOD invites us into His presence and calls us to enter with an attitude of gratitude, both for what is going on in our lives and in the lives of others. Paul said this well in 1 Corinthians 12.26, while writing on how we are to be connected as believers in the Body of Christ, that when one of us celebrates, we all celebrate! Friends, we need to be doing more celebrating in the church...celebrating our victories, milestones, and the very fact that if GOD is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8.31)

Hopefully you are so inspired now that you are ready to come worship with a spirit of celebration, but let's be honest - I know there are times when we just don't feel like celebrating. Life's timing can be cruel, and we need to remember that we live in a fallen creation where sin has distorted the image of GOD within us. "What do we do then, pastor?" Well, I'm glad you asked. The answer is found in one word...CELEBRATE!

In Philippians 4.4-7 from The Message, Paul wrote, "Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in Him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of GOD's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

I love these words, and there are few passages that confront how we are to handle life's hardships so clearly.cPaul wrote these words while he was in prison, seemingly having nothing to celebrate, but his message is clear: celebrate when you feel like it and celebrate when you don't, because when you celebrate, it moves you out of feeling sorry for yourself and reminds you that GOD is in control.

Paul's message is pretty clear...we need to celebrate who GOD is and what He does for us, especially in the times we feel down and out. When we are feeling "spiritually empty," we might not be able to celebrate too well. In faith, however, we can - and should - celebrate the victory of hope over the defeat of despair. Paul tells us that hope does not disappoint, so may we celebrate hope, even when we fear we have nothing else to celebrate! (Romans. 5.5)

The title for this blog post is, "Celebrate GOD's Time, Come On!" It is a play on words from the old Cool and the Gang roller rink anthem, "Celebrate Good Times." I hope it will serve as a reminder for you to celebrate GOD and enter into His presence with celebration and praise. This blog miniseries will continue next week as I offer a great way to share your story once you decide to celebrate GOD's presence and the power of hope, despite life's difficulties. So until next week, "Celebrate GOD's Time...Come On!"