God's NOT Dead

God's NOT Dead! What a great movie! My wife and I just watched it a few nights ago. Very simply, it shows how we as Christians are constatntly pushed down for what we believe and how the world basically tolerates everything and everyone's beliefs except Christians. We see this play out everyday in schools, workplaces, Hollywood, Facebook and all around the world. It would seem as if, for whatever reason, people just don't want to accept that their IS a God who truely loves and cares for them. I am not sure why it is so easy to believe in nothing verses a God who cares and loves so much. Anyway, great movie but this is not the point of this article.

I have been blessed for 23 years to see firsthand that God is NOT dead! As a Youth Pastor, Missionary, Chaplin, father and friend I have seen God at work in the lives of so many! People who seemed hopeless, those who were dying or lost loved ones, people with addictions and so much more. I have seen lives changed as God moved in their lives and there could not be any other reasonable or rational explanation except these lives were changed through the power of the living God.

I know and understand that not everyone has seen or experienced God in the same way and that it may seem easy to dismiss God as the explanation as we desperatly seek for another explanation so we don't have to admit that God may actually be behind these great changes or blessings. But, I know the experiences I have been blessed to be a witness to and I have never doubted the fact that God is NOT dead.

This summer Cathy and I had the pleasure of serving on the mission field in Jamaica as well as in Chicago. We spent several months away from the comforts of home. No air conditioning, no T.V., no internet most of the time, no communication with our families and the list goes on and on. But, the way we were able to see God move in the lives of hundreds was breath taking. From the homeless to the dying and from children with severe mental and pysical handicaps to orphanages caring for severely sick children, the blessing of seeing God work in each of thier lives was astonishing! In almost every circumstance we were able to serve, love on, laugh and cry with each one. But what amazes me the most is the hearts and attitudes of each and everyone of these people. They each have a faith that surpasses mine and I am constantly humbled.

When I look into the faces of these children with such severe physical and mental issues,my heart breaks for them. But when I talk with them, play with them, love on them and see them smile, hear them laugh and watch them cry as I leave I know I have no reason to be in heartache. You see, they know their limitations, their diseases, for many thier short lifespan, yet, what I constantly see is hope! Not hope that they will be healed, freed from a bed or wheelchair but rather a hope and a joy that comes from knowing, loving and trusting in God. They know that God is NOT dead, they understand that the use of their legs or arms or their abilty to "do" all the things that you and I take for granted is not "who" or "what " that are were purposed for. They understand that their purpose in life is to remind people like me that hope and joy do not come from things, abilities, money, power, or status but rather through a personal relationship with God and to live their lives trusting and believing in the one true God.

They understand that this life is temporary and that one day they WILL walk and run, they will shed the bed or the wheel chair, their limitations they faced on this earth will be made limitless for all of eternity! This summer, these children, those dying in nursing homes, the homelss in Chicago have taught me more about God, hope and joy than all my years trying to teach it to students or the time I studied for my degrees. They have taught me that this is not something you can teach through academic processes but rather something you are and live, something you feel and something you cherish and not take for granted. Valuable lessons learned from the mission field! Funny, I have always thought I go to teach, to show God to others and yet I come away changed, encouraged, and blessed. God is NOT dead, He is surely alive!

#god #dead #purpose #goodnews