Looks good, doesn't it?
Just as a good caramel apple deliciously sticks to your teeth, so should the good things that happen to us in life. When you take that first mouth watering bite of that caramel apple, your taste buds go through the roof; joy, happiness and tastiness chase each other around your mouth; your face splits into a wide grin as your eyes flutter closed with a, "My goodness!" I know you walked through that first bite of that caramel apple with me, didn't you? Um-hum-m-m! You had no trouble envisioning the joy that I experienced with that bite, did you? I know you didn't... (You probably can still feel it sticking to your teeth. tee hee)
I deliberately built that taste reference picture in your mind because, as you have probably figured, I am going to make a point.
Before I make my point; however, I have a statement to make. (Some people are not comfortable with talking about the Lord and what He has done for them. Not me!) So, if it is the Lord's will, I will be sharing the good things that happen to me in 2016. Why, well because He likes it. He said so in Jeremiah 9:24. He has told us that He likes to be bragged on! Folks, it doesn't get much clearer than that. If the God who made the world and inspired the writing of the Holy Writ that I am going to be judged by when I leave this world, wants me to brag on Him, I'm going to do it!
I cry to Him when I get in trouble, don't I? I pray to Him for my needs and wants don't I? Sure I do and I expect Him to take care of me in all of my needs and, at His discretion, my wants. A-a-nd, when my number is called and my time is up, He is Who I will stand before and be judged. I know that He has two places that He can send me, either heaven or hell. I want Him feeling warm and tender towards me when He pronounces where I will spend eternity.
Yes, I know that I was a little dramatic in describing standing before the Lord, but folks it's going to be. I just want to hear Him say, "Well done Alma. Enter into the joys of the Lord." Folks, I'm going to feel like shouting and skipping, so much so that my leg might twitch. But I won't. I'll stand still and hold that joy as He takes His reverent hand and wipes the tears from my eyes.
And then, and then, I'm gonna turn around and look at sorrow, pain, disappointment, heartache and heartbreak and I'm going to think, "Y'all can't dog my feet no more!" They will be looking at me from the outside of the gate and I will go skipping on down the road of that heavenly city, laughing and singing the songs of Zion.
Yes, I took some liberties here with what I think it might be like at the judgement. I know and you do too, that no one knows the joys that He has prepared for those who love Him. But I will tell you this, if you talk about the things that He has done for you, it might help somebody else and I know that it will help you. "How will it help me and how will it help somebody else?" you ask.
It will help somebody else because they will know that He is not a respecter of persons so that if He blesses you, He will bless them too. It will help you because you will dwell on the sweetness of being His child and of basking in His love. Then too, when some more trouble comes your way, you will remember what He has already done for you and you will hold on until your change comes.
Now, I said all of that to show you the needfulness of our jar for holding our good things for the upcoming year. Now, somebody probably just said, "I won't need a jar to be reminded of what He will have done for me." I beg to differ. Unless you are an exception to the rule, you will forget how worried and/or bothered you were about a particular situation when the situation is corrected, or soon there after. You will forget what relief you felt and how you thanked Him. You will forget to remember some of the emotion of the moment. Bu-u-ut, if you put it in the jar that I am telling you about, not only will you get closer to Him, but you will have ready stories to tell your fellowman about, who might need encouraging from time to time. (Let's not forget now, that this Christian walk is not just about us.) We have to lift up Jesus, for He said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me." Two more things and then I'm done:
- If you share what He has done for you, you might get to influence someone to want to know Him (for I know that you don't want to go to heaven all by yourself, do you...?)
- When some one comes to you and asks why you are so faithful, you won't have to flounder for an answer. your answer will come as natural as breathing to you because you will have looked over the contents of your jar yourself to remind yourself of what He has done for you this year. I tell you this, if you go ahead and do this jar, even though you don't want to, you will find yourself looking for good things to put in that jar and relishing getting the thing written down so that you can get home to your jar and put it in there.
Doing What I Can, While I Can
Alma Jones
Aside - Another reason you need to do a jar - I bet you can recount every emotion that hit you with any of the past calamities that have happened in your life, can't you? Uhm Hu-u-umm, but I bet you cannot recall with as much detail the emotional pitch that you rocketed to as easily with the good things that happened, can you? That's what I thought. See, that's why you need to do a jar.
Last thing, if you do one jar, you will do one each year thereafter, I think! It will have that much of a positive impact on your life.
Aside 2 - The jar, you know, might hold memories that your loved ones will treasure for years to come. I submit that it will. How do I know? Okay, think about gatherings with family members that you don't see often. Remember how most of the family gathers around and laughs during some of the reminisces of older family members, how everybody just laughs and has a good time? Same thing with the jar...
Jesus loves you and I do too.
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