Joy in Easter Week: Celebrate this phenomenal week with deep appreciation!

By JoHannah Reardon

A cartoon appearing in Leadership journal showed a couple leaving church and shaking hands with the pastor. The man says to the pastor, "You're in a rut, Reverend. Every time I come here, you preach about the Resurrection."

We chuckle at that, but sometimes those of us who faithfully come to church more regularly than on Easter have a similar attitude. We want to have a devoted attitude. Instead we fall into, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. I know all that." It's tempting to turn the most fantastic event of human history into routine.

Each year, I find I need to slow down and reflect on the events of Easter week so that I can absorb its wonder. Sometimes just walking through those familiar events stirs my heart to remember all that Christ did for me.

You can read this in its entirety at Christianity Today's sister publication, ChristianBibleStudies.com.

A thankful heart in all seasons

By Francis Frangipane

The very quality of your life, whether you love it or hate it, is based upon how thankful you are toward God. It is one's attitude that determines whether life unfolds into a place of blessedness or wretchedness. Indeed, looking at the same rose bush, some people complain that the roses have thorns while others rejoice that some thorns come with roses. It all depends on your perspective.

This is the only life you will have before you enter eternity. If you want to find joy, you must first find thankfulness. Indeed, the one who is thankful for even a little enjoys much. But the unappreciative soul is always miserable, always complaining. He or she lives outside the shelter of the Most High God.

Perhaps the worst enemy we have is not the devil but our own tongue. James tells us, "The tongue is set among our members as that which . . . sets on fire the course of our life" (James 3:6). He goes on to say this fire is ignited by hell. Consider: with our own words we can enter the spirit of heaven or the agonies of hell!

It is hell with its punishments, torments and misery that controls the life of the grumbler and complainer! Paul expands this thought in 1 Corinthians 10:10, where he reminds us of the Jews who "grumble[d] . . . and were destroyed by the destroyer." The fact is, every time we open up to grumbling and complaining, the quality of our life is reduced proportionally—a destroyer is bringing our life to ruin!

People often ask me, "What is the ruling demon over our church or city?" They expect me to answer with the ancient Aramaic or Phoenician name of a fallen angel. What I usually tell them is a lot more practical: one of the most pervasive evil influences over our nation is ingratitude!

Do not minimize the strength and cunning of this enemy! Paul said that the Jews who grumbled and complained during their difficult circumstances were "destroyed by the destroyer." Who was this destroyer? If you insist on discerning an ancient world ruler, one of the most powerful spirits mentioned in the Bible is Abaddon, whose Greek name is Apollyon. It means ‘destroyer’ (Rev. 9:11). Paul said the Jews were destroyed by this spirit. In other words, when we are complaining or unthankful, we open the door to the destroyer, Abaddon, the demon king over the abyss of hell!

In the Presence of God

Multitudes in our nation have become specialists in the "science of misery." They are experts—moral accountants who can, in a moment, tally all the wrongs society has ever done to them or their group. I have never talked with one of these people who was happy, blessed or content about anything. They expect an imperfect world to treat them perfectly.

Truly, there are people in this wounded country of ours who need special attention. However, most of us simply need to repent of ingratitude, for it is ingratitude itself that is keeping wounds alive! We simply need to forgive the wrongs of the past and become thankful for what we have in the present.

The moment we become grateful, we actually begin to ascend spiritually into the presence of God. The psalmist wrote,

"Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. . . . Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100:2, 4-5).

It does not matter what your circumstances are; the instant you begin to thank God, even though your situation has not changed, you begin to change. The key that unlocks the gates of heaven is a thankful heart. Entrance into the courts of God comes as you simply begin to praise the Lord.”

Surrender: a secret to success in life, and Life

By Rick Warren (lifted from his Purpose Driven site)

"...Give yourselves to God, .... surrender your whole being to Him to be used for righteous purposes." Romans 6:13 (TEV)
Surrender is an unpopular word, disliked almost as much as the word submission. It implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser.

Surrender evokes the unpleasant images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. Captured criminals surrender to the authorities.

In our competitive world we're taught to never quit trying, never give up, and never give in—so we don't hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable.

Yet, the Bible teaches us that rather than trying to win, succeed, overcome, and conquer, we should instead yield, submit, obey, and surrender.

And by surrendering to God, we enter into the heart of worship. This is true worship: bringing pleasure to God as we give ourselves completely to Him.

Surrendering is best demonstrated in obedience, cooperating with your Creator. You say, "Yes Lord" to whatever He asks of you.

In fact, "No, Lord" is a contradiction. You can't claim Jesus as your Lord when you refuse to obey him. Peter modeled surrender when, after a night of failed fishing, Jesus told him to try again: "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." Surrendered people obey God's word, even when it doesn't make sense.

God is not a cruel slave driver, or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn't try to break our will, but woos us to Himself, so that we might offer it freely to Him. God is a Lover and a Liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage.

When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.

Family aboard "Christmas Terror Flight" leaned on prayer and faith

(Wisconsin, USA)—Charlie and Scotti Keepman, with 24-year-old daughter Richelle, had just traveled to Ethiopia, Africa, where they'd adopted two orphans and were bringing them back to their home in Wisconsin on Christmas day.

Sitting toward the back of NW Flight 253, the Keepmans had no idea of the drama about to unfold rows ahead of them when terror suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, attempted a suicide bombing in his seat.

"We heard a pop and then smelled the fumes," recalled Charlie about the moment Abdulmatallab tried to ignite his explosives. "It smelled like burning wire actually. And I thought that's what it was."

But when flight attendants came running back for the fire extinguishers, Keepman noticed the horror in their eyes and knew something more was happening on their plane.

Trying to remain calm, the Keepmans joined hands with their daughter and newly-adopted children and began to bring the matter before the Lord in prayer, and to sing Jesus Loves Me.

Abdulmatallab's explosive device failed to do more than start a fire, and thanks to one quick-thinking passenger who jumped over seats, apprehending him and preventing him from doing any further damage, a possibly fatal situation was avoided.

The Nigerian Abdulmatallab (23) was later charged with trying to blow up NW Airlines Flight 253.

Charlie Keepman (l)  withYtbarek, 8;  Richelle KeepmanwithArsema, 6;  and Scotti Keepmanwith grandson Harrison Keepmanat their home in Oconomowoc, Wis.   (AP Photo/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Tom Lynn)

(Full story at source: Kristen Schorsch – Chicago Breaking News Center)

One New Year's Resolution: Sensing pain in others? Reach out!

By Aimee Herd

According to a Reuters Health report, some people really do vicariously feel another's pain when they see them hurt in some way.

The research was led by Dr. Stuart W. G. Derbyshire of the University of Birmingham, who—first—had 108 college students view images of "painful situations," such as injections or sports injuries. About a third of the students said they not only experienced emotional reactions, but also "fleeting pain" in that same area while viewing at least one of the images.

Next, Derbyshire used a "functional MRI" (which measures the stimuli in certain parts of the brain) to scan 10 students in both the "responders" and "non-responders" groups. The study found that while both experienced emotional reactions to the "painful" images; the "responders" also showed greater stimulus of the "pain-related" areas in their brains.

Derbyshire explained, "We think this confirms that at least some people have an actual physical reaction when observing others being injured or expressing pain."

Using an imaging technique called functional MRI, UK researchers found evidence that people who say they feel vicarious pain do, in fact, have heightened activity in pain-sensing brain regions upon witnessing another person being hurt.

The findings, published in the journal Pain, could have implications for understanding, and possibly treating, cases of unexplained "functional" pain.

"Patients with functional pain experience pain in the absence of an obvious disease or injury to explain their pain," explained Dr. Stuart W. G. Derbyshire of the University of Birmingham, one of the researchers on the new study.

"Consequently," he told Reuters Health in an email, "there is considerable effort to uncover other ways in which the pain might be generated."

Derbyshire said he now wants to study whether the brains of patients with functional pain respond to images of injury in the same way that the current study participants' did.

For the study, Derbyshire and colleague Jody Osborn first had 108 college students view several images of painful situations—including athletes suffering sports injuries and patients receiving an injection. Close to one-third of the students said that, for at least one image, they not only had an emotional reaction, but also fleetingly felt pain in the same site as the injury in the image.

Derbyshire and Osborn then took functional MRI scans of ten of these "responders," along with ten "non-responders" who reported no pain while viewing the images.

Functional MRI charts changes in brain blood flow, allowing researchers to see which brain areas become more active in response to a particular stimulus. Here, the researchers scanned participants' brains as they viewed either images of people in pain, images that were emotional but not painful, or neutral images.

The investigators found that while viewing the painful images, both responders and non-responders showed activity in the emotional centers of the brain. But responders showed greater activity in pain-related brain regions compared with non-responders, and as compared with their own brain responses to the emotional images.

"We think this confirms that at least some people have an actual physical reaction when observing others being injured or expressing pain," Derbyshire said.

He noted that the responders also tended to say that they avoided horror movies and disturbing images on the news "so as to avoid being in pain"—which, the researcher said, is more than just an empathetic response.

As far as the potential practical implications of the findings, Derbyshire said it would be a "reach" to think that such brain mechanisms might be behind all functional pain. But, he added, "they might explain some of it."

Aimee's note: While I find this research very interesting, I am not surprised by it. First as a mother—and I know most other moms would agree (perhaps fathers too)—I think we can certainly "feel" the pain our children might be going through at times. Also, as a Believer, sometimes in deep intercession and prayer on someone else's behalf, you can actually experience a degree of that person's pain or heartache. And then, although this research doesn't mention it, I know studies and testimonies have found that twins will often experience their other twin's pain. Clearly, this is confirmation that our brains and our "hearts" or emotions are entwined and not separate; a beautiful design by God that facilitates deep compassion. It's maybe when we try to separate them that we can become numb.

Love is a habit

By Rick Warren (lifted from his Purpose Driven site)

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them." Luke 6:32 (NIV)

If you only love on and off like a light switch, you do not love others like God wants you to love. Jesus said, "If you only love those who love you what credit is that to you?" (Luke 6:32 NIV).

His point is this: anybody can love those who love them. Becoming a master lover means you learn to love the unlovable. It's when you love people who don't love you, when you love people who irritate you, when you love people who stab you in the back or gossip about you.

This may seem like an impossible task and it is. That's why we need God's love in us, so we can then love others: "We know and rely on the love God has for us" (1 John 4:16 NIV).

When you realize how much God loves you - with an extravagant, irresistible, unconditional love - then His love will change your entire focus on life. If we don't receive God's love for us, we'll have a hard time loving other people. I'm talking about loving the unlovely, loving the difficult, loving the irritable, loving people who are different or demanding.

You can't do that until you have God's love coming through you. You need to know God's love so it can overflow out of your life into others.

Love must become your lifestyle, the habit of your life. But it starts with a decision. Are you ready?

Your life is worth far more than you think, and by learning to love others with the love God gives you, you will have an influence far greater than you could ever imagine. If you will commit to this, you will experience love as God means it to be, filled with hope, energy, and joy.

My prayer for you is "that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love ..." (Philippians 1:9 NCV).

————————
Lifted with permission from Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven site

The joy-driven life: good news for the earnest

Death to deadly earnest discipleship!

"Do not be afraid," the angel tells the quaking shepherds. "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." The church's angelic mission to the world is no different. "Do not be afraid," we announce to a world shivering in the dark. "We bring good news of a great joy—for everyone!"

"It is astonishing," wrote Karl Barth, "how many references there are in the Old and New Testaments to delight, joy, bliss, exultation, merry-making, and rejoicing, and how emphatically these are demanded from the Book of Psalms to the Epistle to the Philippians."

Indeed, from "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth!" (Ps. 100:1) to "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Phil. 4:4)—and dozens of places before and after and in between—we are urged to lead joy-filled lives.

When believers do a little self-reflection, not many of us point to joylessness as the thing that needs attention. Mostly we flagellate ourselves for our undisciplined discipleship. We issue calls to repent of our consumerism, sign ecumenical concords to heal our divisions, and issue manifestos to care for the poor and the planet. No one has yet issued a joint ecumenical statement on the need for Christians to be more joyful. Yet it's right there in the Bible, over and over: "I say it again: Rejoice!"

We come by our earnestness honestly. One of our classic texts is William Law's A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. While Law devoted one chapter to happiness, the rest of the book presents a long admonition "to take up our daily cross, deny ourselves, profess the blessedness of mourning, seek the blessedness of poverty of spirit …." This bracing, prophetic book deeply influenced the theology of John and Charles Wesley.

It is no surprise that one of the best-selling nonfiction books of all time is The Purpose Driven Life.  We long to have meaning. And we are willing to be driven—something we don't normally want—if it will make a difference.

One reason we are perennially attracted to a serious call to a purpose-driven life is the state of the planet. According to a recent report from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, world hunger is only worsening. Nuclear threats grow daily in the Middle East. Human trafficking is expanding. Billions are mired not just in poverty of material needs but also poverty of spirit. Who in their right mind can talk about joy? Empathy, yes. But to put on joy when so many are dressed in the rags of anxiety, grief, and despair—well, it would be scandalous. There will be time for rejoicing once we make some headway on the human catastrophe.

Good news for the earnest

But is it not truer to say that we will not make progress on the human catastrophe until we first rediscover joy? The gospel remains a scandal, indeed, because it announces joy right when everything is falling apart, just when today's experts offer "sober assessments of the current situation," and in their euphoric moments can only say they remain "cautiously optimistic."

(Please read this article in its entirety at Christianity Today)