Come on...this is not a funeral, this is life worth having!

I am one of many, that if you are honest, find myself veering off the path. I will be clicking along and just feeling focused and secure in my choices being made then BAM, I trip or stumble and think....what in the world? Thats it! The world. (Romans 7:15) Some may stumble with alcohol abuse, physical relationships,gambling, many many sinful things we all know not to do. Luckily, I have avoided so many of those trappings but still have attitude or outlook checks that pop up and make me step back and say , ok...that is not what I wanna think, feel, do. When I visit with people I know are not believers or maybe they are searching, some things about the christians they know seems to be the same.... to them christians are uptight, judgemental,hypocrites, boring. Now, as long as we live here on earth, we stand the chance to be viewed as a hypocrite in the eyes of those that know what we profess. It only takes the one time they are nearby when we lose our temper , say something we should not or do something we should not. None of us are perfect and we need to acknowledge that when we do those things. Repentance is so important in front of that person, the humility that is so hard to show for some. In other cases, christians need to self check and remember, we are not here to be judgemental of others but to be sharing the good news of salvation, not beat someone up with it. There is a difference. Jesus drew people in with His love and acceptance of where someone was right then and taught them a better way. That is the example we are to use. Now, being boring.....THAT is where we definately need to get something changed! Why do so many walk around like thay are at a funeral? Like becoming a christian required any bit of a personality to be removed? We have a risen savior! We have victory! Have ya read the "end of the book"? We win! So why do so many of us act so void of joy or happiness. We need to be able to reach the generation and give them reason to want what we have. There are soooo many hurting and lost people and they are looking everywhere but where we are for answers or something to believe in. They have found only more pain and lies in what they have turned to. We need to show the joy. We need to celebrate a lil. We need to be reaching out past the walls of the church and offering the alternative they are looking for. When is the last time you had a cookout and invited that person you know needs a friend? When is the last time you went to the lake to go boating, fishing, swimming and asked someone that needs some joy in their life along? We get used to hanging with our own lil circle , usually already beliveres and forget to widen our focus. What if Jesus would have just hung out with his group of twelve without reaching past that set of close friends? Never shared what He knew with anyone else and kept it all for just them? We would be at a funeral! Our own! But He didn't and we are not. So, lets start celebrating. Lets have some fun and show it to the ones who need to see it most. I feel so bad for the twenty somethings in my life. With social media and such, you don't see people just hanging out like they used to. Like in the park playing frisbe or at the local pool. Where do you meet someone without hanging around in the clubs? We need to start getting them involved with other christians. They are the future families. It can start with a simple invitation to a cookout. Lets leave "the funeral" and get back to the celebrations. We are alive and so is He. ~ "one of the sheep"