"God, why is this happening to me?"  Have you ever heard that phrase in one form or another?  As a pastor, I hear it a lot.  We wonder why we are going through what we are going through as a Christian.  Then those who are not Christians say, "If God loves us, why doesn’t God step up and do something?".  That is a pretty valid question, and often times, the Christian does not have a good answer.  Then the Chrisitan can become depressed, because they wonder where God is.

If you will indulge me, I would like to go on a journey with you.  First, we have to remember that our life is so very short as compared to eternity.  When we have a relationship with Jesus, what does Jesus promise us?  We are promised that we have a future in Heaven and by His stripes we are healed.  Most say that they like that last part, and that they wish that they saw it more often.

Remember, forever is a long, long, long time. So, once you come to know Jesus, you are promised a life in Heaven, where there is no pain, no sickness, no sin, no death, and where God grants your heart's desire.  It is a place where you have no worries, ever.  There are not a lot of verses on Heaven in the Bible, because well, if we could explain Heaven, then when we get there, we would be sorely disappointed.  God is making a place for us that is so wonderful that it will blow our imaginations away, and then some.

Sidenote:  If Jesus healed every disease on the planet, we would never make it to Heaven. This body has to die so that we can have a new and amazing life.

The Bible says that we are the Bride of Christ. The Bible is all about a marriage contract.  When two people get married, they give themselves completely over to the other person, trusting that the other person will do what is best for them. 

So, we give our lives to Jesus to do as He sees fit with us.  Sometimes that means that we will be put in difficult situations.  Now, you may say that isn't love.  However, what is the only thing that you can take with you from this planet?  It's another soul, a person.  That’s it.  What does God base His rewards in Heaven on?  It's how many people you shared Jesus with, not how many get saved, because you can’t make anyone get saved.  You can only share the Gospel.

Everyone goes through struggles, and how we handle those struggles can show people our love for Jesus.  For example, I had a person in my office recently that was wondering why God had not healed them.  I talked to the person about the above, and that if you are a Christian, you have a perfect and amazing future ahead.  You will be healed in Heaven, and it will last forever.  Then I told her that maybe she is going through this to reach someone, like the doctors and nurses, for Jesus.  I asked the person if when they go to see the doctors and nurses, if they ask them if they know Jesus.  The person was taken back, and thought about it and said, "no".  I told her that maybe God has her on a mission to reach them for Jesus.  Once that mission is done, maybe then God will take away the affliction, because the job is done.

The point is, we are eternal beings. We will live eternally in either Heaven or hell. Both of those last so much longer than this life.  The Good News is, as Christians, we know, or should I say that, we should know, that what happens on this earth is really insignificant compared to the glory and riches that we will have in Heaven.  What if we lived our lives with that eternal perspective?

Two things would happen.  The things of life would not bother us anymore.  Wouldn’t that be great!  Second, God is giving you chances to share Jesus, which helps you add to your riches in Heaven one day, when Jesus will tell you that you have done well as a servant, GREAT is your reward.  So…

Leadership

Proverbs 30:29-31 states, "There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk” and the 4^th one is in verse 31, “And a king whose troops are with him”.

So, what is the way to determine a good leader?  Leaders shouldn't pull people. They should inspire people to follow them. They should give people a reason to follow them.

You hear a lot today about people blindly following someone. That is one thing that God does not want you to do for Him. God wants you to follow Him because He gives you a good reason.

God could force us to follow and obey, but He says no, He wants us to give Him our obedience and trust that He has our best interests in mind.

Jesus proves that to us by taking the punishment for our sins in the most grueling way on the cross. While on the cross, Jesus was mocked, betrayed, forsaken, humiliated and so much more. Jesus could have easily said, "Enough!" and thought us out of existence, but instead He took it all because He loved us.  Then when Jesus came back to life, He did not go out on a revenge tour.  Jesus went to those who should have stood beside Him and told them that He forgave them and endued them with His power.

Jesus did not force them, but instead, invited them to be with Him. Jesus also told the truth.  He said, in John 16:33, that you would face issues and tribulations, but that you would overcome because He has overcome. Jesus tells it like it is.

He wants to inspire confidence in us so that we will choose to follow Him, and lastly, He does not stand in the background and watch to see if we will flounder around.  He says in 2 Chronicles 20:15 that He is the one who will fight for us. All we have to do is let Him.

That is what a leader does, and then it is up to the people to decide whether that leader is worth following. Does the leader do what they said they would do?

On earth we are to emulate Jesus as much as possible. If you want to see revival, then imitate Jesus. Don’t try to make people follow you. Give them a reason to. Lead by example. Yes, you will fail sometimes, and when you do, own up to it and say that you were wrong. Live what you say, even when it is to your detriment, and people will follow you.

Being a good leader is not determined by how many people you have following you, because it is easy to build a mob. A good leader is determined by whether or not people follow them out of their own free will. People will follow that leader because the leader has their best interest in mind and has proven it.

Jesus is that kind of leader, and we as Christians need to emulate that. What if only 1 or 2 are following you? Well, that is better than 0. Imagine if every true believer has 1 or 2 people following them, it wouldn’t be long till more were following Jesus than not.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, where we celebrate love. The thing is, what is love? Everyone wants it, but no one seems to really get it, because no one really knows what love is. There are so many definitions out there, and because of that, it is hard to find. Jesus knew that we desire love above everything else, so He wrote exactly what love is, so that you could recognize it and go after it.

That is God’s definition of love. I think that sounds really good. Imagine if the world would actually practice that kind of love. Yet, some people say the Bible is irrelevant.

I Corinthains 13:8 says, "Love Never Fails".

This is love, and this love will not fail.

Are you looking for love? Start with Jesus. Then practice this type of love. You won’t be perfect at it, no human is, but this will lead you to the love you want, the love you deserve. As you practice this type of love, you will be able to see the counterfeits, and know when someone is not loving you, so that you can avoid heartbreak. That is priceless advice, and Jesus gives it to you for free.