Celebrate!

I love celebrations for the most part. I don’t really like when my opponent gets to celebrate a victory over me. I do like to celebrate wins and victories. I don’t like to celebrate in such a way that it rubs someone else’s face in it. I really like celebration where there’s lots of “winners” and we celebrate together. Celebrations are much more fun when there is lots of others to share it with.

The people of Judah who had returned after 70 years of exile were about to celebrate. They had repaired and rebuilt the broken down wall of Jerusalem. They had repaired and restored the temple. They did all of this in record time and with opposition on all sides. The time had finally come to celebrate and dedicate the wall. Check this out…

27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. 28 The musicians also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem – from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth Gilgal, and from the area of Geba and Azmaveth, for the musicians had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem. 30 When the priests and Levites had purified themselves ceremonially, they purified the people, the gates and the wall. (Nehemiah 12:27-30 NIV)

I love the atmosphere of celebration. The people recognized God’s role in their life and the life of their city. They made the celebration meaningful by inviting others to participate from the region. They had music and singing which are two important elements for celebration. When I think of celebration music, I can’t help but think of Kool & The Gang and their song: “Celebration”.

The Lord loves celebrations. I think He relishes my wins over the enemy. I believe there’s a serious celebration in heaven when someone surrenders his or her heart to the Lord for the first time. I also believe there’s a celebration when a person who once believed repents & returns home to the Lord.

I think celebration is a chocked full of encouragement and fun. I think when we celebrate the little moments it brings even greater joy to the big moments.

I’ve celebrated friendship.

I’ve celebrated marriages.

I’ve celebrated first homes.

I’ve celebrated the arrival of babies.

I’ve celebrated baptisms.

I’ve celebrated the sale of a house.
I’ve celebrated the recovery of something lost.

I want to celebrate today the blessing of God all over me. He is so patient with me and all my foolishness and disobedience. He restores my soul and washes me clean. I believe the hope I have in Him is worth celebrating!

Pressing On!

Dwayne