The Demon-Possessed Man - Ends (or really, begins)

Luke 8:38-39 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

This is my Weight Watchers story: In December of 2006 I knew I needed to lose weight. I had tried Atkins and the diet pills, but nothing seemed to work - surprise, surprise. So, I went to my husband and said - can I join Weight Watchers? I knew it would cost us a little bit of money up front, but thought if I just did it slow and steady it would be healthy and I would have the help to get the weight off. Danny said "yes" and on January 2nd, 2007 I strolled into my first Weight Watchers meeting. I listened to the program, I followed it exactly and slowly and steadily the weight began to fall off. By May of the same year, I had lost 40 pounds and had reached goal to become a lifetime member. Six weeks later, I had lost a total of 45 pounds and started working for Weight Watchers. I wanted to share with other people how they can enjoy life so much better by being healthy. I've been with the company for about a year and a half and have had the opportunity to see several people reach their goal in weight loss. It's so exciting to see the change in them.

Jesus had changed the life of the demon-possessed man. He had performed a miracle and helped this man get his life back. The man wanted to stay with Jesus and be a part of His life. And that's exactly what Jesus wanted, but not like that. The way for us to be a part of His life is to share Him with others. Jesus told him to tell others what had happened and that Jesus can give them a new life too. The man was so excited to go tell others about Jesus.

When things in our life change for the better, it's human nature to want to share that with someone else. Why are we so reluctant to share Jesus? Is He not the BEST thing that's ever happened to us? We'll tell everyone about the sale at Penney's or the newest movie that's coming out in the theaters or who we think did the best on American Idol, but we won't mention how we fell on our knees and Jesus forgave us and we woke up with a brand new outlook on life. Oh to be like the demon-possessed man who, when touched by the Master, committed to sharing how wonderful Jesus is with the world...

Noah - Weight Watchers 101

Genesis 7:19-24 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

I love my job. I have the opportunity to meet all different types of people from all different walks of life. I speak to people in companies about Weight Watchers. I try to encourage them along their weight-loss journey. I have met some truly sweet people. However, many of them do not believe in Jesus. They don't go to church, they don't read the Bible, they don't think about how important it is to know Jesus. Even though I don't share the commonality of Christianity with some of my members, I enjoy their company and being around them.

What if all the people that you knew, that you see on a daily basis - were suddenly gone? Your mailman? Your favorite server at your lunchtime restaurant? Your boss? Your co-workers? Your friends from high school and college? Your grocery store clerk? Your doctor? People that you interact with on a daily basis, but not people you go to church with or worship together. Would you miss them? Of course you would.

Noah may have been at the top of the ark looking out when the floods came, but I would venture a guess to say that when he started to hear the screams, he headed down to the center of the ark where only the moos of the cows and the roars of the lions could be heard. If Noah was the righteous man that God called him (which we know he was or God wouldn't have said it) he had to be torn with grief over the loss of these people. These were people he talked to every day. His neighbors, his fellow hunters, his school classmates. To walk out to the top of the ark and see that it was completely gone - nothing but water - must have been devastating.

We forget that Noah had to go through the turmoil of losing everyone around him (except his family). Do we ever stop to consider who we may never see again if Jesus decides to come back tomorrow? Are we willing to do everything we can to prevent that?