Week 7 Celebration
“Come on and celebrate tonight (Celebrate good times, come on!) 'Cause everything's gonna be alright, Let's celebrate.“
— Kool and the Gang
Luke 15:11-32 tells a tale of 2 brothers. Both loved, both in desperate need of celebration.
At some point we have all been the prodigal -
We’ve pursued our selfish wants and have been covered in shame and guilt in the process. We need to know that God’s heart is not only to meet us with mercy when we repent, but celebrate our entering back into communion with Him through Jesus. Zephaniah 3:17 paints this picture beautifully: The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.
A deep dive for us veterans lies in the story of the “other” brother -
You’ve built a strong sword arm. You stand as an intercessor for the weak. You’re doing all the right things. You’ve stayed when others have left. You serve where you are needed and you’ve done what was needed in obedience. You make the right decisions, hard decisions, and life has gone well for you as a result. It’s been a long time since you first returned home. Feeling that intense mercy and grace you had when you first returned to God might feel like a distant memory. You begin to wonder, “Where’s my party?” “What’s my portion, since I’ve been working so hard to do the right things for my father?”
Your victory is that you’ve stood in God’s power and have been obedient to what God has called you to do. You’ve seen the goodness and faithfulness of God. Instead of letting the daily work of the kingdom in your life grind you down, how do you celebrate in doing the right things? How do you allow thanks and healthy living to sustain your efforts and keep you from resenting son-ship?
Don’t neglect that the father in this parable takes time to do more than speak acceptance over his son. He throws a party. God understands your need for celebration, because He made us.
One of the biggest hurdles for a mature believer coming out of addiction is to find healthy ways to celebrate. We had a well worn path to our counterfeit rewards. So now, when we do a good job, we need to blaze new trails to God’s rewards that truly meet our needs. How do we celebrate as veterans when we return from battle in victory?
Not everything you do to take care of yourself is selfish. For some of us, getting away to see God’s great creation causes that feeling of rest and reward. Spending time with a good friend over a tasty meal could go a long way towards healthy celebration. God can show you what makes you feel rewarded and how He wants to lavish you in those areas. Sometimes , discovering our path to reward is trial and error. Allow God to guide you in the process. He wants to tell you everything is going to be alright. He wants to celebrate with you.
Take an inventory of the great things He does in your life everyday. Get thankful for His daily faithfulness. Allow the Spirit of God inside you to renew a passionate connection with Him. The victory is in realizing that what's His is ours and that He is always with us. Those are good reasons to celebrate! Now sing along with me, "Celebrate good times, Come on!!"
Process & Reflect:
Take time over the next week to ask God the How, What, When, Where, Why of His plan to celebrate with you.
Daily Training for Week 7
DAY 2 | SCRIPTURE
1 Corinthians 5:8 - Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
In this scripture, Paul is referring to the Passover feast, where they would eat unleavened bread to symbolize moral living. In the previous passages, he told the people that a little leaven leavens the whole loaf. So, a little sin would spread to your whole life. Let this scripture challenge to you continue celebrating God’s works in your life, but to not allow your old sin nature work its way into how you celebrate.
DAY 3 | SCRIPTURE
Numbers 6: 24-26 - The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Intimacy with God is not a restriction of life in the hope of eternity. It is the ultimate fulfillment of what life can be now as it projects into eternity. His desire is to bless you. The enemy wants you to doubt God’s goodness. He is good. Not only is God good, but His desire is to bless you like we read above.
DAY 4 | SCRIPTURE
Jeremiah 29:11 - “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
That’s the Father’s heart. That is something to celebrate. The creator of the universe has plans to prosper you. Do you believe that? If not, ask God to show you His heart for you.
DAY 5 | SCRIPTURE
Philippians 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
DAY 6 | SCRIPTURE
Ecclesiastes 3:4 - A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…
God understands the rhythm of the lives we live. Allowing Him to serve as a guide in all seasons can help us stay balanced in the ups and stable in the lows. Let God diagnose your emotional climate, and let Him gauge how to react to life’s circumstances. He can set the climate we need for experiencing Him in all seasons.
DAY 7 | DISCUSS IN SMALL-GROUP
Take a look at this document: Click Here
Talk with your brothers about what ways you feel God most. How can Celebration and Reward fit into these pathways?