Have you discovered Smiling Jesus? I encourage you to Google it. Television is filled with negativity. Criticism and judgement, of nearly everything, is running rampant.
Smiling Jesus is one way to gain balance and perspective in a world that lacks both. Here is a step-by-step process for creating your own ‘Smiling’ devotional.
1st Google search smiling Jesus and find a picture that warms your heart and makes you smile. Screen shot that picture and print it out. Post it on your refrigerator, desk, or workspace.
2nd Think of a time when you experienced absolute joy. It should be a time that when you remember, no matter how many times you think about it, you smile with glee. Hold on to that memory and insert your picture of Smiling Jesus.
3rd Move the experience you created in the step above into the people in your life who bring, or have brought, a smile to you face, for example high school, or grade school, buddies. Turn your smile into relationships, connect positives to positives. If some of those people are alive, call them and share the smile. If they have passed, speak to Smiling Jesus and thank Him for the friend, the friendship, and the smile.
4th This is the difficult step… turn this experience into a one or two sentence praise and find someone with whom to share the image of Smiling Jesus and your sentence. Post it on Facebook if you can. Send it to the pastor. Create a wave of smiling that spreads through our community.
I truly believe that if God’s people, who are called by His name, will smile, and make
Christ the center of their joy, we can change the world!
Here’s my first Smiling Jesus devotional:
This is the picture I love. I like to think that Jesus laughs with me. He never laughs at me! His joy fills my life. He surrounds me with fun
The day Larry asked me to go play ball with the older guys. I was eight, they were 12. Inclusion, affirmation, acceptance, and baseball! Jesus looks from the stands and watches this little boy, who is trying to act so big.
Tristan, a young man who is full of promise and joy. He has a smile on his face and a genuine spirit of gentleness every time I see him.
You are reading this. As my fourth step here is my smile…
“Bill, you are big enough to do anything. Let‘s have fun together!
That’s my smiling Jesus devotional. I did it last Sunday night. I have created three others since then. In one devotional I changed the picture. I one I change the memory and in a third, I imagined you, my readers getting glimpse of what it means to know Jesus is smiling with you.
If you have questions, give me a call (913) 558-3311
Pastor Bill