"Life Is A Hard Taskmaster"

"For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity." Ecclesiastes 2:22,23

 

Life is a hard taskmaster. It is not easy, it is hard. It brings sorrow, pain, troubles, distress, hurt, difficulties and vexation of heart. Life wasn't intended to be like this, and it wasn't before the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. But because of sin, life can be a struggle. Sickness, suffering, hate, broken relationships, violence all came as a result. We now have to labor to make a living. We now have to wrestle with disease and sickness. We now have pain in child birth. We have prison systems, courts of law, medical facilities, psychiatric wards to help make life at least bearable. 

 

Life itself may be a hard taskmaster-- hard and always keeping you "down"-- but God is not. Even in the midst of a "cursed world" of pain and misery, He is the Giver of life-- abundant life. This is why life doesn't destroy us as Christians. Life may happen, but God's love and grace sees us through it. He counteracts life. Pain may come in life, but God gives comfort. Weakness may hit us, but He gives us His strength. We may find ourselves in ashes, but He gives beauty. Life hits us with sorrow and mourning, but He gives us the oil of joy. Heaviness of heart comes to weight us down, but He provides us with the garment of praise. 

 

Don't think it strange when fiery trials try you, that is just life. Don't be shaken when affliction hits, afflictions are part of life. Don't get discouraged when tribulations come, in this world we will have them. But through it all, remember the words of Jesus, the Giver of abundant life. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He is not a hard taskmaster and He will give you rest, peace, joy, hope, strength and victory to live in a burden laden world that tries to beat you up. "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." This is why we can live in this world and overcome it instead of it overcoming us.

 

Have a great day. Life is a hard taskmaster, but Jesus gives us abundant life to overcome it and walk in peace and victory. 

 

For further reading:

Matthew 11:28

John 10:10; 16:33

1 Peter 4:12

Isaiah 61:3

 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email:mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

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You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Who Is God?"

"And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you." Exodus 3:14

 

When God showed Himself to Moses and told him to go to Egypt to bring deliverance to the children of Israel, Moses asked the Lord, "What should I tell them your name is when they ask?" (verse 13) God said to tell them it is "I Am That I Am". In that "name" was wrapped up the fullness of who God is-- His nature, His character and what He does. He alone bears this name. 

 

I like to think about who God is and sometimes I use the alphabet to remind me. God is everything from A to Z and all that is in between.

 

Alpha

Beautiful

Creator

Deliverer

Eternal One

Father In Heaven

God

Holy

Indescribable

Just

King of kings

Lord of lords

Master

Never ending

Omnipotent

Powerful

Quick

Redeemer

Savior

Truth

Unique

Victorious

Way

X Extraordinary

Yahweh

Zeal

 

Perhaps you may want to do this yourself. This list barely scrapes the surface of who this Amazingly Wonderful God is. 

 

Have a great day. God is everything from A to Z.

 

For further reading:

Exodus 3:13-15

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email:mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"Repetition"

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Matthew 6:7

 

When you go to God in prayer, do you find yourself repeating the same thing over and over to Him again? I have thought about this when I lift up my praise to Him in prayer. I find myself repeating the same thing again and again. But just because we repeat the same thing over and over doesn't necessarily mean it is "vain" repetition. It can be repetitive but not vain. 

 

Vain repetition is when we just babble using a bunch of idle words-- we are saying a lot but saying nothing. Vain repetition is when we aren't even giving thought to what we are saying. We are saying it just to hear ourselves talk. 

 

When you start praising the Lord, you can't help but be repetitious because there are only so many words in our vocabulary that we can use to describe Him. He is so great and we are so limited in our ability to articulate who He is. He is the indescribable God-- therefore, we "run out of words" and have to start repeating ourselves. Even the host of heaven is at a loss and are repetitious as well. They sit around His throne crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy" over and over and over again. 

 

When you pray to the Lord or when you praise Him, it is all right to be repetitious, but it is not all right to do it in a vain manner just to hear yourself talk or think that He is going to hear you because you are speaking so much. If you have to keep repeating yourself because you are at a loss for words, then repeat yourself and don't let the enemy stop you because you think it is vain repetition.

 

Have a great day. It is all right to be repetitious in your praise to God because there are only so many words that we have to describe Him. Just don't use vain repetition. 

 

For further reading:

Revelation 4:8

 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email:mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"The Altar Of Prayer"

"I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word." Psalm 119:58

 

I wonder what we in the modern day church know about entreating God and praying with our whole heart? We tend to pray what I call "microwave prayers". Prayers that are "thrown up" to God to get our immediate need met. We don't know much about "tarrying" and "waiting" upon the Lord. We also tend to pray "brownie point" prayers. Prayers that are half-hearted and "just enough" so that we can say we have "done our duty" of prayer.

 

The Psalmist entreated God's favor with his whole heart. Jesus often prayed all night. Jacob wrestled with the angel until he blessed him. David fasted and prayed until he got word that the child he was praying for was dead. Jeremiah prayed for a word from the Lord for ten days before God answered him. We think we have really done something if we pray for ten minutes. And once we have prayed for ten minutes we expect God to have already answered and if He delays we get discouraged, frustrated and angry with Him. 

 

We need to learn how to go back to the altar and PRAY! I know we are to pray without ceasing (wherever we are) and there are times when we cry out to God and He answers immediately. But it wouldn't hurt us to have some calloused knees for a change because we have been on them praying to the Lord. When was the last time you knelt before the "altar" (presence) of God and prayed until you knew you had heard from heaven? Many times we walk in assumption instead of faith because we haven't prayed until we have truly heard God's answer. 

 

There is no set "form" or set "length" of time that we should pray. But the half-hearted, ten minute praying, on the go prayer we have been doing is not working. (That is evident by what we see happening in our world around us.) As I already said we need to learn how to go to the altar and pray and stay there until we have heard from God. 

 

Have a great day. Revive and restore the altar of prayer in your life. 

 

For further reading:

2 Chronicles 7:14

 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email:mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.

"No Invitation"

"Let him that stole steal no more..." Ephesians 4:28a

 

The enemy comes against us in our thought life more than in any other way. He makes "suggestions" and poses questions to make us "think" and "reason". He did this at the beginning in the garden when he asked Eve, "Did God say?" He did it with Jesus in the wilderness temptation. We can't stop him from "speaking" to us but we can "shut him up" and not give him an "invitation" to come on in.

 

When he came to Eve, she had a choice to either "shut him up" or "invite him in". We know that she invited him in. How do we give him an invitation to get into our lives? We do it by "entertaining" those thoughts, suggestions and questions. She entertained them-- therefore, inviting him in-- and we know the end result. 

 

When he comes with his suggestions, accusations, words of fear, and condemnation you too have to make the decision to either invite him in or shut him up. We invite him in when we entertain what he says. When you dwell on the thoughts that he is planting, when you give heed to the words he is speaking, when you receive what he says then you have invited him in. Once he is in he will try to "run the house". He will try to set up homestead. He will not want to leave either. 

 

We don't have to invite him in, we can keep him out, we can slam the door in his face. We do this by following Jesus' example. Jesus did not give place to his words, accusations and lies. He used the scriptures to "shut him up". The enemy could find nothing in Jesus-- no place to set up residence-- because Jesus did not invite him in.

 

Shut the door on the enemy by not listening to his lies, but by listening to the truth of God's word. Cast down those thoughts when they come to you, don't entertain them. Station the sword of the Spirit (God's word) beside the door to your heart and mind, and use it. You have to make the decision to listen or not, to heed or not, to give place and invite him in or shut the door on him. Which will you do?

 

Have a great day. When the enemy comes, don't invite him in, but slam the door in his face by not entertaining the thoughts he is throwing at you.

 

For further reading:

John 14:30

James 4:7

Ephesians 6:17

2 Corinthians 10:5

Genesis 3:1

Matthew 4:4,7,10 

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.

Please feel free to

call (601) 833-5278 or
Email:mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org

You are welcomed to make copies and distribute them free of charge.

You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website - leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise. Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.