"Let The Burden Go"

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Does this verse describe you? Are you weary? Weary of trying to do things your way? Are you burdened? Struggling with what to do and how to do it? Are you under a burden of guilt and condemnation? Are you burdened by the extra things in life that you are taking on? Are you exhausted from trying to live a perfect life? Are you beating yourself up because you don't seem to be able to accomplish it? Then this verse is for you.

The Lord is giving you an invitation to lay down all your cares, to let go of the heavy burdens, to come out from under the load of guilt and to have peace and rest. How do you accept this invitation? You do it by applying the first three words-- "Come unto Me".

Go to Him, don't stay there continuing to "work it out". Don't keep trying to no avail. Don't keep laboring. Lay it down at His feet. Hand it over to Him. Place it in His hands. And then you will stop struggling. You will stop being confused. Then your burden will lift and your labor- weariness and exhaustion- will stop.

Have a great. Accept the Lord's gracious invitation to come to Him and lay your burdens down. Then you will receive His rest.

For further reading:

Matthew 11:29
1 Peter 5:7
Luke 10:39-42

"The Sidewalk To Nowhere"

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." Isaiah 29:13

This morning I was reminiscing about a trip that my husband and I had taken years ago.  At this particular hotel we stayed in there was a sidewalk that was in the middle of the yard. It looked very odd because it was just there. It wasn't attached to anything. It wasn't a path that led you from one building to another. The function of a sidewalk is to be a path that leads you to somewhere else. I called it the "sidewalk to nowhere" because it did not take you anywhere-- it just ended. Something that I noticed about this sidewalk was that it looked to be in good condition. It was well kept-- the grass was mowed and weeded around it. It was obvious that the ground's keeper has not ignored it.

The more I thought about this oddity, the more it made me think about people who are religious. Their lives are like this "sidewalk". They look good. They look like they have a purpose. Their religious appearance is well maintained-- they go to church, they give offerings, they quote the scriptures, they sing in the choir, they have been baptized-- they do all their religious duties. But the trouble with religion only is that like this sidewalk, they aren't attached to anything.

Jesus died so that we can have a relationship with the Heavenly Father. He did not die to give us another religion. Religion does not attach you to Jesus. It does not bring you into a relationship with God, therefore, your life is like an unattached sidewalk that looks good and looks well-kept but is a dead end and just there.

Without a relationship with the Father through Jesus the Son, our lives are like this sidewalk, if we stay on it it will keep us going nowhere. We will be spending our time, energy, strength and effort going back and forth and back and forth over the same path and never getting anywhere-- kind of like the Israelites in the wilderness who went around and around the same mountain over and over again for forty years but never got anywhere. Without a relationship with Jesus, not only are we like a disconnected path that goes nowhere, we can't lead anyone else to Jesus and eternal life. If they follow our lives they will find themselves on a path that goes nowhere except back and forth, unattached to anything.

Is your life like the sidewalk that leads to nowhere? You look good but are not attached to Jesus. Are you religious but don't have a relationship that attaches you to Him?

Have a great day. Religion will take you nowhere. Having a relationship with Jesus will take you to the Heavenly Father and eternal life.

For further reading:

Matthew 7:21,22
Luke 6:46
Ephesians 2:8,9

"Blessings In Temptation"

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." James 1:12

Are we tempted? Do temptations come our way? Are we faced with temptations? Yes, to all. We are not exempt from temptations-- none of us. Even our beloved Savior Jesus was tempted. Being tempted is not a sin. Giving into the temptation is.

Often, we focus on the consequences of yielding to temptations-- and there are consequences. But we tend to forget that there is a blessing when we don't give in and when we stand firm against them.

We don't tend to recognize the blessing because it doesn't always look like one. When Joseph resisted Potiphar's wife, he was thrown into prison. When the three Hebrews refused to bow before the statue, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. They didn't look very "blessed", but they were.

When we stand firm and resist giving into the temptation that we face, it may look like anything but a blessing-- it may look otherwise. But there is a blessing attached-- it's an eternal blessing, it's a crown of life, it's a promise from the Lord Himself. So keep resisting; keep enduring; keep standing firm when you are tempted you will receive a blessing from the Lord Himself.

Have a great day. We often focus on the consequences of yielding to temptation, but there is a blessing attached as well when we don't.

For further reading:

Matthew 4:1-11
1 Corinthians 10:13
2 Peter 2:9

"No Time For God"

"And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him." Zephaniah 1:6

Years ago, I watched a program about whether there is a God and did He create the universe. The findings were based on a study by a particular scientist. Of course he concluded that the universe created itself and that there is no God. After all his reasoning and studying he came to this conclusion by determining that there was a point when there was no time- time did not exist- therefore, there was no time for God.

I am not here this morning to debate the subject of his conclusion. There is no debate. There IS God, He exist and He did create all that is. He did not, and does not, need the existence of time in which to exist. He exist outside of time. He created time. He is the Ancient of Days-- the One who existed in the eternal past before there was time. He will always exist because He is the Eternal God who will be even if time as we know it does not exist. When people make such conclusions, the Bible has a scripture that identifies them. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." Hebrews 1:22. (May I add, these people need our prayers that they would come to the truth because one day they will have a rude awakening-- they will stand before this God that they claimed did not exist and when they do He will be their Judge.)

What I do want to address this morning is what he said-- "There is no time for God". While he meant that there was no existence of time so there was no place for God to exist, I want to look at his statement in a different context. In this context there was a good amount of truth in his statement. People don't make time for God. They are too busy making time for other things-- their own goals, ambitions, desires, pleasures, hobbies, career, and so on. They have time for everything else-- they make time for any and every thing else that they want to do, but not time for God. Sadly, these people who have "no time for God" are not worldly, unsaved people; I am mostly referring to professing Christians.

I want to ask you a question-- do you have time for God or no time for God? Do you make time to have communion with Him each day? Do you reserve a place on your daily calendar to read and study His Word? Do you make time to be led by His Spirit into whatever service He may call upon you to do each day? Do you go throughout your whole day never making any time for Him and find yourself falling asleep at the end of the day having neglected- even at least a little- time for Him? Do other things besides Him consume your time? How much of your time does He actually get each day or in any given week? Or are you guilty of having "no time for God"?

Have a great day. Do you make time for everything else, but leave no time for God?

For further reading:

2 Chronicles 26:5
Matthew 6:33
Daniel 7:9,13,22
Genesis 1:1
John 1:3

"Remember The Great Things"

"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad." Psalm 126:3

There are times that make the heart sad. There are afflictions, times of grief, times that try our faith and test us. Having moments of sadness is natural under certain conditions, but to live in a constant state of sadness is not natural for the believer. We should have joy in our lives-- even in tribulations.

What causes us to live under a cloud of sadness? What keeps us from enjoying abundant life and happiness? Evidently, it is because we have forgotten all the great things the Lord has done for us. There is no way you can stay in "sadness" when you begin to rehearse and recall what great things the Lord has done for you. It is impossible.

The greatest thing He has done for us is given us life. We have been delivered from death unto eternal life by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. It was God's great love for us that caused Him to send His Son into the world to pay the redemptive price for our sins. Just thinking about His great love for you, His great gift of eternal life and being rescued from your sins should bring a smile to your face and gladness to your heart.

Did you wake up this morning? Do you have breath in your body? That is a great thing that the Lord has done for you-- you didn't wake yourself up, you aren't supplying your own oxygen. It is because of His great goodness toward you.

What about His great and exceeding precious promises? They are promises He has made to YOU! You are an heir of God and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ-- these promises are part of your inheritance as His child. What a great thing He has done for you by accepting you, by giving you access before His presence, by allowing you to come boldly before His throne, by giving you unlimited grace, mercy instead of judgment, help in time of trouble, power over the enemy, His Holy Spirit to comfort you, His word to guide you and His peace to establish you.

How can you not be glad, how can you continue to stay sad when you think about the truly great things He has done for you? You can't.

Have a great day. You can't stay sad when you think about the great things the Lord has done for you.

For further reading:

1 Samuel 12:24
Job 5:9; 9:10
Psalm 71:19; 126:2
John 3:16, 17
2 Peter 1:4