Category: Uncategorized

Our Place in the Yoke

Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

In this passage, Jesus specifies that He is lowly in heart.  He is telling us that He is a willing servant that is ready to work along side us.  He is inviting us to join in His yoke – a device that pairs animals together to make their work more efficient.  He is promising to provide rest for us when we are in need.  How could we pass on such an invitation from our Servant King?

Notice that Jesus did not place any limits on the burdens that He would share with us. Thus, He is always along side us to bring us comfort when we are under the greatest level of stress or experiencing pain at the limits of our ability to endure.  Truly He offers us the endless joy that He shares with the Father. The joy of the Lord is our strength when we would have none otherwise.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing all that we need to get through our troubles.  We rejoice in knowing that we can find joy in the heaviest of burdens when we accept the yoke that is offered by Your Son, Jesus.  We pray that You teach us how to be lowly in heart so that we readily accept our place in the yoke.  

Fresh Supplies of Strength and Comfort

Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
It is obvious from this verse that we are to have burdens in our lives.  But God in His mercy promises us that He will not give a burden that is larger that the provision that He will grant to overcome the burden.   

God gave His own Son a cup of sorrow and suffering that was so intense that Jesus sweat blood as He faced His upcoming crucifixion.  But Jesus did as the verse commands, He cast His burden upon the Father.  Thus He was provided with all He needed to face the Cross and rise from His trial in victory. 

To cast our burden upon God, is to rest upon his providence and promise.  Our Heavenly Father will not let His righteous children fail.  It is indeed His promise to us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us cups of sorrow and suffering that we must swallow.   We thank You for using our trials to build our faith in who You are.  We thank You for insuring our righteousness through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We pray for Your mercies to be granted us each day as You release fresh supplies of strength and comfort just as we need them to overcome our trials.  

Our Perpetual High Priest

Mark 15:33-38
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” … And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

In this sequence of verses, we have the foundation of our eternal destination laid out for us.  The darkness over the entire world represents the sin that engulfed mankind.  Jesus crying out to the Father, “why have you forsaken me?”, indicates that in taking on the sins of the world Jesus was separated from the Father – who cannot have sin in His presence.  And then, instantly and gloriously, the death of Christ opened up heaven to all of us.  The veil of the old covenant that represented the separation of God from the people, except through the intercession of the assigned high priests, was torn away.  In that moment, the new covenant of salvation was opened up to all mankind with Jesus Christ as our perpetual High Priest before the Father.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for establishing the blessed hope and assurance of the new covenant through Your Son, Jesus.  May the eyes of the world be opened to see the way, the truth and the life that is in Your Son.  May the hearts of the world be prepared to receive Your Son as their Savior.  May the hearts of the world be molded so that they may surrender to Your Son as their Lord, Master, and King.  May it all be for Your honor and glory, for the honor and glory of Your Son, Jesus, and for the honor and glory of the Holy Spirit.  Father, we pray that You will allow our lives to be living testimony to this glorious message.

The Power of the Resurrection

Romans 6:5
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

When we chose to accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we chose to let our old sinful man die.  But just as the completeness of death did not overcome Jesus quickly, neither will our old sinful nature be put to rest in short fashion.  And just as the power of His Spirit gave Jesus victory over His death, so will His Spirit within us give us victory over our sinful nature.

And just as the resurrection lifted Jesus’ spirit from His body to return to the Father, so too will the power of His resurrection lift us from our old lives and enable us to stand sinless in victory before the Father.  It will not be because we became better people.  It will be because we became completely new people in Christ.  It will be because Jesus Christ has taken residence within us, never to be separated.  It will be because we are sealed by His Spirit for all eternity.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for raising Your Son to meet you in heaven after His death on the Cross.  Thank You for preparing the way for us to gain our eternal inheritance as Your children through the power of the Resurrection.  Father, release the full power of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we can surrender completely to our new lives in Christ, leaving behind forever the old man that torments us daily.

The Decision About Sin

Romans 6:6
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Accepting the crucified Christ as Our Savior allows us to accept the crucifixion of our old selves.  As Christ submitted totally to the Father, we also submit totally to the Father through the power of the new spirit of Jesus Christ that lives within us.

With Jesus Christ as our King, there is no place for the old man to rule.  The callings of the old man must be denied and will be denied by the strength of Christ in us.  With Jesus Christ dwelling in us, sin is no longer tolerable.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the Precious Lamb, Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for our sins.  We accept our co-crucifixion with Jesus.  We stand before you to ask for the Holy Spirit to strengthen us as our old man tries to pull us back into sin.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will urge us to keep our eyes on the Cross and not on the world.  May it all be for the glory of the Precious Lamb, Jesus.

Rebuilding Our Walls

Nehemiah 2:20
I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

Nehemiah was inspired by God to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem which were in ruin.  Because God was with Him, Nehemiah was given complete authority and financial support to rebuild the walls by King Artaxerxes of Persia.  

When Nehemiah reached Jerusalem to begin the work, He encountered much resistance from the likes of Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem.  Nehemiah quickly put them in their place and moved forward building the walls.

We have to be like Nehemiah when we rebuild the walls of our lives.  We can be assured that Satan will come to discourage us.  We need to let Satan know that he has no claim nor historic right to interfere with the rebuilding of our lives as temples of Jesus Christ. Further we need to stand firm, knowing that we are in the favor of God who promises to complete the good work in us.

Eternal Life in Christ

Luke 23:31
For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?

As the women were weeping for the suffering of Jesus, He prophesied the terrible judgement that awaits those that do not accept the new life that He offers them.  He emphasized the message of His prophecy by using Himself as the standard against which judgement will be made.  

If He, who is pure and perfect in every measure and is the essence of life itself, had to suffer beyond the human capacity for pain and then die for our sins, why then should we, the driest of woods, not expect to die for our sins?  We can only escape the punishment for our sins and claim our inheritance as children of God by accepting the offer of eternal life through Our Savior.  Otherwise, we perish.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is found only in Your Son, Jesus.  We praise the name of Jesus for all that He suffered on our behalf.  We rejoice in the inheritance that awaits us.  We pray that You will raise use us to be living testimonies to the new life that we have in Christ so that others may join us in our eternal places in Your kingdom.

The Enlightenment Received at Pentecost

John 16:12
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

Even the apostles were not ready to receive and understand all the teachings of Jesus.  Without the filling of the Holy Spirit, the flesh simply cannot handle what is meant to be revealed in the spirit.  It was only after Pentecost that the apostles could boldly proclaim the full gospel.

What a wonderful transformation when the Holy Spirit opens our minds to receive and understand the things that made no sense to us or had no value for us before.  In the blink of an eye, our blinders are removed.  Without even being cognizant of the process, we begin to assimilate truths that had been unavailable to us before.  Then, just as suddenly we are able to share them with those who have been prepared to receive them.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Wonderful Counselor that You have provided to guide and instruct us.  We humbly ask that You prepare us to receive all that the Holy Spirit has to teach us.  May we become willing vessels – ready to take on the fullness of Your living water and eager to have the living water pass through us to bring life and enlightenment to those around us.

Wisdom is Better than Knowledge

James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Googling for information has become a regular habit for many of us.  We are amazed at what we can find and delighted in how the process often yields the exact information that we are looking for.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this process, if used appropriately.  It provides us with knowledge that we do not have…fast.

But wait, there is a much faster source of knowledge that is instantly available to us without the aid of any man-made device.  Our Heavenly Father teaches us that all we have to do is ask and He will give us wisdom.  Wisdom, by the way, is much better than knowledge.  Wisdom provides insight into how we should use the knowledge that we have accumulated.  Wisdom from God deepens our insight into how we should apply our skills and our knowledge in ways that are pleasing to Him. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have inspired others to provide us with knowledge to help us through our daily activities.  We come to You to seek wisdom, so that we may use our knowledge in ways that are pleasing to You and in ways that are used to bear fruit for Your kingdom and bring honor and glory to Your name.

Taking the Cup of Bitterness

Matthew 26:39
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus fully accepted His assignment of death on the Cross.  He knew that His sacrifice was necessary for the salvation of all men.  He knew that His death on the Cross was the reason He was sent to earth.  The thing that overwhelmed Jesus was the impending separation from the Father when He would take on the sins of all men.  Yet Jesus was fully obedient to the will of the Father for the good of all mankind.  And He was received in all His glory by the Father. 
According to this example of Christ, we must drink of the bitterest cup which God puts into our hands.  Even though our flesh will seek immediate relief from all trial in our lives, we must recognize and accept the will of Our Father as we go through our trials.  For, as God allowed the unspeakable trial of the Cross for Jesus because of the ultimate gain for all mankind, He allows each of us to go through our trials for our ultimate preparation to stand before Him sinless and to be received in glory by Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You allow the trials in our lives that prepare us to be received by You. We pray that You provide us with strength to overcome the weaknesses of our flesh as we face our trials.   May you give us the spiritual maturation to be able to take our cup of bitterness and rejoice in our submission to Your will and plan for our lives.