Resting Place

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

Jesus wants us to know that He has a yoke that is not legalistic and wearying. He tells us His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He tenderly gives us an invitation that offers relief, rest, and joy for the souls that are burden, and  weary.

 

Jesus invites the weary to come to Him so they can experience rest for their souls. The key to experiencing this rest is having a right relationship with God, something that can happen only if you have a personal relationship with Jesus. We all have responsibilities that drain us and difficulties that wear us down. We can let the world drag us down its weary path, or we can join our lives with Jesus, who wants us  to know that He's eager to have us in His yoke of care, guiding us, giving us help for our present needs, and assuring us that He has a plan for us that includes rest and peace, with everlasting life.

So he tell us to come, leave where you are, the situation you are in and come to him. The promise is when you come to Him with everything he will give you rest. Rest from worry, from need, from doubt, rest from the cares of this world ,for he said" seek ye first the kingdom of God", before you seek a job, a husband, a way out , a way in, before you do anything seek Him, come to him and He will give you rest. The invitation has been extended, will you accept it?

Perfected In Love

Luke 6:27-28 "But I say unto you which hear,Love your enemies,do good to them that hate you, Bless them that curse you,and pray for them which despitefully use you".

Jesus commands us to pray for and bless those that offend us. Our natural response is to strike back when mistreated, but Jesus teaches us to do the opposite. Jesus gave two illustrations to show the extent of how far our love for others should go, there is a blow to the face and stolen clothes, in such cases we are not retaliate. The purpose is to reach out in love instead of satisfying ourselves through revenge. Our love must be strong and purposeful in accepting mistreatment, as it shows our trust in the Lord and his ability to use the situation for his Glory. Jesus not only taught us our love must be strong and purposeful when mistreated, but we must also be merciful to others in our daily lives, as the Father daily pours out new mercy on us.

The love we are instructs us to share with others does not result from any merit or attractiveness in the other person, but comes solely from the heart of the one loving. It is a love in which we are to seek the best interest of others regardless of how they treat us. Now this love does not result from a weakness or failure to stand up for truth or justice, it is a purposeful love that flows from a strong heart that seeks the eternal salvation of others. This sacrificial love demonstrates that our purpose for living is larger than ourselves.  It is a  love must be strong and purposeful in accepting mistreatment, as it shows our trust in the Lord and his ability to use the situation for his Glory. Jesus not only taught us our love must be strong and purposeful when mistreated, but we must also be merciful to others in our daily lives, as the Father daily pours out new mercy on us.

The prime example of selfless giving is our heavenly Father himself, who showed kindness to all humanity regardless of how they treated him, as he gave his only begotten son that we might have everlasting life. When we love others the way Jesus instructed us to, we show the world we are his.

A Committed Love

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:
The heart is the seat of man's affections, and devotion. The heart attaches and focuses our  affection, will, and devotion to an object or person. When you diligently search for Christ in your heart, he shall be found, but then you must hold to Him by learning of Him, by loving Him, by obeying Him. Build a personal one on one relationship with him, then share him.

See the love of Jesus creates in our hearts ,love one for another. When we have him he lives within our spirits, His mind is our mind, his will is our will, and he is seen by others in all that we do. But first we must find Him; to find Christ ,one just needs to seek Him. Those who truly love Jesus will seek him with all they have. And those that find Him will hold on to Him with all their might; and will say I found Him"; I a man, found the Lord of Glory; I a slave to sin, found the great deliverer; I, a child of darkness, found the light of the world; I the uttermost of the lost ,found my Savior and my God, and they will have to share Him; as the prophet said "It's like fire shut up in my bones", When you truly have Jesus you can't help but to share Him with all you see.

Bring him to your house, and share the goodness of the Lord. Not in word only but let others see him in you by your actions, and attitude. Make your life a living sacrifice, a living testimony and a visible witness to the love of God.

The Joy Of The Lord

Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice".

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we put all of our faith and trust in Him. In doing so, we should be accepting life, the good and the bad, as it is handed to us. However, at times we may still find ourselves broken and beaten by hard times, and instead of rejoicing in the belief we have in Him to bring us through those times, we may find ourselves worrying about the cares of this world. Jesus tells us to be of good cheer, for he has overcome the world.


God's sovereignty, is available during any type of circumstance for all who believes. To rejoice during troubled times is to tap into that sometimes inexplicable peace. Like a troubled child who wants to crawl into mom and dad's bed during a thunderstorm, the Lord is near to those that are troubled. When we are anxious, it is generally about something that has yet to happen. Anxiety often stems from circumstances that are beyond our control, or as a result of our own negligence. But those of us who trust in the Lord, should cast all our cares upon him, and leave them with Him. Paul tells us to glory in tribulations, because there is a blessing in all that we go through, as all things works together for the good to the children of the Lord.

Just as he made a commitment to us, we have to continue to hold up our end of the bargain. How do we convince non-believers of his love and faithfulness, if we are not exuding His joy and peace during difficult situations? If we have truly put our faith and trust in Him, we would just put the worry, fear, and negativity all in His hands. Rejoice and rest in the Joy of the Lord.

The War Within

Matthew 26:41 "watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak:"

Jesus facing the worst night in human history, the night when the love of God came face to face with the hatred in man. Jesus in the garden with Peter, James, and John, as Jesus finds them sleep and says "watch and pray that you enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is week".

We have trouble in our relationship with Christ because of a weak flesh. The flesh is an enemy to God, it fights against the spirit. It is our inner me, which is the biggest enemy. The will of the flesh allows us to openly deny Christ, to cowardly desert Christ, and knowingly sell him out for the love of money, and in some cases renounce all relationship to him.We must stay alert, be on guard, for the enemy within, observe our selves, that we are not lead astray by the lust and demands of the flesh. We must watch our attitude toward one another, and be watchful in our service both to Christ and to each other. We can't sleep on the job, so we must pray to God that by his grace he keeps us awake. Pray for strength for one another, pray for guidance, pray in all situations, as prayer is to the spirit, what breathing is to the flesh. Saints the word says" a man ought to always pray", so let us pray without ceasing that we don't give in to the weakness of the flesh.

Jesus said" watch and pray that you enter not into temptation"; to enter: go in "willfully".  Our rebellious nature willfully disobeys Gods commands, as the flesh is weak.  God can take a willing spirit, a humble spirit, a loving spirit and save the whole world. He took the willingness of Jesus, and made him the perfect sacrifice for an imperfect people.

The Action Of Love

1John 3:18 "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue: but in deed and in truth."

God so loved that He gave, He forgave, He sacrificed, and He saved. He is commanding us to love not in word only, but in deeds. If our faith and love do not compel us to action, then how can they profit us or anyone else?

Pure Love as described in 1corin.13 which is perhaps the most poetic,  profound and powerful description of pure love written and of course, Christ is the embodiment of pure love.The apostle Paul's prayer for the family of God was that as Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, and we are rooted and grounded in his love,That we may be able to comprehend, the breath, and length, and depth, and height, of Christ love for us; to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. It is a love that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from. Love is not having knowledge of God, but knowing God. The love of God is a reflection of God's heart flowing through Christ, one spirit, one heart, one mind.

Jesus loved all people so much that He was able to endure the pain and shame of death on a cross. that all who believed might have everlasting life. As we draw upon Jesus' unselfish love, we too can better love others.

Walk To Strengthens Others

Hebrews 12:13 "And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way;but let it rather be healed".

Every shepherd would love to have a flock where all the sheep are fleet of foot, and have a joyous spirit. But the truth is that in every flock there are weak, lame and feeble sheep; yet all belong to the shepherd. Sheep are liable to many diseases which make them weak and feeble, some become weak through a bad diet, eating contaminated food, giving them foot rot hindering their ability to walk upright. Then some are lame from birth, weak by nature(called the runt of the litter),these are the sheep the good shepherd will take pity on and seek to heal and strengthen.

 We the saints of God are also subject to diseases which can cause us to become weak and feeble. Worldly concerns, inward conflicts, trials tribulation all effect our walk. This has moved God with great compassion for the weak and feeble of his flock, in fact he rebukes those who neglect the diseased and sick of his flock, his word says" the diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick". We the strong, have a responsibility to the weak and feeble of the flock. It is our duty, to with courage and in faith to help one another forward on the way to heaven, to help the weak and feeble thru their afflictions that they might be strengthened to a greater degree of holiness, as trials are meant to make us , stronger. Let the strong first make sure the paths are straight for our feet, that we might better run this race and stay the course. straight paths by staying away from crooked customs, religious rituals and self serving doctrines which trip up many on the way. We should do for other what others did for us, to aid in our growth.

There are many on their way to heaven, who yet walk lame and weak, but they still try to stay the course, many who are in need of spiritual strenght, having fallen hands and weak knees, but still are pressing toward the mark of the high calling of God. Let us truly become our brothers keeper and walk together up the kings highway....

Where You Lead I Will................

John 13:37 "Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake."
Will you follow Jesus? Are you willing to lay down your life for His sake? To follow Him is  more than just walking behind Him.To truly follow Christ, you must be willing to walk the same way, endure the same things, and suffer the same hardships.

 Many say they want to follow Christ, yet they want to travel on the road of their choosing. But there is only one way to salvation, there is only one road that leads to where Jesus was going, and that road is a narrow road that leads upward. So prepare to be bumped by the many on the downward road, your feet will be stepped on, feelings will be hurt, your faith tried, and your commitment challenged. Jesus said if you will follow, Him you must deny yourself daily and take up your cross to follow,That means to lay down your life.Everyday you must place God's will before yours.Everyday you must be willing to lay down your life,lay down your wants, lay down your needs, lay down the lust and desires of your flesh, so that others might be saved, while trusting that God will make a way for you.

Peter didn't understand, that he wasn't ready to follow Jesus. See our spirit man is willing to do and go where the Lord leads us, but it is the weakness of our flesh and the strength that we sometimes allow it to have over us that causes us to deny Christ. Jesus said "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak".Are you ready and willing to follow the Savior?

Lean On Me

Psalms 18:1" I will Love thee, O Lord my strength


A father and his son went on a camping trip. They were traveling on a ready made path to a camp ground. As they were making their way up the path a large rock blocked the path. The father said to the son "I'm going to make a man out of you, use your strength and move the rock." The boy gripped the rock on both sides and tried pushing the rock but it never moved. The boy told his father "It won't move". His father told him he wasn't using all his strength, so the boy tried again pushing with everything he had, but the rock still didn't move. The boy said father I used all my strength and I just can't move it. The father said you haven't used all your strength, the boy a little upset now grabbed hold of the rock and pushed, sweet rolling down his face, yet the rock never moved. The boy said father I used all my strength and still the rock didn't move. His father looked at him and said you didn't use all your strength, because you never asked me to help.
The Lord promised to supply our every need, let us trust that He will do just what He said. We have  stumbling blocks in our life that sometimes block the path that God has called us to travel , and many of us get frustrated and change course because we try to move these obstacles by ourselves; But the Lord is our strength in our time of weakness. Let us call on the Lord to aid us in moving the mountains which hinder our journey, let us use all our strength.

He's Coming

Mark 13:26 "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory."

The daily headlines are never very hopeful, they are filled with stories of hopelessness. But we are to be of good cheer, none of this has any bearing on what God has in store for His children. His word says he will supply our every need. This is not His plan for us, let us not be blinded by the gods of this world, to the good things which God has for those who love Him.

Upon completion of each intricate part of his creation, God said, " it is good! " Each element of creation was brilliant! Today's headlines are but a representation of how the evil designs of Satan, and our own sin, have taken the beauty of God's creation, and changed it into a distorted world of chaos and despair. Hatred, plagues, murder, and hunger are not God's will for His creation. Jesus, our blessed hope, will  come and set things right. Jesus is coming back, and when Jesus returns to earth, He will return as our triumphant King, and all eyes will see him. Every knee will bow to him, and every tongue will confess of him, that he is Lord. He is greater than anything on earth and anything occurring in the earth be not discouraged. He is our reigning Lord, Savior and conquering King. When Christ returns, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, as the true light will take center stage, Jesus the light of the world who will then be seen in all His glory.

But until he returns, we have his Holy Spirit to comfort us, and his word to assure us and to hold on to. His word tells to wait in hope upon the Lord, for He is our help and our shield.

True Overcomers

1John 5:5 "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the son of God?"

We are witness and John calls for the witness of heaven and earth to verify the reality of Jesus' mission of redemption. Using the accepted principle that two or three witnesses are needed to establish truth, he proceeds to support his case. Our power comes from our faith in Jesus Christ.

Imagine an irrigation pipe leading from a spring to a barren field. On it's own the pipe can do nothing to bring life to the field, It needs to tap the source of life the spring. Then the pipe can become a powerful tool for feeding the land and bringing new life. Christians are like that irrigation pipe. Our faith opens the door of God's power to work through us to channel His saving power to the world, like pure spring water nourishing a desert. There is one important difference, however. In time the pipe will rust through and become useless. Faithful Christians, on the other hand, can grow stronger in their ability to withstand corruption and can remain strong through faith in Christ.

 We need the power of our faith in Christ, working daily in our lives so we can defeat sinful influences and overcome the deceitfulness of this world. If we place our confidence in anything other than Christ to overcome sin, we will be disappointed, for only He has defeated sin and offers the power we need to gain freedom from sin and escape the threat of sinful influences.

For The Un Godly

Romans 5:6 " For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly".

Here we have  a picture of God's unbelievable Love for man. It shows the great depth of justification, and one of the clearest pictures of what agape love looks like. A sacrificial love, a love that gives itself for those without strength, for the ungodly, for sinners, and for the enemies of God. It is a love in spite of . God's unbelievable love.

Jesus died to save lost man. We were ungodly, and powerless and yet Christ died for us. We were without strength, weak, worthless, useless, helpless, destitute, powerless. We were spiritually unable to help ourselves and Christ died for us. We were ungodly, not like God, different from God, rebellious to God, profane having a different lifestyle than God, and yet Christ died for us.Christ died for those whom no man would have given his life to save. He died for those who had no value and who were no good, those the world said was unfit to live, God felt were to precious to die and Christ died for us. While we were yet sinners God proved His love for us, the unbelievable Love of God.

God proved His love for us, He has given up His Son to die for the ungodly, while we were sinners. We do not deserve it, we never have and never will, but God loves us with an unbelievable love. Have you received the unbelievable love of God?

Blessed

Genesis 32:29 "And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me ,I pray thee thy name.And he said,Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?And he blessed him there".

The main thing is to get a blessing.The angel did not gratify Jacob's curiosity when he asked his name; but he did blessed him.He blessed him, he was saved from the harm of Esau's attack.He was forgiven a great wrong,he was blessed with a new name  and a fresh anointing,the angel redeemed him from evil."He Blessed him There".

"He blessed him there". A place of great trial,a place of humble confession.A place of pleading,as he "wrestled with a man until the breaking of day".A place of communion,as he said "I have seen God face to face"(vs.30). He blessed him there.No matter were we find ourselves in life,if we are in the will of God, remember he blessed us there.Before the foundation of the world God blessed us in Jesus Christ.At the cross,the tomb and the throne, he blessed us there.At conversion he blessed us there, for "blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven".In times of stripping,humbling,chastening,and pleading, He blessed us there;"For blessed is the man that endureth temptations".In our obedience, he blessed us there;"For blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord".Just know where ever you are "he blessed you there".

He blesses you there,the place in your life when you need a blessing, if you are willing to give up sin.Willing to have Jesus for your all in all.Willing to submit to the Fathers will with all your heart,  soul and  mind.Willing to serve God his way?Don't leave without a saving blessing,believe for it, wrestle for it, hold on to the Lord until he gives it to you.Only the Lord can give it to you,look to him alone for the blessing.This blessing which Jacob was blessed with was a devine blessing.He was already blessed with wealth,wives ad children but these were worldly blessings,but he wrestled with God for a heavenly blessing, the blessing of peace with God,thus giving him peace with his brother.He knew that if he had the power to hold on to God, he would have the power to over come his brother,And "He blessed him there"!

Do You Trust Him

Nahum 1:7 "The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him".

 The Lord knows them which are His, and his eye is always on them. Time, place, speech, or the way we dress cannot obscure his vision or dull his hearing. He can discern Daniel in the den; Jonah lodged in the belly of the fish, Peter in prison, Lazarus wrapped in rags, or Abel rolled in Blood. He can call them by name, and send his angels to comfort them, for God knows those that are His.


 Many talk about trusting God, however the truth shines in that great day of trouble. The true believer is calm and quiet in his God, and takes refuge in His strong tower. Everybody can find a bird's nest in the winter when the trees are bare, but what about when the green leaves hide them. The believers faith and life is put on displayed by adversity. The true believer shines in times of tribulation, for His trust lies within the Lord.

Do you live your life in your trust of the Lord? Does the trials and tribulations of life cause you to seek comfort in things of this world?  Do you look to things and people or do you look to God in your day of trouble. We have no idea as to what tomorrow will bring, but we should trust in Him who will bring tomorrow. God He sees all that is before us and we must trust that Jesus will never fail.

The Road Less Traveled

Joshua 1:7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law  which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may  prosper wherever you go

Jesus said wide is the way which leads to destruction, and there is many who will travel this road.
It is the easy road to travel and many have been fooled that it is the way to go because so many have chosen this path. But it is the broad road which leads to death and damnation.

Jesus said we should travel the narrow uphill road, it is less traveled yet it is the road which leads to life. The life that comes from following Him. As tempting as it might be to travel the broad road, we must stay on the narrow way to eternal life. even the slightest detour can eventually take us far from the path that Jesus has called us to travel. Joshua was instructed not to veer to the left nor the right, but to continue straight ahead. We must not stray from the truth of God's word, from the direction of His way or the life which He is calling His children to live, no matter how difficult the uphill narrow road might appear to be to travel.

This life we have been called to live can sometimes be hard and seem unbearable. We must be strong in the Lord and the power of His Christ, and observe all that we have been commanded to do. We can't sway even just a little, but stay the course and hold to God's unchanging hand, that we might lead a lost world up the right path.

Give It To Jesus

1Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

We tend to allow the cares of this world to weigh us down. We worry about things that haven't happened as though they have already happened. But God tells us to take no thought for tomorrow. He tells us to cast all of our cares upon Him.

Jesus is our burden bearer. He is the strength which allows us to stand up against the trial and temptations of the world. He gave us a job to do, and instructions on how to get it done. He wants us to cast all our cares on Him, that we can just focus on telling a lost and dying world that Jesus saves.

Let us give it all to Jesus, after all He has overcome the world and the evil it represents. Let us cast our cares and concerns upon He who is able to keep us from falling, that we might stand a with a loud voice tell all we see that Jesus Christ is the way...

A Perfect Witness

Job 1:8 "And the Lord said unto Satan,Hast thou considered my servant Job,that there is none like him in the earth,a perfect and an upright man,one that feareth God, and escheweth evil"?
Here we have Job, a servant of God, a righteous man in God's eyes. A man God said was perfect. Now let us understand there is a difference between human perfection and devine perfection. God called Job perfect; Job was perfect because Job made God his choice.With all that happened to Job, with all he lost, and suffered he simply said "Thou you slay me I will trust you". Through all that Job endured he never faltered in his love for God, and thus he was a perfect witness and his three friends were lead to salvation.

Jesus Christ was perfect. He was the perfect sacrifice for an imperfect people. His perfection allow us to become the righteousness of God.With all that Jesus went through, with all he endured, the trials, tribulations, the suffering and His death, He never strayed from the will of His Father. In the garden as he contenplated being separated from His Father, he said "not my will, but thine will be done". Jesus obeyed the will of His Father even though he knew many would not believe, and many would not follow. We too, must be dedicated servants for the Lord. The enemy will attack, trials will come, you will be talked about, mistreated, picked out to be picked on, but through it all we cannot let the actions and attitude of others change who we are. But let who you are change the attitude and actions of others as we lead them to the salvation of the Lord.

God's word, tells us to "be ye perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect".The enemy will attack, but God knows we are strong enough to withstand anything the enemy throws at us. He gave us Jesus the Christ who overcame the world, "and greater is He that is in me ,then he that is in the world".Let us surrender our all to Christ and walk in the perfection of our savior,that we to might be a perfect witness and lead a lost soul to be saved.