Give It To God

 Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation!” Psalm 68:19

A man was walking along a dusty road carrying a large backpack. As he trudged along, a horse drawn wagon pulled up along side and the driver of the wagon stopped and asked the man if he would like a ride. The tired man gladly accepted the offer.

As the wagon resumed its journey, the driver noticed the man was holding his heavy backpack on his lap. The driver told him he could put his burden in the back of the wagon. The traveler replied, "You have been so kind to offer me a ride, I could not ask you to carry my load as well."

That story reminds me of some Christ-followers. They come to Jesus and ask to be forgiven of their sins, which Jesus readily does, but they continue to carry the load of their past. Jesus died on the cross not only that we might be forgiven but also that the guilt and shame of our past might be lifted. We often carry it ourselves. thinking we can do it, and end up being choked.

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Christians have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and have been adopted into the family of God . Jesus knows that life is tough and filled with troubles because this life is filled with sin. He said in Mathew 11: 28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. Jesus is inviting all who “labor and heavy laden.” to come to Him.

If your life is "heavy" may be you need to allow Jesus to carry your load.

Me? Love Them?

 Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you-- Luke 6:27-28

If I were to ask you, who are your your enemies? Most of us would probably answer, we don't have any. That's because we think of enemies as someone who wants to harm us. When Jesus spoke these words, things were more black and white. The Jews hated the Samaritans. The Romans hated the Jews. When Jesus commanded us to love our enemies, the presumption is very clear. He would not have commanded us to love "our enemies" if did not have any. So, that commandment is still relevant to us today.

Our King, Jesus Christ, is simply calling on us to love even those who are hardest to love. And we know people like that. Who’s mistreated you? Who’s let you down? Who’s taken advantage of you? Maybe someone at work? A family member? A friend? A neighbor? Someone you barely know? “Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst” Luke 6:27-30 The Message.

The biggest hurdle to loving "our enemies" is that we believe that Scriptural love is a feeling and it is not. Biblical love is an action that is based on doing what is best for the other person! "Do good" is an action. "Bless them" = action. "Pray for" = action.

Do not wait to experience a certain emotion before you show love. Romans 12:20 You see, what Jesus is teaching us—what we must grasp and embrace—is that we don’t fight evil with yet more evil; we fight evil with good. Romans 12:21

World's Most Powerful Weapon

 French philosopher, Voltaire (1694-1778) continually wrote attacking Christianity and the Bible. In 1776 he predicted, "One hundred years from my day, there will not be a Bible on earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity-seeker."

Fifty years after his death, the very house in which he once lived and wrote was used by the Evangelical Society of Geneva as a storehouse for Bible and Gospel tracts. For years critics have tried to discredit this story but a careful research has proved it to be true.

The attack on the Bible still continues today. Critics say that the Bible is nothing more than fables written by mere men. But consider these facts:

1) Sufficient evidence confirms that the earliest forms of the Bible were written during the time of the Hebrew exodus out of Egypt (c. 1400-1200 BC). This means the composition of the biblical writing, from the earliest book of the Bible to the last of the New Testament writings, spans a period of 1,300 to 1,500 years. Josh McDowell

2) The Bible was written by approximately 4o different people (kings, soldiers, herdsmen, legislators, fishermen, courtiers, priests and prophets, and a Gentile physician) from several different continents over a period of 1,300 to 1,500 years. They wrote on a variety of topics without any contradictions! If you were to have 10 different authors, from the same geographical area, same generation, write on ONE controversial topic, they would not come to the same conclusion.

No other written work has been so attacked, scrutinized, and persecuted as have the canonical books of the Bible. Yet the Bible continues to solidly withstand all forms of opposition. Says Bernard Ramm, former professor of religion at Baylor University: “A thousand times over, the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone, and the committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put. No other book has been so chopped, knived, sifted, scrutinized, and vilified.” Josh McDowell

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Matthew 24:35

Me? A Warrior?

 "...He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle." Psalm 144:1

As a child, I would often get together with my buddies and play war. I never gave it much thought until recently. Playing the part of a soldier just seemed so right, so natural. But why? We live in an age where boys are discouraged playing with toy guns because 'culture' says it will make boys too aggressive. But to my knowledge none of us grew up to be mass murderers or violent criminals!

As I read Psalm144:1, the thought came to me that God has placed in a every boy the very spirit of a warrior. Let me explain; a boy playing in the yard picks up a stick and it suddenly becomes a rifle. He throws a pine cone and it becomes a hand grenade. God has a designed boys to grow up to be men. Men who possess a warrior spirit. God never intended boys (or men) to become bullies. Men are not to be male chauvinists.

But we ARE to be defenders of the defenseless. We Are to help the helpless. Proverbs 31:8-9 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice."

I guess that is why some (not all) action movies are so appealing. We love it when someone in the crowd steps out and defends someone you is being bullied. We cheer when the "under-dog" finally has a champion. Often, it is someone who does not appear to be a 'warrior.' They look so meek and mild but a true warrior is not be underestimated. Often, they do not see themselves as a 'warrior.' Judges 6:15

The biggest difference is that as Christ-followers we do not rely on our own strength. Christ is our ultimate source of strength. Isaiah 41:10

Relationship or Rules

 As I have mentioned in past blogs, I have a passion for history, especially church history. I enjoy reading about the spiritual "giants" who have had an intimate relationship with God. I admit that I am envious of them. While I am very aware that their relationship with God is available to everyone. Romans 2:11 , I guess I am not willing to invest spending the time and effort to have that kind of relationship.

We men like formulas. We like bullet points. We like bright lines. They make life easier. They cut through mystery and doubt. We’d love it if such things could govern our relationships with God. They would make following him easier, too. At least, we think they would. So we try to create them.

It starts innocently: Someone seeks God and finds him—through a specific prayer or practice, or through a particular way of studying Scripture or being in community or doing service. But, then, that person decides that’s “the” way to find God. Others are persuaded, of course, because they want to find God too. And a formula is born, a bullet point, a bright line, a rule about how our relationships with God must look.

The thing is, while God never changes (James 1:17, Hebrews 13:8), our relationships with him do. They’re ever changing, ever challenging (2 Corinthians 3:18). There’s always more with God. There’s always mystery. And there’s always something new. But because we fear change and fear being challenged, we often cling to what’s worked in the past or what’s worked for someone else. We create a rule, repeat a ritual, but we may not grow and mature in our relationships with God.