Burdens and Feeding your soul

Burdens and Feeding your soul

Gal 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

One person can only carry a burden so far on their own.  Find people who believe in you. Encourage and support them, and welcome their support in return. Spend more time with those who sharpen you and make you better, and less time with those who drain your energy, time, and talent. The truth is, friends who speak encouragement into your life are priceless.

Ps 119:97 Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

:98 You through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me.

:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are all my meditation.

:100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts.

:101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word.

:102 I have not departed from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught me.

:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

:104 Through Your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way.

Have you tasted the goodness of the Lord? Open up your bible today!

A well read bible is the sign of a well fed soul.

Challenges

2 Cor 11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.

:23 Are they ministers of Christ? – I speak as a fool –I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

:24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.

:25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;

:26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in peril of my own countrymen,  in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

:27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness –

:28 besides the other things, whaty comes upon me daily; my deep concern for all the churches.

:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

:30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.

:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying,

:32 in Damascus the governor,  under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me;

:33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands

12:1 It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

:3 And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows –

:4 now he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

:5 Of such a one I will boast; yet of myslf I will not boast, except in my infirmities.

:6 For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.

:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

:10 Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Too often, we run from challenges. Yet the people we love to read about in the Bible are impressive because they battled challenges. With the confidence of God’s help, Paul faced challenges head on and conquered them.

If God sends you on stony paths, He will provide you with strong shoes.

PS 34:9 Oh fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.

God Cares For You

Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

When you demonstrate that God’s business means more to you than your own, He will prosper you.  Tithing demonstrates that you’ve conquered self-interest and the fear of lack. It’s a demonstration of faith, and God always rewards faith.

Luke 12:22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.

:23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

:24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you that the birds?

:25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

:26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?

:27 Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

:28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

:29 And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.

:30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.

:31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

:32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

:33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 Jesus was promising to guard, protect, and care for the disciples as they went out into the world. He assured them that because He cared for simple things like birds and lilies, they could be certain that He would take care of His little flock of believers.

We can’t know the future. But we can know this: no matter what comes, we are under the loving, caring, watchful eye of our Great Shepherd, who also happens to be the Son of God.

Faith and Riches

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
When you are in the middle of a crisis, what you really believe manifests itself in your words, actions, and attitudes.
Jn 11:21 Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. She was voicing past-tense faith.
Jn 11:23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
11:24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." That was future-tense faith.
11:22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." That was now faith, which is present-tense.
2 Co 4:18 While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Now faith stakes its claim on something, even if we don't see it.
2 Co 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Too often we base our feelings on what we see. We become prisoners of our own perceptions; we cease walking in faith. Reality extends beyond what you can see.
Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
He knows how the story ends, so fix your eyes on the unseen and not on what you see.
Eph 4:26 "Be angry, and do not sin", do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
Too often I harbor anger all day. Lord, give me grace to forgive right away.
1 Tim 6:6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
:8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content;
:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
:13 If I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
:14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing,
:15 which He will manifest in His own time. He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
:16 who alone has immortality dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power, Amen.
:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
:18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,
:19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
God measures wealth by the quality of our lives and our generous giving to bless others. Riches are a blessing only to those who make them a blessing to others.

Stop the clock; the blind spot

1 Kings 10:23 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
:24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart.
:25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
:26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horseman, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
:27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
:28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh at the current price.
:29 Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
11:1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites –
:2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.
:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

 
1 Kings 8:11 so that the priest could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

 
Just as the seasons of the year continue, so do the cycles of life – birth and death, success and failure, sin and confession. Although we have no power to stop the clock while we're enjoying good times, we can rest in God's promise that eventually all bad things will end.

 
Rev 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

 
Ps 19:12 Who can understand his errors? Clease me from secret faults.
There are parts of yourself you'll never see without God's help. In one way, you know yourself better than anyone else does. You are the only one who knows your inner thoughts, feelings and judgments, well other than God. In another way, you know yourself worse than anyone else. We rationalize, justify, minimize, forget, and embellish – we don't even realize we are doing it. Our memories are not simply faulty, they're faulty in favor of our egos.

Do you question God? And Don’t give up!

Job 38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
:2"Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
:3 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
:4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
:5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
:6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
:7 when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
:8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb;
:9 when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band;
:10 when I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors;
:11 when I said, 'This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!
:31 Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?
:32 Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?
:33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?

 
We sometimes like Job when we suffer tragedy dare to aim questions at God. Chapter 38 of Job should give us lots to think about. When God started directing questions at him he must have felt really small. God didn't answer Job's questions. Instead God told him to notice the power and might with which He created the world and His control over every element of it. That alone should be reason enough to trust Him. We can trust God. He has the stars in His hands, surely He can care for us.

 
Ne 2:20 So I answered them, and said to them, "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem."

 
To turn your failures into successes you need to do two things.

1. Realize that God wants you to succeed because you're His child.
2. Realize that failure is a teaching tool.

Some options work, some don't. With God on your side you'll win if you keep trying.

Compassion and Parenthood

Acts 11:19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.
:20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.
:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
:22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.
:23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.
:24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
:25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.
:26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

 
Barbabas was a man of compassion. Compassion is an inner feeling resulting in outward action. It should be our daily uniform of service. By God's grace, may we be known for it. True compassion is love in action.

 
1 Sam 2:35 Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

 
Being the high priest in Israel was a prestigious job, and Eli seemed suited to it. But he failed badly on the home front. His sons did not walk in the same way he did. They turned aside and were dishonest. As a result God told Eli He would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about and did nothing to stop. How would you measure up?