Mar 14:3-9 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." (Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)
It is good to be a good steward of what God allows us to have. But that does not mean we should never spend money or time or effort in expressing love, whether it is to our wife, husband, child, friend, or the Lord.
I don't know to what extent that woman understood who Jesus was when she broke the expensive flask of fragrant ointment and poured it on His head. How many people did she see Him heal? How many times had she seen Him deliver people from demons? How many times had she heard Him speak wondrous truth? How much had he healed and taught her?
The question should not be why didn't she sell the expensive ointment and give the money to the poor. The question should be why was she one of the few who sought to be extravagant in expressing love and appreciation to Jesus after all He'd done in their presence?
There would always be opportunities to help the poor. There would not always be the opportunity to show Jesus while He was here in the flesh the exceeding gratitude, appreciation, and love He deserves to be shown. There was coming a time when He would be crucified and die. And then, even though He rose again with a resurrection body that could never die again, He was only to remain here for 40 days before returning to heaven.
That woman did what she could to thank Jesus. Have we done all that we could to thank Him?
At this time we are unable to pour fragrant oil on the physical head of Jesus. But there are things we can do to express our love and thankfulness to Him. If we read the Bible we can learn the things that please Him. Doing those things is what we can do.
Let's learn what we can do to be a blessing to our Lord Jesus, and do them as much as we can.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Do You Believe Jesus Rose From the Dead
1Co 15:17-20 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. NIV
Do you believe that Christ literally rose from the dead? It's rather an important question.
To better understand the question, do you believe that He was really dead, and that He not only came alive again but that He came alive in a physical body that could never die again?
If Jesus didn't really die on the Cross then there has never been a sinless sacrifice and we are all still in our sins, and we are without hope.
If Jesus didn't die and come back to life then He was a liar when He again and again said that was what He was going to do. If Christ is liar then nobody should follow Him.
How could anybody believe that Jesus rose from the dead, never to die again?
Those who crucifed Jesus certainly didn't expect Him to come back to life. A spear thrust into his side made extra sure He was totally dead.
Even the disciples didn't expect Him to come back to life. They went into hiding lest they be next ones to be arrested and put to death.
But Jesus did not remain dead. He rose from the dead and when He came to His disciples He even made them touch Him, feel His scars, and even ate bread and fish with them to show how really alive He was.
Those who saw and spent time with the risen Christ were arrested, beaten, and even killed because they couldn't keep such good news to themselves. Peter, who vehemently denied being His follower after Jesus was taken to be tried, could not be kept quiet about Jesus. Peter knew that Jesus had died, rose again, and even forgiven him for denying Him.
If you do not yet believe that Jesus literally died and rose again, never to die again, I ask you to take time to read the New Testament. Don't just think it's a bunch of made up stories. Read it. Decide for yourself whether it is worth believing.
It would be far better for you do discover now who Jesus is than when He returns to judge everyone. If Jesus is who He says He is, then how you relate to Him will make all the difference in the world. for all eternity,.
Do you believe that Christ literally rose from the dead? It's rather an important question.
To better understand the question, do you believe that He was really dead, and that He not only came alive again but that He came alive in a physical body that could never die again?
If Jesus didn't really die on the Cross then there has never been a sinless sacrifice and we are all still in our sins, and we are without hope.
If Jesus didn't die and come back to life then He was a liar when He again and again said that was what He was going to do. If Christ is liar then nobody should follow Him.
How could anybody believe that Jesus rose from the dead, never to die again?
Those who crucifed Jesus certainly didn't expect Him to come back to life. A spear thrust into his side made extra sure He was totally dead.
Even the disciples didn't expect Him to come back to life. They went into hiding lest they be next ones to be arrested and put to death.
But Jesus did not remain dead. He rose from the dead and when He came to His disciples He even made them touch Him, feel His scars, and even ate bread and fish with them to show how really alive He was.
Those who saw and spent time with the risen Christ were arrested, beaten, and even killed because they couldn't keep such good news to themselves. Peter, who vehemently denied being His follower after Jesus was taken to be tried, could not be kept quiet about Jesus. Peter knew that Jesus had died, rose again, and even forgiven him for denying Him.
If you do not yet believe that Jesus literally died and rose again, never to die again, I ask you to take time to read the New Testament. Don't just think it's a bunch of made up stories. Read it. Decide for yourself whether it is worth believing.
It would be far better for you do discover now who Jesus is than when He returns to judge everyone. If Jesus is who He says He is, then how you relate to Him will make all the difference in the world. for all eternity,.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
And This I pray....
Php 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. NIV
What do you pray for? Good health for yourself and those you care about? Solutions to financial difficulties? Do you pray that you will one day get married, or if you are married, that your marriage will get better than it is at present?
I believe those are worthwhile things to pray about. But let's not omit praying for things that we find in the Bible. Those who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write Scripture can certainly teach us some important things about prayer.
I like how this passage from Paul's letter to the Philippians shares with us the above portion of a prayer. Paul prayed for their love to grow more and more. And He's doesn't mean just to grow in feelings of love. He is praying that their love would increase in knowledge and discernment.
Loving anybody without knowledge and discernment can be messy. You can end up doing more harm than good to the relationship and even to the person if your attempts at expressing love are only what you think are appropriate when in fact they're not.
If we can grow in our understanding of what God wants us to know about loving Him and one another we will be less apt to offend Him. (How we treat one another is one way can either bless or offend God.)
God also wants us to be filled with the fruits of righteousness. Not the fruits of sinfulness, or selfishness, or foolishness. He wants to think righteous thoughts, speak righteous words, and live righteous lives.
God can help with these things if we'll ask Him. Asking Him to do what He very much wants to do in us and for us and through us should be part of our praying every day. Answering those prayers will be to His praise and glory.
What do you pray for? Good health for yourself and those you care about? Solutions to financial difficulties? Do you pray that you will one day get married, or if you are married, that your marriage will get better than it is at present?
I believe those are worthwhile things to pray about. But let's not omit praying for things that we find in the Bible. Those who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write Scripture can certainly teach us some important things about prayer.
I like how this passage from Paul's letter to the Philippians shares with us the above portion of a prayer. Paul prayed for their love to grow more and more. And He's doesn't mean just to grow in feelings of love. He is praying that their love would increase in knowledge and discernment.
Loving anybody without knowledge and discernment can be messy. You can end up doing more harm than good to the relationship and even to the person if your attempts at expressing love are only what you think are appropriate when in fact they're not.
If we can grow in our understanding of what God wants us to know about loving Him and one another we will be less apt to offend Him. (How we treat one another is one way can either bless or offend God.)
God also wants us to be filled with the fruits of righteousness. Not the fruits of sinfulness, or selfishness, or foolishness. He wants to think righteous thoughts, speak righteous words, and live righteous lives.
God can help with these things if we'll ask Him. Asking Him to do what He very much wants to do in us and for us and through us should be part of our praying every day. Answering those prayers will be to His praise and glory.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
What to Do and How to Do It
Col 3:16-17 & 23 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.....Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. NIV
Before you decide how to do something it's rather important to determine what to do. These three verses from Paul's letter to the Colossians teach us about both.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" is a good start. The word of Christ can include what we read in the Bible that Jesus Himself spoke. It can also include what was written by those whom Jesus taught, including Paul. Only when we know what our Lord and Savior and Teacher has said can we really know what we're supposed to do.
Of course it is possible to read something Jesus teaches and take it out of the context of the surrounding verses and the context of the Bible as a whole. That's why it's good to have godly pastors, teachers, and fellow Bible study and Sunday school friends, for then we can teach and when necessary admonish one another pertaining to what Christ wants us to know.
Listening to and singing songs that actually line up with the truth of Scripture can also help remind us of what what we are called to do. For example, we're called to have gratitude. And we're called to praise God.
As we learn what God wants us to do, next we need to know how to do it. Not just the particulars of step by step how to accomplish things like caring for orphans and widows and supporting those who bring the gospel to people around the world. We also need to do what we're called to do as well as we possibly can with the help of God.
We who have been bought by Christ belong to God as adopted children in His family and members of the Body of Christ with Jesus being the Head of this Body. When we do the things God wants us to do we are doing so as those who belong to Christ.
When we therefore do things in a shoddy and haphazard way we are representing Jesus in a way that is demeaning and degrading in regards to who He is.
This segment of the letter about working with all your heart as to the Lord and not to men was addressed to slaves who had become believers in Christ. But it can apply to all Christians because all Christians have been bought by the shed blood of Christ.
I need to give this matter more of the contemplation that it deserves. I want to seek to clearly know what God wants me to do. Then I want to do those things wholeheartedly. When I'm doing things to help provide for my wife, and church, and those in need, or give encouragement to family and friends, I don't want to it halfheartedly. I want to do it with as much God given ability and perseverance that He enables me to have.
If we make good use of the Bible and good Bible teaching, we can learn how to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbor (anybody who needs help) as ourselves. Then we'll be doing what we're supposed to be doing and doing it the way we're supposed to be doing it.
Before you decide how to do something it's rather important to determine what to do. These three verses from Paul's letter to the Colossians teach us about both.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" is a good start. The word of Christ can include what we read in the Bible that Jesus Himself spoke. It can also include what was written by those whom Jesus taught, including Paul. Only when we know what our Lord and Savior and Teacher has said can we really know what we're supposed to do.
Of course it is possible to read something Jesus teaches and take it out of the context of the surrounding verses and the context of the Bible as a whole. That's why it's good to have godly pastors, teachers, and fellow Bible study and Sunday school friends, for then we can teach and when necessary admonish one another pertaining to what Christ wants us to know.
Listening to and singing songs that actually line up with the truth of Scripture can also help remind us of what what we are called to do. For example, we're called to have gratitude. And we're called to praise God.
As we learn what God wants us to do, next we need to know how to do it. Not just the particulars of step by step how to accomplish things like caring for orphans and widows and supporting those who bring the gospel to people around the world. We also need to do what we're called to do as well as we possibly can with the help of God.
We who have been bought by Christ belong to God as adopted children in His family and members of the Body of Christ with Jesus being the Head of this Body. When we do the things God wants us to do we are doing so as those who belong to Christ.
When we therefore do things in a shoddy and haphazard way we are representing Jesus in a way that is demeaning and degrading in regards to who He is.
This segment of the letter about working with all your heart as to the Lord and not to men was addressed to slaves who had become believers in Christ. But it can apply to all Christians because all Christians have been bought by the shed blood of Christ.
I need to give this matter more of the contemplation that it deserves. I want to seek to clearly know what God wants me to do. Then I want to do those things wholeheartedly. When I'm doing things to help provide for my wife, and church, and those in need, or give encouragement to family and friends, I don't want to it halfheartedly. I want to do it with as much God given ability and perseverance that He enables me to have.
If we make good use of the Bible and good Bible teaching, we can learn how to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbor (anybody who needs help) as ourselves. Then we'll be doing what we're supposed to be doing and doing it the way we're supposed to be doing it.
Friday, March 25, 2011
How Should a Husbad Love His Wife?
Eph 5:25-30 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church for we are members of his body. NIV
Today John MacArthur was talking about husbands loving their wives on the Grace To You radio program. It's a subject that I think it's always worthwhile to seek to be reminded of, and hopefully become better at putting it into practice.
I happen to be a husband, so this subject matter definitely pertains to me. How should I love my wife? The answer is simple. I'm to love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
What did Jesus do while He was here in the flesh? He healed people who were sick. He fed people who were hungry. He took time to talk with people and teach them important truth. He took time to be with children. He calmed a storm when His disciples were afraid. He put up with followers who did not understand Him and abandoned Him when difficulties arose.
Why was Jesus so longsuffering and compassionate? Because if He gave up on His weak, sinful and rebellious followers and treated them the way they deserved to be treated, He would have skipped the torturous execution on the Cross, and there would be no Church. Nobody would be cleansed from their sins.
Then and now Jesus does not treat us the way we deserve to be treated. None of us love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. We don't deserve the many blessings we already have or the ones that are offered to us if we let Jesus transform us into believers who desire to love and serve Him forever.
If I am a follower of Jesus, I will seek His help to love my wife as He loves His church. If He hadn't laid down His life for us we would not have known how great was His love for us. He suffered and died for us. He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. He intercedes on our behalf. We can spend eternity with Him where there will be no more sorrow because of what He did. He did what He did because He loves us and loving is something that is done, whether or not a good feeling accompanies the action.
How should a husband love his wife? He should treat as tenderly and kindly as anyone would care for his own body. We like to feed ourselves tasty food. We like to have a warm bath or shower when we're grimey and smelly even to ourselves. We like to be dressed in comfortable clothes. We want those things just because we want them.
I want to love my wife in ways that show her clearly that I care about what she needs and wants. I want her to feel blessed that I'm her husband. Just as all that Jesus has done and is doing for us helps us to rejoice in Him, I want to do things for my wife that will delight her.
I believe that just as Christ loving the Church helps the Church become more godly, my loving my wife in such an unselfish way can help her become the woman God wants her to be.
When I fall short in loving her that way, then I pray that the Lord will quickly convict me of my sin so that I will repent, and ask both God and my wife to forgive me.
Loving my wife the way God wants me to love her takes time and understanding. I pray that I can make good use of those things during all the days of the rest of our lives together.
Today John MacArthur was talking about husbands loving their wives on the Grace To You radio program. It's a subject that I think it's always worthwhile to seek to be reminded of, and hopefully become better at putting it into practice.
I happen to be a husband, so this subject matter definitely pertains to me. How should I love my wife? The answer is simple. I'm to love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
What did Jesus do while He was here in the flesh? He healed people who were sick. He fed people who were hungry. He took time to talk with people and teach them important truth. He took time to be with children. He calmed a storm when His disciples were afraid. He put up with followers who did not understand Him and abandoned Him when difficulties arose.
Why was Jesus so longsuffering and compassionate? Because if He gave up on His weak, sinful and rebellious followers and treated them the way they deserved to be treated, He would have skipped the torturous execution on the Cross, and there would be no Church. Nobody would be cleansed from their sins.
Then and now Jesus does not treat us the way we deserve to be treated. None of us love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. We don't deserve the many blessings we already have or the ones that are offered to us if we let Jesus transform us into believers who desire to love and serve Him forever.
If I am a follower of Jesus, I will seek His help to love my wife as He loves His church. If He hadn't laid down His life for us we would not have known how great was His love for us. He suffered and died for us. He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. He intercedes on our behalf. We can spend eternity with Him where there will be no more sorrow because of what He did. He did what He did because He loves us and loving is something that is done, whether or not a good feeling accompanies the action.
How should a husband love his wife? He should treat as tenderly and kindly as anyone would care for his own body. We like to feed ourselves tasty food. We like to have a warm bath or shower when we're grimey and smelly even to ourselves. We like to be dressed in comfortable clothes. We want those things just because we want them.
I want to love my wife in ways that show her clearly that I care about what she needs and wants. I want her to feel blessed that I'm her husband. Just as all that Jesus has done and is doing for us helps us to rejoice in Him, I want to do things for my wife that will delight her.
I believe that just as Christ loving the Church helps the Church become more godly, my loving my wife in such an unselfish way can help her become the woman God wants her to be.
When I fall short in loving her that way, then I pray that the Lord will quickly convict me of my sin so that I will repent, and ask both God and my wife to forgive me.
Loving my wife the way God wants me to love her takes time and understanding. I pray that I can make good use of those things during all the days of the rest of our lives together.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Will You be Wise or Foolish?
Mat 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." NIV
Early in his account of the life and teachings of Jesus, Matthew shares what we now call the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus concluded that sermon with the above words about the importance of having the good foundation of practicing what Jesus preached.
Jesus did not give sermons for entertainment purposes. He didn't give them to impress people and get as many people as possible to follow Him as their leader. He taught to speak the truth so that those who would accept the truth could be prepared for what was coming in the future, both the near future and in future of eternity.
The people who hear the words of Jesus, either back when He spoke them, or after they were written for us in the Bible, can choose to either seek to put His words into practice or reject and ignore them.
The words of Jesus are not easy to accept. He calls for righteousness that exceeds merely keeping a set of rules. He even wants us to love and do good to the people we very much don't like. The only one to ever fully live up to His standards is Jesus Himself. But those are still the standards He calls us to.
Is that fair? After all, we're not God in the flesh, we're sinners saved by grace.
Well, He knows that. That's why He died on the cross to pay the price for our sinning both when we do so intentionally and when we do so even when we try our best not to sin.
But He did more for us than pay the price for our rebellion and sin. He also empowers us with the Holy Spirit to help us turn away from sin and in His strength do what He wants.
Before Jesus returned to heaven He told His followers that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came to them. (Acts 1:8) The Holy Spirit is still available to help those who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord to do and say what God wants them to do and say.
What does God want us to do and say? We can find out by reading Scripture, especially the New Testament. The religious leaders of Jesus day read the Old Testament and had a limited understanding of it. When God came in the flesh and taught them clearly, most of them rejected what He said. They were too proud to admit that their understanding of Scripture was limited or accept that their own man made religiosity could be contradictory to the will of God.
The words of Jesus are the words of the Creator of all that was created. He knows the purpose for everything including the purpose for people. As I wrote earlier, the words He has for us are not to entertain us, or impress us, or for us to be puffed up with how smart we'll be if we learn them.
The words of Jesus are to be heard and then be put into practice. To be successful at putting them into practice we'll need the Holy Spirit, which Jesus gladly gives to live within us. (Luke 11:13, John 14:17)
I don't want to be foolish. I want to know the words of Jesus and I want to put them into practice. So I'll keep reading the Bible, and using good Bible study materials, and seeking the help of the Holy Spirit do what Jesus tells me to do through what He teaches in Scripture.
I hope those who read this will seek to be wise rather than foolish. There are eternal consequences.
Early in his account of the life and teachings of Jesus, Matthew shares what we now call the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus concluded that sermon with the above words about the importance of having the good foundation of practicing what Jesus preached.
Jesus did not give sermons for entertainment purposes. He didn't give them to impress people and get as many people as possible to follow Him as their leader. He taught to speak the truth so that those who would accept the truth could be prepared for what was coming in the future, both the near future and in future of eternity.
The people who hear the words of Jesus, either back when He spoke them, or after they were written for us in the Bible, can choose to either seek to put His words into practice or reject and ignore them.
The words of Jesus are not easy to accept. He calls for righteousness that exceeds merely keeping a set of rules. He even wants us to love and do good to the people we very much don't like. The only one to ever fully live up to His standards is Jesus Himself. But those are still the standards He calls us to.
Is that fair? After all, we're not God in the flesh, we're sinners saved by grace.
Well, He knows that. That's why He died on the cross to pay the price for our sinning both when we do so intentionally and when we do so even when we try our best not to sin.
But He did more for us than pay the price for our rebellion and sin. He also empowers us with the Holy Spirit to help us turn away from sin and in His strength do what He wants.
Before Jesus returned to heaven He told His followers that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came to them. (Acts 1:8) The Holy Spirit is still available to help those who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord to do and say what God wants them to do and say.
What does God want us to do and say? We can find out by reading Scripture, especially the New Testament. The religious leaders of Jesus day read the Old Testament and had a limited understanding of it. When God came in the flesh and taught them clearly, most of them rejected what He said. They were too proud to admit that their understanding of Scripture was limited or accept that their own man made religiosity could be contradictory to the will of God.
The words of Jesus are the words of the Creator of all that was created. He knows the purpose for everything including the purpose for people. As I wrote earlier, the words He has for us are not to entertain us, or impress us, or for us to be puffed up with how smart we'll be if we learn them.
The words of Jesus are to be heard and then be put into practice. To be successful at putting them into practice we'll need the Holy Spirit, which Jesus gladly gives to live within us. (Luke 11:13, John 14:17)
I don't want to be foolish. I want to know the words of Jesus and I want to put them into practice. So I'll keep reading the Bible, and using good Bible study materials, and seeking the help of the Holy Spirit do what Jesus tells me to do through what He teaches in Scripture.
I hope those who read this will seek to be wise rather than foolish. There are eternal consequences.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Is the Yoke on You?
Mat 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." NIV
If the above words of Jesus were all you ever read from the Bible you might conclude that following Jesus was practically effortless. You might think calling yourself a "Christian" was all it takes to come to Jesus and be one who will spend eternity with Jesus.
Certainly everything that Jesus says is true, including what He said about His yoke being easy and His burden being light. But I'd like to point out to you what a yoke is, and what a burden is.
A yoke is a device that generally consists of a crosspiece and two bow shaped pieces that go over the heads of two animals, usually oxen, so they can work together. The purpose for being yoked to to work.
This passage of Scripture even mentions a burden, or task, that is light. But we need to remember that although the burden is light, there is a real burden, a real task to do, if we are united with Jesus.
It's interesting to look at the preceding verses, especially verse 20 where Jesus denounces cities which did not repent, despite having seen so many of His miracles. The people of those cities had chosen to reject Jesus. They chose not to be yoked together with Him. He made it clear that the consequences for them on the day of judgment will be severe.
Is the yoke that is on Jesus really also on you? Are you bound together with Him for whatever work, for whatever tasks you are called to do with Hiim?
Sometimes those tasks may seem hard. But remember that if God calls you to a task, and you are yoked to Jesus, that He's the strong one and He'll do whatever He needs to do to see that the job gets accomplished successfully.
We need to come to Jesus. We need to learn from Him, which should include learning from Scripture what He has told us He wants us to learn. And we need to acknowledge that we're to be yoked to Him to be involved in the very work of God.
Is the yoke of Jesus on you? Or do you choose to reject Jesus like the people in the cities Jesus denounced. I urge you and me both to willingly and gratefully accept being yoked with the One who loves us so much that He suffered and died for us.
If the above words of Jesus were all you ever read from the Bible you might conclude that following Jesus was practically effortless. You might think calling yourself a "Christian" was all it takes to come to Jesus and be one who will spend eternity with Jesus.
Certainly everything that Jesus says is true, including what He said about His yoke being easy and His burden being light. But I'd like to point out to you what a yoke is, and what a burden is.
A yoke is a device that generally consists of a crosspiece and two bow shaped pieces that go over the heads of two animals, usually oxen, so they can work together. The purpose for being yoked to to work.
This passage of Scripture even mentions a burden, or task, that is light. But we need to remember that although the burden is light, there is a real burden, a real task to do, if we are united with Jesus.
It's interesting to look at the preceding verses, especially verse 20 where Jesus denounces cities which did not repent, despite having seen so many of His miracles. The people of those cities had chosen to reject Jesus. They chose not to be yoked together with Him. He made it clear that the consequences for them on the day of judgment will be severe.
Is the yoke that is on Jesus really also on you? Are you bound together with Him for whatever work, for whatever tasks you are called to do with Hiim?
Sometimes those tasks may seem hard. But remember that if God calls you to a task, and you are yoked to Jesus, that He's the strong one and He'll do whatever He needs to do to see that the job gets accomplished successfully.
We need to come to Jesus. We need to learn from Him, which should include learning from Scripture what He has told us He wants us to learn. And we need to acknowledge that we're to be yoked to Him to be involved in the very work of God.
Is the yoke of Jesus on you? Or do you choose to reject Jesus like the people in the cities Jesus denounced. I urge you and me both to willingly and gratefully accept being yoked with the One who loves us so much that He suffered and died for us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)