"I'll Use My Burden"

Galatians 6:5 "For every man shall bear his own burden."

In life, no one is exempt from having burdens. They come to all of us. To the rich and to the poor. To the mighty and to the weak. Everyone from time to time has burdens. In Galatians chapter 6 the Bible gives us some insight to our own burdens. We must learn to carry them on our own.

When it comes to our own burdens we need to learn to look at them as a tool. When we have a burden we often say to God, "God I can't be used by you as long as I have this burden distracting me." And yet in my life it always seems to be that God says back, "It was with that burden that I was planning on using you." Turn your burden into a tool that can be used, rather than just allowing it to weigh you down.

The second thing I see about burdens is that we can carry more with our burdens than with out them. Our burdens make our shoulders broader. They make our backs stronger. They make our minds keener. They make our hearts softer. Our burdens will allow us to perform what Galatians is instructing us to do - assist in the carrying of other peoples burdens.

Stop fighting the burden God has allowed into your life and use it to bear the burdens of others.

"Building A House"

Psalm 127:1 "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

As a pastor, I am always thinking about the strength of our church. There is only one difficult thing to understand when pondering on that. It's this, the church is only as strong as it's strongest member. But it doesn't stop there. The church is also as weak as it's weakest member. I believe today that it is imperative that we have a strong churches. But I have come to a conclusion, we will not have strong churches if we don't have strong families. We will not have strong families unless we have strong, faithful husbands and fathers. We will not have strong, faithful husbands and fathers without strong, supportive wives, mothers, and children. Basically in the end we must have each member in each family striving together in service to the Lord. Let's purpose to become what God would have us to be. Strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might!

"Can't or Won't?"

II Corinthians 12:9 "And he said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.' Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

"I can't get along with my wife/husband." "My spouse and I can't communicate with each other." "I can't discipline the kid's the way I should." "I can't stop overeating." "I can't find the time to pray." "I can't find the time to read my Bible." "I can't quit gossiping." "I can't be faithful to church." I can't, I can't, I can't......or should it be, I won't?

We tell ourselves these statements all the time. I can't do this or I can't do that. The fact of the matter is, is that most of the time it truly is not that we can't it is that we won't.

In II Corinthians 12:9 the Bible tells us that it doesn't matter what is going on in our lives - We can. We can because His grace is sufficient. In Ephesians 3:16, we can because He has given us His might. In II Peter 1:3-4, We can because of His promises. In I Corinthians 10:13, We can because He has provided us a way out. In Philippians 4:13, We can because the Bible says we can.

What is it that you think you can't do? You can if you take God at His word. Trust Him and you CAN! Do it today. You CAN do better.

"Committed to Christ"

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Commitment: "The act or process of consigning, delivering or entrusting, as for safekeeping." Here in Romans 12 we find commitment is defined for us. The Lord wants us to put our trust in Him for safekeeping. Not just part of our trust but our full trust, our whole body. Our whole body means everything there that defines who we are. When you think about it, it means what we eat, where we live, where we go, what we wear, what we say, what we think, etc. All of these things are to be committed to Christ for His safekeeping.

For those of us who are Christians, commitment is not optional. It is a demand from Christ. We must serve God in His timing and under His conditions. If we are going to live our lives committed to Christ we are going to have to have patience and perseverance in the race of life.

So go ahead, commit your life to Christ for his safekeeping. It is truly a reasonable life to live.

"The Great Appraiser"

Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

If you take the time to go back and read in verse 19 of Matthew 6, you will find the instruction not to "lay up treasures upon the earth." We are told this because those treasure are temporary. We have valuable things here on earth, but compared to the heavenly treasures they don't even compare. Usually when you want to know how much something is worth, you take it to an appraiser. The appraiser evaluates the item and then gives the item a value. We must understand that God is the appraiser of all things in this life. God places more value on a man's soul than he does upon anything else. When we spend our time on things and activities that are temporary, it often frustrates our relationship with God. May we learn to place our obedience to the principles found it the Word of God. Obedience is a life long lesson that we all must apply to our lives if we are going to live the way God would have us live.

"The Uncertainty of Life"

James 4:14 "Whereas ye know not shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

Here in our verse today, James tells us that our lives are nothing more than a mere vapour. It's here for a while then it is gone. We only get one life to live. We need to spend it wisely, doing the will of God, and preparing ourselves to meet Him when this life is over. As you read this devotion, can you see the vapour dissipating from your life into the air of eternity?

If we were totally honest with ourselves, we would have to say one of two things today. Either, "I am living my life based on the Word and the will of God." Or, "I am going my own way, doing my own thing, rarely considering what God wants for my life." I know that these are two extreme places to be, and that most are going to find themselves somewhere in the middle of both.

Wherever you find yourself today, watch for the vapour dissipating from you life, and do your best to draw yourself closer to God. Let it be a challenge to you, to live your life according to what God wants as opposed to what you want. You only have one life, spend it for Him.

"The Secret Place of God"

Psalm 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

I remember as a little kid trying to learn how to make shadow creatures with my hands. You know what I'm talking about. I used to watch people that knew how to that and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I actually learned how to make a bunny and an alligator. Boy did I think I was big stuff.

There are 71 references in the Bible that have the word "Shadow" in it. And in our text this morning we see that God has a secret place. This secret place is under His shadow. What a blessing this is. Usually, shadows are considered to be a scary of spooky kind of thing. But here in the Word of God, the shadow is something that is to be an encouragement to us.

When was the last time you went to the secret place of prayer to the Father? The Bible tells us that we are to pray with out ceasing. If we arrive at the secret place of the Father through our prayer lives, then I guess the shadow of the Almighty could be a scary thing if are prayer lives are suffering.

May I encourage you to day, to get out of the heat of this life, and to get under the shade of the Shadow that is in the secret place of God. Get in your prayer closet right now and ask Him to cover you in His calming shadow.