“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht
“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/
Matthew 11:28-29… Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavyladen, and I will give you rest. 29 Take Myyoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (NKJV)
I believe the first verse in the opening scripture, is a call by the Lord to obey the gospel of Christ… And when an unredeemed sinner is graced by God, with the gift of salvation through saving faith alone in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), they become a child of God… They are no longer a part of the world, because their citizenship has been changed to heaven…Philippians 3:20…&…John17:14-15… (Read about God’s saving grace through obedience to the gospel of Christ, found in the link at the end)
Jesus tells His disciples (and us), that they will find eternal peace through Him, as Jesus explained that people still living in the world, will have tribulation…John 16:33… “These things I have spoken to you, that inMe you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (NKJV)
I believe the second verse in the opening scripture, has Jesus teaching us that if believers would only abide in Him…and allow the Holy Spirit to teach them and continuously direct them…that they would find perpetual rest for their souls… Jesus already tells us that without abiding in Him, and Christ in us…we would not bear any fruit…
John 15:4… Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (NKJV)
And if a Christian proclaims that they “abide” in Christ…they ought to walk as Christ walked… The Apostle John teaches us this, in…1 John 2:6… He who says he abides in Him ought himself also towalk just as He walked. (NKJV)
In our Bible study last Friday evening, we discussed the idea of not going back to our old sinful ways, once we become a believer… We read about being yoked, in…Galatians 5:1… Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (NKJV)
Being yoked together, in Jesus’ time…was an expression used for oxen or horses…that meant being harnessed together to work as a team… Once the 2 animals were yoked together…they couldn’t be easily separated… The Apostle Paul is telling the Galatians, not to go back to their “yoke of bondage” they once had with Satan…
We as Christians were once in bondage with Satan, before those bonds were broken by our personal relationship with Christ… When Satan tempted us to sin…our yoke of bondage with him, made it hard to break away… The idea that Jesus presents to the Christian…to be yoked with Him…to abide in Him…to walk in step with Him, as He teaches us…is the only way the Christian will find the rest, and the perpetual peace, that God wants for all of His children…
Some Christians say living for Christ is too hard… That they will loose all of their freedom to do as they choose… I believe most of these Christians are still yoked to Satan, and the powerful bondage the world and its lusts use to keep the carnal Christian enslaved in sin… But living for the Lord should not be considered work, or a chore…
The Apostle John pens this, in his old age, in…1 John 5:3… For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (NKJV)
Anything Christians do for the Lord, should be because we love Him…Colossians 3:17… Reading our Bible (hopefully every day), should be a time to seek to learn more about the Lord…not something we do because we feel we have to… Going to church should be a time of joy and excitement…as Christians gather together to praise and worship the Lord…
When going to church is something done because we feel we are sinning if we miss church…or if church is a burden to the Christian…they might want to read Jesus’ warning about how self-righteous works done in the name of the Lord, won’t have sins forgiven… Jesus warns that people with these beliefs will be turned away from the gates of heaven, upon their death, in…Matthew 7:21-23… Here is the link for people believing in works-based salvation http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat7:21-23&version=NKJV
The idea of being yoked to Christ, where we are so obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, that we immediately respond to His urge to walk with Him…to learn from Him…and to do as the Holy Spirit urges us, instead of doing what we want…is what walking in the Spirit as a Spirit filled Christian is all about…Galatians 5:16…
So don’t look at living for the Lord, as something that will tie you down… Look at it as a means to keep you yoked with Christ… Walk in lockstep with Christ… Learn from Him… Never let Christ leave your side… And you will not only find rest for your soul…you will experience the love of Christ which passes our mortal knowledge (Ephesians 3:19-20)…a fullness of joy by the fullness of Christ (John 15:11)…and a supernatural peace that surpasses all of our understanding (Philippians 4:6-7)…that only being yoked to Christ will provide…
Heavenly Father, help all of us understand that being yoked to Your Son Jesus Christ, is the best possible situation we could ever find ourselves in… Help each and every one of us, Lord…to improve whatever area of our lives that is not pleasing to You… I pray for this Spiritual guidance, and this perfect peace for each and every one of us…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills
P.S. Here is a link for this most important days writing, about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…
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