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| Yoked Bulls Image by Teodoro S Gruh |
Matthew 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.”
1 Corinthians 9:19
Though
I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win
as many as possible.
When we accept Jesus as both our Lord and Savior we are
saved (1 John 5:12). At that moment the
Holy Spirit comes into our hearts (1 Cor.9:19) and our obedience to the Holy Spirit’s leading brings about many benefits.
One of these is Joy (Gal 5:22). Joy can also flow as a result of spreading the Gospel and seeing people come to a saving faith in Christ (1Thess. 2:19).
When we are disobedient, the Holy Spirit does not leave (Eph.
4:30), rather we become more likely to sin (Gal 5:16). A Christian who continues to sin becomes
enmeshed in an ever downward sloping spiral of sin that consumes them and
everyone around them. At this point a
Christian looks a lot like any other person walking this earth. For more on this condition, check Here. We must choose to submit to the burdens of following God. There will be a burden, but there will also be joy.
This post is part of the April Christianwriters.com Blog Chain on the topic “Joy.” Check out all the Joy posts by clicking on the sidebar links.
This post is part of the April Christianwriters.com Blog Chain on the topic “Joy.” Check out all the Joy posts by clicking on the sidebar links.
Excellent points here. You said, "There will be a burden, but there will also be joy." This reminds me of Matthew 10:38-39, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." Thanks Mike. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sandi. Great verse. The idea of losing my life is scary, but I need to trust Him.
ReplyDeleteI liked that picture of the oxen. They look the way I feel some days. Peace and Blessings
ReplyDeleteIt's much better to focus on the joy than the burden. I liked the picture of the oxen, too. Jesus is the one standing up; I'm the slouchy one. (sigh)
ReplyDeleteWell said. Nobody ever said following Christ would be easy, but it is the only path to true JOY
ReplyDeleteThe oxen don't know any better. We do, so it is a choice. That is what God loves to see.
ReplyDeleteThe oxen are physically forced to obey. God gave us free will and wants us to shoulder the load on our own. We have a choice. The oxen don't. What we do with our choices is what's important!
ReplyDeleteFree will is a tough one to wrap our minds around. There are times I wish obedience was automatic and I could not choose to mess up my own life.
ReplyDeleteSpot on
ReplyDelete(Free will is a tough one to wrap our minds around. There are times I wish obedience was automatic and I could not choose to mess up my own life.)
me too but this just makes free will even more fantastic.
biiiiiiiig hug
Thanks Jack
ReplyDeleteThank you Mike for another wonderful post. We have so many benefits of following the Lord, much more than going our own way. The priceless gifts of the spirit are just a sample of our future. Love, joy, peace, patience - amazing gifts to get us to our destination. Peace and Blessings!
ReplyDelete"...sample of the future" well said.
DeleteAfter my mother's recent death, the Lord reminded me of that verse in Matthew. Thanks for bringing it to my attention once more.
ReplyDeleteI like that verse a lot, it has many very important concepts. Strangely I find it comforting when I am struggling to obey God. When I know that my Lord is gentle and humble it is easier to submit. Likewise I need to be a gentle and humble father and husband.
ReplyDeleteThe great thing about taking on the burden of Jesus is that it is much lighter than the burden we put on ourselves when we try to 'go it alone'.
ReplyDeleteGreat point Adam.
ReplyDeleteIt's taking me a while to catch up on the April blog posts; I just wanted to say Amen to what you've written here. Well stated, Michael.
ReplyDeleteThank you Traci
ReplyDelete