Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

How often we get frustrated and beaten down by the challenges of life; whether we are trying to get ahead by working and going to school, a stay at home parent trying to keep children on track, house organized, spouse happy, and personal sanity, a single parent trying to provide for and raise children at the same time, one challenged by trama, addictions, or personal tragedies, an executive or professional with a hectic schedule competing with family priorities.

I think what Jesus was telling the crowd, and is trying to tell us, is to look to Him and place our confidence and faith in Him; He will help us have peace amidst life’s challenges.

Dear Lord, help us remember that You love us, like a caring parent with outstretched arms waiting for us to come and find comfort and security. In Your name we pray. Amen.

One of the primary tools of any magician or pickpocket is to get our attention focused on an object, and then use that object to draw our attention away from what is really happening.

A similar deception happened on occasion over the 2000 years of Christianity. Teachers begin with the message of the good news of Jesus Christ, but then they would focus on some peripheral idea and drift the emphasis away. Pretty soon the doctrine they were teaching did not resemble the Good News of Salvation from the Bible, at all.

Paul writes in Colossians 2:8, “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.”

There is an incredible amount of wisdom in the Bible, and we should be regularly reading, studying and meditating on the messages, but at the same time always remembering that the one message that is above all others is, as Paul wrote in Romans 3:22, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.”

Dear Lord, We know that we cannot make ourselves right with you. Our hope and salvation come from confessing our failure, and putting our faith in Jesus Christ, son of God, who takes away our sins and makes us right with God. Help us remember that all other messages should lead us back to this good news. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We all have seen people trying to find their joy in having more things, bigger parties, or more money, but I think most people would agree that what truly gives them joy, is doing something good, or doing something well. Something good, like making a positive difference in another’s life, or doing something well, like playing a great round of golf, mastering a piece of music, getting an A+, or the like.

An Indian Poet captured this idea in the following quote, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy, I woke and found that life was service, I acted, and behold, service is joy.” Rabidranath Tagore, (1861-1941)

A couple thousand years earlier, Solomon wrote, after using his unmatched resources to evaluate all life possibilities, in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Here is my final conclusion; Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.”

Doing our duty to God is what brings joy. Psalm 32:11 says, “So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!”

Simple thinking would tell us that “getting” is what makes us happy, but if we actually try both getting and giving, we find that giving, or as Jesus instructs us, “Loving our neighbor,” is what really provides us joy.

Dear Lord, you give us so much, help us appreciate those things you provide us, but as important, give us the wisdom to see that serving is where joy truly begins. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Does it ever seem to you like things in the world have gone crazy? The ridiculous things people do, the things that are considered acceptable behavior, the evil of some toward others?

Our time is not the first time people felt this was occurring, David writes in Psalm 11:3, “The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?”

But we know God is in control, as David continued in Psalm 11:4, “But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth.”

Proverbs 16:4 also says, “The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster.”

God remains in control, and his plan is playing out in our world.

Dear Lord, When we see things appear to be going so wrong in our world, it is difficult for us to understand how these things fit into your plan. Help us remember that we do not need to figure it all out, we only need to believe your word and trust in your protection. You remain in control and will never abandon us. For this we thank you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I am sure you have heard the expression “I’ll believe it when I see it.” That is the opposite of how we need to live as Christians.

The Bible tells us is that we have to believe before we can see. We must have faith described in Hebrews 11:1 as, “..confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” or as Hebrews 11:6 says, “..because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” and Psalms 27:13 says, “I would have been without hope if I had not believed that I would see the loving-kindness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Just like a builder does not start construction until he believes he will see his project complete. We need to believe in the promises God gives us, to answer our prayers, protect us, and guide us, and most of all forgive us, and then we will see these results.

Dear Lord, give us strength to believe before we can see. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.