Lay Down Your Burdens

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you  rest." - Matthew 11:28

     It seems like we all fight the same battles, day in, and day out, only to fall short each time. In Romans 7:15 we read, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." Isn't this so true? 

     According to Isaiah 59:1-2, we have all done wrong and gone astray, and the things we do wrong cause a separation between us and God. No one can bridge that gap by their own efforts. Jesus is the only way. On the Cross He took all our wrongdoing upon Himself (Isiah 53:6) and paid the price for our sins.

     Victory comes when we stop trying to gain it in our own strength. It comes when we lay our heavy burden at the foot of the Cross, turn our lives over to the Lord, and are willing to let the Holy Spirit take the lead. Only then can the process of transformation begin, for it is God "who works in us to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). All good things we have or become, whatever the world's explanation may be, are a result of His grace, and His grace alone.
      This past week, my husband and I were talking about burdens. How, sometimes, we carry burdens for so long, and they start to build up. What we fail to realize often times, is that God is there, to take our burdens. In Matthew 11:28-30, it says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
     We need to all remember this. We need to all come to the cross of Christ, give him our worries, pain, strife, needs, wants, concerns, and love. We need to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength... in doing this, we please the Father in Heaven. So, go to the Cross of Christ, lay down your burdens, and give your all in all to Him!

 Come As You Are:

Come out of sadness

From wherever you've been

Come broken hearted

Let rescue begin

Come find your mercy

Oh sinner come kneel

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up your face

Oh wanderer come home

You're not too far

So lay down your hurt

Lay down your heart

Come as you are

There's hope for the hopeless

And all those who've strayed

Come sit at the table

Come taste the grace

There's rest for the weary

Rest that endures

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't cure

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up your face

Oh wanderer come home

You're not too far

Lay down your hurt

Lay down your heart

Come as you are

Come as you are

Fall in his arms

Come as you are

There's joy for the morning

Oh sinner be still

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up your face

Oh wanderer come home

You're not too far

So lay down your hurt

Lay down your heart

Come as you are

Fear or Pride

This past Sunday, I was asked to play Piano for our Church Service. I politely agreed, and was extremely nervous, that I'd "mess up", and that people would laugh at that, and make fun of my "messing up", I started to turn selfish, and thinking thoughts about what people thought about "me". I started to realize, that it wasn't about me! This was all for God and about God!... or was it?! I was starting to make my Piano playing more about me playing, than about giving God the glory... no matter the outcome!

God was the one who gave me the gift to play Piano. It's up to me, to CHOOSE to give God the glory, and to play in honor and admonition of Him! God knows our hearts! He knows if we say, "To God be the Glory!", but our hearts say, "Yeah, I'm good at ____ " (fill in the blank) So often, we find ourselves in the trap of this world, and we fill our mind with pride. We may start out with fear... but it can easily turn into pride. That's what Satan comes to do... "... to steal, and to kill, and destroy..." (John 10:10)
So, after praying to God to give me a humble mind, and a heart full of Him, I showed up at church, ready to play... even if it meant that I might make a couple mistakes. But... when I asked if the Piano was hooked up yet, I saw a mom of 7 children getting ready to play Piano. To much of my astonishment, I was somewhat bummed... I was bummed that I spent all this last week preparing for worship, only to be early for church to find a mother playing Piano. It turned out there was a mis-communication, and I wasn't going to be playing for the month of June. :) I kind of chuckle at it now... little did I know what God was about to teach me! :)

The service started, and I felt at peace. At peace knowing that I was going to be blessed by the sermon, not having to worry about when to play and what to play. A peace knowing that God knew the whole time I wasn't going to be playing. A peace that passes all understanding!
I got to witness, this mother make some mistakes, and pretend, like nothing happened. I got to witness, that it's okay to mess up. People aren't going to laugh at you! I got to witness, that in the midst of playing Piano, you can still worship God! ...go figure, right?! God knew that I wouldn't be playing Piano yesterday, because I needed to learn a couple things! :) Wow! The things that God puts in our lives to teach us! So, yes, I had fear, and yes, I had pride. However, it's up to us, to repent of those sins, and to give God the glory He deserves! Forever may He be praised! :)

To live in Fear

All of us live in fear in one way or another.
I experienced the peace and hope that I have through Jesus Christ this past week when my friend came over. Her and I went out to her car to get something, when a man rolled down his window and said, "I'm the sheriff, I need you to get inside, now!"
We hurriedly walked inside, only to see 2 swat team cars full, a line of police cars, firetrucks, and paramedics all with guns. We closed our door, and locked our windows. We heard a police officer say from the megaphone, "Come out now, with your hands in the air! You house is surrounded!"
The Sheriff came knocking on our door about 30 minutes later and said, "Everything's fine now. You're safe."
We had known that our neighbor was an ex-convict from what he told us when they first moved in, and have always been very cautious about him the past year that they lived next to us.

After all the excitement had died down, my mom came and asked me, "Were you scared?"
but to be honest, besides the Sheriff yelling at me, I wasn't scared. I had a peace, and a hope that if I died, I would be with Christ.
What does it mean to live in fear?
Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary describes fear as: "Fear is an uneasiness of mind, upon the thought of future evil likely to befall us. To be in apprehension of evil; to be afraid; to feel anxiety on account of some expected evil."
Many people don't have the hope of Christ living in them. They live in fear on a day-to-day basis. They fear man, rather than God. It becomes "man-centered" rather than "God-centered".
I've posted some verses below that I thought would be helpful on the topic of fear.

Psalm 23:4

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Psalm 27:1

"The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 118:6

"The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Deuteronomy 31:6

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Psalm 56:3-4

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?"

Isaiah 41:10

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:13

"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."

1 Corinthians 16:13

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong."

1 John 4:18

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..."