I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
When You Need Support
Everyone carries burdens, and the things we go through shape the way we view the world, and ourselves. But we weren’t meant to carry our burdens alone.
In fact, Jesus says to the people following Him—
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. … For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
A yoke is a heavy wooden beam that lies across a pair of oxen, evenly distributing the weight of the loads they carry. But the term was also used by Jewish Rabbis. “The yoke of the law” symbolized complete submission to God’s law, and Rabbis taught that becoming yoked to it would free the Jews from enslavement to the world.
Jesus is using a phrase that His Jewish followers would have easily understood, but then He flips the illustration. He tells the crowd that they must yoke themselves to Him—because He is the fulfillment of their law.
When they do this, the burdens they carry won’t be heavy at all—because He will bear the weight of their burdens.
Paul references this teaching in his letter to the Galatian Christians:
“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2 NLT
The law of Christ is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). But the only way we can fulfill the law of Christ is if we bind ourselves to Him. When we are yoked to Jesus, He becomes our source of strength.
He helps us endure hard situations and enables us to walk away from poor decisions. He fills us up with His love so that we can pour His love out onto others. He gives us the capacity to support other Christ-followers just like He supports us.
Just as Jesus bore our sins and suffering, we are called to bear the suffering of others. In this way, we show them the love of Christ and guide them toward Jesus.
Right now, spend a few minutes talking to God about the burdens you need help carrying, and then allow Him to show you the people in your life He wants you to support.
Undeserved Mercies
When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…
They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.
They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.
And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)
God’s ways ...
