Galatians 6:2,5 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ…For every man shall bear his own burdens.”

Those who would criticize the Bible and who try to find fault with it might see a contradiction in these two verses. This is not the case though, and with just a little study one can see the great truth that God has written here for us.

First, so that we can fully understand what Paul is say, we must take a closer look at the word burden in both verses. It will be noticed that the word in the original language for the word burden is different in both verses. In the first verse the word for burden carries with it the idea of “oppressive suffering” or “great weight” this is something that is too much for one person to bear. In the second verse the word for burden is a diminutive form of another word meaning “cargo” or burden”. Since it is the diminutive form, it carries the idea of a “small burden” or a “small cargo”.

Now that we have a better understanding of these two words what can we learn from these two verses, and how can we apply it to our lives?

There are burdens and pressures that come into a Christian’s life that are too much for one person to bear. These can come in all shapes and sizes and can range from financial to persecution to the death of a loved one. This would be a great weight to them, and might even be a weight that would “crush” them emotionally or spiritually. It is the duty of fellow Christians to come along side this burdened Christian during this time in their life and to bear their burden with them so that it is not too much for them.

There are burdens that come into a Christian’s life that are just the normal day to day things of life. These can be things like chores, work, fulfilling one’s responsibilities, and other things of this manner. It is the individual responsibility of the Christian to attend to their own tasks, and the normal issues of life, and to not try to get others to carry his work for him.

Let’s apply this to our lives starting today. If you see someone who is going through a hard time, and dealing with some big issues, come along side them and help them carry this heavy weight. Take responsibility for the tasks of your life and the day to day responsibilities you must fulfill.

~ Nate

(I am in the middle of classes right now. They are going quite well. I wanted to take a brief minute to share a word of encouragement)

John 10:26 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”

Do you know the Shepherd’s voice? Often we are so busy with the hustle and bustle of life that we are too busy, or there is too much noise and we do not hear the Shepherd’s voice. I think of the prophet who heard the “still small voice” of God. He was away from all the commotion of life. Do you ever take a minute to listen for God? Do you have a time when you “get away” so that God can speak to you? Take time today and every day to spend some time “away” with God in your devotions and prayer.

The Shepherd knows you! Even when we aren’t listening to the Shepherd he know us. Though we might not be listening to his instruction, and we might fall into some problems because of not listening to him, he is still there and knows us. What a comfort that God knows you and me on a personal level, he know the hairs on our head!

As mentioned above, we need to be listening for the voice of God. Only listening though won’t do us any good. Once God has given you instruction, you need to follow him! I have seen this with my own eyes. My dad was a “shepherd” and there was an instance when some people who didn’t work with the sheep every day were trying to move them from one place to another, they were having no success. My dad came over, who worked with the sheep everyday, and just started talking to them, they followed him, without any herding, because they knew his voice and trusted him. Do you know God’s voice? Do you follow him where he leads?

Listen for the voice of the Shepherd? He knows you better than you know yourself. Follow the voice of the Shepherd!

~ Nate

Jeremiah 18:4 “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”

When we receive Christ as Savior we become a new person. 2 Cor 5:17 ”Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Our sins are washed away, our mistakes are forgotten, we are a clean, fresh newborn in Christ.

After being a Christian for only a short period of time, the new Christian will realize that just because they got saved, doesn’t mean they are perfect. Though we endeavor to be holy, we still have the flesh. If we do not avoid temptation, if we do not have self-control we will fall into sin. Often when someone falls into sin, small or big, they think, or are told, that they can no longer be used of God. This is not true!

When you fall into sin, it does not mean that you are no longer useful to God. Though there are consequences for sin, and sometimes because of sin there are limitations to your future ministry, you are never useless to God. “So he made it again another vessel,” after we sin and get right with God, he can take your life and re-form your life into a model Christian life, and make you useful to his ministry. “As seemed good to the potter to make it,” God is not just making you a generic vessel, God has a specific design for your life, and though sin can limit what we can be used for sometimes, he still has a specific plan for you. He has a specific plan for you and he will form our life to work for that plan.

Whether or not you have fallen into “major” sin, you have sinned, and you need to allow God to re-form those mars, allow God to remake you. You are never useless before God if you get your life right with God and allow him to make you as it “seems good” to him to make you!

~ Nate

Luke 12:6-7  “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Sometimes life seems to be so overwhelming and so much seems to be happening to us that doesn’t make sense to us, that we can begin to wonder if God is even paying any attention to what is happening in our life. Yet, from these verses in Luke we can be reassured that God pays great attention to our lives.

The farthing that is mentioned here in our money today would be worth less than a cent. That is a pretty small and insignificant amount! Not only is that a small amount, but two of them was worth five sparrows. A sparrow was not of great value, yet God does not forget one of them. He pays attention to even a bird that we would subscribe very little monetary value.

God pays attention to every detail. Every hair on your and my head is numbered by God! That is how well God knows us and pays attention to us! Can you imagine if you loved one of your relatives so much that you knew everything about them even the number of hairs on their head? That would mean devoting a great deal of time and care to know that much about them, and this is who well God knows and pays attention to you.

God does not forget even one sparrow that is worth nothing by our standards, and Gods says that you and I are worth MANY sparrows! So, when life seems to have you down, and you are feeling insignificant, remember the sparrow! Remember that you are worth more to God than MANY sparrows that he does not forget!!!

~ Nate

Valentine’s Day! The Day of Love! This is a good day to talk about the ultimate gift of Love, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all humanity.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God SO loved the world! Can you imagine loving something, or someone, that is in complete opposition to you? How about loving them enough to send your son to die for those people? I find it hard to imagine loving someone who hated me, yet God did. God didn’t only love me, but he SO loved me. His love isn’t just a minute thing, but it is a great thing! He SO loved you and me!

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. There are many people who would be willing to give their life for family members. There are some people who would be willing to give their life for a friend. There are a few people who would be willing to give their life for a good person that they might not even know. There is none, or almost none, who would be willing to give their life for a bad person or criminal. Yet this is exactly what Christ did, he gave his life for all of humanity, who have blatantly sinned and become criminals in his presence. What might be even greater than that sacrifice is that of God the Father’s. Some people might be willing to sacrifice themselves for another person, but I doubt anyone would be willing to sacrifice their only child. This is the SO great Love that we see from God the Father, He “so loved the world,” that he was willing to sacrifice His son for the wretched souls of you and I.

Let’s not forget today, on this day of love, to thank God for his ultimate gift of Love!

~ Nate

Heb 13:5-6 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

There are times in life when it seems that everything and everyone is against you! It is in these times that we must lean on the everlasting arms of Christ! When I think of the promise that Christ will always be with us, I think of the Israelites when they left Egypt.

What a great step of faith this was on their part. They leave Egypt with no military power, setting out for a land that they will have to conquer, while leaving a land that might try (and did try) to conquer them again. Yet, they had God with them. He was with them when they left, and He was with them the entire trip. I think it was interesting that He did not make them just have faith that he was there, but He made his presence known. Though they did not see God in a human form and He did not always speak and say “Go this way” and was never vary far ahead of them, He WAS always there and always leading. This is true for our lives as well. We cannot point to a visible object and say, “see there God is, I know he is with me,” but He is always there and he tells us this in MANY different ways, from promises in the Bible to little good things that happen during the day. Often times he may not be speaking to us in an audible voice, or even giving us direction far in advance, yet he is always there, leading, protecting, guiding, and loving.

Live in rest and share the Good News, because God is with you!

~ Nate

In class the other day we were going over the children of Israel crossing Jordan into the Promised Land. One of the items discussed was the cessation of the manna that God had been providing. Josh 5:12 “And the manna ceased on the morning after they had eaten the old corn on the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more;  but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” This caused me to think about the greatness of God.

When the children of Israel had needed food God provided it for them. Shortly thereafter they had the opportunity to enter the Promised Land. You remember the story, they sent in 12 spies and 10 were bad and 2 were good. Because of the Israelite listening to the 10 bad spies and their distrust in God, they were punished by having to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness. This is where I saw the goodness of God, they were being punished for sin, and yet God was still providing for their daily needs. This applies far beyond the manna; the Bible also states that the clothes and shoes didn’t wear out. Deut 29:5 “And I have lad you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.”

There are times in your life and my life that we have had to be punished, and there will probably be times when we have to be punished for sins that we commit. Yet, we can rest assured that even though God must chasten us for our sins, He does not stop loving us, and He does not stop caring for us! He is our heavenly Father who is always doing what is best to train us up toward spiritual maturity!

One of my most favorite poems of all time is the poem “Footprints in the Sand.”  The last post I made led to this one, for as I was writing it and thinking about the leading and help of Christ, this poem came to mind. There are times in our life when everything seem too much, and when we look back at those times it may seem that we were all along. We MUST remember though, that that even though it seemed we were along, if we had been along we would not have made it! God is Good All the Time!

“Footprints”

~ Carolyn Carty

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

Heb 13:5 “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.“