An Easy Journey?

Matthew 11:28-30
"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 humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My burden is easy and My yoke is light."

I Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

Insight into the Christian life is knowing that God has our best interests at heart, and believing that. Jesus told his followers that they would have to die to themselves and follow Him to truly find life. That sounds like a pretty tough task to most of us. But He also indicated that when we do we would have every resource of our Heavenly Father on our side. In fact, Jesus told his disciples that yes, while they would have a burden to carry, it was easy and light. He even told them that if they carried His burden they would find rest for their souls! Paul seems to echo that truth when writing to the Corinthians buy pointing out that there is no trial or temptation that we may experience which is exclusive only to me. God does not wish to see us fail. He promises to give us a way out of temptation is we simply choose to take it. The toughest part about carrying our own burden is that we are all by ourselves with it. When we exchange our burdens for His burdens, we eventually find that He will help us carry His burden - we're no longer on our own.

Good Friday Indeed

Romans 5:6-8
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Isaiah 53:10
"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief."

Two thousand and some odd years ago, on what tradition says was a Friday, Jesus Christ endured the worst suffering that many of us could imagine. He was betrayed and abdoned by his closest family and friends. He was accused and convicted falsely before a corrupt justice system. He was beaten with whips that had glass shards in them, beard yanked out, punched, spit on, and forced to carry a huge wooded cross up hill, all while wearing a crown made out of thorns, and being mocked and cursed at by an angry crowd who was thrilled to see him die. A crowd who just days before had honored him as their own king. Then soldiers drove nails into his hands and feet - nailing him to the cross that he was unable even to carry the whole way to the top of this place they called Golgatha - or "the place of the skull." Finally he was hoisted up into the air nailed to the cross to suffer a death by what was actually asphyxiation - lack of oxygen. Being nailed to a cross at hands an feet one would have to put the pressure of their whole body on a single nail driven through their feet to give their lungs enough of a foundation to even breathe - something that would be excruciatingly painful, and after so many hours of doing even impossible.

Yet all of this was not even the real kicker. There were actually two other men there that day on their own crosses, next to Jesus. Their situations were not exactly the same, however. Yes, it was a common practice for men to die on a cross in that fashion during the days of Rome's rule. But the real kicker of this story is this: Jesus was innocent. He was perfect, sinless and blameless. And to top if off, when He suffered this death, He accepted the very penalty of sin iteself - something that literally billions of people who have lived since the dawn of mankind should have suffered. But Jesus paid it all. God laid the sins of every man on Jesus, His own Son, so that every man could become a member of God's own family.

Good Friday? For Jesus it must have been tough - in fact nearly impossible to call "good." For us - "good" can barely begin to describe it.

Jesus paid it all

All to Him I owe

Sin hath left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

(chorus from Jesus Paid It All - by Elvina Hall, 1865)

Thirsting For God

Psalm 42:1-2
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with my God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
While people say to me all day long, 'where is your God?'"

King David, perhaps the most prolific King in Israel's history, and a man God called "a man after My Own heart," suffered some incredible things. He also made some pretty big mistakes in his career. However, the redeeming quality in David's life was that He always knew where to turn - back to God. Even when others were saying "where is your God now, buddy?", David opened up his heart and cried out to Him. I'd like to encourage you to follow the example of a man who accomplished great things and made great mistakes, but whose greatest accolade is that He was a "man after God's own heart."

Psalm 62:5-7
"My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God."

Lamentations 3:22-24
"Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulmess.
'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul,
'Therefore I will hope in Him!'"