January 31 – Side By Side Together

“Come to me, all 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.”   Matthew 11:28-30  (ESV)

God knows very well that His children face times when they are over burdened and tired.  He provides rest and help and encourages us to go to Him for help.  We can be certain that in this day where we live, being a true follower of Jesus Christ is going to cost something.  For some in the world it has always cost a great deal but for others it has been easy to claim to be a Christian.  But that is changing and Jesus knows that for each of us, if we follow Him that we will face challenges and He wants to help us.  He wants us to come along side of Him and He will give us rest.  This is a call to a life of following Jesus Christ who gave His life and died in our place so that we can have eternal life.  If we truly believe and have the faith to receive forgiveness, we will find that the task is not as difficult as it appears.  He is beside us helping us and strengthening us in all things. 

#-#-#

September 9 – Rich In Delight

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” Isaiah 55:2 (ESV)

Our selected verse today poses questions for us to consider.  The last part of this verse makes it clear that it is not about food that we eat to keep our bodies alive. It is about spiritual food which makes our faith strong and our souls happy.  Just as our physical self has needs that must be met for us to stay healthy and strong, so it is with our spiritual self.  Our spiritual self was dead and for those who have accepted Jesus Christ our spirit is alive only because of the new life we have in Jesus.  We are therefore, reminded here that we have spiritual needs which only our God can satisfy.  God invites us here and in many other places in the Bible to look to Him and to allow Him to satisfy our spiritual hunger and thirst.  He wants us to spend time reading His Word trusting His promises and then obeying what He teaches us.

# # #

September 3 – Labor, Worthy or Worthless

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)

Even though the day we call Labor Day in the United States is considered a holiday for people to not work, we can think of it as a reminder of the part of life that we call 'Labor'.  You have likely heard the verse that we have selected for today and you perhaps know that it comes at the end of a chapter about the resurrection.  So the promise of our verse is about the day when our work on earth will be over.  Yes, there will be a day when we are in heaven with God our Father.  God will reward His people for what they have done for Him here on earth.  Let's not forget friends that God knows what we do for His sake and He has promised to reward us accordingly.  Is our work today going to be worthy of a reward?  This is the question the apostle Paul was asking and encouraging us to be always abounding in the work of the Lord so that our labor will not be worthy and not worthless when that day come. 

# # #

August 12

“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” Isaiah 55:2 (NIV)

God wants His people to live lives that satisfy, truly fulfilled lives. And He knows that true satisfaction is spiritual satisfaction. He wants our soul to be delighted, our spiritual needs to be fulfilled. And He explains how this comes about. He says, “Listen, listen to me” How do we do that? God has spoken and His Word is recorded for us. If we want to live fulfilled lives and have our spiritual needs met, let us pay attention to what God says in His Word. Let's listen to Him.

March 9

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”  Psalm 127:1 (NIV)

We are not always aware of how important it is to recognize the involvement of our God in our activities. This verse picks our two projects in which God is involved, the building of a house and the protection of a city. These are important projects, big projects. But how about smaller projects, the kind you and I are apt to be concerned about? Actually what our verse tells us is that we make a mistake when we think we can get along without God’s help. We need to look to Him and rely on Him to help us no matter what we try to do, even in the little projects we are thinking of doing today.