Lay Your Burdens Down

Most of you will remember the song we all learned in Sunday school with the verse, "if your happy and you know it, say Amen".  The problem is that often we don't know how to be happy and so we are find ourselves living in misery.  Why is that?  Why can't we simply let go, and let God?  It is a question of surrender, our ability to surrender it all to him without picking it back up. 

God calls on us to lay our burdens down in Matthew 11:28; he makes it clear that if we are sick and tired of the burdens of life all we need to do is come to him and lay them down, and he will give us rest.  He will take those burdens and address them for us; he is able to supply our every need according to his riches and glory.  He wants us to cast our burdens upon him and he will sustain us.  

If you are feeling burdened, weary, and just ready to give up, then go before the Lord in prayer and surrender your burdens to him.  Ask him to take charge of them and to give you rest, believe that he will take care of them.  He will guide you the rest of the way ensuring that each of your burdens is resolved in accordance with his will for your life.  Trust God and lay your burdens down!  Just a little advice to go! 

Stop Chasing the Wind

Throughout life we are taught by our parents, family, and friends that life is all about being successful. We should go to school and learn all we can to pursue a profession worthy of celebration.  Some of us learn early on that these pursuits should be guided by the wisdom of God's word and the vision He implants within our hearts.  Unfortunatley, life's circumstances often result in God's vision becoming distorted and vague.  We forget that pursuing our relationship with him should always supercede our own selfishness.

At some point we all have to address the question regarding whether our pursuits have aligned with God's plan or not. Will we find ourselves thinking all we have accomplished is meaningless? Will we find ourselves alone, unhappy, and separated from our heavenly father, chasing the wind? The scripture warns us not to make this mistake in Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 verse 11 where it states:

"But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere."

Let us not fall into the trap of chasing the wind, that which is meaningless, but instead focus on aligning our decisions and pursuits with God's will. Through his word, prayer, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can discern his will and achieve the success he intended.  Then and only then, can we truly proclaim we are doing the work God has called us to do!  Just a little advice to go!

Let It Go!

In this sinful world where the enemy often prevails and persists in reeking havoc, we must be prepared to prevent the enemy's attacks from become defining moments.  We cannot allow the difficult times to pierce the peace within us which is fostered by the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirt. The Spirit enables us to reject fear, worry, and the preoccupation with what could go wrong.  The fruits of the Spirit remind us to love unconditionally, to rejoice always, to be at peace, to be patient, to be kind, to be good, to be faithful, to be gentle, and to be self-controlled.  These gifts prepare us for difficult times, reminding us we can handle whatever may come our way.  So when you feel the enemy is messing with you, first rejoice in the Lord and then, LET IT GO!  Just a little advice to go!

Waiting and Receiving Your Miracle, What to do!

This week’s devotional is based on a sermon by Dr. Samuel Chand, author of the book Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth.  His message was derived from the book of Mark, Chapter 5, Verses 21-43; the account of the synagogue leader Jairus and his 12 year old daughter.  Please read the scriptures first as they give meaning to his message and his six principles for waiting and receiving your miracle.  Here they are:

1. Be Not Afraid-Verse 36
Regardless of the storm you are enduring Jesus tells us, like he told Jairus, be not afraid.  Do not live in a spirit of fear, but in a spirit of courage.  Courage comes through the grace of God and the fortification of the Holy Spirit.

2. Just Believe-Verse 36
When things go drastically wrong as it did in Jairus' case, his daughter having died before Jesus' arrival, you need to Just Believe.  Believe and know that Jesus is a God of miracles and that his is the  same yesterday, today and forever more.  He can make the impossible, possible!

3. Surround Yourself With Positive People-Verse 37
When the challenges come, you need believers, prayers, overcomers, testifiers, witnesses, fortifiers, uplifters, and victors.   Surround yourself with people who know that God is capable of making the miracle happen.

4. Kick Out the Negative People From Your Life-Verses 39-40
Surrounding yourself with positive people is not enough, you also need to kick out the negative naysayers who have nothing good to say.  They will weigh you down and take away from the blessing and miracles God has for your life.  Kick Them Out, in the name of Jesus!

5. Speak Life to Your Situation-Verse 41
Anyone can speak death to a situation, as believers we need to speak life into the situation, remembering that in Christ all things are possible.  Speak it into existence knowing that your heavenly Father hears you and responds.

6. Feed Your Miracle-Verses 42-43
The way to feed your miracle is not just to talk about it or celebrate it, but to make sure that you help someone else with their miracle.  Be the person God uses to make the miracle happen for someone else.  If God blessed you with a job, help them find a job or give them a job.  If you overcame a sickness, help someone else overcome their sickness through prayer, transportation, and any other necessary means.  If you are blessed with extra cash, then use a portion of the cash to bless another person and help them receive their miracle.  Thank God for the miracle he delivered to you and let Him lead you as he works to make other miracles happen!

Just a little advice to go!

Don't Dream Alone!

We all have dreams and aspirations for the future, dreams of blessings and successes we imagine will be part of our future lives.  When we dream alone, those dreams often change or fail to come to fruition for one reason or another.  Dreaming alone without Gods insights presents an unnecessary challenge towards the fulfillment of those dreams.  Stop dreaming alone, and incorporate God into your dreams as you plan for your future.  Take the time to speak to him about your dreams and how they align with the dreams and hopes God has for your life.

Time has taught me to align my dreams with his and to not move forward blindly in pursuit of what I believe is best without first seeking direction from my Heavenly Father.  When I am patient, pray, listen, and wait for certain indicators on which direction to move, I find myself aligned with his will; moving forward in the right direction.  Don't dream alone, dream with the Lord!  Just a little advice to go!

Stepup From That Setback!

Sometimes we encounter setbacks and become discouraged wondering why, despite our efforts to serve the Lord, we have encountered this difficult situation.  We get caught up in the turmoil of the situation and lose sight of the reality of God's plan for our lives.  His plan does not preclude setbacks, but ensures the setbacks we encounter can turn into opportunities to step up to his blessings.

The enemy creates the obstacles that lead to the setbacks we experience; all we need to do is trust God and recognize that today's setback is just an opportunity to for us to step up to his blessings! Just a little advice to go!

The Resurrection of Christ

1 Corinthians Chapter 15: 1-10
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.   After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.   Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.  For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

How awesome that Christ achieved what is humanly impossible, the resurrection.  In the book of Matthew 20:17-19, he shared this would happen:

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

Wow!  What more can I say, Christ came to share the message of God's plan for our salvation, to die a painful death on the cross, and to rise up from death.  His death and resurrection provides each of us the opportunity to repent, accept Him as our Lord and Savior, and live eternally in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  All that is required is faith and a simple prayer, will you pray it with me?

Prayer of Salvation
Father I know that I have sinned and am separated from you.  I am sorry and want to turn away from living in sin, so I can live for you.  Forgive me Father and know that I accept Jesus Christ as your son and my savior, that I recognize He died and rose up from death so my sins would be forgiven and surrender my life to him, now and forever.  Amen

Praise the Lord and welcome to the family; find a good Bible based church, make new friends, and love the Lord!  Just a little advice to go!