Is There A Spiritual Easy Button?
Good Morning Friends,
People everywhere are looking for answers to the emptiness they feel inside. The answer is often made more complex than it need be. The Christian life is not that difficult. It is all about the next step. Scriptures shared with the Holy Spirit in Community makes things clear. They are a yoke to help keep us on the path and in the race. The question is how we will each respond. If we are uncertain about what the Master is asking of us, all we need to do is be obedient to that which we know, then we will be able to follow the next instruction. And so we ask hoping: Is There A Spiritual Easy Button?
Scripture: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
Matthew 11:30 (NRSV)
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:1-10 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
Romans 5:3 (NRSV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NRSV
Message: Our world is filled with unhappy and dissatisfied people seeking answers to the eternal question of how to live a complete life. Most think that if it were easy it would not be worth doing and in some ways they are right. Daily we are guided by the world in what seems right, but in the end produces death. We may well ask if the abundant life really exists. We hear message after message that we need to purchase the next thing to be happy, knowing even before we do that the joy of it will be short lived. It is here that we might just discover that there are some things we cannot buy…some things we cannot even steal. It is here when we discover, if we listen to our heart, that we are being called to possess the abundant life and all its wonderful qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, compassion, purity, humility, modesty, faith, character, wisdom, enthusiasm, dignity, optimism, confidence, honesty, and foremost a relationship with God. Here we discover that the abundant life is full of all the things money cannot buy. This is no illusion….no delusion. It is a separation to God and from evil….it is freedom found only in Christ and is found nowhere else. Friends, sometimes the abundant life is easy and sometimes it is hard so we will grow. If you are in Christ it is waiting for you now. God will not require more of you than you can take. Ask and it will be given to you in ways that are better than you can envision. Know the real sign of spiritual maturity is looking to God not for comfort and convenience but for purpose and perspective. So learn to be yoked with Jesus and you will experience a future better than the one you had imagined. It may not all be easy in the traditional sense but it can be joyous.
Pray we are inspired by those who have gone before. Pray we are prepared for the struggles that will come. Pray we fix our attention on the King…Jesus. Pray we keep on running the race that has been set before us. Pray we realize we are a team and the goal is for all to finish the race. Pray with praise and purpose that we pattern ourselves after Christ. Pray we share our love with others. Pray we accept the gift of the abundant life and share in the enjoyment with others. Pray we take the next step with Jesus. Pray we realize that the abundant life is not a life of comfort and ease in a worldly view but a journey of refinement that brings us to recognize that our joy is not dependent on outside circumstances. Pray we recognize, confess, develop and use our God given physical, mental, and spiritual abilities to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind. Pray we realize the importance of prayer on the journey. Pray we are prepared for the struggles that will come. Pray we have a purpose, perspective and
persistence that makes life abundant.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 