I don't know why, but for some reason as time approaches to go HOME, I am getting more and more excited :)!! I think my body knows I need some quality time with my FAM.
I wanted to share a song with you that I came across on my itunes today, and wanted to share it with you:
SLOW DOWN
by Chasen
You see all of the pieces
But I see a life I can mold
You see a bunch of blank pages
But I see potential untold
Before you give up
Before your heart breaks
Open your eyes to this picture of grace, and just
CHORUS
Slow down take a breath in this moment
Leave all the worries you're carrying
Be still in the midst of this madness
Let go of all that you fear 'cause
I've already set your heart free
So leave all the changing to me
You see the doubt and the questions
But I see the wrestling with faith
You see someone worth nothing
But I see someone I can save
Before you give up
Before your heart breaks
Open your eyes to this picture of grace, and just
CHORUS
Life is a long road
So hard to follow
You feel like you'll never win
Just trust in my love
And let me take care of the rest
So you can begin
CHORUS
Sometimes I get caught up in the hustle and bustle of LIFE, and need to realize that I just need to "slow down" and enjoy the moment. I am sure you have heard of the saying, "Let go and let God"...this is definitely easier said than done, but WOW when we do this, what a relief and peace we get when we cast our cares upon the Lord.
1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Psalm 55:22 - Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
I came across this article below and wanted to share it with you ALL. I know it is pretty long, but it is worth the read for sure!!
"Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord"
By Dr. Harold Clayton
"Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
"Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
"Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
"My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
"Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
"And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
"Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
"I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
"Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
"Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
"Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
"For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
"But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
"We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
"Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
"As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.
"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
"God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
"He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
"The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
"But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee."–Ps. 55:1—23.
This is a world of burden-bearing. Sorrow and trouble come to all; they are not respecters of persons. The rich have their share of trouble as well as the poor.
"Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward."–Job 5:7.
"Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble."–Job 14:1.
"We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!"–Jer. 8:15.
Some have to carry heavier burdens than others. Some seem handicapped and frustrated at every turn of the road. Some have little conception of the hidden burdens that others are carrying. Many a breaking heart is hidden by a smiling face.
Often the deepest and the heaviest burdens that men and women carry are those not seen with the naked eye.
I. WHAT KIND OF BURDENS DO PEOPLE CARRY?
There are burdens that have to do with the home. To most of us, home is sweet; but not to everyone. In many homes there are poverty, sickness, sorrow and dislocation. There is the burden of unsaved children, or of a mother or father or husband or wife.
There are burdens that have to do with business responsibilities. Maybe where you work the people seem to be so wicked, so anti-God, so anti-Christ. All you hear all the day long is one filthy joke after another. People need to hear a word of encouragement on Wednesday night after fighting the Devil all day!
There are burdens in connection with the Lord’s work. Paul said, "Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches" (II Cor. 11:28).
You wonder how you are going to take care of all the financial obligations of your church and home. You wonder how to help all those backslidden folks. "Oh, how can I win more people to Jesus? How am I to handle all that criticism? How can I give enough time to my family and church–balance it all out?"
Many a young preacher works eight days a week. But when the church decides to run him off, the members totally forget that. I’ve never known a preacher yet who didn’t say, "If I had it to do over, I would spend more time with my family."
When it comes to the Lord’s work, you never arrive. Just about the time you think you have, there is something else to do. So do right by your family at the start because the work will always be waiting for you.
There are burdens that have to do with our friends. Our enemies don’t need to wear a sign saying, "I am your enemy!" We know who they are. It wasn’t an enemy that hated David; it was a friend.
"For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
"But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
"We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company."–Ps. 55:12—14.
We don’t make very many intimate friends in a lifetime, so the ones we have, we had better treat right. In old age intimate friends are hard to come by.
Then there are physical burdens. Paul said:
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure."–II Cor. 12:7.
Some have been sick for a long time. They wonder how much longer they can take it. Oh, all the physical burdens in our church!
There are also temperamental burdens, and sometimes these are the hardest to bear: fear, anxiety, worry, depression and even despair. Most of us have to
work on these burdens all the time.
There is the burden of the loss of a loved one: husband, wife, child or parent. You don’t know how you’re going to make it through this time.
What about the burden of disappointment? You didn’t get that new job, that new car, that new house.
Girls are disappointed they didn’t get that special boyfriend. Most girls think they are standing at the Last Chance Station. Let the ugliest boy come by and wink at them, and they fall all over themselves. Listen now! God has just the right person waiting for you.
I’ve heard girls say, "Boy, isn’t he cute?" May I make an announcement? There is no such thing as a cute boy. You call girls "cute," not boys. If someone came to me after the service and said, "Brother Clayton, you sure are cute!" I’d say, "Put ’em up right now!" Those are fighting words!
Young man, you may be disappointed that you didn’t get her as your girlfriend. Thank God you didn’t, if she wasn’t the one God had chosen for you.
II. THINGS WE SHOULD NOT DO BECAUSE OF OUR BURDENS
1. We are not to doubt God. "Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication" (Ps. 55:1).
How easily doubt assails when trouble comes upon us. But doubting God does not give us relief from our burdens. "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting" (I Tim. 2:8).
2. We are not to murmur and complain. "Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise" (Ps. 55:2).
There is a wonderful nugget in the Old Testament: "Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" (Lam. 3:39).
The Bible has quite a bit to say about murmuring, but little is being said against it today. The root of the word complain means "a blow"; the heart of the word complain is "a blow against God."
"Do all things without murmurings and disputings."–Phil. 2:14.
"Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer."–I Cor. 10:10.
Why is complaining so vicious in content today? Why is it such a blow against God?
First, because complaining is unmanly.
"Wherefore doth a living man complain…?"–Lam. 3:39.
"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."–I Cor. 16:13.
You are God’s creation. Grumbling and griping are unmanly. You are a man, an heir of salvation, saved by grace through faith. You are God’s workmanship, created in His image. And grumbling does not become your manliness.
There is something satanic about grumbling. It soils lips that should "offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually" (Heb. 13:15). It is totally impossible to have a revival at any church where the spirit of grumbling is prevalent.
Who am I to put the Almighty God under cross-examination? Am I in a better position than He to judge what is and is not good for me? How far can I see into the future? Who am I to strike out against God?
Listen! One disfigures his manhood when he whines and whimpers. Even in the torment and crucifixion, Jesus never allowed that to happen to Him. First Peter 2:23 says, "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." No wonder Pilate said, "Behold the man!"
Complaining is unmanly. God help me not to be a complainer because I want to be a man like Jesus.
Complaining is also ingratitude. Oh, how easily we forget God’s blessings! One day God blesses us; the next day we forget all about those blessings.
A politician met an old friend on the street and said, "I sure hope you’re going to vote for me."
The friend said, "No!"
The politician asked, "But was not it me who got your daughter a job when she graduated from high school? Wasn’t it me who helped you pay your hospital bill? So why don’t you vote for me?"
The friend replied, "Because you haven’t done anything for me recently."
Unfortunately, a lot of Christians are like that politician’s friend. We forget God’s blessings so quickly. Psalm 103:2 exhorts, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." "All his benefits" includes all His blessings. All ingratitude is un-lovely, but especially unlovely in Christians.
There is no relief from our burdens in complaining and self-pity.
3. We are not to despair in the midst of our burden. Despair will not lift one burden. David was in the depths of despair when he said: "My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me" (Ps. 55:4,5).
A desire to escape the burden will not help us in our burden-bearing. David pined, "Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness" (Ps. 55:6,7).
Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever looked out the window and watched the little birds and said, "Oh, if I could just wing like those little birds, I could fly away into the wilderness and get away from everybody and everything"?
There is one thing wrong with that: you don’t have wings. So you might as well face it. You cannot escape, and there is no relief from a burden by just wishing you could fly away from it.
III. WHAT ARE WE TO DO WITH OUR BURDENS?
We are told to do three things with our burdens: "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Ps. 55:22).
1. Accept the burden from the Lord. The word burden literally means "that which he hath given thee," or it can mean "gift."
Did you ever think of burdens as a trust from God? as a gift from God? That trial, that disappointment, that loss–is that God’s doing? Oh yes, dear child of God, He has permitted it. He has trusted you with it for a very wise and loving purpose.
If something comes from the Devil, it only comes with the Lord’s full permission. He allowed it; therefore, accept it from His hands. The Devil cannot do anything to us unless he gets a permit. That should make you feel better. Where is that found in the Bible?
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
"Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
"Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
"But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord."–Job 1:8—12.
Job was a wealthy man. But he lost everything–all of his possessions and his children.
It would be terrible if someone came to my door and said, "Brother Clayton, you have lost one of your children." But Job lost all of his, and all of his wealth in one grand swoop. Yet he said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord"!
But here is the key:
"I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
"Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."–Job 42:5,6.
No matter how much we have heard of God, our burdens make us see Him in a way that nothing else can.
In Psalm 55:19 David said, "God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God."
How slack we get sometimes, and how easily we forget Him and lift up ourselves when things go smoothly and there are no changes, no problems. Thank God for the changes and the problems because they help us see ourselves and God in a better way.
Your burden–whatever it is–will you accept it from the Lord? Will you take it from His dear hand as a way for you to know Him better?
2. Let the Lord carry the burden for you. Since the burden is too heavy for you, give it to the Lord to carry.
The word cast literally means "fling or hurl." It requires and denotes action and effort. "Fling" that burden upon the Lord! "Cast" that burden upon the Lord! Or as they say in Texas, "‘Chunk’ that burden upon the Lord!"
Daniel 6:16 tells us that they cast Daniel "into the den of lions." The king’s men got Daniel by the nape of the neck and flung him into the lions’ den. It took some action on their part, but they did it.
Jonah 1:15 tells us, "So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea." The sailors got Jonah by the nape of the neck, and they hurled him into the sea. It took some action on their part, but they did it.
Matthew 4:12 also uses that same word: "Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee." The guards got John by the nape of the neck, and they "chunked" him into prison. It took some action on their part, but they did it.
That word is found again in Revelation 20:10: "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone." Jesus is going to get the Devil by the nape of the neck and fling him into the lake of fire and brimstone. It will take some action on Jesus’ part, but He will do it.
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righ-teous to be moved" (Ps. 55:22). Hurl that burden upon the Lord! Fling that burden upon the Lord! "Chunk" that burden upon the Lord! It will take some action on your part, but you can do it! ‘Cast your burden upon the Lord!’
The Bible teaches that the Lord is the great Burden-bearer. His gracious words to the saints are: "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (I Pet. 5:7). How wonderful to know that Jesus cares!
3. Leave the burden with the Lord. In our weakness we may prove His strength and the all-sufficiency of His grace. Learn this lesson: we cannot, but He can!
Paul tells us that he had a heavy burden. He tells us from whom it came, why God permitted it, how he prayed for it to be removed, and what God said to him:
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
"For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."–II Cor. 12:7—10.
Your burden, whatever it is, will you cast it upon the Lord? It’s too heavy for you, so will you let Him carry it?
Once we have cast our burdens upon the Lord, He assumes full responsibility for the burdens for us, and He promises to sustain us and to uphold us. How wonderful this is!
He shall sustain thee and more: "He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved"–NEVER!
I like the old song that says, "Burdens are lifted at Calvary, Calvary, Calvary. Burdens are lifted at Calvary; Jesus is very near"!
I’ll never forget Brother Jack Holcomb, who lived in Waco, Texas. He is in Heaven now, but he was a great tenor. I don’t think he ever wrote a song, but he could pick up any songbook and start singing. He had a tear in his voice, but you could understand every word he sang. He would sing awhile, preach awhile, then go back to singing.
One time while at my church he told about his little girl. One night after supper, but still sitting at the kitchen table, his little girl somehow fell out of her high chair, hit her head on the floor, and died.
Before the funeral service, a tornado went through downtown Waco, killing many people and destroying many buildings, including the funeral home.
Brother Holcomb said, "When the storm passed by, I went down to the funeral home. In the midst of all that wreckage and debris, I couldn’t find my little girl’s body. I bowed my head and prayed, ‘O Lord God, please, I know my little girl is safe in the arms of Jesus, but I sure would like to bury her body. Would You help me find her?’
"While I was praying, the Lord impressed me to get in the car, drive to the cemetery out on Interstate 35. When I got there, hundreds of others were there. Caskets of people killed in the tornado were lined up. I walked down that long row of caskets and found my little girl."
As soon as he ended this story, he broke out singing:
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
If you trust and never doubt,
He will surely bring you out;
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
As soon as he finished that song, he started singing:
Singing I go along life’s road;
Praising the Lord! Praising the Lord!
Singing I go along life’s road,
For Jesus has lifted my load.
With all Brother Holcomb had been through, he trusted the Lord and kept on singing.
Sometimes we think we have it bad. But look around. You will see folks who have it a lot worse.
IV. WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR BURDEN?
I’m asking every Christian who hears me now: Whatever your burden is, will you cast it on the Lord? Find the altar and unload it. It’s too heavy for you, so let the Lord carry the weight of it.
I say to the unsaved: Jesus carried that burden of sin to the cross for you. All you have to do is claim your pardon tonight and ask Him to forgive you. Come to the altar and unload that burden of unforgiven sin and ask Jesus to save you, and He will. Be relieved of that burden once and for all.
Cast your burden upon the Lord. Let Him carry the load. It’s too heavy for you. Take the Lord at His word, believe that He meant what He said; then cast your burdens upon Him, knowing that He loves you and will lift that load.
What a wonderful verse of instruction the Lord has given us:
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."–Ps. 55:22.
P.S. I will post a few pics from the team function last night at the bottom of the blog.
Verse of the Day:
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."— John 14:6 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...I don't want to be any more exclusive than Jesus. But I do want to hear his voice. He calls me to find the way to the Father through him. I must also know that others must know him to find their way to the Father, too. How can we not be more passionate about those around us who do not really know Jesus as their Savior, Redeemer, Brother, and Lord? How can the first four books of our New Testament lie unread?
My Utmost For His Highest:
No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted. All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless.
Our Daily Bread:
When God gives us success in any area of our lives, let’s not forget the Source of our success. May we choose humility, for God gives grace to the humble.
Is thy heart right with God,
Washed in the crimson flood,
Cleansed and made holy, humble and lowly,
Right in the sight of God? —Hoffman
God lifts us high when we choose to live low.