Who's In Charge Here? A Series on Authority
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
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My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, thank You this day for Your great love and mercy, which gives every person the hope of eternal life. I acknowledge that if I had to earn my way to heaven, that all would be lost for me, because I am not good enough. Even when I do my best, I fall far short of Your glorious standard of perfection as set forth in the Bible. I thank You right now, that Jesus paid the price for my sin, and offers me the gift of salvation through His victory over sin and death on the cross. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may live boldly and freely for You today and always. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Verses
Matthew 11:25-30
25Then Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. 26Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!
27“My Father has given me authority over everything. No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 28Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”
Reflecting on God's Word
What burdens are you carrying in your life right now? When are you going to hand them over to Jesus and take His “yoke” upon you in their place?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
For what does Jesus give thanks to God in today’s Scripture? (11:25-26)
According to Jesus who is really able to know God, the Father, and Jesus, the Son? (11:27)
What will Jesus take from those who come to Him? (11:28-30)
Understanding God's Purpose for Us
What does Jesus promise us in today’s Scripture?
What have you done with Jesus’ promise from this Scripture?
Applying God's Word to Our Purpose
What will you do today to claim this promise of Jesus?
Thoughts
Jesus promises us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light in our lives, and that we are free to exchange the heavy burdens of our lives for His lighter burden at any time! Why do we choose to carry heavy burdens of guilt, shame, sorrow and sin, when Jesus offers us a much lighter burden? The primary reason we don’t accept Jesus’ many offers that will make our lives abundantly better, is that in order to do so, we must come under His authority. While we would never say it this way, we would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven, as Dante put it in His Inferno. As long as we hold onto our burdens and seek to work through them ourselves we can pretend to have control. I say that we pretend to have control, because we have no ability even to determine we will have a next breath to breathe! Jesus doesn’t tell us that we will have no burdens if we turn to Him, only that His burden is lighter than ours will ever be. As we go about this day we have a choice to make—will we submit to Jesus’ authority and carry His light burden, or will we hold on to our own?