Embrace my yoke and you will find the peace you crave for

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves."  (Matthew 11: 29)

What is this yoke of Christ to which He invites us?

Below is the yoke of Christ.  It is also called the Beatitudes:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.h Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  (Matthew 5: 3 - 12)

The beatitudes reflect the character of Jesus Christ. This is who He is.  This is how He lived.

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11: 30)

What makes the yoke easy and the burden light is grace.  The grace of God makes easy what is most difficult and revolting to nature.  It makes light what is most burdensome.  This is the secret of the saints.  Saints suffer imprisonment, persecution and even death because they have the grace of God to help them.  Without this grace, it is impossible for human nature to embrace these crosses.

Jesus Christ has promised us His grace if we embrace Him and His teaching.  With His grace on our side, all things become possible.  With our daily bread of this grace given at the beginning of each day, we are equipped to live fully for Christ in these areas of human struggle:  health, family, finances, job, tools, food and future.  Lord, give me this day my daily bread of your grace.  Amen!

If the Lord is my Good Shepherd, then I have everything I need

"The LORD is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack."  (Psalm 23: 1)

If the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not lack food, clothing, shelter and rest.  In truth, I shall have everything I need.  What is my experience?  My good shepherd has provided all that I need beyond my wildest expectations.

My Good Shepherd says to me:  "Fear is useless; what is needed is trust."  (Luke 8:50)  He also says to me:  "But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides."  (Matthew 6: 33)  It grieves my heart that although not a single word of His promises has failed me, I still fear, worry and doubt.

"Why are you downcast, my soul;
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God."  (Psalm 42: 6)

We are children of God here and now

"See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."  (1 John 3: 1)

Thank you Father for this immense privilege.  
Our response to God's love is in direct proportion of our awareness of His love for us.  Since this is true Father, grant me the grace to be fully aware of your love for me.  Grant me also the courage to respond fully.

The Lord is trustworthy in all His promises

"The LORD is trustworthy in all his words,
and loving in all his works."  (Psalm 145: 13)

This one thing I know for certainty:  The Lord is trustworthy in all His promises.  Today, I celebrate 5857 days of the Lord's faithfulness in the Enterprise.  From 1/5857 day, the Lord manifested His faithfulness one day at a time. His performance has exceeded  expectations in every area.  The one big area which has not been resolved is a WAIT situation and not a NO situation.  Thank you Jesus!  I will trust you everyday.  I will surrender every new day to your loving providence my: health, family, finances, job, tools, food and future.

"Today, as you see, I am going the way of all the earth. So now acknowledge with your whole heart and soul that not one of all the promises the LORD, your God, made concerning you has failed. Every one has come true for you; not one has failed."  (Joshua 23: 14)

Most fortunate are all who fear the Lord

"Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
and who walk in his ways.
What your hands provide you will enjoy;
you will be blessed and prosper."  (Psalm 128: 1 - 2)

There are two ways to fear the Lord:
You fear offending the Lord because of punishment.  You may also fear offending Him because He may withhold His blessings.
You may fear the Lord because you are keenly aware of His love and kindness towards you.  We call this reverential fear.

Both types of fear correspond to the human analogy of stick and carrot.
Fear the Lord, the Bible screams from every page.  It is not just good to fear the Lord.  Great blessings are attached to fearing the Lord.  The word of God declares you happy and very fortunate if you fear the Lord.  The Bible also teaches that it is not difficult to obey the commandments.  They are not burdensome especially when we consider that they come from a loving Father.

Let us fear the Lord.

Be kind and compassionate to one another

"[And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ."  (Ephesians 4: 32)

Lord, you have been most kind, most compassionate to me.  You have not only forgiven all my sins but you have done much more:  You have wiped out the record of my sins and freed me from all guilt.  I acknowledge all this freely.  I do not consider myself an ungrateful man.  I want to do what you ask me to do as a show of my profound gratitude to you.  But if I fail, O Great God, it is not because of ingratitude.  It may be because of forgetfulness at the material time and my human weakness.  This is why I pray O Lord.  Grant me your grace at the time of need to remember what you have done for me and to act as you expect me to act.  Amen.

"But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift."  (Ephesians 4: 7)

Lord, let me see

"Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way."  (Mark 10: 51 52)

"What do you want me to do for you, Emmanuel?"
Lord, let me see my present circumstances as you see them.
Let me see my health, my family, my finances, my job, my tools, food and future as you see them.

"Grant me Lord the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.  Amen."