Right now, I’m really loving the little “Our Daily Bread” devotionals. The little devotional bit is generally pretty good and the varied Bible passages that go along with it are the best.

In today’s:

If you find that Christianity exhausts you, draining you of your energy, then you are practicing religion rather than enjoying a relationship with Jesus Christ. Your walk with the Lord will not make you weary; it will invigorate you, restore your strength, and energize your life.

And the passage today was Matthew 11:25-30. This week has been turning into a bit of a frenzy for me, and of course, this is exactly what I needed. Jesus said his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. So that means when I feel like the burden is heavy, I’ve stopped sharing the yoke with him, or am trying to move out of his rhythm.

If you’re familiar with the yoke, it’s a ridged piece of wood that sits on top of the shoulders of two oxen side by side. It’s easy to imagine how difficult it would be if one of the oxen was trying to move faster or a different direction. So difficult that it’s impossible. I like to think God’s grace works that way. I share a yoke with Jesus, and he’ll not let me get too far ahead or break off to the side… Instead, life just gets difficult, and he bares as much of the burden when I’m fighting him as I do. Maybe more.

The best and easiest thing is to nestle back into Jesus’ rhythm. It doesn’t mean the work is over, but that it’s light and easy, and most importantly, I can bare it. So that’s what I’m going for today. 

There’s more good stuff along those lines in the ODB for today, so feel free to read it if you need the same encouragement.

Happy hump day team. :)

My quiet time brought me to Psalm 51 this morning, and I think it’s possible this is the most CR passage in the Bible and covers just about all 12 steps. Well maybe not the most, but it’s amazing to read the words of a powerful warrior king, out of denial, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.”

Granted, he had just been caught in a terrible scandal, cheating with Bathsheba, & eventually killing her husband to cover up the result of his sin, her pregnancy. This is the same David, the “man after God’s own heart”. Ouch. 

I also have prayed verse 10 so many times in my life, “thanks” to my struggle with sexual addiction. And I believe that he has restored my heart — to a degree where verses 13-15 are where I’m trying to live now. And if I ever relapse (please God forbid), verse 10 is where I’ll be again. 

And he finishes the thought with “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” – Psalm 51:16-17 NIV

I’m so grateful that we serve a God of grace. Even in the Old Testament, with the Law, He desired our humility and contrite hearts (James 4:6/Proverbs 3:34) over our sacrifices. 

Check out Psalm 51 if you haven’t read it in a while. 

This morning’s “Our Daily Bread” really hit me, and I wanted to share the encouragement with you. You can read it here.

The passage is Galatians 6:1-10, and verse 9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

It’s so easy to get weary, because we’re humans, and us humans are messy. And at CR, we go so far as to say, let’s remove the mask that covers the mess… So, what i’m trying to say is, CR can and will be extra messy, but it’s that mess that Jesus takes, cleans up, and turns into a shining masterpiece only possible by his craftsmanship. If we don’t give up, we’ll see a harvest being reaped which was fertilized by the … ahem… manure… which is our messes. I love you guys, and I’m excited for the future, and I hope you are too.