Verse of the Day: But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.—1 Corinthians 12:18
Memory of the Month: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Today's reading: LEVITICUS 26-27 MARK 2
'The Bothers'
As children on the creek we played many hours pretending to be things we thought of. Cowboys, Indians, explorers, astronauts, builders, and chemists were a few. We were great hunters in far off lands where we encountered animals of diverse characters and behaviors. We really caught a lot of 'crawfish' and small perch in that creek and went home with the mud of foreign lands all over us.
One of the things small children like us did not contemplate were the worries and burdens of adult life. We did not think about what love was to be to each of us individually because it just was not a bother. It was not a bother?
As adults we take on the 'bothers'. Love and hurt or pain and treatment or bills and payment. We wanted to be firemen or nurses or businessmen and women but we never knew what all that would bring.
What bothers you? Stop and think and define these well because I want us all to consider something. Consider a time without any pressure from 'the bothers'. It is extremely hard to do. But think back to a time before the bothers set in. It was a time that is set apart for children of that freedom.
What happened to that freedom? Sin happened and separated us from a life of weightlessness. Some call it the age of accountability-when we realize we are responsible for our actions. Whatever your definition, now we all know the weight of bother.
Is there any hope of regaining this freedom. Of course. Jesus died for that freedom-for our freedom. He died that our joy would be full. Not just a partial thing but freedom in its entirety. Some would argue that only in Heaven is this to be our reality and yes this is true. But I want us to go back and grab our childhood imagination and stop for a minute. Close your eyes and let go 'the bothers' and remember the free-floating existence of our earliest memories.
This does not have to only exist in our imaginations. Let go of the negative and please do not argue if only for a split second. God loves you more than you know-more than anyone on this earth has ever, does, or will ever and He is our peace.
The world and all it offers creates in us a wall of hostility that separates us from peace and God has provided destruction for that wall.
Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.
Peace is the character of God and the Holy Spirit comes to destroy the effects 'the bothers' have on us.
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
'The bothers' are the yoke of slavery and Christ sets us free from all-every bit-all that bothers us-not just part but all.
The longer we live the more peace and joy become so precious. Once we have experienced just a little it is impossible to not want it for those we love. If we love our neighbors, it is impossible for us not to want it for them.
That is the big 'ONCE'. It is only a reality if we back off and let go of our grasp of 'the bothers' and let God have free reign in our lives so we finally rest easy in Him by His power and love.
What will it take for you to sit at God's feet and feel weightless and free? To sit and completely empty your mind in divine safety where your mind cannot be 'hacked' by the world is the freedom Jesus died for and the freedom He so desires for you.
It seems that the delete button is hidden or at least is a far reach on some keyboards and so is the delete button for many of us in our lives. First we have to want to delete a 'bother' and then we have to know it can be deleted. We must then want whatever it is to be gone so badly that we reach for and press the button. We have to confess it and walk away.
God in all His glory wants your joy to be full and wants you to live in His freedom. We hear so much of 'hell on earth'. Jesus came and said, "The kingdom of Heaven is in our midst", Luke 17:21. Paul said, " For in him we live and move and have our being", Acts 17:28.
Heaven is right in the middle of us where we live. It is time we stopped this crazy life of being bothered by everything. Get in front of God in humility and live His weightless freedom and be His child.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
I confess I worry about a lot of junk. Forgive me for not living in Your reality for me. Teach me how to live hands and worry free.
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