Weekend Words

 From Our Daily Bread...

Quiet, Please - Read Luke 5:12-16

"Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." - Luke 5:16

Green Bank, West Virginia, is a tiny community in the rugged Appalachian Mountains.  The town resembles dozens of other small towns in the area - with one major exception.  None of the 142 residents have access to Wi-Fi.  This is to prevent interference from Wi-Fi or cellular phone towers near the Green Bank Observatory, whose telescope is constantly trained on the sky.  As a result, Green Bank is one of the most technologically quiet places in North America.

Sometimes quiet is the best environment for moving forward - especially in our relationship with God.  Jesus Himself modeled this by retreating to quiet, secluded places to talk with his Father.  In Luke 5:16 we read, "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."  Perhaps the key word there is often.  This was Christ's regular practice, and it sets the perfect example for us.  If the Creator of the universe was this aware of His dependence upon His Father, how much more do we need Him!

Retreating to a quiet place to be refreshed in God's presence equips us to go forward in His renewed strength.  Where can you find such a place today?

- Bill Crowder

What are some of the distractions that can interrupt your prayer times?  How can having a designated quiet place help you stay focused in prayer.

Father, sometimes the background noise of life in this world is deafening, pulling my attention away from You and hindering the time with You.  Help me find a place where I can come away from it all and simply enjoy Your wonderful presence.

From Be Still and Know...

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" - Galatians 6:2

One day I watched a small child piling up blocks, one on top of another.  Finally the tower of blocks became so high it toppled over.

In many of our lives today "towers of burdens" are building up.  The burdens pile one on top of another until we feel we can't bear another one without "toppling over."

God has given us the ministry of being Burden Bearers.  He said, "Bear ye one another's burdens."  Many are carrying heavy burdens, burdens of heartache, sorrow, disillusionment, frustration.  Yet often we become so wrapped up in our own little world we forget that there are people about us who need a friend, someone with whom they can share their heartaches.  The Living Bible (Galatians 6:2) says, "Share each other's troubles and problems, and so obey our Lord's command."

We need to put ourselves in their place, empathizing with them.  "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15).

Such love and concern for others is motivated in the heart indwelt by Christ and controlled by the Holy Spirit.  Paul wrote, "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves" (Romans 15:1).

Our great Burden Bearer, the Lord Jesus, invites us to bring our burdens to HIM.  "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and OVER BURDENED, and I will cause you to rest - I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls" (Matthew 11:28, Amplified).

Even though we may enter into the burdens of others, we are not to carry them, but bring them along with our own burdens to the great Burden Bearer.  "Casting the whole of your care - all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all - on Him; for He cares for you affectionately, and cares about you watchfully" (1 Peter 5:7 Amplified).

We should ask ourselves today, "Is there some burden I can ease, some load I can lighten for someone?

Find yourself 40 minutes, make yourself a cuppa, and sit down and watch this very interesting video...