The word for today is - Yoke !

The word for today is - Yoke !

Let's read Deuteronomy28: 1-4, And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. Jesus has set us free from the yoke, we just need to come to him and cast our heavy burden on him. And he will give the rest for our souls.When he said his Yoke was Easy and his Burden Light? Yes, it's from everything that is heavy.The good news is that Jesus promises to all that come to him that he will give them rest. Rest from what? Rest from the heavy burden of trying to earn one’s way into heaven. Rest from the oppressive yoke of self-righteousness and legalism. Jesus encourages those who are “heavy laden” to take his yoke upon them and in so doing they will find rest for their souls. The yoke of Jesus is the yoke of repentance and faith followed by a singular commitment to follow him. As the Apostle John says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” read 1 John chapter 5. What makes Jesus’ yoke easy and his burden light is that in Jesus’ active obedience ( his perfect fulfillment of the Law of God), he carried the burden that we were meant to carry. His perfect obedience is applied (imputed) to us through faith. Our obedience to Jesus then becomes our “spiritual worship.” Furthermore, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who works in our lives to make us into the image of Christ, if this doesn’t make the yoke of Jesus easy and his burden light, I don’t know what else does. The life lived by faith is a much lighter yoke, a much easier burden, to carry than the heavy and burdensome yoke of self-righteousness. Jesus thanks God our Father for hiding these things from the way of the worldly ways of seeing and thinking,that may seem like an odd thing to be thankful for; especially seeing as Jesus came to “seek and save the lost” read Luke chapter19. It’s almost as if Jesus is ok with people remaining lost. Not true, the bible reveals God's plan is to reconcile all things to himself and to bring all things together in unity under one head, the God Head. Furthermore, the bible says God desires and will is for all people to be saved, and the bible also says God does everything He desires and His will shall not be thwarted. You have to understand this first,He doesn't force anyone to spend eternity with Him. So, all must freely make the choice to seek after Him or reject Him.Now, He knows your choice before you make it. God wants all people to be saved and none to perish. Read Matthew 26:52,Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? Also read, Matthew 11:28-30,Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Because Israel would not serve God, He judged them and they became slaves to men. God brought them into having the yoke of slavery on them again. They would then be obligated to serve their enemies in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, wearing an iron yoke” read Deuteronomy 28:48-51, Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. Thank you Lord for your word. Amen !