Light Burdens and Heavy Burdens

Jesus said to follow him, for "my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I'm sure some new Christians think, "yeah, right!" But what they might not consider, and what I often forget, is the yoke that I have left behind. Following Christ is not easy, but it is easier than dealing with the burden's of sin in this world.

I'm always reminded of the "swamp of despondence" (I think that's what it was called) in Pilgrim's Progress, where it was harder to move forward (towards Christ and the Celestial City) than to turn around and head back to the City of Destruction. Yes, the immediate decisions to follow Christ are harder, but ramifications of returning to the City of Destruction are infinitely harder on us, to the point of our spiritual death.

But, even without considering the eternal ramifications, the pragmatic impact of following / not following is so obvious. When we don't have Christ's yoke, we have another one, even if it's our own yoke, and they're all heavier. The cruel masters of drugs, pornography, sexual desire, anything that rules our lives, will all drag us down and exact terrible payment, even before our eventual spiritual demise without Christ.

Depending on Human Tradition

I've been looking for this verse for almost a year or more now. I consider it one of the foundational verses for the protestant Church, and as a massive nail in our reliance on Communism (and in some ways Capitalism) as the salvation for the world.

Colossians 2, verse 8 and on:

" See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. ...

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%202;&version=31;

-Ben

Longing for God in the Desert

Today's Bible verse (I've been using Bible gateway.com) was a Psalm of David about longing for God in a desert with no water. Since David was actually in a desert with no water at the time, this was more than a metaphor! But it seems that he was inspired by the conditions around him. He saw the connection between the water he so desired with his body, and the spiritual water that is God, to be desired by his soul.

A place to put important things

This blog is devoted to...devotions! That is, it is devoted to my spiritual lessons learned, and insights gained, through prayer, through sermons, my own philosophical and spiritual musings, and through living life.

Perhaps these things may help others in their walk of life, or perhaps they may get trodden down in the stampede of information that is our electronic way of life today (sorry, I guess that should be its own post).