Devotional Song: Go to this link – Once again today I lead you to the same song from yesterday’s devotional, a video of Sara Groves singing … It’s Going To Be Alright, reminding us that even when we take on too much in life, usually from pride, God’s promise is that He will be with us, and we can bring our load to Him for His strength.
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Highlight Passage #1 – NKJV: 1st Peter 5: 6-7 … Go to this link [NKJV] … [Can we have such faith when things are going bad? ] …
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
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Highlight Context - NKJV: 1st Peter 5: 5-11… GO TO THIS LINK …
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Reference Passage #1: Deuteronomy 31: 7-8 … Go to this link [NKJV] … [Handling too much can get us off track at times!] …
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
Reference Passage #2: Luke 9: 23 … Go to this link [NKJV] … [How often do I need to read this to let it guide my life? ] …
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me ….”
Reference Passage #3: Matthew 11: 28-30 … Go to this link [NKJV] … [He’ll keep us on keel … IF … we let Him help us carry the load.] …
28 “… Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Reference Passage #1: 1st Corinthians 10: 13 … Go to this link [NKJV] … [God’s not going to allow the sea-going Christian to enter the rough waters of life without a “load-line” of conviction to help the believer to handle the seas of temptation or troubles.] …
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
My Journal for Today: From my Our Daily Bread devotional today, I was reminded of a helpful word picture for us to apply in our lives. The picture, which the attached photo captures, is of the “load-line” on cargo ships, which is put on the hulls of large cargo vessels to show when the ship is overloaded, i.e., drafting too much cargo, making it unsafe for rough seas. That practice began in 1875 when Britain passed a law that all large vessels had to have “load-lines” to help protect the ship from overloading and therefore becoming unsafe on the open seas in violent storms.
And it doesn’t take an experienced ship captain or a biblical scholar to see the application of this word picture in the lives of Christians, especially when one takes in all of the passages above which I’ve referenced for my fellow readers. So, I’ll not burden any co-seeker here with my wordy interpretations or application helpers. I’m sure it’s obvious to you that the publishers of Our Daily Bread desire that we know that we have a “load-line” on us, as vessels of God’s purpose in life; and we mustn’t take on too much of a load of “to-dos” without becoming unsafe when we hit the rough waters and storms of life.
So, let’s all take note of the “load-line” which the Holy Spirit puts on us, letting us know by conviction when we become overloaded; and when we see that overload, we must do what Jesus commanded and bring the load to Him so that He can help us carry the load in life, especially through the storms (see especially Matt. 11: 28-30 above).
My Prayer for Today … Lord, show me when I let pride get me overloaded; and help me carry the load through the rough seas of life. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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