Linked With Jesus

King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Linked With Jesus
Date: Sunday August 21, 2011
Chapters: Jeremiah 25-27, Proverb 21, Psalm 72
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-august-21

Hello My Friend/Guest,

“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 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.” - Matthew 11:25-30.

The yoke Jesus describes here is like a chain, a link between two people, a husband and wife are linked in marriage, a child is linked to their parents. When you ask Jesus to save you, you are linked with Jesus and since Jesus is linked with God, you are linked with God also. No matter what we do we can not detach ourselves from the link, but think about this. Have you ever seen a dog that is on a leash refuse to walk with it's master, it just sits there as you tug at the leash, refusing to move? Well, we can get that way too, we are to walk side by side with Jesus, but more often than we think we just sit there, refusing to move. Why? We try to carry our burdens ourselves instead of letting Jesus help us. He is right there with us, yet day by day we struggle, refusing to heed His tugging to just come along with Him. You know, God does not want us to suffer, of course, He is going to try us sometimes, but we all have a choice whether we choose to embrace the suffering as a way to lessen our burdens or rebel and make things worse by creating more.

God gave the people of Judah one last chance to repent before Jerusalem was to be destroyed. He did not say that He was not going to stop the destruction, but He did say that all who repent will endure the suffering and be saved. However, they refused to listen and now they are hearing for the first time what is about to happen to Judah.

“Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” - Jeremiah 25:7-11.

God is about to use a wicked king from a wicked nation to serve Him and save His people, for seventy years the people of Judah and Jerusalem would be held in captivity to Babylon. Let me tell you, if God sent the faithful Jews into a wicked nation for safety can you imagine how wicked the city of God was? It must have been pretty wicked if God was willing to destroy the promised land before another corrupt nation. Sometimes it may seem strange and unfair what God allows us to go through, but He really knows what is best for us. While we may not understand at the time, He works all burdens and suffering into something for our own good. “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:27,28.



After Jeremiah got done speaking the people were getting rather angry, especially the priests and prophets that thought they knew everything about God. They captured Jeremiah and wanted to kill him for making such accusations, but Jeremiah would not stop telling them what God wanted him to tell them, even if it meant that would die.

“Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD...Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.” - Jeremiah 26:8,9,11-13.

The people did come to their senses and realized that Jeremiah was telling the truth. Sometimes being linked with Jesus can seem like we get more burdens, people constantly accusing us of things and persecuting us for doing what God wants us to do. Can I tell you that it will never stop, if they accused Jesus they are going to accuse us of the same things. We are going to face some burdens in life just for remaining faithful to God, but after the burdens always come blessings. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” - Psalm 55:22.

I was talking with someone once and he accused me of trying to say that I thought I was a better Christian than he was. No one is a better Christian, we all have our own faults, but we can not give up living right for God, we are going to mess up, but we keep going, we heed the tugging of Jesus telling us to get back up, we walk side by side with Him, we let Him carry the burden, and we find rest in Him. “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.” - Psalms 37:3-7.

Today's Prayer:
Jesus
Lord, my mind, body, and soul is weary, these burdens are just too much for me to carry. I know You are always with me, but sometimes I feel all alone. Stir me and shake me, revive me Lord. Pick me up and give me Your strength to keep going for You. Take all my burdens, carry them, and give me rest from the weariness inside. Lead me and guide me in Your will and Your way. I love You and ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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