The Easy Yoke

I wanted to share some very blessed words from Puritan preacher Nathaniel Vincent regarding Matt. 11:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." This selection is titled, "The Easy Yoke," and comes from a devotional called Day By Day With The English Puritans.

Since Christ is so compassionate, surely it is unreasonable to quarrel at and refuse to submit unto his yoke? The yoke of such a merciful one must be an easy yoke, and his burden a light burden (Matthew 11:30). The kingdom of heaven is like a marriage and as the wife’s subjection unto a tender and indulgent husband is sweet and pleasant, so, and much more pleasant is the believer’s subjection unto Christ.

Ungodly ones are strangely prejudiced against the scepter and government of Jesus; but indeed it is without cause. They say, "We will not have this Lord to reign over us." It is a mercy to be translated into the kingdom, for then you are freed from other lords, which are so imperious, so cruel, and will reward with death all the service you do for them. All the precepts of Christ are for your profit and he forbids you nothing but what he sees will harm you.

I think that at the reading of this, the most stubborn should yield and say, "We stood outside against the Lord of life, but it was upon a mistake; we did not think his service was so near a kin to freedom; we once imagined his commands grievous, therefore we cast them behind our backs, but now they are to be esteemed above gold, nay, the finest gold, and are sweeter than the honey and honeycomb."

(Day By Day With The English Puritans, Randall J. Pederson, p.23)

Fighting Joylessness With the Sword of the Spirit

You know those moments where you just feel sort of empty?—like the joy and peace of God has left, and there's this restless feeling?

Well, the Lord has been doing a work in me of Scripture memorization (something I have almost never done in my Christian life until 6 months ago), and so, there have been multiple times where when I feel this way I just decide to start reciting my memorized passages (in my head or out loud), even though it feels like empty and dead words (at first!) and I'm not motivated to do it.

But just about every time I can recall (like tonight!), the Lord takes me from a place of empty joylessness to genuine, heartfelt joy and peace in Him!

I have been amazed at what the power of the Word can do! Scripture memorization and recitation was not even a part of my life until this year, and it appears to me to be such a wellspring of blessedness that I continue to find new, hidden treasures in as I dig deeper and continue further in this discipline.

So, brothers and sisters, are you feeling restless and empty? Then take up the sword of the Spirit and fight sins like joyless with the memorized Word of God!

Here are a few practical things I would recommend:

• Have a set time everyday (even just 3 minutes like I do before I clock in at work) where you recite your current passage, as well as keep up with old ones.
• Have a pocket New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs that you carry with you at all times. (This will help tremendously!)
• Let your sword grow large with long passages (like whole Psalms or chapters), and you will eventually begin to see things in the Scriptures that you never even noticed before.

May the Lord bless you in this life-changing endeavor!

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.—Ephesians 6:17

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.—Psalm 119:11 

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.—Hebrews 4:12

More of Christ!!!

Listen to this song from Lecrae's newest album, Rehab: The Overdose. This should be the anthem of Christian Hedonism!

Wisdom for Life

The Book of Proverbs—Is it just a book of good wisdom?

I have been richly blessed in my recent study of this book. I have found that chapters 1-9 serve as an introduction to the book, while chapters 10-29 contain the actual proverbs (followed by some short sayings of Agur and King Lemuel, and ending with the beauty of the Proverbs 31 woman or "excellent wife").

It's so refreshing to read through these introductory chapters and see someone showing some seriousness about the things of God (in light of the ever-so-flippant world around us)! In it we find a deeply loving and earnest appeal to his "son" to "get wisdom" and save his soul, avoiding the path of wickedness and folly and choosing the way of righteousness and life. Hover over these references to get an idea of how the introduction is addressed: Proverbs 1:8, 2:1-5, 3:1, 3:11-12, 3:21-22, 4:1-2, 4:10-11, 4:20-23, 5:1-2, 6:20-22, 7:1-3, 7:24.

Then, in light of this introductory charge to be a man of God, we come to the long lists of proverbs and sayings of the wise. As I read through these short sayings, I noticed many reoccurring themes throughout the book—humility, hard work, being slow to speak, and disciplining your children to highlight a few.

I hope that some of you who read this will be inspired by God to do your next study in the book of Proverbs and experience the same blessings that I have. Below is the list of some of the themes that I encountered in the book, which I would encourage you to meditate on if there are certain topics of particular interest to you.

The Fear of the Lord
Proverbs 1:7, 2:3-5, 8:13, 9:10, 10:27, 14:2, 14:26-27, 15:16, 15:33, 16:6, 19:23, 22:4, 23:17, 24:21, 28:14, 31:30

The Sovereignty of God
Proverbs 16:1, 16:4, 16:9, 16:33, 19:14, 19:21, 20:24, 21:1, 21:30-31

Humility vs. Pride
Proverbs 11:2, 15:33, 16:5, 16:18-19, 18:12, 21:4, 21:24, 22:4, 25:27, 26:12, 27:2, 29:23

Receiving Rebuke & Instruction
Proverbs 12:1, 12:15, 13:10, 13:18, 15:5, 15:10, 15:31-32, 17:10, 19:20, 19:25, 19:27, 25:12, 27:6, 28:23, 29:1

The Blessing of a Godly Wife
Proverbs 18:22, 19:14, 31:10-12

The Curse of an Ungodly Wife
Proverbs 12:4, 14:1, 19:13, 21:9, 21:19, 25:24, 27:15-16

The Joy of a Wise Son, the Grief of a Foolish Son
Proverbs 10:1, 10:5, 13:1, 15:5, 15:20, 17:21, 17:25, 19:13, 23:15-16, 23:24-25, 28:7, 29:3, 29:17, 30:17

Discipline Your Children
Proverbs 13:24, 19:18, 20:30, 22:6, 22:15, 23:13-14, 29:15, 29:17

Working Hard vs. Being a Sluggard
Proverbs 12:11, 12:24, 13:4, 14:23, 18:9, 19:24, 20:13, 21:25-26, 22:13, 24:27, 24:30-34, 26:13, 26:14-16, 28:19

Patience vs. Haste
Proverbs 14:29, 15:18, 16:32, 19:2, 21:5, 25:15, 29:11

Overlooking an Offense
Proverbs 12:16, 17:9, 17:14, 19:11

Good Company vs. Bad
Proverbs 13:20, 14:7, 18:24, 22:24-25, 24:1, 24:21, 28:7

Seek Counsel
Proverbs 15:22, 20:18, 24:6

Be Slow to Speak
Proverbs 10:19, 11:12-13, 12:23, 13:3, 15:1, 15:28, 17:27-28, 18:2, 18:6-8, 18:13, 18:21, 21:23, 25:15, 29:20

Be Generous to the Poor
Proverbs 11:24-25, 14:21, 14:31, 19:17, 21:13, 21:26, 22:9, 28:27, 29:7, 31:8-9, 31:20

Wisdom and Health
Proverbs 12:25, 13:12, 14:30, 15:13, 15:15, 15:30, 16:24, 17:22, 18:14

Seek Wisdom, Not Wealth
Proverbs 16:16, 22:1, 23:4-5, 28:20