11/18/19-11/22/19 Devo Two - Beautifully Burdened

This is the second devotional for the week of November 18-22. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Beautifully Burdened

My yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:30

I awoke to pitch darkness. I hadn’t slept more than thirty minutes and my heart sensed that sleep wouldn’t return soon. A friend’s husband lay in the hospital, having received the dreaded news, “The cancer is back—in the brain and spine now.” My whole being hurt for my friends. What a heavy load! And yet, somehow my spirit was lifted through my sacred vigil of prayer. You might say I felt beautifully burdened for them. How could this be?

In Matthew 11:28–30, Jesus promises rest for our weary souls. Strangely, His rest comes as we bend under His yoke and embrace His burden. He clarifies in verse 30, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we allow Jesus to lift our burden from our backs and then tether ourselves to Jesus’s yoke, we become harnessed with Him, in step with Him and all He allows. When we bend under His burden, we share in His sufferings, which ultimately allows us to share in His comfort as well (2 Corinthians 1:5).

My concern for my friends was a heavy burden. Yet I felt grateful that God would allow me to carry them in prayer. Gradually I ebbed back to sleep and awoke—still beautifully burdened but now under the easy yoke and light load of walking with Jesus.

By: Elisa Morgan

Reflect & Pray

What are you carrying today? How will you give that burden to Jesus?

Dear Jesus, please take my heavy load and lay upon me Your beautiful burden for this world.

11/18/19-11/22/19 Devo One - Evolution of Worship Music

This is the first devotional for the week of November 18-22. I thought this would be a lighthearted encouragement as you listen to songs written throughout the years. This video is called the Evolutio of Worship Music and is one man singing five parts. May these devotions be encouraging and inspiring for you. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a few sentences as comment below the post. The comments are what give you credit.

You can click on the video above or click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SaBhN2idbM

11/11/19-11/15/19 Devo Two - The Art of Truth

This is the second devotional for the week of November 11-15. The University of Notre Dame attracts scientists, scholars and artists from all fields to pursue truth in their varied disciplines. Renowned Russian artist Maxim Kantor reflects on his work and his fellowship at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study, an interdisciplinary community of researchers. He is thoughtful and raises some good questions. May these devotions be encouraging and inspiring for you. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a few sentences as comment below the post. The comments are what give you credit.

You can click on the video above or click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpbaR4As9bMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpbaR4As9bM

11/11/19-11/15/19 Devo One - Our Blessings, His Love

This is the first devotional for the week of November 11-15. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Our Blessings, His Love

"To him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever."
Psalm 136:16

In 2015, a woman discarded her deceased husband’s computer at a recycling center—a computer that had been made in 1976. But more important than when it had been made was who made it. It was one of 200 computers hand built by Apple founder Steve Jobs, and was worth an estimated quarter of a million dollars! Sometimes knowing the true worth of something means knowing who made it.

Knowing that it’s God who made us shows us how valuable we are to Him (Genesis 1:27). Psalm 136 catalogs key moments of His people—ancient Israel: how they had been freed from captivity in Egypt (vv. 11–12), journeyed through the wilderness (v. 16), and were given a new home in Canaan (vv. 21–22). But each time a moment of Israel’s history is mentioned, it’s paired with this repeated refrain: “His love endures forever.” This refrain reminded the people of Israel that their experiences weren’t random historical events. Each moment had been orchestrated by God and was a reflection of His enduring love for those He’d made.

Far too often, I allow moments that show God at work and His kind ways to simply pass by, failing to recognize that every perfect gift comes from my heavenly Father (James 1:17) who made me and loves me. May you and I learn to connect every blessing in our lives to God’s enduring love for us.

By: Peter Chin

Reflect & Pray

How can we better remember the Source of life’s blessings? What hinders you from doing so?

Heavenly Father, please don’t allow even one blessing that You’ve given pass by without me recognizing that it came from You, and You alone!

11/4/19-11/8/19 Devo Two - Do the Next Thing

This is the second devotional for the week of November 4-8. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Do the Next Thing

"If you love me, keep my commands."
John 14:15

When was the last time you felt compelled to help someone, only to let the moment pass without a response? In The 10-Second Rule, Clare De Graaf suggests that daily impressions can be one of the ways God calls us to a deeper spiritual walk, a life of obedience prompted by love for Him. The 10-Second Rule encourages you to simply “do the next thing you’re reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do,” and to do it right away “before you change your mind.”

Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). We might think, I do love Him, but how can I be certain of His will and follow it? In His wisdom, Jesus has provided what we need to better understand and follow the wisdom found in the Bible. He once said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and will be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (vv. 16–17). It’s by the work of the Spirit, who is with us and in us, that we can learn to obey Jesus and “keep [His] commands” (v. 15)—responding to the promptings experienced throughout our day (v. 17).

In the big and little things, the Spirit motivates us to confidently do by faith what will honor God and reveal our love for Him and others (v. 21).

By: Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

Reflect & Pray

Why is it important for you to follow through on promptings that line up with Scripture?
How can you seek to live a more obedient life by the power of the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit provides what we need to follow Jesus in obedience.

11/4/19-11/8/19 Devo One - Sean McDowell

This is the first devotional for the week of November 4-8. This video will introduce you to our speaker this Friday during Chapel, Sean McDowell. Sean is the son of Josh McDowell who wrote the book Evidence That Demands a Verdict. Both of them are apologists and the theme this Friday is Truth. May these devotions be encouraging and inspiring for you. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a few sentences as comment below the post. The comments are what give you credit.

You can click on the video above or click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8-p9mxh8WM