Mar 03 2022

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

The New Testament church was established during the first century AD. Based on the teaching of Jesus, His disciples carried His message to the world around them after His death and resurrection.

This new group of Jesus followers faced tremendous challenges from the very beginning. They were accused of following the teachings of a "false teacher," and persecuted for it. For publicly professing their unwavering belief in Jesus as the Son of God, they were beaten, imprisoned, and many tortured and killed.

Those who traveled and helped spread the Gospel left behind their families and professions, and they depended solely on each other. In Acts 4, Paul gives us a glimpse of this community of Christians. Not only did they share their possessions with each other, but they were united in their hearts and souls by the message of God's love.

We must maintain this unity in our present-day churches. While most people are not solely dependent on the church to supply their needs, we still need fellowship, discipleship, and the opportunity to study the Word of God together.

This Scripture reminds us of the importance of being unified with other believers. Each of us should ask ourselves, "Am I promoting unity with other followers of Jesus in the way I live my life?" And then ask God to help us put the needs of others above our own.

Jesus, please help me be aware of the needs of those around me as I go about my daily life. Everything I possess is only on loan from you. Equip me to be a good steward who is willing to share with others everything you have blessed me with. You set the ultimate example of honoring God by giving everything you had. Help me to do the same in my life, Jesus. In your name, amen.

Mar 02 2022

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. :

The average human can carry 23 percent of their body weight. This can be taken as a challenge for those of us who attempt to carry too much at one time. However, doctors and physical therapists recommend that we limit what we carry to no more than 15 percent of our body weight to reduce the risk of injury.

The weight we can carry emotionally or spiritually cannot be quantified. It's unnecessary to calculate it because God wants us to hand our burdens to Him to carry. It doesn't matter whether our burdens are small or enormous, all of them should be laid at the feet of Jesus. We can pray and release them to God and allow Him to put our minds to rest.

In Psalm 55, King David contemplates what it means to cast your burdens upon the Lord. He assures us that God will take care of us and will never allow us to fall away from Him. All we need to do is turn our troubles over to Him.

But there's another part to it we need to trust that God will handle whatever we've turned over to Him. It can be easy to tell Him about the difficult situations in our lives, but then continue to worry about the outcomes. When we cast our burdens on the Lord, we can rest in the knowledge that He already knows what will happen, and we can trust Him with the results.

Rather than micro-managing our burdens, our time is better spent learning to trust in the Lord. No load is too heavy for Him to carry. He will take care of us, sustain us, and never let us fall.

Lord, I desire to cast my cares on you and leave them with you, but I often find myself trying to manage my life's burdens on my own. I lay a burden down, but when I don't see anything changing in my favor, I pick it back up again. I know this shows a lack of trust in you, and that is not what I want. Give me wisdom for handling all of life's circumstances and help me release all my cares to you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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