Have you met the Master?

  “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

 

    I was listening to Pastor Chuck Swindoll on the radio the past two days and he was delivering an excellent sermon on the passage above. He explained how the word picture that Jesus is using of a yoke was very well known by His audience two thousand years ago, but maybe not so well known today. The yoke was a wooden instrument to connect two oxen together so that they could pull a plow, and that each yoke would be specially crafted to fit the individual oxen being worked. Jesus is telling us that He is the one who has a yoke individually crafted for us and that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. That is something we all need to be reminded of on a regular basis! Have you learned to rest in Him, and allow Him to give you rest for you soul?

 

   Pastor Swindoll then read a poem that I think is worth sharing with you also:

 

“When I met the Master Face to Face”

 

“I had walked life’s path with an easy tread

Had followed where comfort and pleasure led;

And then one day in a quiet place

I met the Master, face to face.

 

With station rank and wealth for a goal

Much thought for the body, but none for the soul;

I had thought to win life’s mad race,

When I met the Master, face to face.

 

I had built my castles and reared them high,

Till their towers pierced the blue of the sky,

I had vowed to rule with an iron mace,

When I met the Master, face to face.

 

I met Him and knew Him, and blushed to see

That eyes full of sorrow were turned on me;

And I faltered, and fell at His feet that day,

While all my castles melted away.

 

Melted and vanished, and in their place

I saw naught else but my Master’s face;

And I cried aloud: ‘Oh, make me meet

To follow the path of thy wounded feet.

 

And now my thoughts are for souls of men,

I’ve lost my life, to find it again.

E’er since that day in a quiet place

I met the Master, face to face.”----Lorrie Cline

 

   Have you met the Master (Jesus) face to face? Now would be a great time! Get alone with your bible now and read the book of Matthew alone. Look for Him and He will find you if you are looking with a sincere heart.

 

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

 

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

 

Pray

 

1.    Lord I long to know you better, and I ask you to help me today get to know you better by reading your Word, and applying it to my life.

2.    Thank you for dying on that cross and giving Your life as a ransom for mine and for paying the price for my sins. 

3.    Fill me with Your Holy Spirit today so that I can allow You to live Your life through me and lead me to a holy life that will be a pleasing sacrifice acceptable to You.

The Weeping Prophet

 

   “Oh that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the wilderness A lodging place for travelers; That I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men.” (Jeremiah 9: 1-2)

 

   Jeremiah was called the “weeping prophet” or the “prophet of loneliness” as he faithfully proclaimed God’s judgment on His people for 40 years. During that time he endured opposition, beatings, and imprisonment. I think it safe to say that we are all happy that God has not called us to such a difficult and lonely work! But we can be thankful that Jeremiah was faithful to do all that God commanded of him. Even as a youth God spoke to him and said:

 

   “’Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’” (Jeremiah 1:5) and “’Do not say ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the LORD. (Jeremiah 1: 7-8)

 

    So chapter after chapter we read the faithful words of Jeremiah proclaiming the Words of God to the people; words that were often very painful to speak and even more painful for the people to hear. The majority of the people of Judah in captivity, were not interested in hearing it, and were prone to treat him badly and try to stifle his messages. In chapter 9 verses 3 through 8 he tries to spell out their problem in graphic terms:

 

    “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,’ says the LORD. Everyone takes heed to his neighbor, And does not trust his brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with  slanderers. Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongues to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity. Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me.’ Says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:3-8)

 

    I have to admit when I read this passage I have to think that it is a great description of the people who we live with today. When was the last time you watched the news and saw all the violence and slander that is practiced by so many of the people of our land? God, through Jeremiah, pinpoints the problem very succinctly: “Through deceit they refuse to know Me.” (verse 8)

 

    As always in Scripture, God has some good advice for us, even though we may have been well described above as a people who are liars and bent on doing evil:

 

   “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

 

   Did you hear that? Our God wants you and I to know Him and to understand Him! He exercises “lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.” He is the one who wants to have a personal relationship with you and desires to spend time with you everyday. He told Jeremiah that He had formed him in the womb and that He knew him! That is true of you also! He knew you when He formed you and He knows you now. He has a purpose for your life and you just need to get in touch with Him, and as you get to know Him and are obedient to His Word, He will guide and lead you for His purposes on this planet. Doesn’t that sound like something your heart has always wanted? Get to know Him today. Take that first step. You will not regret it!

 

 

PRAY

 

1.    Lord, I surrender my life to You today! Please accept my humble prayer to forgive me of my sin and help me today to put You and Your plan for me first in my life.

2.    Lord, help me to spend time in the Scriptures today so that I can know You better and I can understand what You require of a Christ follower.

3.    Thank you Lord for saving me and allowing me to be a part of Your family that I may dwell with You for eternity when I die of when You return to take you church with You to heaven.