“ Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved ” Psalm 55:22
We don’t know nearly as much about God as we think we do. This misunderstanding of the Lord can lead to some very serious problems in our lives. So we need to learn as much as we can about Him, which comes from rightly dividing the Word, but then we must simply trust Him–knowing that He does all things well.

J. R. Miller gave this wise counsel:“There are some mistaken notions current concerning the ways in which God would help us. People think that whenever they have a little trouble, a bit of hard path to go over, a load to carry, a sorrow to endure—all they have to do is to call upon God, and He will at once take away their sorrow, or free them from the trouble. But this is not the way God helps us! His purpose of love concerning us is—not to make all things easy for us—but to make something of us!

When we ask God to save us from our trouble, to take the struggles out of our life, to make the paths mossy, to lift off every heavy load—He will not do it! It would be most unloving in Him to accommodate us. We must carry the burden ourselves! All God promises is, to sustain us—as we carry it! He wants us to learn life’s lessons, and to do this—we must be left to work out the problems for ourselves.

There are rich blessings which can be gotten, only in sorrow. It would be short-sighted love indeed—which would heed our cries, and spare us from sorrow—and thus deprive us of the wonderful blessings which can be gotten only in sorrow! God is too good to us to answer our prayers—which would save us from pain, cost, and sacrifice today—at the price of holier, better, truer life in the end. He would not rob us of the blessing that is in the burden—which we can get only by carrying it!“

There are those who boast that they read the Bible everyday and read through it at least once a year, some for many years, yet they are woefully ignorant of the great doctrines of the Bible. They have no idea what atonement, justification, sanctification, etc. means, and they don’t seem to care if they ever do. That’s sad.

Although they are familiar with the popular stories of the Bible they have no idea as to their spiritual significance. When it comes to shadows and types they are clueless, and not much better when it comes to parables and prophecies. They enjoy the inspirational aspects of the Bible, but have little interest in instructions. To them the Bible is more like a good-luck charm or a rabbit’s foot. They are quick to affirm their belief that it is God’s Word, but their understanding of it is very limited. If you point out something from the Bible that is contrary to what they believe they usually respond with “That’s just your interpretation”.

If you are one of those I’ve just described, I’m not trying to belittle or embarrass you. I’m thrilled that you are reading your Bible everyday, everyone should, but I want you to see that there is so much more to it than that. The doctrines I’ve mentioned are glorious and should be of interest to all, not just pastors and theologians. These are precious truths that pertain to your relationship with God that will bless your heart beyond measure as you grasp more and more of their meaning. They speak of the person and work of Christ, and are never boring.

Try doing a word study sometime and read all the verses related to it. You will be blessed. Study a particular section of the Bible as though you had to teach it next Sunday and you will be amazed by what you will learn and how you will be helped. Do yourself a favor and start some sort of systematic study of God’s Word. It will not only change your life, it will thrill your soul beyond what you ever imagined.

Seeing that the Bible is God’s revelation to man how can we not be interested? Considering that it has transforming power how can we ignore it? Knowing it deals with the most important issues in life and answers the most perplexing questions in the world, how can we not care? Think about it!

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Ghost.–1 Thess. 1:6

Pastor Stephen Davey writes:” In my study at home I have a small, yellowed piece of paper framed in glass.  It was given to me by a missionary who works with Chinese believers.  

Today, millions of Chinese Christians are meeting secretly — to study the Word of God together.  Many of them do not have a personal copy of the Bible.  Often entire churches do not have access to a complete copy of the Scriptures.That is why this old piece of paper is so special to me; it happens to be a handwritten page—a portion of the New Testament in the Mandarin language.  This piece of paper was once someone’s copy of Scripture. Imagine . . . they didn’t have a Bible—they had a page.

Much like the Thessalonians, these believers obviously hungered to hear and have the Word of God.  They had no doubt copied it many times over so that other believers could read from God’s Word, perhaps never before hearing the truths that were written on this small page.What a contrast to most of us!  The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association estimates that the average church-going family in America owns at least four Bibles. 

Perhaps one reason that we don’t treasure the Scriptures is because we have such ready access to them.  It’s easy to take precious things for granted.  We may have copies of the Bible lying on tables, closet shelves, and bookcases but this can lead to a serious problem: how does the truth within the pages of that closed Book penetrate our lives?

There is a vast difference between having the Bible inside our home and having the Bible inside our heart.n 1 Thessalonians 1:6, we are told that the believers received the Word of God.  They readily received its truth, even though it would mean tribulation and persecution.What we take for granted, the early church received with great hunger,—– let’s ask Christ to rekindle in our hearts a greater love for His Word and a greater desire to hear and study it. Oh, that He would imprint on our hearts what we hold in our hands!  

God does not want you to simply possess a Bible . . . He wants the Bible to possess you.

Ask God to give you a stronger passion for His Word. That is exactly what we need: a hunger and thirst for the written Word—which leads to a greater love for Jesus Christ, the Living Word.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.– Eph. 4:32

If I hear it again I think I’ll scream– over and over I hear people say, “A successful marriage is 50/50. No it’s not! A successful marriage is 100/100. Both sides must give their all. I love what Pastor Jack Graham said to a certain couple:

I was talking to a couple in my office one day who were considering marriage. They were explaining to me how much they loved each other in the months they had been together. One of them spoke up and said, “Pastor, when we met it was really love at first sight.”

So I looked at them and told them, “That’s great, and I’m glad you feel like God has already given you that kind of love for one another. But the kind of love that makes a marriage last isn’t love at first sight. It’s love that remains after looking at the same person over a bowl of Shredded Wheat for 40 years! That’s a love that lasts.”

That initial electricity felt between two people, often called infatuation, will always fade. In fact, some people become so enamored with that feeling that it becomes like a drug. So they go from person to person trying to get their next high. Love, on the other hand, lasts long after the feelings of infatuation go away.

You can make the choice to love your spouse. It’s not always easy, but it’s how you’ll breathe life into your marriage. Make that choice today by serving, being patient, and living a life of joy with your spouse. It’s so worth it!        

BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO YOUR MARRIAGE BY MAKING THE CHOICE TO LOVE AND SERVE YOUR SPOUSE WITH PATIENCE AND JOY!