OPEN HEAVEN DEVOTIONAL 2017

Sunday March 5, 2017

HE BEARS BURDENS 

Memorise : Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. - 1st Peter 5:7

Read: Matthew 27:27-32

27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

27:28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

27:30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

27:31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross


MESSAGE :

In Exodus 1:8-11, a generation of the children of Israel woke up one day and realised they had become slaves in a foreign land. From that moment, their children were born into slavery. Slavery became a burden that was attached to them for hundreds of years. Has something unsavoury been attached to you from birth? The Lord shall separate you from such burdens today in Jesus’ Name! Thankfully, just as there are burdens, there are also burden-bearers.

A burden-bearer is someone who sees you carrying some burden and offers to carry it for you, or gives you a helping hand. We see this demonstrated in today’s Bible reading. While leading Jesus to Golgotha where He would to crucified, the Roman soldiers made Him carry His heavy wooden cross. Even though He had been thoroughly beaten, was bleeding and was tired, He still had to carry his cross. As they began the journey, Simon of Cyrene came alone and he was compelled by the soldiers to assist Jesus in carrying His cross.

Some years ago, we had an experience with one of our domestic workers. Whenever we ask her to suggest a chorus during our family devotion, she would always raise a particular song that says, “The fire is burning the bush but the bush is not consumed, how great is our God.” One day, we curiously decided to find out about this fire she kept singing of. On interviewing her, we discovered that she became a housemaid because her parents were heavily indebted and could not pay. By the grace of God, we paid the debt. The following day, when asked to suggest a chorus during prayer time, she sang a new song which proclaimed “He has done it for me!” if you have carried a burden for so long and the burden gets lifted away, your song will indeed change.

The burden-bearer is the one who sees you carrying a burden and empathises with you. He comes to say to you that the load you are carrying is too heavy for you, and then offers to help you. There is no greater burden-bearer than then the Lord Jesus Christ! He wants to help you carry any load you are struggling with. Here is His call to you today:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Accept His invitation, and call Him for help.

ACTION POINT :
Confess those words to the Lord: Lord Jesus, I answer to Your call, I bring all of my burden to You. I lay them all at Your feet. I ask that You give me rest. Teach my heart to learn to cast all of my cares upon You in Faith, and to live in worry.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR :
Genesis 34-35;
Isaiah 51:1-16


HYMN2 : WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—

Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.