 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Message · Archives ·  Archive/print editionTuesday, January 13, 2009  Ice-covered pond in Lancaster County PA (click on photo to enlarge)  Listen to us share this message on your audio player."Lay Your Burdens Down" Today if you are able we suggest you listen to this song (mp3) prior to reading the message or perhaps in the background as you read it. "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens" (Psalm 68:19). "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). One of our favorite writers is Robert J. Morgan, a pastor in Tennessee. He recently shared an interesting illustration on his blog. He was on a long trip and was travel weary. He saw a long moving sidewalk and got on it. He had a bag in each hand but in his fatigue he didn’t even think to set them down. "I was still carrying my load while the moving sidewalk was carrying me. Not until halfway down the hall did I have the presence of mind to release my bags and let the moving sidewalk carry them too." I can identify with Morgan's illustration, although in regard to my burdens I tend to set them down (trust) and then pick them back up again (doubt). As we write this devotional today we consider several we know who face heavy burdens:
We could list so many more here and we know you could as well. You likely have your own list that you regularly take to the Lord in prayer. "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." In Scripture God often emphasizes the unit of time we call the day. In fact it's the very first unit of time that is referred to in the Bible and the most frequently mentioned starting with Genesis 1:14. And we all sure know about burdens. Surely we can identify with the Lord's statement that "each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34b). A commentary explains the further meaning of the daily text in this way: "God daily carries us as a manifestation of His protective and sustaining care." Such an interpretation brings to mind "Footprints in the Sand", a poem written by Mary Stevenson during her teen years in 1936 as she endured major obstacles in her young life. What assurance His Word brings. Believing friend, God is bearing your burdens today. He loves you and the trial you are presently enduring matters greatly to Him. He is faithful and He will see you through it! Don't try to shoulder your burdens for the increasing load will surely break you. Instead lay your burdens down at the foot of the cross. Jesus will meet you there. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, our faith rests in the finished work of Jesus at Calvary. Because of His tremendous sacrifice our sins are forgiven and a place is reserved for us in heaven. We also find rest from our unending troubles in this life as we respond to Jesus' invitation: "Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Help us to look to You for needed strength and an overcoming spirit as we daily encounter challenges and ongoing burdens. Our burdens can be lifted at Calvary for that is where Jesus bore not only our sins but also our sorrows. Praise be to You, our Father in heaven, who daily bears our burdens. Amen. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources (Click on the link to open and play. In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.) "Lay Your Burdens Down" Audio I came across this song rather by "accident". I was actually looking for a song we recall singing many years ago by Chuck Girard with the same title. I don't know who wrote this song or who is singing it but I find it very spiritually moving. If your dreams have seemed to dry up, Like sea that's slowly dying If you need a hand to hold you And no one is around If the darkness overwhelms you And your fears are multiplying You can lean on Me and lay your burdens down Find your rest in Me and lay your burdens down. If the road of life has led you To a place you have not chosen If you need a hope to cling to But hope just can't be found If an angry wind has left you With a heart that's frail and frozen You can lean on Me and lay your burdens down Put your trust in Me and lay your burdens down. If the ground your world is built on, is feeling fragile and unstable. If the cares of life consume you, and weariness abounds. Come and lay the things of value, On a back that's strong and able You can lean on Me and lay your burdens down Come and rest in Me and lay your burdens down. Lay them down, lay them down Lay them down, lay them down "He Knows My Name" Audio "I Cast All My Cares Upon You" Video We recall singing this chorus for many years. This version is especially nice as I sense such an earnestness in the singer's voice. Here's the blog post by Robert J. Morgan referred to in the message. A short video teaching by Robert J. Morgan. |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 10/21/08  Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this daily encouragement ministry? Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted directly by my chaplaincy endorsing ministry. Thanks! See here for details. (2008 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net through 12/31/08: $21,791.00) Note: Due to a posting delay in the report from my chaplaincy agency and several checks we received when we returned home from our trip last week this has continued to increase a bit. I expect to soon have the final accounting for 2008 contributions. Thank you! SUBSCRIPTION INFO  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? If you desire you can receive your own free! To receive these "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive it OR a friend forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the rss feed.Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address from the list immediately. To remove your address merely use the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass these messages on! "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "A Little Foolishness" - A humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) I haven't had time or "inspiration" for this for awhile but it has several stories that get regular page views. "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. We are distributing this CD without charge in our ministry. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. If any reader in this series would like a CD merely write us and request one.  Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com. Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link or any specific product link to a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD!Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."  How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. © Copyright 2009 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us |
Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday. To make sure you continue to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk folder), please add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book or safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If you desire to unsubscribe use the link below. However, please do not use this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!
| You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as: stephencweber.dailyencouragement@blogger.com To unsubscribe click here or send a blank email to leave-1249882-29778931.3ca482100b92072753461f79e13fb4f8@pr4.netatlantic.com |  |
