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Closing the Gap 4.13.18

Week 14 “Carry one another’s burdens”

Day 5

Pray:

Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.

Read:

Gal. 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load.

Reflect:

Carrying others’ burdens will often be inconvenient.  People don’t normally plan their problems (even if they caused them).  You can’t necessarily put “carry someone’s burden” on your calendar in advance.  However, there is something you can do ahead of the time.  You can decide that, if able and if given the opportunity, you will love the ones God has put in your life to love.  You can decide, then live decided, rather than still deciding. If you approach carrying the burdens of others in a “deciding” fashion, then you may help when needed, but you may also grumble and begrudge the fact that it is not convenient for you.  When you have this attitude, then the one you are helping will likely “feel like the burden” rather than being a person “with a burden.” Decide who you want to be, then go and live decided. You will still find helping people difficult and often inconvenient, but you will also find, if you continually take on this mindset of Christ, that you grumble less and enjoy helping others more.  Christ, for the joy set before him, endured the cross (Heb. 12:2). You need never feel like your life is a burden to Christ. Carrying your sin was part of his joy, even though it was an unthinkable burden. Will you help others in ways that make their burdens lighter, rather than making them feeling like they themselves are your burden? Decide, then go live decided. Make your question, “How do I love?” rather than, “Will I love?”  Prepare your minds for action.  Ask God to help you have his heart for people.  Reflect now on the fact that all that God wants from you can be summed up by this statement, “Carry one another’s burdens.”  Don’t miss the largeness of God’s opportunity for you today because it looks small and it feels inconvenient.

Pray:

(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.

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