Jesus Will Free You of Your Excess Baggage

It’s been a long time since anyone in our immediate family has flown, but when they did they carried their baggage on board with them in a large duffle bag.  In 2008 some of the major airlines began charging fees for excess baggage. That rate has gone up continually over the years. Not all airlines charge but even those that don’t charge have a limit to the size and weight of the baggage. And the price for the heavier or larger baggage is pretty steep. Suffice it to say if you carry excess baggage these days it’s going to cost you.

Excess baggage isn’t just carried on a plane. It’s often carried by people. Even believers have their share of baggage. Some of it is carried over from the days before their commitment to Christ.  It’s a heavy load to care and it truly costs dearly to carry the weight around. Some of it is carried due to sins committed in the past. Other weighted down baggage may be marital problems, how a person was raised or even religious expectations.  The cost of carrying the excess baggage comes when you try to carry it all yourself. Imagine walking into a restaurant and carrying all your trip belongings with you. Imagine sight-seeing and having to carry that stuff with you everywhere you go.  Up mountains, over bridges. Walking down the aisle? Carrying all your excess troubles, mistakes, misunderstandings, rejections to the altar.  You quickly get a picture of what happens when the excess baggage isn’t dealt with. It enters into everything you do and everywhere you go. It’s a load no one should carry and it will cost you more than you want to pay.

God speaks to my heart: I have come to the world to lighten the sin load of everyone who comes to Me for relief. There at Calvary I set the precedent for a life that never has to be burdened with the weight of sin. Why are you still carrying that with you? Are you expecting to be able to do something with your past regrets? Hand them to me quickly before you find yourself so weighted down with sin that you cannot enter into My rest. I have also come to ransom you from the weight of rejection, fears, worry, and all the other things that people think they have to carry on with them. Everywhere you go you will need to be light for the trip so that I can speak to your heart, guide your plans and guard your mind. You were never meant to carry anything that is in the way of a burdensome load.  If you will let Me, I the Lord, will take your excess baggage, relieve you of the burden as well as the cost of carrying it around with you and give you My yoke instead. As you learn of Me you will find that My yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light. It’s time to walk freely, be able to dance in My presence, and go where I send you. With excess baggage you are barely going to make it, but free of your baggage you will be able to soar with Eagle’s wings and scale the heights with Me.  

Oh beloved, weighed down? Feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders? Are you finding that the more you take on the harder it is to move? It’s time to give your burdens to the Lord? Your cares aren’t meant to be carried and your sins aren’t meant to weigh you down. You can be free! It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or why you’re weary, take it all to the Lord. It sounds simple and it is. God has made it so simple that as we begin to unload it all on Him we find that He just does away with it. It’s gone as far as the east is from the west. It’s in the sea of forgetfulness. He will never bring it up again and He will never try to weigh you down with it. If you feel that you must take it all up and carry it again, you can be sure that it is not the Lord requiring it of you. Your excess baggage will take a toll in your life, in your vocation, in your marriage, in your relationships, even in your fellowship with other believers, even with your own perception of yourself. These heavy weights may have been given you by others or may be built up within yourself. Excess baggage can be sin, wrong thinking, rejection, humiliation, defeated thinking, depression, discouragement or more. They can be fleshly in nature or even religious. The enemy of your soul wants you weighed down and thus useless for the Kingdom. Wherever it has come from, God will show you because God is love.  The lightening of your load by God through Christ will give you a freedom you’ve never known. It is the freedom that all creation is looking for and it’s just what you’ve been wanting. Try it today, go to God and give Him all your burdens. Begin now. The process may take a while but you will begin to feel so much lighter in mind, spirit and body as you start the process.

God loves you and He is for you. That’s why He wants you to quit paying for the excess baggage you were never meant to carry. He needs you to be free to live, love and share His love, His care and His truth all the days of your life.

John 8:36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Matthew 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Psalm 34:6 In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; He saved me from all my troubles.

What Walls Have You Built?

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

As I read a post from a friend about her daddy bringing her coffee, I recalled my father’s love for the drink. That, of course, made me think about His many quotes and statements. How many times I’ve heard him quote to me as a youth, “Two wrongs don’t make a right”. The phrase simply means that it is never right to wrong someone, even if they have wronged you first.

From school yards to church pews, we’ve all had occasions to be wronged. When we’re little it could be a parent or teacher or schoolmate that we feel rejected by. We aren’t always the darlings of the rodeo, the first picked or the blue ribbon winners. We hold those little offenses in our hearts and keep them tucked away. The wall starts to be built that we think will keep us safe. Later on, it’s more mature things like relationships, fellowships and friendships in work in marriage in life. More rejection happens which breeds more offenses, whether it’s intentional or not. A higher wall is built to keep ourselves a little safer. We attend church and we want to fit in, but everyone doesn’t. Square pegs trying to fit in round holes causes more hurts when the fit won’t work. The preacher gives a message on sin and we think he points his finger right at us. Someone rejects you. Friends quit you. Spouses quit loving you. You can fill in the blank with your own hurts and anguish.

Pretty soon we’re full of offenses and the wall is all the way around us. Trouble is that wall that was keeping you safe has now fenced you in. You are now a captive of your own circumstances. What will you do? How will you live? Are you content to live in the shadow of your hurts, fears and isolationism?

God speaks to our hearts: I know every hurt you have ever experienced. I know every person who ever rejected you for anything. I knew you before you were born and you were never meant to build a wall around yourself. I knew what would happen, but I had a plan. I AM the plan. If you will let me, I will remove the wall you have so carefully build and you will see that the view is not about your hurts but rather about My plans. The shortsighted life you are now living will only continue to hurt and hide you. You may be out in public but the wall of offense will keep you from truly shining My light. You will never know real freedom until you let Me set you free.

Oh beloved, whatever it is that has held you captive in hurt, rejection, offense and fear you can let it go! In fact, you cannot hold onto the Father and hold onto those things at the same time. Whatever someone else has done, the Father will take care of you. His abilities are not shortened by others’ hands. In fact, even in the pain there is God’s plan for you. Jesus is with you now to help you remove the shackles and live in His liberty. He came to ransom you from everything that holds you back. As deep as the hurts are, let Him remove them today. That wall you built is no longer going to hold you prisoner. You will no longer walk in hurts but you will walk in forgiveness. You are an overcomer, a valiant child of God and the Light He shines on you will now be shining through you as you live in the Light of His Word. There may still be pain and hurts that come your way, but God can handle them for you. Walking in freedom means you give those hurts to Christ and He removes them. You cannot change the past by holding onto it. But you can change your future by letting the walls crumble around you. What a view of victory, love, joy and peace are yours as you let God do what only He can do.

God loves you and He’s for you and that’s worth living free all the days of your life! As you reconcile yourself to God’s will, as you let Christ set you free and as you let the Holy Spirit do His work in you and for you, you will see it all work out for your good and God’s glory.

Luke 23:34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a citadel.

Isaiah 44:22 I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to Me, for I have paid the price to set you free. NLT

I Peter 2:23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity]… Amplified

2 Corinthians 3:17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

It's Your Greatest Love Story!

Today is a celebration of love day. All over the country people are paying respects to those they love. From tiny little paper cards in Kindergarten to a dozen roses and boxes of chocolates, everyone has the opportunity to feel special and loved on this one day alone.  I usually get a little tickled because if I wait too long to get that special card for my beloved, all the husband cards are about gone! But still, it’s a great day to celebrate love and to give something special to one who means so much to you.

The only problem with Valentine’s Day is the some folks get left totally out of the whole love thing. It costs money so the ones who have to count every penny would just as soon leave it alone.  It costs time so the ones who are overcommitted find very little time to get a card for anyone.  It costs feelings for it’s really hard to buy a card or get flowers or give a heartfelt gift to someone when you’re holding things against them.

I’ve been on the receiving end of roses, candy, cards and more! I still have a dozen roses in a long white box in my cedar chest! No kidding!  I’ve kept them for 40 years because I love the one who gave them to me.

I’ve also been on the receiving end of unforgiveness and rejection. No love lost there. I’ve had problems and issues and dealings with unloving, critical, harsh and unforgiving people. I’ve also wanted to be unloving, critical, harsh and unforgiving.  I’ve even had problems forgiving myself. Can you relate beloved?

But every time I look at situations that are out of my control and hurts that make me want to cringe and climb into the closet of life to stay there forever, I look into the mirror. There I see Christ. I see my hurts and rejection taken on by Him as He stood in Pilate’s court while those who had promised to love Him forever cried, “Crucify!”  And I see Him walking up the Calvary’s hill, dragging my sins all the way- such a heavy load.  There in the mirror of His Word I see hope – hope for me, hope for those I love, hope for the unlovable, hope for the lost – as Christ Himself rose again! I can forgive, I can be forgiven, I can walk in newness of life as His mercies are renewed every morning!

Oh beloved, open up your heart and run to the only One Who will ever love you unconditionally, without reservation. He holds none of your mistakes against you; He holds back nothing of His nature, His love, His compassion, His forgiveness from you. Because He is Love! And because He is Love, He will be with you forever, even unto the end of the age! Not only that, but He will help you forgive, heal you of your hurts, give you everything you need and get you through it all.

Hide your soul in the depths of His love this morning! Read the greatest Love story ever written, contained in God’s Word for it’s all about you and the Savior! Hold His Words close to your heart and dance with your Beloved in fields of Grace! And have a blessed, blessed day in Jesus!

 

Ephesians 2:4-5  But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ. (Amplified Bible)

I John 4:9-11 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

Romans 5:2-5 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

You Are Truly A Work of Art!

“You’re a piece of work!” comes to mind this morning. I’ve heard it on TV. I’ve heard fathers say it their kids. I’m pretty sure Archie Bunker said it to Edith at least once. Exasperated people use phrases such as this to vent their frustrations. I cringe as I remembered my own occasional irritability when mine were young. I didn’t talk to them that way, but there were times I would get tired of the chaos, clutter and cacophony of daily life at home with three young children.  We spent a lot of time outdoors, working in the yard, picking up sticks (I offered a penny a stick as reward!) and riding bicycles, chasing puppies, feeding chickens.  The outdoors made for smoother days as my kiddos worked off their enormous energy stores.

Perhaps you grew up in a home with an unfulfilled mother or an annoyed father or both.  Their anger and bitterness with themselves might have accidentally poured out on you.  Their words linger in the air, long after you are grown, still feeling the hurt and pain. Just as I remember hearing the phrase from long ago, you too may be recalling unintentional or intentional hurts from yesteryear.  Maybe you are the frustrated one and you are having issues as you try to live a life worth living.

Listen to the Lord’s love song to you this morning as He speaks affection into your life. God never gets frustrated with you, ever! He never throws up His hands and says, “done”. He never says you’re hopeless and He will never walk away.  He is the One Who will come and scoop you up when you’ve fallen. He kisses the hurts away with His tender words of care. 

Oh beloved!  You are not a piece of work to Him ever, but rather you are truly a work of art in His sight! You may have looked like a blank canvas when you were born but He is the painter and He gently guided the Colors of Love, Hope, Peace and Comfort onto your canvas as He created you to dwell in beauty and joy! Not only did He create you, He is continuing the canvas of your life!  He will continue His Artwork until you are home and even then you will continue to be a beautiful masterpiece in His Mansion, which is your heavenly home!

Rejoice as you learn to let Him sing love into your life and speak hope into your heart, because He loves you and He’s for you and that makes you priceless!

Ephesians 2:10  For we are God’s masterpiece…

Isaiah 29:16 How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and He is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the One who made it, “He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say, “The Potter who made me is stupid”?

Isaiah 43:7 Bring all who claim Me as their God, for I have made them for My glory. It was I who created them.

Job 10:10 You guided my conception and formed me in the womb.

Psalm 139:14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

Frustrations? Run to the Lord Who Can Handle it For You.

Not long ago I found myself fuming about something. I can honestly say I don’t remember what it was, but I remember the outcome. It was a week that had been unusually tiring. By Friday, that tiredness was turning into frustration. I really didn’t think I could “get it all done”. I went out to the garage to move something.  And it didn’t want to move. So I moved some other things around. All the time I was talking to myself about my frustration. There was one more small object to move out of the way before I could move the bigger object and get to what I was after. I picked it up and tossed it out of the way. I didn’t become the Hulk, really! But everyone in my family knows that it’s quite dangerous when I throw!  My aim and my pitch never go in the same direction. So this small object hit a box and bounced back. Onto Danny’s motorcycle.  At this point I realized I was being ridiculous and I picked the small object up to move it, not throw it.

That is when I spied it. The tiny nick of paint on the fender of Danny’s motorcycle.

And then I heard the voice of my Lord say,

“Anger always causes damage”.

I know what you’re saying. “What, we’re never supposed to be angry?”  The problem with anger is not that we get angry, but what we do with that anger.  I talked to myself about it instead of the Lord.  I found an object to vent my anger on instead of asking God to remove it from me.  It was my focus that got me into trouble. Rather than focusing on God’s redeeming abilities, I focused on my frustrated weariness. But God in His beautiful loving ways, spoke oh so gently to me. God did not return anger, righteous indignation or punishment on me.  He just walked around the day with me watching over me, hoping to get a moment with me and then at just the right time, He taught me. In love.

Oh beloved! I know for some of you there are things going on in your life that seem insurmountable. You’ve hoped they would go away, but they’re still staring you square in the eye. You’re getting tired and you’re ready to do something about it – in your own strength. But there is One Who has promised to follow you all of your days. He wants to speak the loving truth into your life so that whatever comes you can lean on Him for His strength, His wisdom and His courage to do the right thing no matter what. He says to you, I love you. I’ve got this. I know you can’t handle anymore, so just give it to me. Let me take your frustrations and your fears and turn them into jewels of the faith for you. My exchange system will never cause damage and never bring regrets. But you’ll have to Trust Me. You can, you know, for My Name is Faithful and True. Lean on Me for your support and together we’ll go into the situation and I’ll make things beautiful in their time.

Hallelujah! What a Savior! Who takes our infirmities and heals our wounds and renews our spirits. All in love, because He promises to love us forever and be with us always. And that’s all that really matters.

Hebrews 10:35-36 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.

Philippians 4:6-7 Don’t worry (fret or fume) about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Psalm 86:11  Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.