COME TO JESUS!

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." May 5 is my birthday. When I lived in California, I learned of the Cinco de Mayo celebration among Hispanics in many communities. It is a celebration of Mexican heritage and to commemorate the an unlikely victory of the Mexican army over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Jesus' Word from Matthew 11:28 is one of the most encouraging of all the Bible passages He has given us. If you are tired, come to Jesus. If you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, come to Jesus. If the heaviness of life is crushing you, come to Jesus. Come to the Lord and He will give you rest.

Jesus said that all things have been handed over to Him by the Father. Because He is truly human, He understands completely bearing the burdens of our world. He understands the burden of human sin and the devastation it causes. 

Sin has the power to destroy families, churches and the world itself. But Jesus has already defeated sin. Satan has been beaten on the cross! We do not have to carry the burden of our sins any longer. Jesus did that for us fully and completely on Calvary. And when God finishes something, it is truly finished! We do not have to do it over again. There is no burden Jesus cannot help us carry. 

Several boys in a small town were playing on abandoned railroad tracks. One small boy was clumsy and the bigger boys made fun of him. They all decided to see how far they could walk while balancing on a single track. The big boys walked a long ways before falling off. The wobbly little fellow barely walked a few steps before he fell, so they laughed at him. But one of them said to the little guy, "Hold my hand!" And the two boys walked the tracks together, holding hands side by side, one on one track and one on the other. Together they walked three times as far as those who walked alone. Two together did what one could not do alone.

Jesus walks beside us too. He holds our hand when we are shaky and leads us when we are unsure or weary of the wald. He will even carry us when we are too tired. It's His promise, and Jesus never goes back on his promises.

Jesus, teach me how to help someone when they are tired and weary. Amen.

(Devotion taken from DAILY WORD FROM JESUS, my e-book of devotions for each day of the year)