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Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Tell me, those of you who have been in this walk of life for at least a little while; DOES HIS YOKE SEEM EASY TO YOU?

Come on, ‘fess up. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t, at least at some point, think “MAN this yoke is heavy! And I can think of a lot of things I might call this “burden”, but LIGHT isn’t one of them!”

So then… was Christ lying? Was He just speaking metaphorically? Was He just speaking of some spiritualized, unreal version of reality? Or… here’s a thought… maybe YOU’VE done something to bely His promise of a light, easy burden on your walk with God!

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

And while we are at it, do you feel - and have you always felt, since learning the truth - FREE? I trust not. I suspect rather, that you are like most whom I’ve known, who felt this way of life was like living in a box - a box which deprived you of enjoyment, of fun, of friends, and of everything that once excited you and interested you, a box which is much more like a prison than a paradise!

Mark 10:29-30 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold NOW IN THIS TIME, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

And here is a fun one - if you have truly been in this way of life for any length of time at all, then you have lost houses, business deals, family, friends, for the truth’s sake. Your friends don’t like you any more, since you’ve found this kooky religion! But the question is… have YOU experienced a HUNDRED TIMES MORE FRIENDS? Have you been rewarded with ONE HUNDRED PROFITABLE BUSINESS DEALS FOR EVERY ONE THAT YOU WALKED AWAY FROM FOR HIS SAKE?

I didn’t think so. So the question is… WHY? WHY is His yoke heavy for you? WHY don’t you feel free? WHY haven’t you received the hundredfold blessings God promised to His servants? Well, there is only one possible explanation. You haven’t been pulling the yoke with Christ - you’ve been pulling AGAINST HIM! Read the rest of this entry »

What was Job’s sin? Why did He have to go through such trials and tribulations? Was he proud and self-righteous? Or was it something else? Should we hold Job up as a warning to those who dare to say “I am righteous”, or as an EXAMPLE to those who should dare to say just that?

Job has received an unfair judgment by nearly everyone who ever mentioned his name, most of whom would not have been fit to be in charge of Job’s kennel, much less condemn him. So I think it’s time you heard the TRUTH about one of the greatest men who ever lived!

To begin with, God LOVED Job. Before and after this trial! God was so impressed with Job He used him as an example of what He would do for a righteous man.

Ezekiel 14:12-14 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

God LIKED Job! Never forget that! His opinion is what counts - not YOURS, not your grandmother’s, not even (or especially?) your minister’s!

Job simply KNEW he wasn’t evil. Men have often interpreted this as PRIDE, or Self-Righteousness, but that is not so! It isn’t pride to say “I haven’t sinned”…. when you haven’t! It is TRUTH!

Job 10:7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.

God agreed! Job was saying what was absolutely true when he said this! God didn’t say he was proud, self-righteous, or arrogant! This is what GOD, Himself said about Job!

Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

God said Job was perfect! Again, He didn’t use the term proud or self-righteous, BUT MEN HAVE! Read the rest of this entry »

When I make bold statements like “God has obligated Himself to answer your prayers QUICKLY, and DRAMATICALLY”, or “A righteous man will ALWAYS receive an answer to his prayer”, and things like that (which I say often) , people often object and say “But what about Paul?? HE prayed 3 times before getting an answer!” or again, “What about Job??”. There are usually only 5 things that people come up with as an objection to my statements.

The reason most people object to them is because they realize that I am making them RESPONSIBLE before God to have their prayers answered, and because I say that if their prayers are NOT answered, it is because God is NOT happy with them.

I say that their OBEDIENCE is directly tied to their faith, and that THEY are in control of their own faith. That they are both able and RESPONSIBLE to build and nurture their own faith, AND THAT THEY MUST!

To a world which has been taught that you should just “believe” and God will love you just as you are, this comes as quite a shock. BUT IT IS THE TRUTH! And until you KNOW what you CAN do, what goal it is POSSIBLE to achieve, as long as you are in the dark and believe that you CAN’T nurture your faith, and believe that it’s all God’s job, you WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO PLEASE GOD!! Read the rest of this entry »