Bearing Another's Burdens

In the student ministry at my church, we're going through the book of Galatians. Last night, my student pastor taught on chapter 6 verse 2.

Bearing another's burdens, sounds easy, doesn't it?

When you think of this, more than likely you think of helping each other out, but what about things that, well, you can't exactly help with? Like take family problems, you can't exactly help out there. How do you help a friend carry these types of burdens? A friend of mine asked me this question, and I realized I didn't know what to tell her. I had no idea what to say...

I began where my student pastor was last night, Galatians 6.

"Bear another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

What does this mean exactly? Well, I used a large study Bible(no, really, its gigantic.) and looked up the cross-references for this verse.

Romans 15:1-2 "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of is please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."

Build him up. Hold your friend above yourself. Love him, pray for him. How you help your friend going through something like that, how you help them carry that burden, is you don't allow them to become discouraged. You pray with them. You let them talk, if they want to talk, and you try to understand. You don't allow them to get down, no matter how hard things are.

You say 'but what if I don't want to listen? What if I have hard problems of my own in my life?'

Philipians 2:3b-4 "...but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

That answer your question? You need to realize it's not all about you.

Not that you don't have to think about your own problems. That's the best part about having close friends, in having a close small group. They share with you and you share with them, and you all help carry each other's burdens.

When you don't have this, the closeness, it makes it difficult to share with one another. I know this from experience. If all you have are 'shallow' friendships, it's hard to tell all your problems. All you get is awkward silence.

You want to have a 'David and Jonathan friendship', a 'David and Jonathan small group'.

You know about these two guys, David and Goliath? Jonathan, son of Saul? These two guys were really close. It says 'The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.' (1 Samuel 18:1)

Can you say that you have a friendship like this? Where you can go against everything you know to help your friend? That's what Jonathan did for David. He went almost as far as risking his life for his friend. Just like Jesus did for us. Jesus sacrificed His life to save ours.
That's what I call close friends.

I hope one day I can say that my small group and my friends, that we are close. Even closer than we are now. It's going to take a lot from me. I've gotta let myself trust people again. I know that these people are people I can trust. To truly be what God wants a small group to be, we need to be close.

So many things...

So many things You have taught me this year. I think back, and know that You were there, even in the hardest times.
I've learned so many things this year. I've learned to trust You more, knowing You have a reason for everything.
So many things I still don't understand, but I know, You'll let me know in Your time.
So many things this year God, so many things that didn't make sense. Why did the hard things happen?
Why is this going on now? I don't understand. It hurts, it hurts bad...
You've taught me to trust in You. I try my best, to not question Your motives. Help me see, what this is You have in mind for me.
So many things, I see that they may have led to this. Maybe these things are going to help me now. Maybe these things are just hanging around for something bigger, something You have in store for me.
So many things God. So many things I wish I knew. So many things I wish I understood.
So many things I know that You understand. I know that these many things, You hold in You hand, hold in Your hand.
So many things I hope to accomplish, so many things I want to do.
So many things I won't do, so many things I won't want to do.
So many things I'll trust You in. So many things You will help me through.
Thank You God, for the many things You have done. The many things You will do.
Help me understand the many things that You send my way. Help me to trust You in the many things, the many things I'll see. Help me to know You are there for me, in the many things of life.
So many things God, so many things...

All the Day Long

Sitting here, I don't know what to do.
Standing there, I have no clue.
What am I doing?
What's going on.
I feel like I can't go on.

I look around me, I can see nothing.
I look down, there's nobody there,
But I look up and I know Who's there!

Jesus is going to be there for you,
Just like He's there for me!

Sometimes things happen,
But life goes on.
Jesus is with me, all the day long.
I know that He is standing there by my side,
Jesus is with you, all the day long!

Things may not seem to work,
Days drag by.
Friends come and go,
But He stays,
He stays with you,
Jesus is by your side all the day long!

Do you feel like you're alone?
Oh yeah.
No one seems to understand.
I feel so alone.

There may be times when you feel like that,
times when it's hard.
You feel like given in.
But remember, remember He is there!

Sometimes things happen,
But life goes on.
Jesus is with me, all the day long.
I know that He is standing there by my side,
Jesus is with you, all the day long!

All day long, He is there,
Watching you and me.
All day long Jesus loves,
He is with you!

All the day long.
Jesus loves me, this I know!
All the day...long.

Crazy Love

So my dad gave me Crazy Love by Francis Chan to read today. He told me to read chapters 5-6 and give my thoughts on it.....so here goes...

Whoa, okay, so the fifth chapter, 'Serving Leftovers to a Holy God'...ouch...

I have to admit, when I was reading the first part of this chapter, I was having trouble.

It's about lukewarmness...

All my life, I have always thought that lukewarmness was talking about us Christians. How if we aren't on fire for God, but we don't just ignore Him, we were in-between, a lukewarm Christian.

What Mr. Francis says in his book though, is "...a lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron; there's no such thing."

I was like, wait...what? This was going against some things that I grew up with the knowledge of, but there have been a lot of things like that in the past year, things that made sense after I studied them.

After he says this, he gives the passage in the Bible where Jesus talks about 'lukewarmness.'

Revelation 3:15-18

15"'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see."

So, how do you look at this and think that it is talking about Christians? How did I? Jesus was talking to a church, yes, a church of supposed Jesus followers. So if you just pull this out of the passage and teach it, yeah, everyone thinks Jesus is talking about Christians, talking to you.

In a way, it could be.

Jesus was saying to the church here, that because they are lukewarm, He is going to spit them out of His mouth. Francis Chan then says "When you read this passage, do you naturally conclude that to be 'spit' out of Jesus' mouth means you're a part of His kingdom? ...When He counsels them to 'buy white clothes to wear' in order to cover their 'shameful nakedness,' does it sound like advice for those already saved?
I thought people who were saved were already made white and clothed by Christ's blood."

How was this church lukewarm? They weren't giving their all. They were giving only halfway. They weren't real Christians. That's what it meant. Jesus saw their hearts and was disappointed. They said they were Christians, they walked the walk, talked the talk, but they hadn't really given their hearts to Him.

Jesus says it a lot in the Gospels, He wants it all, or nothing. Don't give only a little.

In light of the parable of the soils, looking at the plants in rocky and thorny soil, the author says this; "I wanted to know if the person representing the rocky soil is saved, even though he has no root. I wondered about the thorny soil: Is this person saved since he does have root?
...Is this idea of the non-fruit-bearing Christian something that we have concocted in order to make Christianity 'easier'? So we can follow our own course while still calling ourselves followers of Christ? So we can join the Marines, so to speak, without having to do all the work?'

Umm, so then Chan starts talking about questions you ask yourself, you know what I mean. The questions such as, 'If I'm ashamed about talking about Christ, will Jesus really deny knowing me? If my boyfriend and I cross some lines in our relationship, am I really a Christian?' the list goes on.

You know what I'm talking about. We are all guilty of doing this. You know what's really bad about it though? Question like these show whats in our hearts. It shows what we really think about, our chance of going to heaven instead of what we really should be thinking about. Jesus Christ.

You can think about Jesus, you can say you know Him, but do you follow Him? You're like yeah. I follow Jesus everyday! I tithe, read my Bible, and I pray. I might even give a few extra dollars in the offering plate on Sunday. I'm in church every time the doors are open.

You can say you know God, but like in James it says, 'You believe God is one; you do well. Even demons believe-and shudder!' Chapter 3 verse 19. Look back at verse 17, 'So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.'

That, saying you know Jesus but not doing what He says to do, is halfway worship. That is being lukewarm.

Giving a little extra money in the church and things like that is giving God your leftovers. That's not giving your all for Jesus.

Jesus told us to go and make disciples. 'Go and teach all nations' He said. Hanging out in a church building and making converts isn't that. That isn't exactly what He said, or meant.

All God wants is our love, our devotion, our attention. He wants us to focus on Him and help others see Him, so that they to can feel His love and give it back. God measures us by how we love.

When I read these things, it showed me how great Jesus loves me. I'll fail in all these things every single day. I'll not love like I should be, or I'll chicken out of showing someone God's love. Ugh, I fail everyday, I'll have a bit of lukewarmness in me everyday. Does this mean that I'm not truly saved? Nope. Not since I'm a true believer. Jesus' grace covers me and covers it all. Because I have this, you can see in the Bible, that there is room for my failure and sin in pursuit of God.

After reading this, it makes me want to make sure I'm all in. I don't want to only give parts of me, I want to give all of me!

In light of going on missions trips this summer, this book, I feel, is challenging me to not give partway in all that I could do. I believe that He would want me to make sure I'm doing all that I can out there.