How and Why We Connect With The Living God
The Full Course Meal – (The ‘HOW’ & ‘WHY’)
Y/ O/ U/ A/ R/ E/ W/ O/ R/ T/ H/ I/ T/
Y/oke…we live and learn from the yoke of God
O/
U/
How & Why We Connect With The Living God
Jesus Christ
Y = Yoke—Chapter 1
Take my ‘Yoke’ upon you and learn. Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
It’s our choice… the ‘Yoke’ of good or of evil. (TM)
From Webster’s 1828 dictionary, we discover the meaning for ‘Yoke’, is described as follows:
A piece of timber, hollowed or made curving near each end, and fitted with bows for receiving the necks of oxen; by which means two are connected for drawing. From a ring or hook in the bow, a chain extends to the thing to be drawn, or to the ‘Yoke’ of another pair of oxen behind.
A mark of servitude; slavery; bondage.
A chain; a link; a bond of connection; as the yoke of marriage.
A couple; a pair; as a ‘Yoke’ of oxen.
Service.
God is saying to you and I, “Take my ‘Yoke’ upon you? Learn from me. Marry into my wisdom…Partner with me. I am everything and all you will ever need. You can do all things through me who gives you your strength. I give you freedom of choice to believe in me or not to believe in me. I am jealous but I am forgiving also. Come to me and I will give you rest. Give me your burdens and I will make them light. I created you on purpose with a hope and a future plan in mind. I love you.
When I think of God using the word ‘Yoke’, I cannot help but think of the word ‘vindicate’ while sharing, ‘Laugh where we must, be candid where we can, but vindicate the ways of God to man.’
VIN’DICATE means:
To defend; to justify; to support or maintain as true or correct, against denial, censure or objections.
To assert; to defend with success; to maintain; to prove to be just or valid; as, to vindicate a claim or title.
God will vindicate His claim to us as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
Paul says in Philippians 2:10-11: “so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
God is looking for our humbleness…then He will bless us. Proverbs 3:9, 10, says, “Honor the Lord (me) with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. Then he (I) will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.”
In Malachi 3:10, God says, “Test me in this and see that I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
Are you familiar with the expression, “Dumb as an Ox”? A farmer must ‘Yoke’ his Oxen before they will do what they are told to do.
With us, God is using ‘Yoke’, metaphorically. He is not speaking of us as animals or to literally ‘Yoke’ us like an ox. He is attempting to encourage us to take His ‘Yoke’ as in allowing Him to lead our lives.
Many will fail to accept God’s grace, claiming we cannot prove that He is real. But let us ask ourselves? When was the last time the sun lost its heat? When was the last time the birds forgot their tune? When was the last time you came across the same fingerprint as your own? When was the last time the Pacific Ocean dried up? When was the last time, daylight never returned? When was the last time gravity left us hanging?
I think of the story about a mother who was praying daily for her son’s salvation, in hopes that he would see the way of Jesus Christ before heading off to war. He never did make the decision before leaving and it wasn’t until a life or death incident from the trenches that caused him to reconsider what his mother had always preached to him over the years…
“Son, if you invite Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior, only to find out on your death bed it was all a hoax, then you have lost nothing. If you don’t invite Christ into your heart and die, finding out it was not a hoax, you’ve lost everything.” Hmmm???
This mother, nor I, is able to convince you of anything, no matter our efforts. Our job is to share the good news, plant the seed, in the unique and specific means provided each of us by the grace of God. As distinct as our fingerprint is from all others on planet earth, so is our means to deliver the message of hope—same message, different personality, different delivery with a different result; all according to His perfect timing and plan.
In John 6:44 & John 6:65, Jesus says, “For people can’t come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me.” Then He said, “That is what I meant when I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father brings them to me.”
I believe today is that day for you, and Jesus is knocking on your door with this book. There’s a time for the Creator, and for the created. Jesus says, “Take my ‘Yoke’ upon you and learn.” Matthew 11:29
If you wanted to be in the computer business and Bill Gates offered to personally teach you for free, would you accept?
If Sydney Crosby offered to personally and privately teach your children the skills of hockey, for free, would you accept?
Well today, right now, God, the creator of the above two individuals, all their gifts and talents, every other human being and all in existence
today, is offering you His wisdom, knowledge and understanding for free; will you accept?
The question to ask is, “Does wisdom chase after those yoked with the created or the Creator? Will we be bound to darkness or to light? This shouldn’t be a tough decision! Jesus Christ is King!
In 2 Corinthians 6:14, 15 we read, “How can goodness be a partner (yoked) with wickedness? How can light live (be yoked) with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil?
How can a believer be a partner (yoked) with an unbeliever?”
Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom are not in sync.
The Living God carries with His promises, eternal value, and the world carries with it, temporal value, only; what good is the latter? There has to be a huge difference in being able to rest in contentment, knowing that life as we know it today, is just the beginning, compared to, not knowing anything about tomorrow (Heaven or not), and wondering if Hades (Hell), is anything at all to what the Holy Bible describes it to be—and if it is, what comfort can there be in such hopelessness?
If Jesus is promising to provide all our needs, food, clothing, and contentment, is it not foolishness and illogical not to take Him up on it? I’d say so! [We do not have for we do not ask God…James 4:2]
Look at it this way—the world discourages; God encourages! The world takes away; God provides! The world secures false hope and dreams; Heaven secures our eternity.
I cannot encourage you enough, that when God says, “Take my ‘yoke’ upon you and learn, then,” just do it. Trust Him! We human beings will let you down (created), right, but God (Creator/Divine), will not.
When we invite God into our lives, Debts are rescued; relationships restored, decisions made wiser, anger destroyed, addictions defeated, friendships rekindled, disciplines re-focused, studies directed, families re-united, paths made clear, marriages reconciled, and peace becomes priority.
I spent twenty plus years chasing what I thought I always wanted in life, only to get there, wondering, why I ever wanted it in the first place.
Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 8:18 “Unending riches, honor, wealth, and justice are mine to distribute.”
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