Overwhelmed

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

Do you ever feel overwhelmed?  I have a tendency to stay under control and not get too high or too low.  At times though, I can find myself carrying a heavy weight, a weight of unmet expectations, failures, and trying my hardest and not being good enough.  The burdens of life can very quickly press hard on us and begin to crush us.

The problem is that I begin to carry the weight and don't seek rest in the Lord.  When I labor and am heavy laden I must remember to find rest for my soul in Christ Jesus.  As hard as we try to succeed, as much as we try to please people and meet their expectations, we will always come up short.  We must remember to come to Jesus, to learn from Him and experience the rest that only He can give.

Eye Contact

"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." - Psalm 34:5

Eye contact is one of the most telling forms of non-verbal communication.  We communicate in non-verbal ways all the time throughout our day.  Positively or negatively our body language communicates a lot to people.  Sometimes we don't even notice how much it effects those around us.

Have you ever thought about your non-verbal communication with God?  What posture do you approach prayer, worship, & devotional time with?  Are you making eye contact with God and allowing Him to make eye contact with you?

The outward evidence is on the faces of those making eye contact with God.  They are radiant, they are in awe of the glory and majesty of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Our sinful flesh keeps deep hurts, pains, and lies trapped in our soul.  When we just stop and make eye contact with our God our soul is detoxed.  We understand that God sees into the depths of who we are; our fears, our worries, our pain, and the longings of our heart.

In relationships you know the fellowship between two people is good when they can look each other in the eye.  Many times our sin makes us look at the ground because of the feelings of shame and guilt.  Know the steadfast mercy and love of God, receive the forgiveness found at the cross of Christ and in turn look to Him and you will become radiant!

#uncomfortable

This past Saturday we had our men's discipleship conference.  I was blessed by the men who came out and their desire to follow Jesus.  Here are some of the notes from the conference...

Desire without discipline always leaves you wanting.
- Is your desire to follow Jesus greater than your desire for comfort?

Excuses are rooted in our desire to be comfortable.
- What excuses do you find yourself making that are rooted in the desire to be comfortable?

We must be intentional in our conversation if we want to be purposeful in our relationships.
- What relationships do you need to be more intentional in?

We make time for what we value most?
- How much do you value time with Jesus?