Yoke?

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery”. Gal atians 5:1

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”. Matthew 11

In the past whenever I thought about the yoke of the Lord I considered it to be a burden. I always thought a yoke was a burden. However, on Sunday, visiting Calvary Chapel Alamos, Pastor Javier shed new light on the subject. He said that the yoke the Lord has put upon is not to weigh us down, but to unite us to Himself. The yoke is a union not a burden. Think about that…. The weight, the burden is purposed not to tire us but to unite us to Him. It is through the yoke that we become one with him. This revelation simply overwhelmed me…. The consequences of this revelation are mindblowing…. What a relief I felt. What a sense of rest. The gratitude that I felt toward the Lord made me want to cry. Through our trial, in our time of need, we are one with Him. United, doing the job together! This is the purpose of trial and tribulation to push us into that yoke with Him so that we will not be alone.
God is good my friends….. God is good.

Last time I wrote I believe the group from Minnesota was here. They left shortly after. We are so thankful for their help and willingness to serve. I’m thankful because my vocabulary was stretched and grown while on the job site with them. I will probably never be a master builder or a contractor but I did learn quite a lot. The bathroom that the group started is not finished yet but is well on it’s way. We need another group to come and finish it!!!!


Soon after the group left I relocated to Alamos for a short time. A dear friend had surgery so I have been playing nurse and helper for the past week and a half. It has been a blessing and honor to serve her. I am still here in Alamos staying with her. Tomorrow or Friday I look forward to returning to the Ranch. I have missed my daily activities and obviously all of the congregation. It will be great to be back to my Sunday school classes as well after missing two Sundays with them.


I ask ya’ll to continue to pray as the meeting with DIF(social services) about opening the children’s home again draws near. April 4th is when they will be coming to speak with Dan and Ana. Please pray that the Lord would give all wisdom and understand to Dan and Ana regarding this situation. We are all very excited to see what comes of it.

I am also very excited to announce that one week from today my mother, yes MY MOTHER, my younger brother, my little sister, and dear friend, Cher, will be arriving!!!!!!!!! I am so blessed and excited!!! Please pray that the Lord would be with them as they travel.

My love to all. And a special shout out to my dear, dear, friend, Cati Grape who turns 21 today!!!!! Happy Birthday Cate J
God Bless!

pics

HI Everyone :)
After the Minnesota group leaves on Thursday I will send out a more in depth blog. But for now I wanted to share some pics with ya'll :)
1. Rogelio, Carla, and Noemi!!

2. work, work, work.... We've been busy building a bathroom in Navojoa.
3. Three little girls that have my heart; Lupita, Dislania, and Maria Elena.

Dwelling

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Bessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion............For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!" Psalm 84

To dwell- To live or stay as a permanent resident.

To live or to stay.... To stay. Stay is an action verb. It requires effort to stay. In this case staying requires not only physical action but mental as well. Being a Christian is not about the decision we make one day to follow Christ. It's about the decisions you make daily to walk with Him. Dwelling in His courts is part of walking with Him. We can decide one day that we want to dwell with and in Christ, but it doesn't end there. Dwelling with Him, in Him, is a choice that we must make each and every day. Are we willing to sacrifice what must be sacrificed to dwell in Him? We know that He is light and in Him there is no darkness. So, we must shed our darkness to dwell in Him. We must deny our flesh and take on His desires and His heart. To dwell in Christ is to have constant peace and joy. Peace and joy that are not affected by our circumstances or surroundings. On the contrary if we are dwelling in Christ we should have an effect, we should an impression, on the world around us. To have His peace and joy we must decide daily to dwell in Him. We must wake up every morning and put ourselves mentally, spiritually, and physically in His courts. Then throughout the day we must continue resolutely, we must stick to His side. We must not abandon that peace and joy for our own 'strength'. We have to give way to His desire, His ideas, His plans for us in that day. Dwelling in His courts not only makes perfect peace and joy available to us but it also gives us a clarity that we will find nowhere else. When dwelling in His courts becomes our focus and purpose everything else pales in comparison. His joy and His peace bring us spiritual clarity and a heavenly mindset. When our hearts and minds are set on heaven worldly problems become almost insignificent. Why? Because we know and understand that these do not affect eternity.
So make the choice with me today. Choose to dwell, choose to stay, in the courts of your King. Do not allow the world, it's people, it's problems to steal the joy and peace found in His courts. Be heavenly minded. Let your little light shine :)