[Video] Why Christmas is Horrible

 The following is a video from Mark Brown that I watched last night.  Brown states this about the video.

"For some people, Christmas is a time of loneliness, financial hardship and depression. If this is you, watch this video, if it isn't, share this video."

I'll add that everyone should watch this video because you never know when tragedy will strike and it's good to have these promises in mind when it does.

Standing Up

A great thing about the Bible is that you can learn new things from verses you've seen many times before.

I've recently been thinking and studying about temptation (here's why), and I came across a verse that is very familiar to me, perhaps too familiar.  It is 1 Corinthians 10:13.  The part that stood out to me is the last phrase that states " so that you can stand up under it."  Other translations use the word "bear" or "endure", but "standing up" works the best for me.

"Standing up" gives me a lot of positive associations when it comes to temptation.  The verse doesn't say that God will make the temptation magically disappear, but rather He will give us a way out so that we can stand up. To stand up means that the weight of the temptation is still there, but now so is the strength to deal with it.  The temptation is no longer crushing me, and by God's grace I have the power to move forward.

Thank you God for Your grace.

The Final Arrest

No man, even the apostle Paul, is an island.

Well, those evil Jews were at it again. I really shouldn't be surprised at the lengths these men went through to get rid of Paul, but this surprised me. In this chapter it is written that they accused Paul of setting Rome ablaze. The anti-Christian sentiment was so strong at the time that it didn't take much to make the accusation stick. Paul was arrested, and instead of a nice house, he was put into a gloomy dungeon.

Many of his friends had left the city for one reason or another, and he valued those who stayed that much more. A key person was Luke who "was a great comfort to Paul and enabled him to communicate with his brethren and the world without" (pg. 490). Another friend who stayed was Onesiphorous.

This warmhearted Ephesian did all in his power to lighten the burden of the apostle's imprisonment. His beloved teacher was in bonds for the truth's sake, while he himself went free, and he spared himself no effort to make Paul's lot more bearable. pg. 490

We all need each other. Even Jesus wanted the sympathy of His disciples while at Gethsemane. Those who spend their lives in service of others still need to be ministered to once in a while. May we all be more attuned to the needs of others and do our best to fulfill them.

Our Burden Bearer

Psalm 68:19  Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

If God bears our burdens, why are we so weighed down?

This verse is another reminder to me that I need to calm down and let God do what He wants to do. It says that He "daily bears our burdens", not once in a while, but daily.  If He is available everyday to bear my burdens, why do I so many times feel weighed down?  The answer is simple, I'm not letting Him bear my burdens, not surrendering my cares to Him, keeping them all to myself.

I'm reminded of the book The Pilgrim's Progress. For a good part in the beginning of the story, Christian, the main character, is weighed down by a heavy burden. When he comes to the cross of Christ, his burden falls off, rolls down the hill, and disappears into an empty grave.  I think that many times, for one reason or another, I either don't let that burden off my back, or actually chase after it down the hill!

So if we find ourselves weighed down, we should remember that God is the burden bearer, not us.