The Yoke - Pt. 2

The reason a farmer would yoke a young, weaker, inexperienced ox to an older, stronger, trained ox was to keep him on the path. This is another thing we can learn from Christ when we accept His invitation in Matthew 11:29 to "...take my yoke upon you and learn from me..." One of the most common mistakes we make as Christ-followers is our tendency to get off the path.

The yoke of the Holy Spirit serves to harness us to the guidance Christ provides. John 16:13 says, "When He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth." Let's face it, sometimes following the leading of the Holy Spirit is a frightening prospect, but we can trust our guide!

There's a great story about a missionary who hired a native guide to direct him through one of the most dense jungles in Africa. For the first few miles, the path was clear but after a while the missionary couldn't see the path at all. He began to get concerned and asked his guide, "Where is the path? I can't see it." The native smiled and said, "At this point in the jungle... I AM the path."

What a great lesson for us as Christ-followers. Sometimes we can't see the path in life, but Jesus reminds us that in those moments, He is the path! (John 14:6)

Let's step into the yoke God has provided and allow Christ to keep us on the path!

Camp Courageous: Where God's love is contagious!

Our day camp is going on this week.

Over 350 awesome boys and girls are here at Crossroads enjoying Camp Courageous! This week they'll go swimming, bowling, ice skating, take in the new Pixar movie "Up" and much, much more! Most importantly they'll be challenged and encouraged with God's Word to have a personal relationship with Christ and be everything God has called them to be!

Over 50 volunteers and an incredible staff make all this possible. Thanks to all who are contributing!

Marty and Anna Hoey are the heart and soul behind all this fun and ministry and I'm so thankful to have the best Children's Pastors in the whole world serving along side Donna and I here at Crossroads Church.

The Yoke - Pt. 1

   Jesus invited us in Matthew 11:29, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me..." It's hard to really grasp the meaning of this invitation outside of it's ancient agricultural context, but the disciples knew exactly what Jesus meant. The yoke wasn't only a device to harness the power of two animals but it was a mechanism by which a farmer could train a young, weaker, inexperienced ox by placing him in a yoke with an older, stronger ox that was already trained. Jesus was inviting the disciples to learn how to minister effectively by being yoked with Him. Today, the invitation stands and we can be harnessed to the power of Christ. 

   I believe the yoke is the Holy Spirit. Remember what Jesus promised in Acts 1:8, "You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you..." Or, in other words, you will receive power after you've been harnessed to me by the Holy Spirit. We desperately need that power today. We have nothing to offer a lost and dying world in and of ourselves, but if we can just be yoked with Christ, we have HIS power to offer! 

   Years ago, in the Tournament of Roses Parade, a float broke down and held up the precession for quite a while as workers attempted to determine the cause. After checking out everything else, someone finally thought to check the gas tank and sure enough, it was out of gas. Think about that for a minute. Hours and hours had gone in to preparing this beautiful float. Intricate details were poured over to make sure it looked just so and yet, with all the careful preparation and attention they didn't think to fuel up!

   There's a message here about ministry. We so often make sure church looks just right and sounds just right but the real question is, "Have we fueled up? Are we harnessed to the power of Christ?" The truly amazing thing about this story is the float actually represented the Standard Oil Company. If anyone should have thought about checking the gas tank you would think it would be the Standard Oil Company! The same could be said of those of us who are Spirit-filled believers. If anyone should know how important the power of the Holy Spirit is, it's us!  It's time to step into the yoke.

The President's Allegiances

This past week, President Obama declared June Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender month, fulfilling one of many campaign promises made to support the homosexual agenda. Interestingly, although he signed the legislation declaring May 7, 2009 the National Day of Prayer, he refused to host a prayer gathering at the White House as his predecessors George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan had done. He said he prays privately. So his allegiance to the GLBT community is publicly carried out with pomp and ceremony while his allegiance to God is something reserved for a back room somewhere. Maybe it's because there is no allegiance to God at all! As this President continues to pursue the most radical agendas ever carried out by an American president concerning the issues of abortion, gay rights, the redistribution of wealth, the government take-over of private enterprise and the weakening of national security it is clear where his allegiances lie. Those allegiances are obviously not to the constitution, they certainly aren't to the American family and they in no way reflect an allegiance to God!