"Take Up Thy Bed"

Come, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31

                              " . . . Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk."   Mark  2:9

     A man in great misery of soul, not knowing which way to turn, was wandering one evening along a country lane in England.  He continued walking until at length, completely exhausted, he decided to rest for a few moments beside a nearby hedge.  As he sat there, he heard two girls talking on the other side.  They were speaking to one another about a sermon which they heard in a London church.  One of them said of the pastor,  "I heard him preach just once, but it gave me a big spiritual lift.  I shall never forget one thing in particular that he said."  The other girl asked what it was that the preacher had presented which had so greatly stirred her.  The other replied that in speaking of the paralytic and his marvelous cure, as recorded in Mark 2, the minister had declared,  "The world will always say,  "You made your bed, and you must lie on it'; but One greater than the world has said,  'Take up thy bed and walk, thy sins are forgiven.'"

     The troubled and despairing man on the other side of the hedge heard these gracious words, and through it the Holy Spirit lifted the shadow from his soul.

     To every burdened one who finds forgiveness through grace, Jesus in effect says the same today:  "Take up your bed - take up your cross; and then bear your burden graciously as you walk in My strength!"

     If you are troubled today, and much encumbered with a load of care, heed Jesus' gracious command and "Take up thy bed and walk!"

"Bread For Each Day"