"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"

God Our Shield

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

            "Our soul waiteth for the Lord:  he is our help and our shield."  Psalm  33:20

     In himself man is weak and vulnerable; therefore, he often needs a shield to protect him.  Today we hear of the special equipment which is necessary to preserve human life in atomic plants and in space travel. We're also told of a radar shield, consisting of many military bases encircling American territory, which is needed to warn us of approaching danger from enemy attack.  Everywhere there is talk of the envelope of air that guards the earth and its inhabitants from deadly rays and meteors that bombard us from outer space. Spiritually, too, man is certain to fall before the onslaughts of the powers of evil unless he has a "hedge" built about him by the love and providence of God.  When we are saved we may claim the promise of Christ's abiding presence and protection, and we may confidently say,  "He is our help and our shield."  Nothing can touch us that is outside His perfect will."

     There is a sweet story that illustrates what it means to have Christ between us and everything else.  A lady in England tells of being awakened one morning by a very strange noise.  It sounded like the pecking of a bird.  When she got up she saw a butterfly flying back and forth inside the windowpane in great fright. Outside a sparrow was frantically pecking and trying to get in.  The butterfly did not see the glass, and expected every moment to be caught; the sparrow did not see the window either and expected every minute to catch the butterfly.  Yet all the while the butterfly was as safe as if it had been miles away, because of the glass which came between it and the sparrow.  So it is with Christians who are abiding in Christ.  His presence is between them and every danger.  How blessed to be able to look into the future confidently and say with assurance,  "Thou art my hiding place and my shield"  (Psalm  119:114).

"Bread For Each Day"