Brother Michael's Devotional

"That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;"

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:"

"How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,"Ephesians 3:16, 9, 3

Each of us is carrying a burden. All of us are born with the burden of original sin. Lost humanity carries the burden of guilt, the church often carries a heavy load of ministry and the individual saint toils under the weight of there personal vocation. How then are we to bear these burdens?

First, each of us in the body of Christ are given a certain vocation. We are placed in the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit as it has pleased the Father. But where does our strength to function in our vocation come from? We, in and of our selves, have no ability to do anything pleasing to God. So we must "be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man." Friend, we need outside help if we are bear the load of our calling and live within the will of God. The Apostle Paul faced this struggle in Romans chapter 7 when he stated, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." The apostle Paul discovered that he was incapable of fulfilling his vocation or living within the will of God by himself but that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.

The Body of Christ corporately has also been called to the ministry and to bear a burden. God has called us as a body of believers to proclaim the gospel so that we might "make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery...that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." But this burden can not be carried out by one man alone, it requires the entire body of Christ or the "fellowship of the mystery" to complete this task. Just as a human body can not function to it's full potential when it is missing a member, whether it be an eye, ear or hand, even so the body of Christ can not function to it's full potential when one member, even the most insignificant, is missing.

Lastly, lost humanity is burdened with the guilt of sin and the futile attempt to be reconciled to God. Friend, there is nothing your or I can do to please God because he is already satisfied with the work of the Son. God is well pleased with His Son Jesus Christ, what about you? The only salvation from the burden of sin that all of us are born with is the "mystery of Christ...that the gentiles should be fellowheirs..."

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30