A cycle in discipleship.

Being Christ's disciples can be tough. If you want other people to know about Christ, there will be problems, attacks, crisis, worries of all sorts along the way. Matthew 11:28-30.
1 Invitation for refreshment. Jesus invites us for refreshment and reloading. He knows about the pressures of life. We can get weary. He is inviting us to be renewed. He does not want us to be broken down. He wants us to be refreshed : the living water, (John 4:10) the true vine (John 15:1). Note that the word for gentle in Greek is 'tamed', a friend but watch out, Jesus is not a push over, he is quite firm when he has to be, when he dealing with the Pharisees for instance. Also note the importance of reading the Scriptures, Jesus invites us to get some nourishment, to feed on the Word. Let's dwell on the word 'yoke', here we understand 'well-fitting' so the yoke will not hurt the animals. Think about custom-made shoes! Jesus doesn't say that everything will be easy. He invites us to be worried about the priorities of the Kingdom, the right concerns.
2 Invitation into a work-out : ask, seek, knock: Matthew 7:1
Jesus invites us into a journey, into a relationship. Working with God, with our brothers and sisters. Come and explore. That journey can be tough as we mentioned it before.
3 Reminder that our God is a loving God. You, as parents give good things to your children so will our Father in heaven. Matthew 7:9-12
4 Reminder about the journey. We can choose between two paths, the broad easy one leading us away from our Father or the narrow one. Imagine a mountain path, not easy. If we do what Jesus says, if we trust him and obey him, (Hebrews 12: 1-3) we will be more efficient during our journey.Still in our moments of despair let us think of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, God won't test you beyond your forces.
Rev. Steven Abram
I hope you enjoyed reading those personal notes I jotted down at Milwich tonight.