Choose Your Yoke!

Jesus is all about Freedom!  He came to set the captives (that is ALL of us) free!  Good stuff for sure.  What is this freedom like?  Scripture tells us the answer!

Here is the hard and beautiful truth.  We are people who will wear a yoke ... but which one?  Here is what God's word says ... "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!  Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1)."  There is a yoke of slavery, from which Christ has freed us.  I cannot stress enough the importance of what we believe and how we incorporate those beliefs into our lives.  Moses tells Israel, "You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him and committing yourself firmly to Him.  This is the key to your life.  And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."  Choosing God is freedom, and life.  Choosing to follow the world and the prince of this world (Satan) is choosing bondage.  "Do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery" Paul pleads!

There is another yoke we can wear.  Jesus said, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30)."  Like Moses, I advise you to choose the Lord, for the Lord is life itself.  Like Jesus I advise you to choose Jesus' yoke, which is a light and easy burden.  Like Paul I advise you to not allow yourselves to be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.

As we celebrate freedom and the birthday of America, let us remember the godly foundations upon which our nation is built.  Many of us mistakenly think this "freedom" is doing what we want to do.  But our founding fathers knew that to build a nation you need a foundation (they posed the foundation of 'under God") ... you need structural integrity (they posed rules/laws contained in our constitution) ... you need leaders who value the foundation and structure more than they value feelings or their personal gain.  Maybe the writer of one of our songs this morning knew this ... "who more than self, their country loved, and mercy more than life."

Which yoke will you choose?