When you’re tired and weary

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Angels   CURRENT TV SERIES Angels

In Judah it was said, "The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing.” --Nehemiah 4:10 Fatigue is becoming epidemic in our culture today. And being a Christian doesn’t give you immunity! One big reason believers are often just as worn out as everyone else is that we too push ourselves over the limit. This is caused by working too much and allowing ourselves to become physically depleted. Both of these things can cause us to be ineffective for Christ! When they were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah and his fellow workers certainly experienced fatigue and weariness. Their strength was gone, and it seemed they just couldn’t go on because of all the rubble they had to clear out. They lost focus of their ultimate goal! Do you ever feel that you have nothing left to give to Jesus? Have you experienced times when all you could think about was the pile of junk in front of you that had to be cleared off? When those times of fatigue and weariness come around, look to Jesus for renewed strength. Keep your eyes on the ultimate goal He has for you—the finished product like Nehemiah’s wall—not on the obstacles in the way. When you’re tired and weary, keep your eyes on Jesus…not on the rubble! The Traitor by Dr. Paul Chappell “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.” Luke 22:3–6 During the second Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes, the vastly outnumbered Greeks led by King Leonidas of Sparta held the narrow pass at Thermopylae where they were able to hold off the Persians who could only attack in small groups. For two days the Greek forces held firm, until a local Greek man named Ephialtes led the Persians to a path that allowed them to attack the Greeks from behind. Leonidas and most of his men perished because they had been betrayed. There is a war taking place in our world between light and darkness, between good and evil, between God and Satan. Every one of us who are saved has a duty and responsibility to perform in this war, yet too often we find ourselves fighting for the wrong side. “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). The church is not making the impact it should on the world in large part because too many Christians are not engaged in the battle. There is no place in God’s plan for non-combatants. Every Christian is called to active resisting Satan and stand for truth: “Fight the good fight of faith…” (1 Timothy 6:12). Even worse there are some who are helping the enemy. Though we do not like to think of it that way, when we allow unconfessed and continuing sin in our lives, we are siding with the enemy. We cannot truthfully profess loyalty to Christ while privately making friends with sin. Today’s Growth Principle:  When we allow sin to remain in our lives, we are betraying the Lord who saved us.