Mark 5:20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

I am so excited. The Lord has just done a marvelous thing in me. I cannot contain myself. I must share it, I must tell everyone I know.

Sadly that work is mean for a later date. It has a time and a purpose under the sun. This devotional is about my joy, the excitement, the zeal and the renewal of my energy and dedication to serve my Lord.

I think we all go thru life with good intentions and then the world pounds on us and we get down. It isn’t easy to maintain a high level of energy. We are human, subject to wear and tear. Physical exhaustion is often seen in us after hard work.

Matthew 11:29-20 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.

His work is not hard, for in taking upon His yoke, Jesus is yoke with you, like a team of oxen. He carries the burden and weight of responsibility in the work. We find rest there, we come out of that work refreshed, rested, energized, excited.

Trying to do the work of the ministry all by yourself is exhausting. Doing without Jesus is impossible. In truth you can see that the Lord is in it if when you finish, you find yourself well rested and excited.

There will come a day when I share this word with you my readers, but not until it has gone and performed its good work before the men to which it is to be delivered. Until then take His yoke and find rest and excitement.

2 Corinthians 12:11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

I learned something this week end I did not expect. In preparing for a spiritual retreat, it became apparent that I cannot be all that I am. Paul alludes to it here in this passage. He didn’t have to take a backseat to anyone, not even Peter. His gifts and ministry are without a doubt the bulk of the New Testament.

I am become a fool in glorying is the difficult part. Our modern understanding clouds the meaning which would have been better understood in the original time and language of the listener. In glorying is Paul’s version of let the love of Christ in you shine. The issue of being a fool is not foolish, but rather choosing a lower wattage light to shine before men who have just come out of darkness. While Paul was capable of shining brightly, to be all that he was in Christ would have been too much for these babes in Christ.

The compelling force here is the love of Christ. Paul recognizes they are not capable of receiving and comprehending the depth of his great love, so like a loving father, he comes out of the deep water and splashes in the kiddy pool with these little children. Bringing them into the deep would only frighten them.

Spiritually speaking, we know who we are in Christ and we aspire for more, but in these time, when ministering to babes in Christ, we must sit in the shallows enjoy them in their comfort and security. While a man sitting and splashing in a kiddie pool alone looks foolish, if you place a toddler in with him, the same actions appear loving.

I can only do that if I look back in time and remember how it felt to be a babe in Christ myself and have compassion for their position in Christ. If I can relate to how it was for me back in those days, they will have a better sense what is going on during this retreat.