ASSIGNMENTS

1. Once a day read over this material and read or sing the songs.

2. Keep the scripture where you will see it often each day.

3. Think of times you have not carried your load and forced others to take on more than was right, and determine that you will do better.

4. Write down ways you shouldered loads you normally wouldn't have.

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There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below - Charles Spurgeon

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He knows the bitter, weary way; He knows the endless striving day by day; He knows how hard the fight has been; The clouds that come between, The wounds the world has never seen, He knows. He knows! O thought so full of bliss! For though some joys on earth we miss, We still can bear it, knowing this, HE KNOWS!

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DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS

MONDAY - VERSES: Job 7:20; Psalm 38:4 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask for God's help in bearing the burden of guilt for past sins.

TUESDAY - VERSES: Psalm 55:22; Matthew 11:29-30; 1 Peter 5:7 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for His care for you and His willingness to carry your burdens with you and for you.

WEDNESDAY - VERSES: Isaiah 10:27; 14:25 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you not bear burdens that He has removed from you.

THURSDAY - VERSES: Jeremiah 17:21-24, 27 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for not requiring you to bear more burdens than you are able. Ask Him to help you recognize times you are bearing more than you should.

FRIDAY - VERSES: Acts 15:28; 2 Corinthians 12:16; Luke 11:46 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God for the strength not to allow others to bind burdens on you that God has not bound.

SATURDAY - VERSES: 2 Corinthians 8:13; Galatians 6:2 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God to help you help others while still carrying your own burdens.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 55

RESPONSIBILITY - 8-11-13 to 8-17-13

SCRIPTURE - Galatians 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

COMMENT – While there is a great deal of emphasis in the Bible on helping others, sharing, and giving to those in need. We need to remember that the Bible also teaches personal responsibility. There are some things that we must learn to handle for ourselves, and certain responsibilities that each of us must shoulder. As Christians let us live so that it will never be said that we did not do our share.

SONG - FOLLOW ME

1. I traveled down a lonely road And no one seemed to care, The burden on my weary back Had bowed me to despair, I oft complained to Jesus How folks were treating me, An then I heard Him say so tenderly, "My feet were also weary, Upon the Calv'ry road; the cross became so heavy, I fell beneath the load, Be faithful weary pilgrim The morning I can see, Just lift your cross and follow close to me."

2. "I work so hard for Jesus" I often boast and say, "I've sacrificed a lot of things To walk the narrow way, I gave up fame and fortune; I'm worth a lot to Thee." And then I hear Him gently say to me, "I left the throne of glory And counted it but loss, My hands were nailed in anger Upon a cruel cross, But now we'll make the journey With your hand safe in mine, So, lift your cross and follow close to me.

3. Oh, Jesus if I die upon A foreign field some day, 'Twould be no more than love demands No less could I repay. "No greater love has mortal man Than to die for a friend," These are the words He gently spoke to me, "If just a cup of water I place within you hand Then just a cup of water Is all that I demand," "If by my death those living Better Thy glory see, I'll take my cross and follow close to Thee."

THOUGHTS

It was back in the early '60s that Admiral Rickover wrote these few lines to those who are at the helm:

Responsibility is a unique concept. It can only reside in a single individual. You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you. If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the one who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you never had anyone really responsible.

Tough words, but true. Rickover never was one to concern himself with tact. Maybe his grit is needed more than we realize. Big projects and meaningful achievements get done not by dreamers but by doers, not by armchair generals who watch and frown from a distance but by brave troops in the trenches, not by fat fans in the bleachers but by lean, committed coaches and players on the field, not by those who stay neutral and play it safe but by those who get off the fence of indecision, even though their decisions are occasionally unpopular.

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Look at the difference in the attitude expressed in the song "Count Your Blessings" and the one shown in the following poem.

When you are discouraged, feel that all is lost; Say the prize you're seeking is not worth the cost; Think about your troubles, count them o'er and o'er; Every time you count them, there will be one more.

If there be clear sunshine, think how soon 'til rain; Should it be midsummer, winter comes again; Every glorious sunset ends in dark, dark night; Youth gives way to cheerless age; there's nothing right.

If you see a promise fits you to a "T", Though you hunger for it, cry, "This not for me!" You must bear your burdens, sink beneath the load, For your way to Heaven is a dreary road.

Count your many problems, name them one by one; Think that victory never, never will be won; Cite your many troubles, count them o'er and o'er, All your disappointments and vexations soar.

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Almost everyone would rather have sunshine than showers. But just imagine what our world would be like if it never rained again.

An example of such a place is in Northern Chile. Franklin Elmer, Jr., described a region between the great Andes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean where rain never falls. He wrote, "Morning after morning the sun rises brilliantly over the tall mountains to the east; each noon it shines brightly down from overhead; evening brings a picturesque sunset. Although storms are often seen raging high in the mountains, and heavy fog banks are observed far out over the sea, the sun continues to shine on this favored and protected strip of land. One would imagine this area to be an earthly paradise; but it is not. Instead, it is a sterile and desolate desert! There are no streams of water, and nothing grows there."

Elmer then made this application: "Too often we long for total sunshine and joy in life. We have wished to be rid of burdensome responsibilities. But, like this sunny, unfertile part of Chile, life without its burdens and trials would not be creative, productive, or challenging. We need sunshine and showers."

The storm clouds of suffering may at times blot out the sun and threaten to engulf us. But the trusting Christian recognizes that in God's wise design and under His sovereign control they actually bring showers of blessing.

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One preacher explained a discussion after a sermon on Christ's invitation to the weary and heavy-laden.

I had finished my sermon when a good man came to me and said "I wish I had known what you were going to preach about. I could have told you something."

"Well, my friend," I said, "may I have it still?"

"Do you know why His yoke is light, sir?"

"Well, because the good Lord helps us to carry it, I suppose."

"No, sir," said he, shaking his head, "I think I know better than that. You see, when I was a boy at home, I used to drive the oxen, and the yoke was never made to balance as you said. Father's yokes were always made heavier on one side than the other. Then, you see, we would put a weak bullock in alongside a strong bullock; the light end would come on the weak ox, the heavier end on the stronger one. That's why the yoke is easy and the burden is light, because the Lord's yoke is made after the same pattern, and the heavy end is upon His shoulder." -- The Sunday School Times

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BEAR YOUR SHARE

I. AN EMPHASIS ON OTHERS

II. TWO DIFFERENT GREEK WORDS

III. BURDENS WE SHOULD BEAR

IV. BURDENS WE CAN'T BEAR

BEAR YOUR SHARE

INTRODUCTION

A. Galatians 6:2-5 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. (4) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. (5) For every man shall bear his own burden.

B. An old legend says that at creation the birds felt cheated and hurt because they received wings. Wings appeared to be burdens which none of the other animals were asked to carry. All was changed, however, when the birds learned that wings were not burdens but blessings that bore them to the sky. Because they were given wings they could rise above the earth and see sights which no other animal could see. What seemed like burdens were really blessings.

I. AN EMPHASIS ON OTHERS

A. Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

B. God expects to look out for the needs of other Christian, but not their wants.

II. TWO DIFFERENT GREEK WORDS

A. Burdens in verse 2 - Baros - a weight that pushes one down. Some load that is too much to carry.

B. Burden in verse 5 Phortion - For tee on - The English transliteration of this Greek word is just one letter from portion - literally an invoice - the task one is charged with the list of things that are expected.

III. BURDENS WE SHOULD BEAR OURSELVES

A. Those things that are normal for all human beings of normal health, capable age, normal intelligence, etc.

B. Physical - barring physical handicaps, personal care and the care of one's household

C. Mental - thinking through decisions and thinking for oneself

D. Emotional - regular ups and downs of happiness and sorrow

E. Spiritual - Each will give account of his own soul

F. Social - friendships and relationships

G. Financial - regular bills, having a job, etc.

IV. BURDENS WE CAN'T BEAR ALONE

A. These are not the common loads that come to all, but occasional overwhelming events that incapacitate for a time. The scripture never indicates the duration of the shared burden bearing, but the vast majority should be temporary or sporadic or both

B. Physical - overwhelming injury or illness

C. Mental - mental illness or problems beyond one's own intelligence, a decision to be made when one is too close to think rationally

D. Emotional - Death, Divorce, other events of a traumatic nature

E. Spiritual - addictions, deeply embedded false teachings

F. Social - loneliness, widowed and divorced

G. Financial - Bankruptcy, loss of job or property

CONCLUSION

A. The important thing about a burden is not the relief of putting it down, but the strength we gain during the time we carry it.

B. Are you gaining strength by carrying your own burden and by helping others carry burdens that are too heavy to carry alone?

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians 6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Galatians

6:5

For every man shall bear his own burden.