OCTOBER 17 - BEARING BURDENS
READ Galatians 6
Christians are to look out for one another and bear one another’s burdens.
INSIGHT
John Donne once wrote: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the
Continent, a part of the main. . . . If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less.” What Donne wrote generally and poetically, Paul wrote specifically hundreds of years earlier: “Restore” one another and “bear one another’s burdens” (vv. 1-2); “do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (v. 10). We are part of one another, and we are to live for one another in harmony and mutual concern. We are all part of the same “continent” – the “continent” of Christ.
PRAYER
Offer praise to the Lord because the message of Christ the Savior has come to you:
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
And faithful in all his acts.
The Lord is near all who call out to him,
All who call out to him with integrity.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
He hears their cry for help and saves them.
The Lord guards all those who love him,
But he destroys all the wicked.
My mouth will declare the Lord’s praise;
Let every living thing
Bless his holy name forever and ever
(Psalm 145:17-21).
Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to stay in fellowship with Him:
My eyes are always on the Lord,
For he will pull my feet out of the net.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am alone and afflicted.
The distresses of my heart increase;
Bring me out of my sufferings.
Consider my affliction and trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
May integrity and what is right
Watch over me, for I wait for you
(Psalm 25:15-18, 21).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17).
As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
So that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice (Romans 15:6).
Christians are to look out for one another and bear one another’s burdens.
INSIGHT
John Donne once wrote: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the
Continent, a part of the main. . . . If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less.” What Donne wrote generally and poetically, Paul wrote specifically hundreds of years earlier: “Restore” one another and “bear one another’s burdens” (vv. 1-2); “do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (v. 10). We are part of one another, and we are to live for one another in harmony and mutual concern. We are all part of the same “continent” – the “continent” of Christ.
PRAYER
Offer praise to the Lord because the message of Christ the Savior has come to you:
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
And faithful in all his acts.
The Lord is near all who call out to him,
All who call out to him with integrity.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
He hears their cry for help and saves them.
The Lord guards all those who love him,
But he destroys all the wicked.
My mouth will declare the Lord’s praise;
Let every living thing
Bless his holy name forever and ever
(Psalm 145:17-21).
Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to stay in fellowship with Him:
My eyes are always on the Lord,
For he will pull my feet out of the net.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am alone and afflicted.
The distresses of my heart increase;
Bring me out of my sufferings.
Consider my affliction and trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
May integrity and what is right
Watch over me, for I wait for you
(Psalm 25:15-18, 21).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17).
As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
- Greater wisdom in decision making
- The needs of personal friends
- Your activities for the day
Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
So that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice (Romans 15:6).