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Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." “Come”, such a simple request, rolled up in an offer. From where you are cross over to me. Bring your tiredness, your soreness, your burdens and come. I know you have been refused before. You have been deceived by their 'bait 'n switch' offers. Your heart no longer believes relief possible. Yet I ask, “Come.” The trip is shorter than you fear. 'Here' and 'there' are only figments. No actual distance exists, it is merely opposite sides of a choice. The time required to navigate the route is measured not in hours, minutes or seconds, but at the speed of will. The route you must follow is neither complex nor arduous nor hard to find. It requires no map or GPS. So even a direction-asking-challenged man can get here. You have only to turn into My arms. But here you will find peace and rest, because, “I am gentle and humble in heart.” The promise when you come is, “you will find rest”. “OK Jesus, I'm in. Tell me what I need to do.” 
Well, you have to be yoked, no joke. (Making yokes is one of the projects a carpenter in Jesus' time would engage in.) Yep, that's it, place yourself into the same yoke of service I wear. Both of us in the same yoke? Yessirie, that's the ticket—same yoke. “Won't that be just a little tight?” Nah. There's a custom-designed space for you and another for me. You see, you need to be yoked side-by-side with me so I can teach you. Once you've learned you will tame or harness the energies of that which previously stressed you out, caused you fear, or increased your pain. And because my yoke is custom made for the one wearing it, you'll hardly know it’s there. It won't chafe and it won't bruise—it's easy. It will enable you to do more than if you worked without one, not to mention that there will be two of us pulling. To tell you the truth, we are each yoked already. Our fears, past experiences, people who've betrayed us and whom we refuse to forgive make up the equipage of our yoke. All of these elements are heavy, uncomfortable to carry, sharp-edged and abrasive. They tire us out and drag us down to the point that we seem never to recover. It’s like having anemia and never able to draw a full breath. They prevent us from ever achieving any life goal. Presently you work alone. Either you are attempting to prove something or you believe no one else will work alongside you. But the load you drag is too heavy for you, alone and the yoke is doing more damage than good. You may be trying to fulfill demands placed on you by others. You may have adopted the adage, “No pain. No gain!” or the misquote, “The Lord helps those who help themselves.” These sayings are false! It isn't any wonder that you never seem able to live the victorious life Jesus both taught, modeled and desires for you? The image of the 'Lone Ranger' may be appealing but it is not scriptural in any sense. Do you get it now? I'm asking that you exchange your ill-fitting, poorly-designed yoke for the one I've made specifically for you. It seems that this lesson did not stick for the Galatians either as Paul chided them, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of the Messiah and, instead, are following a different gospel,” (Gal 1:6 ISV) I want to evaporate your old yoke just as fully and instantaneously as I evaporated all your sins. Then I wish to apply the salve, My suffering secured, to your bruises and scrapes, “you will find rest for your souls,” (Mat 11:29 ISV) Are you following another gospel? Then get yoked! No joke! You will find rest.
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