Powerfully Unburdened

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When I first started walking with the Lord, I was quite insecure about the whole process of Bible study. Being with my first group of believers, I wanted to be so prepared that no one could ever present me with a question that I could not find the answer to. You should have seen me, it was ridiculous. I would show up with my NIV Bible of choice, my 5 pound Life Application Bible, highlighters, pens, concordances, Christian jewelry, etc. On the outside, I appeared as though I was the Bible master and had everything together. On the inside, however, I was terrified by the naïveté that I had, also, brought with me.

Before I knew it, Bible study had taken on a life of its own, a life that I didn’t recognize. There were no passage lookups. There were no scripture quizzes. There wasn’t even a time to share all of my manifested Biblical knowledge! I had worked so hard to look the part that I neglected the true purpose of community. When it came time for prayer requests, all I could think of was how burdened my life had become with outside preparations and appearances. My spiritual well-being had taken a back seat to my façade and become obviously dormant.

Luke 9:3
“He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.” - NIV

When Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the Kingdom of God, He instructed them to take nothing. He didn’t say to load up on resources. He didn’t say to make sure and dress fittingly. He didn’t even say to bring a highlighter!

The motivation of Jesus was that of minimalism. He encouraged the men to take nothing for the journey…only a message. The Gospel of Christ is beautiful in its simplicity and requires nothing more from us than two feet. It is a powerful message. We are powerful messengers. Powerfully unburdened.

Be loaded with power but light as a feather.