WAS I SCARED? YES.

John 6:29 says the following: "Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent'".

Many sincere seekers for God are puzzled about what He wants them to do. The religions of the world are people's attempts to answer this question. But Jesus' reply is brief and simple: we must believe on Him whom God has sent. Satisfying God does not come from the work we do, but from whom we believe.

People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder He called Himself the bread of life. But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life.

I was nineteen years old and as I sat on the stairs of the Hatfield Cinema on a Sunday night, (Hatfield Cinema was used as a church) listening to Pastor Ed Roebert, explaining to me and others what God had done for us, it became very personal. The atmosphere was electric. I could 'feel' things in the air. I felt some hidden forces constricting my heart. I was 'broken down'. Tears started rolling down my cheeks as I started a convulsive, audible inhalation of air under the impulse of near hysterical emotions. As I was trying to catch my breath, I realized I found myself praying in a frenetic and nearly raging manner as I was accepting Jesus as my Saviour.

Nothing could keep me on that hard concrete stairs covered with a somehow worn out thick carpet.

No matter how scared I was, I was ready for battle, after all I was now a warrior for Christ.

I felt the Holy Spirit, and for the first time, a certain kind of a peaceful relief.

People were walking down towards the front, ready to accept Jesus as their Saviour.

Was I scared, confused? Yes.

I remember my legs shaking and I was hoping no one else could see it.

I was a teenager, but I found myself the "answer".

I believed what God was speaking to my heart that day, through that minister, and everything in me wanted to live the rest of my life with Him.

Matthew 11:29-30: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light."

A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person may be carrying heavy burdens of sin, excessive demands of religious leaders, oppression and persecution, or weariness in the search of God, but Jesus frees people from all these burdens. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose. Let's not fool ourselves, obviously, responsibilities weigh us down, even the effort of staying true to God. But Jesus' yoke remains easy compared to the crushing alternative.

Jesus does not offer a life of luxurious ease, you see the yoke is still an oxen's tool for working hard. But it is a shared yoke, with the weight falling on bigger shoulders than ours. Someone with more pulling power is up front helping, and, suddenly, we find ourselves participating in life's responsibilities with a Great Partner, the Best Partner we can have, and now, that frown can turn into a smile, and that gripe into a song.

I took on His yoke that day. Did I do everything right from that moment on? No. Before I even left that building that day I probably did something wrong. No one will get it perfect, except for His Son, Jesus Christ.

I make my share of mistakes. But, what I did find, and what stays with me, is His rest in my soul. I know I have Someone with me, to help me through the good times and the bad times.

I learned to never give up. As long as He is with me, I keep trying, learning from all I go through. And never do I think for one moment that He will push me off because of my messes. He will stick with me, no matter what.

Hebrews 13:5: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'".

Insecurity can lead to the love of material things, whether we are rich or poor. The only antidote is to trust God to meet all our needs.

Just as Christ does not forsake us, we should not forsake others.

We are all learning. And we have to understand that we need each other. We shouldn't look down at or frown upon others if they make a mistake. Instead, we need to give them our arms, wrapped tightly around them.

If it's good enough for God to do for us, then it's good enough for us to do for others.