When we work, and work we must, at wherever our place in the vineyard is, we will become tired, weary of the pace, but not fatigued so much that we cannot do it if we are grounded properly.

We are promised never to be given more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). Instead we find solace in God's promises that He will guide and protect us in all things.

Fatigue usually signifies a lack of training, or disciple. It causes injury, and sometimes death when we continue working or driving fatigued, but in the least mental disorders result from prolonged self-punishment, chronic worry, extended anxiety.

It impairs judgment and weakens self-control, making us do all manner of wrongdoings. Sinning against God.

There is of course a physical diseased fatigue, we are not talking of this, although we can be forced in doing the same things by ignorance.

The fatigue we are talking about is psychological, often brought on by prolonged root causes, internal conflicts, or anxiety in many forms of emotional maladjustments.

Most doctors agree, in 80 percent of all chronic exhausted and fatigued persons, the root cause is psychological.

Deep bouts of depression often result, even anger and drug abuse. Young people are especially prone to this, sometimes running away, or committing suicide.

Check out your sources of your problems, examine where they come from and where they led you, then turn to God and His promises allowing Christ and the Holy Spirit to guide you to throw off such  hindrances.

If you want to know more, read on.

My father was a humble man from rural Jonesboro, Arkansas, a man of great personal fortitude, a hard worker, an unwanted child, whose mother tried every way possible to destroy him before he was born, with full knowledge of her husband, using a coat hanger, falling down stairs, taking body jarring medicine by the bottle-full trying to dislodge him from his life, to no avail, he was born. The war years came, all had not completed high school, Dad persuaded his young bride and eventually all of her sisters and families to move to Mobile to help in the war effort. My father was the first to find work at what was then Brookley Field in Mobile, Alabama, as a carpenter.

As the years passed his hard work paid off and he was promoted many times that of the others. At wars ending some went home, some stayed. Realizing his limited education held him back, Dad went to night school taking college courses. Although never completing his degree, he became the only civil service Ball Bearing Engineer, a highly specialized and demanding career. For the first time in his life he felt he was someone, and so did the government, requiring much travel, paying him a high salary with good benefits.

All the others went back to Arkansas, never able to make it farther than lower skilled workers. Dad continued to prosper until his job was to be transferred to the desolate parts of the earth, to of all places, Memphis. We all thought it was anyway. We liked Mobile. We took a vote, democracy in action. We stayed in Mobile, my father took a demotion and was never the same.

What's the point of this story? My dad loved us more than he did life itself.  Maybe because he knew how much love was worth.  Maybe like the man like Jesus told of, who found a jewel of great price, he paid the price. He stayed in Mobile forgoing a promotion for his family's sake.

Maybe because he knew so little of it love as a youngster, but wanted it so much that he gave it so freely. Not like the goody goody people of today, who would never disciple their children, for he often did, sometimes with a belt if needed and justified.

Joel 2:21-27. "Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.  Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten -- the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm -- my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed."

We are told in the  lesson that some day, "The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.."

Jesus says, if we love Him, we will keep His commandments and obey Him. He also says, "He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."

Yes my father loved me, yes he lived to love me, did he love me enough to do the right thing regardless of my feelings, to disciple me when I was wrong, to send me into desolate places, to withhold his blessings when I needed it. Yes, he did and God through Holy Spirit will do the same to you and me even today

When Jesus sweated blood in the garden in agony, it was in this same mode. His little flock surrounded Him, at last He was with the ones He loved and wanted to gather them to His bosom.  He asked them to be with Him.  Like my father did in Mobile.  He wanted us to help him to make a decision.  Jesus asked simply that they pray with Him.  They fell asleep, a deed punishable by court-martial in the military, to fall asleep on guard duty.  That's what the disciples were supposed to be doing... praying for or guarding Jesus' backside.

Again in the Gospel, "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I."

No Jesus was not getting a promotion as such, He was always with God, but now He earned the right to become our judge, becoming a cleansing influence on us, making us acceptable to God.

Revelation 21:22-22:5. "The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. {26} The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."

In this John speaks of his vision of things yet to come, "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."

Yes we all are to move to a new city, not Memphis, but a golden city; but once we all were outsiders, never even knowing of its existence or even of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The time John speaks of will surely come and all will know and make a choice, some will remain on the outside, but we, by the love of God, through Christ and the Holy Spirit will finally come to that place, where we will see the truth and be set free.

John speaks of the time to come, "The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."

If you love someone enough to live life's toughest moments, through its ups and downs, plant seeds everyday.

If they won't listen to your words pray fervently, taking your spiritual prayers even into the camp of the enemy who draws them aside, standing in the gap for them, willing to love at all cost. That's what Jesus taught us, that's what God wants from us, that's what Jesus wanted of His disciples, so than none would perish.

You ever notice how we're never satisfied with what we've got?   Materialism plays a great part in our nation and individually in our failures to deal with close relationships; and, I believe materialism effects how well we accept ourselves too.

How many times have you said, "I like myself just the way I am?"   Unfortunately, I have many times.  We always want to change this or that, going to self-help seminars, losing weight, pumping iron, all manor of things trying to what?

Reshape how ourselves and how others perceive us to be. In other words, we want a new model instead of the one we are. Our dislike for the old model or who we are at times brings us to frustration, anguish, depression, or lack of self-esteem, often followed by ill conceived feelings of anger, resulting in a short circuiting our normal behavior, causing severe manifestations of deepened fear and trembling, or that deep dread or retreating completely from righteous thoughts into joining the ranks of Satan's attacking forces, driving us deeper and deeper into our own abyss or pit of fire and personal damnation.

Galatians 5:7-8. "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?  That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you."

It is in that faltering that we become discouraged, despondent to God's leading, achieving little, defeated, and overpowered.  We become only a remnant of a powerful God, taking on the nature of immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, idolatry, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, lying, coarse jesting, covetousness, sexual impurity, debauchery, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, selfishness, dissension, envy, drunkenness and many more.

2 Corinthians 11:23-28.  "I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked."

No, things are not easy for us Christians, and God never intended them to be, and we are the only one who desire that for us.  If God did not spare His only Son and that of all of the disciples, will he give us the life without the problems we seek?  Absolutely no!

There are many more troubled marriages with undue criticisms, poor health, money woes, discouragement, grief, loneliness, defeat of all types in Christendom than what is in the world, and they attack us in many ways we can't comprehend.

I wish we had more time to go into them. For now lets hear what Philippians 4:12-13 says. "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

1 Corinthians 9:24-26. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. {Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air."

Again, when we accept stress, or take it on ourselves, we are or become a bag of worms, with more neurosis and mental illnesses than anyone had names for a hundred years ago. Look at the mass murderers, the sick perverted way society generally operates.

Remember, we agreed we've got an obligation to deal with our problems.

Colossians 3:5-9. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices."

Ephesians 5:4. "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving."

Galatians 5:19-21. "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God".

Also remember: We only take on stress through our body; removing Christ from the throne is never the answer. That's what we do when depressed, or at least when doing so we are limiting God's power in our life.

God's power, through the Holy Spirit gives us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, compassion, humility, forgiveness, and thankfulness and many more good attributes, righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:17. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Galatians 5:22, 23.  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Colossians 3:12, 13. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

We have often said we are aliens in training. Make your body to obey your spirit. Proverbs said, it is far better to be the master of our body than master of the largest city.  Paul often speaks to us about this.  Romans 12:2 tells us not to let the standard of this world conform us to its image, letting it twist and pervert our spirit until it no longer recognizable.

Romans 6:11-14. "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

Always, always, always be in fellowship... in training with others like yourself.  Almost every get rich quick, or high performance motivator suggest getting yourself aligned with an inner circle of friends.  Not ones that put you down, ones that lift you up, keeping each other up at the same time. 

It is one of God's principles, that once you get yourself involved in the wrongdoings of another you become a magnet to others of like problems.  In other words you become an enabler and those who seek someone to enable them will find you.  Instead spend your time around successful people, Christians who matured through living the life which personifies the true Christian walk; otherwise a huge cloud of codependent people will flock to you, pulling you down rather than you pulling them up.

Hebrews 12:1-4. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood."

When you fall, get up!  Become disciplined to keeping on keeping on!  Isn't that what training is all about, becoming a true servant, soldier, priest of God.

1 Corinthians 9:27. "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

Discipline is good!  Have you ever tried to play a game without rules, or even drive a car across town... without disciple, rules, we could not exist as a society, world, or nation.  We must learn that!  Furthermore we can never accomplish anything worth winning unless we become disciplined!!!

The photo above was taken at the end of a race in Atlanta.  It show the worth of winning.  You can see the exhaustion of those who finished the race, winner or not.  Jesus disciplined his fellow believers into a deeper level of discipleship.  In other words, a disciple is disciplined in all ways. Not just in and from within themselves, but from and through the Holy Spirit.

However as scripture says, "Beware ye stand lest ye fall."  Each disciple failed in the short run.  They all ran away from the circumstances because it looked like they were wrong about Jesus.  They were wrong, yet, in the long run they remembered their leader's teachings and became a force  greater that the world had ever known for the good of mankind.

Romans 7:15-25. "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Philippians 3:12-14. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

And you too shall win!!!  Scripture after scripture tells us of Jesus' promises. How he will lose none of us.

Remember these promises when under attack.

Philippians 4:8. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable --  if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things."

2 Timothy 4:7, 8. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day -- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

If you desire to know more about this Jesus Christ who loves you, and you want to ask Him  into your heart, receiving His Saving Grace please click on this Salvation Prayer