Psalm 23:3b

by Jilene Scherenske

This is the sixth in a series of articles on Psalm 23.  I have found this study to be a great blessing to my soul and trust it will be to yours also.  The reader should be aware that I have used Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 as a resource.  I refer often to his book and knowledge of the care of sheep.  Then I take his insights, combine them with the Word of God and meditate thereon.  This is the result of my meditations.  

Psalm 23:3

“…he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

Yet another characteristic of sheep is that they are prone to graze in the same places, walk the same paths, thereby completely destroying the pastures.  If a shepherd does not handle them well and keep them moving from pasture to pasture, they will eventually so devastate the ground that it will become wasteland.  Phillip Keller says that if one were to travel to Spain, Greece, Mesopotamia, North Africa, western USA, New Zealand, and Australia one could readily see the havoc sheep have had on the land.  Where once there were thriving grasslands, now there is nothing but utter wasteland.  This looks more to the shepherd and his reputation, then it does to the sheep, but it also highlights the great need sheep have for a diligent and wise shepherd.  When left to themselves they will eat the grass to the very ground, damaging the roots.  Then they will even paw out the roots and eat them.  As a result, the ground becomes barren and a sanctuary for parasites of all kinds and erosion.  When this happens then the sheep become infested with worms and other diseases.  Sheep, left to themselves will trample over the same path until it becomes a deep rut, even a great gully, further destroying the ground.  For his own reputation, the shepherd must take measures to avoid this, and he does so by keeping the sheep on the move.  He plans carefully how long to leave them in one spot, and what pasture to lead them to next.  This prevents over-grazing, avoids ruts from forming, and helps prevent sheep from getting infested with internal parasites and other diseases caused by poor grass. 

By nature, we are like the sheep.  Isaiah 53:6 states this perfectly: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.”  To his own way….in our flesh we love to do our own thing.  In our flesh we think we know best.  We think our reasoning is right.  In our flesh we love our ways and stubbornly cling to our habits even when we realize they are destroying us.  Pride, that is what it is, and every one of us possesses it!  We like what we want, and persistently go after it.  We like our own ideas and resist changing them.  Proverbs 14:12 states, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”  But Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” John 14:6.  In Jesus only, in following Him, in obeying Him wholly, only then will we experience abundant life, green and luscious pastures.  The problem is that our flesh does not want to follow our all-wise and caring Shepherd, we want our own way.  As I talk with unwed mothers, I am amazed at how many girls admit that they know that living together, having sex before marriage, doing drugs, etc. are wrong, yet they persist in it!  We all simply do not realize that to continue in our own stubborn ways is leading us to a destructive end!  We all have the tendency to think like this.  We do not realize that we are living on wasteland, full of parasites, which was never intended for our consumption!  

The “paths of righteousness” are paths of safety.  They are right paths.  They are paths that will please Him.  They are plain paths, easy for us to see.  He leads.  We are given eyes to see plainly where He leads.  It is therefore a simple path to follow, may not be the path we desire in our flesh, but it is a straightforward, simple path.  It IS easy, all we have to do is simply follow!  We don’t have to plan out the path.  We need no wisdom to figure out where we should head next.  All we have to do is follow!  No matter where He leads, He not only gives us the vision for where to go, but He, by His Spirit, also gives us the desire and the strength and all the enablement we need to follow.  Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  

They are “paths” of righteousness.  They are several.  We will each experience several paths in our lifetime and my paths will not be your paths.  But whatever paths He chooses for me will be right for me, and whatever paths He picks for you will be right for you.  Yes, our paths will be different paths, but they will all be paths of righteousness.  Our Shepherd Jesus can only pick paths of righteousness.  He is righteousness.  That is His character.  Never will our paths be anything except paths of righteousness.  He most likely will have one specific path for you today, but a different one for you tomorrow.  He will not keep us doing the exact same thing for all the years of our life lest we fall into a rut and become less sensitive to the Spirit’s leading.  Each path He has for us will challenge us, but that is so that we will keep leaning on His strength and wisdom and not our own.

Jesus is saying to each one of us: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”  But, as I have said, we don’t want to deny ourselves, we want our way!  We want to plan our own path in life!  Most Christians would deny that this is true of them.  Phillip Keller says that there are seven attitudes that must be possessed if we are truly following Jesus.  Here they are:

1.      “Instead of loving myself most I am willing to love Christ best and others more than myself.”  Truly loving someone else, truly loving Jesus is an act of our will.  It does not naturally happen.  What naturally happens is loving our own self!  You may say that you naturally loved your husband when you first met.  True, but wasn’t that because he met your emotional needs, because you were infatuated with each other?  You delighted in each other because each of you felt the love you needed; you felt cherished.  As time went on, it took selfless love to keep on loving him.  Men think that when they have married they have ‘caught’ their catch and they do not need to exhibit all the touchy, feeling lovey things that happened in dating!  They have to learn to love you like you need to be loved and women have to learn to respect our husbands like they need to be respected.  It costs you something….and that is what truly loving is all about.  It cost Jesus dearly to display His love for us.  We need to be willing to lay down our life, lay down our ideas, lay down our reputation, lay down our wants in order to love both God and others as He would have us love.

2.     “Instead of being one of the crowd, I am willing to be singled out, set apart from the gang.”  We all have an inborn need to be accepted, to belong.  Following Jesus as He wants us to follow often sets us apart from the ‘gang’.  This could risk criticism from our friends.  Jesus has a different path for each of us.  My path is different than your path.  What He allows in one life, He may not allow in another’s.  For example, when our girls were in junior-high, my husband would not allow them to go to the mall alone without an adult presence.  Their friends could do this, but God had specifically warned us against this.  It was not sin for their friends; it just simply was something we felt the Lord did not want for our girls.  But setting that standard for our girls was not easy.  It set us apart from some of our friends.  It set the girls apart from their friends.  It gave us a reputation of being overly protective.  As I look back on it, I am not one bit regretful of that decision and I do not think my girls are either.  It is hard to follow Jesus.  He never said it would be easy.  But, oh, the joy there is and the peace there is when one dares to follow Him. 

3.     “Instead of insisting on my rights I am willing to forego them in favor of others.”  I like feeling like I have certain rights.  It brings me a sort of security.  I have the right to be accepted.  I have the right to be loved.  I have the right to be right!  Do I really?  Isn’t this what denying self is all about?  Day after day we face this even, and especially, in our homes.  To put down our pride, to take a back seat and do so without feeling abused or hurt in any way is a step in the right direction to denying self.  If we have no sense of self-importance, then we will not be offended.  Ps 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.  When we love Jesus more than self, we will not be offended when a weakness is pointed out in our life, or when someone rises higher than we.  

4.     “Instead of being “boss” I am willing to be at the bottom of the heap.”  Keller says that in sheep terms it means that instead of being “top ram” I am willing to be a “tail-ender.”  Some of us perhaps need to be the boss more than others, but I think this desire to be the boss is in all of us.  It is our natural fleshly way.  We like to think we have the best ideas, the best ways about going about things, and so we let others know that by telling them what to do and how to do it.  But when we are following Jesus, truly following Him, we will put our ideas to rest and look to Him in things both small and big and wait for His ideas, His decisions, His wisdom.  A person who does this is a person who always finds the time and the energy to help others.

5.     “Instead of finding fault with life and always asking “Why?” I am willing to accept every circumstance of life with an attitude of gratitude.”  In our flesh it is so easy to always think of the negative first.  As I write this, I have just become aware of the fact that two people were talking about me.  I have no idea what they were saying, I only know the subject of the matter, and I am sitting here fighting the thought that one of them may have shared something negative about me.  Why am I so apt to think that surely the conversation was negative?  I think it is because it is so easy for my flesh to first think critical thoughts!  (Btw: I went to the Lord, confessed that I was fretting about what others think of me, and asked Him to restore my peace about this matter and He quickly gave me peace.)  And if I am not thinking critical thoughts, I am complaining about something!  Most of the time, when we are asking “Why”, we are doing so because we are not happy with our circumstance.  We fail to recognize that He leads me in paths of righteousness.  That means, in part, that wherever He leads me, it is the right path for me.  It may not seem so at the time, but it is the path of His choosing for my life.  It is His will for me, and His will never is grievous.  It is always right!  It will lead us to greater faith, greater trust in Him, a closer relationship with Him, more awareness of our dependence upon Him.  All of that is a treasure beyond our comprehension, but it is so much better for us than the paltry thing we think we have to endure.  Learning to follow Him wherever He leads, even if it is an unpleasant path, and to do so cheerfully, knowing that He knows best, is a sign of truly following Jesus.

6.     “Instead of exercising and asserting my will, I learn to cooperate with His wishes and comply with His will.”  When I learn to put an X through my will and instead, seek His will and His will only, then I have learned to follow Jesus.  Growing up I had a daughter who, when told of a plan we had for our family, would say something like this, “What if we…”, “Could we….”.  She always had another idea, something that she thought was a better idea.  Is not that how we frequently are with the Lord?  We hear His will clearly, but we submit to Him our own ideas, as if our ideas are better!  When we can crucify our ideas and our desires, our will, and seek only and totally God’s will, then we have learned how to deny self and follow Him.  We pray, “Thy will be done…” but in real life we often really do not mean it!  Praying those words sincerely means that I have learned to go when He tells me to go; to stop, when He tells me to stop.  Sometimes He tells me to do something and I do it, but I do it in my way, not His, or in my timing, not His timing.  We must be so careful of this!  We can disrupt His will for us by charging ahead and doing it our way, with our words, in our timing.  

7.     “Instead of choosing my own way I am willing to choose to follow in Christ’s way: simply to do what He asks me to do.”  What Jesus is looking for is quick and simple obedience with no alterations and no fears.  Sometimes He tells us to do what looks like an impossibility to us.  In our own strength, it is.  But in His strength all things are possible.  He will lead us in an impossible path so that He can teach us how powerful He is, how able He is to work through us and through circumstances to bring about the impossible.

Do these seven areas seem impossible to you?  You are right, they are absolutely impossible for you to accomplish.  That is why He has given us His Holy Spirit.  Ps 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.  He wants us to deem every path He gives us as impossible so that we will depend completely on Him!  That is the only way He gets the glory.

“…for his name's sake.”  Why does He lead me where His leads me?  Why does He care for me so?  Why should I follow as has been prescribed?  It is for His reputation.  He takes care of us so that the world may see His goodness.  His glory.  If a shepherd does not take care of his pastures, his sheep will grow weak and thin and the pasture will become desolate.  This will become evident to everyone around and his reputation will be tarnished.  Why does he care for his sheep so diligently in so many ways?  So that his sheep will be healthy and sought after in the marketplace.  Likewise, Jesus is working diligently to care for us so that He will be glorified, so that others, unbelievers, will want Him to care for them.  As sheep, we need to be willing to follow so that unbelievers will see the effects of such wonderful, tender loving care and seek to know our Shepherd.  He gave the utmost for us so, of course, we want to reflect His great goodness to us by lives that follow Him.  It is never about me.  It is always about Him.

Application

In order to avoid damaging the pastures, sheep must be kept on the move, always moving on to more and better green pastures.  Likewise, we Christians must keep on the move spiritually.  We must pray daily that we would grow in Christ each day.  We must seek the Lord for how He wants us to grow.  Does He seek to change some part of our daily fellowship with Him?  Perhaps adding more prayer time?  More reading time?  More memorization?  How is the Lord directing you to grow into Him more?  Greater obedience?   Greater trust in areas you have not yet surrendered?  We must be very careful to never grow stale, never fall into a rut, never stay feasting on the same ground.  Perhaps you love Psalms or some other book, so that is what you read over and over again, leaving the rest of scripture behind.  Whatever is your routine, be willing to change it so that you can keep on growing!  Routine is good if it keeps you fellowshipping with the Lord but clinging to a certain routine in our devotional time of fellowship can quickly grow stale and meaningless.  Make your prayer, “Lord, let me walk closer to You today than I did yesterday.”  He guides us to still waters that are gently running, never to standing water which quickly gathers filth.  Paul prayed for the Christians in Philippi that their “love would abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.”  Colossians 1:10 states: That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  Finally, 2Co 3:18 says, But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changedinto the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.  Every day we must grow more Christlike.  That won’t necessarily happen if we stick to the same ruts day after day.  Growing stale in our daily routine of fellowship with God will not bring Him glory in the long run.  When we live a life of following Him then we will display to the world what He can do in an individual and that will give Him glory.

When we became saved, the Holy Spirit entered into us and, by Him, we were given a desire to live holy lives.  Then ensued the battle between the flesh and the spirit.  It is up to us to yield to the Holy Spirit and deny self, and the good news is that He even gives us the desire to yield.  All we must do is ask Him for it.  Then He gives us the strength to yield to the leading of Jesus.  It is left for us to simply step out in faith.  But that, too, is a gift from Him.  We simply accept it!  He will always and only direct us by His love.  Only in following will we have joy beyond measure, peace that passes all understanding.  Ask Him for the ability to yield to His leading - He delights to give it to you.  Ask Him for the willingness to deny self and follow Him.

Are you willing to be set apart for Jesus?  To do something that is different?  To risk what your friends think of you?  To follow Jesus in paths that are different from the paths of others?

Are you willing to put what you think are your rights in the back corner?  Are you willing to tell your husband that he is right, and you are not?  To trust that he is right on an issue and not insist on your own way?  Are you willing to take the back seat and be content and silent there?  I have learned to say to my husband, “I know you are right on this issue, so I will back off and trust your wisdom.”  I have learned to say that because I found that all too often when we disagreed on some fact, or some issue, he always ended up being right!  And if I was right on some rare occasion, it did not matter that I was.

When new circumstances arise, do you thank God for them so that you can learn to be more Christlike or do you complain about them and wonder why in the world God has placed that circumstance in your life?  

Do you trust the path God has chosen for you knowing that it is a path of righteousness?  Do you trust that the path you are on right now will lead you into a closer relationship with Him, into more Christlikeness and less self?  Is that your entire aim in life? Is that more important to you than the hardship of the journey?  As I write I am thinking about two people with whom I have just had encounters.  The one has been suddenly confronted with several major disease disorders, including cancer.  Yet she is not bothered at all by this news.  She declares that it is all okay and she is completely at peace, that there is no fear at all in her soul.  The second lady was an old acquaintance that I connected with on Facebook.  She responded to me by using some very foul language in describing her current financial situation.  There was no peace in her soul.  No joy.  No recognition of God in her life, and I thought at one time that she was a godly lady!  Such a contrast of two ladies and their response to the path God has chosen for them.  The paths of righteousness will only bring peace and joy no matter where they lead.  Are you trusting in your Shepherd, trusting that He is indeed leading you in paths that are only paths of rightness for you?   

Do you recognize that His path for you seems impossible?  But do you also recognize that He wants to reveal to you just exactly what He can do through you in His power?  That is the step of faith He wants for you.

All this admonition about how to follow Jesus has but one motive – to give Him glory.  If we follow, we display to the world around us what an absolutely fabulous Shepherd we have.  That is the whole purpose of our being.  By so doing, we make others thirsty to have our Shepherd in their lives as well.  Commit to following Him no matter where He leads simply with the motive of bringing Him glory!!!!

Psalm 23:3a

by Jilene Scherenske

This is the fifth in a series of articles on Psalm 23.  I have found this study to be a great blessing to my soul and trust it will be to yours also.  The reader should be aware that I have used Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 as a resource.  I refer often to his book and knowledge of the care of sheep.  Then I take his insights, combine them with the Word of God and meditate thereon.  This is the result of my meditations.  

Psalm 23:3a

Ps 23:3a  He restoreth my soul…

Once again let us first look to Keller’s facts about the nature of sheep to understand this phrase.  Sheep can get cast down.  This means that it is lying upon its back with its feet up in the air, flaying frantically.  It struggles to stand up but has no power to do so in itself.  Sometimes, but not always, it will bleat a little for help, but usually it just lies there horribly frightened and uselessly struggling to stand up again.  If the shepherd does not arrive in time, it will quickly die.  If natural death does not take it, the predators will, for a cast sheep is an easy prey for wild dogs, coyotes, cougars and vultures.  It is not necessarily the weak sheep who are cast.  It is more often the strongest, fattest, and largest sheep that are prone to this dilemma.  But how can this happen?  The sheep will lie down to rest and will often turn to their side a bit to stretch out and relax.  But because of their weight the pull of gravity shifts so that it quickly and easily turns upon its back.  Of course, this sends the sheep into a panic, which only makes things worse and it rolls even further onto its back and becomes impossible for it to regain its stability.  As the struggle goes on, gases begin to build up in its stomach.  This causes bloating/swelling and cuts off the blood circulation to the legs.  If it is hot outside the sheep will die in a few hours.  If it is cooler, it could survive for a few days.  If the sheep is pregnant, then, of course, the unborn lambs are lost as well, an even further loss for the shepherd.  Some sheep will experience this almost daily making the vigilance of the shepherd imperative.  He must keep count of his sheep and quickly go looking for the one who may be missing and ‘cast’.  Can you imagine the shepherd’s anxiety as he goes out early in the morning and sees in the distance a group of vultures circling in the distant pasture?  He would drop everything and run to the scene to rescue his sheep.  Or imagine his great concern when the count did not come up right and he knew one was missing.  Every minute counted as he raced through the pasture striving to find it in time.  Can you imagine the joy of finding it, of righting it, and then bringing it back to the flock and his own security?  Tenderly he would turn her over.  Often, if she had been down a long time, the lack of circulation in her legs meant that she could not stand, so he would gently lift her to his shoulders and carry her back all the while talking soothingly to her.  

 The Hebrew word for ‘restoreth’ means to bring back again.  Every time we fall that is what Jesus does.  He brings us back again.  The word does not mean back again to the original point.  When Jesus brings us back, it is to a point of new understanding.  We now know better how not to fall in the future.  We are more mature, wiser.  Yes, Jesus brings us back into fellowship with Himself, but now we are more aware of how to avoid that fall in the future.  He heals my backsliding and restores me to Himself.  He brings me back from what would have destroyed my soul and then He restores it.  When I feel like I am ready to perish, He restores my soul.  

 We sheep, no matter how strong we are, can easily find ourselves ‘cast’.  Did you notice that it is not typically weak and scrawny sheep that find themselves in this predicament, it is the strong and fat ones?  We can easily come to a situation where we are helpless to aright ourselves.  The old saying, “but for the grace of God there go I”, is so true.  Our flesh, the world, and satan are constantly bombarding us.  I was shocked at the emails that have been coming every day to my husband encouraging him into pornography and immorality.  I pray for him every day.  As I prayed for him to remain upright and moral, I would often tell the Lord that I knew he was pure and almost insinuate that I didn’t need to pray such a thing for him because he was strong in this area.  Little did I know what he was fighting!  He never opens them, deletes them immediately, and blocks them all day after day, yet they keep coming!  Is it any wonder that our good men fall?  Just one time of opening such things will do great damage to their souls!  And if there is a wife who is not being faithful, this temptation becomes even stronger!  Never allow yourself to think that you are okay, on safe grounds, and will not likely fall into temptation.  It is a lie from satan to put us at ease so our guard is not up.  Never assume you are so spiritually mature that you will not fall away from God.  Be on your toes every day.  Wake up every day realizing that you are entering a battlefield; put on God’s weapons of armor, His Word, surrender to His Spirit, and prayer.  

 Keller indicates that one reason a sheep is so easily cast is because they choose a rounded hollow in the ground in which to lie down, and this soft spot makes them roll over much more easily.  So, we Christians, sometimes choose a soft spot, an easy way, something more comfortable where there is less difficulty.  Sometimes we fall into thinking that we have arrived and we can just idle for awhile.  This is when we are in grave danger and do not realize it!  The soft way may be thinking that we need more sleep and so we will fall into a habit of getting up later and then having less time to spend with the Lord.  Or perhaps we think that we can stay up later and enjoy some television program, etc., but then we are less alert during our time with God in the morning.  Some think that memorizing scripture is too hard for them, especially if they are older.  Yes, it is hard!  But let’s not make the soft choice of forsaking it.  What other soft choices can there be in one’s life?

 Keller goes on to say that sometimes the problem is that a sheep has too much wool which is usually matted and full of mud and debris which weighs it down.  He says that “wool in scripture depicts the old self-life in the Christian…It is an outward expression of an inner attitude, the assertion of my own desire and hopes and aspirations…Here is where I find the clinging accumulation of things, of possessions, of worldly ideas beginning to weigh me down, drag me down, hold me down…This is when I keep the world as part of my life thus allowing it to continually influence my thoughts and then my actions…It is significant that no high priest was ever allowed to wear wool when he entered the Holy of Holies.  This spoke of self, of pride, and of personal preference – and God could not tolerate it.”  The simplest way of putting this is that this refers to going my own way, doing my own thing.  It is falling into thinking that what I plan, or desire, is best, and leaving out the seeking of God’s will for each and every thing that comes into my life.  To my Shepherd Jesus I then appear laden with mud and debris!

 What would the shepherd do for this sheep?  He would sheer it.  This was not a pleasant process for the sheep who are very fearful, nor for the shepherd who must hold him down to complete the process.  Imagine a skittish sheep hearing the roar of the sheers, and feeling the firm hold of the shepherd so that he cannot escape the instrument that will shave him!  I well remember especially one grandson who was so afraid of the scissors as it approached his head for a haircut that for several years he had to be held down or run after as he frequently escaped!  It was not rebellion; it was plain and simple utter fear!  Mommy hated those episodes and yet they were very necessary!  It was hard work for the shepherd as well, yet he willingly and cheerfully did it to protect the sheep from casting and potential death.  What was the result?  Just think on it:  the sheep had been laden with heavy wool which caught in its fibers all the filth around it, all the mud, manure, thorns/burrs, sticks and ticks and other parasites.  Now it was free of all these!  Of course, when the sheering was finally complete the sheep felt free and relieved! 

 When we hang on to worldly things, they will weigh us down more than we realize.  Satan will use them for sure to distort our thoughts and eventually those distorted thoughts will surface in actions and words.  He will cause us to fall in love with whatever the thing is and not realize that it is like unto manure!  We will suddenly one day find ourselves in a place we never imagined!  No matter how little we think the worldly thing is in our life – we must forsake it immediately.  It is coming between us and Jesus!  We must run to Jesus and allow His shears to cleanse us from all this sin!  Experiencing His forgiveness is a most wonderful and precious thing!

 Our Shepherd Jesus is working hard for us day after day.  Do you think it is easy for Him to intercede for us every day?  Do you think He intercedes for us casually?  No!  Never!  Every day He puts the might of God into His prayers of intercession for us.  He does not pray for us like we pray – casually, limply, often distracted, weakly, seldom fervently.  He prays like God would pray for us because He is God.  He was willing to die for us, His prayers for us are no less passionate!  Yield to His working in you!  Sure, when His Word reaches your heart and convicts you it may not be pleasant.  You may at first kick and complain, even stumble.  You may find your heart refusing His shears because you have fallen in love with whatever that thing is.  But in the end, there is something very sweet about His cutting us away from worldly things and fleshly thoughts and behaviors!  And this shearing leaves no foothold for satan in our lives.  Now it has been replaced with more love for Jesus.

 A third reason a sheep might become cast is because they are too fat.  I like to think of this as top heavy!  It is easy to fall over when one is top heavy.  It is hard to stand up and remain aright when one is top heavy!  When a shepherd realizes this is the cause of casting, he will quickly take the proper steps to remedy it by altering their food so that their intake will produce strength and energy instead of too much fat which makes them weak.  

 I think in America especially we Christians can so easily become complacent because we live in a very rich society.  Even our poor are rich compared to other countries.  It is so easy to just lay back and enjoy the wealth we have.  But our wealth does not insure spiritual richness, spiritual maturity.  Indeed, it can even keep us from it because we become satisfied with things just as they are.  We can lose our need for Jesus.  We can forget how much we need Him.  To remedy this, Jesus often has to bring into our lives something that is hard to bear, something that will drive us to our knees so that we stay connected to Him.  It the discipline which is promised in Hebrews 12 because He loves us so.  He knows how much we need Him, and He strives to keep us mindful of that fact.  Once we regain our feeling of need for Him, we are filled with peace and calm in our very souls.  Sometimes He challenges us to do what we know we cannot do without Him.  But oh, the joy when we step forth in faith and follow His leading and rely completely on His strength!  It restores our souls!

 It is only the Shepherd Jesus Who restores my soul.  I cannot do it myself.  I have absolutely nothing within myself to be able to aright myself.  I will not do it; I most likely will not even desire it!  He alone restores my soul!  That is the beauty of this illustration.  A sheep can never get back on his feet again.  It takes the shepherd to lift him up.  And that is a beautiful picture of our Shepherd Jesus.  He is ALWAYS ready and willing to right us, to put us back on our feet and if we are not ready to stand, He carries us on His shoulders.  He never stops loving us no matter how many times He must pick us up.  He never handles us roughly, even though we surely deserve it!  He may speak words of rebuke to us, but even they are filled with tender love.  We MUST guard our hearts by doing three things: stay adamantly away from those things that would seek to harm us, pray every day that God would forgive our pride and keep us safe, and remain faithfully and devotedly in His Word every day.

 Oh, the picture we get of our Shepherd from this phrase!  How He loves us!  Unlike an earthly shepherd, He always knows exactly where we are spiritually and knows where to find us.  He never gets frustrated with us, He does not get exasperated with us and want to give up on us, He does not get angry with us, He doesn’t delay in rescuing us.  Instead, He loves us.  I do not think we can fully realize such love.  When we have failed, we expect rebuke and harshness, but instead He gives us patience and mercy.  He seeks for us.  Eagerly, wholeheartedly, quickly without delay He comes to us.  And the beautiful thing is that He aloneis able to set us back on the right path.  No one else can work on our soul like He can.  He soothingly speaks to us.  Sure, He instructs us how to prevent such a failure in the future.  Yes, He will let us feel some chiding so that we see our error and ask for forgiveness.  But all the time, His words to us are wrapped in love, never punishment.  He is an unbelievable Shepherd of our souls. 

 Application

“He restoreth my soul…”  How many times have you found yourself without peace?  Something is disturbing you, upsetting you.  You are ‘cast’ down and unable to right yourself.  And then you go to Jesus, tell Him all about it, and ask Him to restore to you His perfect peace.  He may lead you to some specific action, or to confess something you had not realized was hiding in your soul (like fear), but once you have obeyed whatever He tells you, the peace is unmistakable.  He has restored your soul.  Sometimes it may be a lingering problem, something that will not be resolved quickly, yet when you turn it over to Him you find peace in the midst of it.  Sometimes I get overly frustrated with some problem (like computers!) and I forget to STOP and ask Him for help. When I ask for help, the frustration disappears, and peace soothes my soul.  Sometimes I find that as I approach my devotional time with Him in the morning, I am casual, nonchalant, about it.  That disturbs me.  I never want to approach my holy God in this manner.  Then I discover that the world has crept into my soul making me feel like this.  I confess it and beg Him to make my time with Him glorious and every time, He restores my soul and we fellowship sweetly.   In so many ways He is the Restorer of my soul.  

 Phillip Keller tells us that only sometimes will the sheep cry out for help when cast.  Let us make sure this is not true of us.  When we are cast down, let us quickly cry out to Jesus for help.  Do not forget to cry out to Him.  Sometimes we let the distress linger in our soul for a time before we cry out.  Sometimes we seek other means to relieve our distress.  Jesus is the ONLY Answer.  He is the ONLY One Who can restore your soul.

 Let us never chose the soft decision.  What is there before you right now which begs for a decision?  Which way is Jesus leading?  Is one way much harder to face?  Could that be the way Jesus desires you to go but you know that way is filled with uncertainties and unknowns?  Look to the Shepherd.  He will guide you faithfully through all the unknowns and keep you from harm.  But if you choose the easy way, there will be trouble ahead, casting, if you will.  I think of parenting.  Some of us are well past that era.  I think back to the decisions God urged us to make.  Things like “I know everyone else is doing it, but you cannot because I know God doesn’t want this for you.”  I think of the many sacrifices my husband made to keep his family safe, decisions that did not make him popular, that even gave him a reputation amongst our daughter’s friends of being overprotective.  But he remained true to what he felt was God’s leading for our family.  Even in the area of finances.  We did not have the money to put and keep our girls in Christian school, yet my husband had us step out in faith and keep them there so that they would have less worldly influence on their young lives.  I think of the television and movies that our girls could not watch that others were watching.  I think of the things they sometimes went without because Steve would choose to stay within our means and not go into debt.  In my eyes he was a master at not making soft decisions that would later harm our girls.  Whatever the soft decision is that you are facing, let me warn you.  Once you say “yes”, it will be so much easier to say “yes” the next time and the downward spiral will begin and accelerate quickly.  

 Let us make sure we are not clinging to anything that smacks of worldliness.  Let us go before God and ask Him to reveal to us if any such thing is in our soul.  If He does reveal something, it will most likely be difficult to forsake at first.  You may even be surprised at how much love you really had for it!  Ask God to give you the gumption you need to forsake it completely.  Not too long ago someone introduced us to a weekly television show that we really enjoyed.  It had good morals, good character portrayal, great story lines.  Right always won.  There was just one thing – now and then there would be a curse word.  Not many . Perhaps only one per episode.  We could easily “spit out the stones” as they say.  I was slightly uneasy about watching it for that reason, but the more I watched it my pleasure of it pushed aside my caution.  Then one day God clearly convicted me of it.  It was a bit difficult to forsake it because now I realized how much I enjoyed it!  But forsake it we did, my husband agreeing with me, and we have not watched it since.  As I look back on that incident, I am so glad that it is no longer in my life.  Yup, I must admit I sometimes still wish I could watch it, but I am happier that I don’t watch it because it would have put a wall between my God and me.  It would have been a disobedience to Him and the effects over time of that would have been more devastating to my soul than any measure of pleasure that program gave me.  Clean out the world from your soul!  Do not risk having some little thing, or some big thing, disturb your relationship with Jesus.  

 Let us be extremely cautious of the number one enemy of our soul – our pride.  No matter how humble you think you are, you are still full of pride.  It makes us fat with ourselves.  We compare ourselves with someone else and see ourselves as better.  We think high thoughts of ourselves.  We think we are spiritually strong and therefore will not, even cannot fall.  We forget that the only goodness in us is Jesus.  Pride will make us ‘top heavy’ and easily ‘cast’ us down.  Satan will do his best to make us blind to our pride.  We will not see the destruction that is about to come upon us.  That is why it is so important every day to pray,  Ps 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Every day we desperately need God’s scrutiny in our souls.  Every day we need His cleansing.  Dust gathers; it gathers continually in our souls.  Seek His cleansing power from pride every day and even throughout the day.  Then feed upon the only nourishment your soul really needs – His Word.  Read it.  Meditate upon it.  Memorize it.  Pray the Word back to God.  This is the diet we all need!

 Let us daily get before God and make sure we are not complacent because of the material wealth we possess in America.  Let us purposely lean on Him for everything!  Let us beg Him to never let us forget our need for Him, even when it seems like we do not need Him.  When we find ourselves in a trial, let us thank Jesus for it, knowing that all the while He is making us more aware of our need for Him and there is nothing more precious than that!

Psalm 23:2b

by Jilene Scherenske

This is the fourth in a series of articles on Psalm 23.  I have found this study to be a great blessing to my soul and trust it will be to yours also.  The reader should be aware that I have used Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 as a resource.  I refer often to his book and knowledge of the care of sheep.  Then I take his insights, combine them with the Word of God and meditate thereon.  This is the result of my meditations.  

Psalm 23:2b

“Leadeth” means to protect, sustain and lead on gently.  “Still” refers to a comfortable, quiet resting home.  “Waters” is a spring, always fresh, always available.  If we used those Hebrew meanings, we might paraphrase it like this:  My Shepherd, Jesus, makes me to rest in lush pleasant places which are our home/abode and He protects and sustains and leads me on gently through waters of quietness.  How utterly sweet!  Let us delve into this a bit more.

“…He leadeth me beside the still waters.”  

Once again, to better understand this important phrase, let us turn to the nature of sheep, this time to its physiology.  Keller tells us that water makes up about 70 percent of the body of a sheep.  This water maintains normal body metabolism.  Water is in every cell and contributes to the body’s normal life functions.  It determines the vitality, strength, and vigor of a sheep and is vital to its health and general well-being.  If a sheep does not have sufficient water intake, dehydration of the tissues happens and can to serious damage.  The animal becomes weak and impoverished.  It must have a source of water in order to survive and thrive.  I know this to be true just from my experience with severe colitis.  I became severely dehydrated and as a result I was extremely weakened.  

 If a sheep becomes thirsty, he becomes restless and strives to find water.  Sheep are dumb; to satisfy their thirst they will drink from polluted potholes where they pick up parasites.  Remember, the best country for a flock are the dry arid regions, but that also means that water, good water, is not in plentiful supply.  The shepherd finds water in three places, dew on the grass, deep wells, or springs and streams.  Surprisingly, sheep can live satisfied on the water from dew, if it is heavy dew and the weather is not too hot, for a few months!  By habit, sheep rise before dawn and begin grazing.  Or if there is bright moonlight at night they will graze then.  These are the hours that vegetation is heavy with dew.  Dew is a clean, pure source of water.  It is a “still water”.  There is nothing calmer than dew!  If sheep are going to be afforded this necessity of heavy dew, the shepherd must rise with them and lead them into the heavy vegetation full of dew.  Once the sun comes out, the sheep are satisfied and can retire to the shade of the bushes/trees and can lay down and rest.

 The Bible is replete with verses about rising early to be in God’s Word.  The one who does this is the one who is most able to cope with whatever the day brings.  Through the Word believers are led to quiet and still waters that they desperately need, whether they realize it or not.  Great men of the faith all attribute their successful Christian life to this very thing.  In that early hour one is not tormented by the upcoming needs and events of the day.  There is no ringing of the phone.  There is no one to interrupt.  It is time with just you and God.  That’s why many call it “God and I time”.  This is where you hear the still small voice of God best.  This is where you can surrender the easiest.  One comes away from this time refreshed and satisfied.  

 But what if dew is not available?  Then the shepherd must dig a well!  One such well is described by Keller and is much different than I would have imagined.  He says this: “Some of these [wells that he had seen] were enormous, hand-hewn caverns cut from the sandstone formation along the sandy rivers.  They were like great rooms chiseled out of the rocks with ramps running down to the water trough at the bottom.”  However, it was still up to the shepherd to get the well water into the trough.  He would strip his clothing and work feverishly to pail the water into the trough.  Perspiration poured from his body as he exhausted his strength in an effort to satisfy his thirsty flock.  Think of it, at one time he had to hand carve in the stone this wide room and make passageways down to it and then troughs to hold the water.  But the work was not complete, for every day he still had to bail water for his entire flock.  

 There are times in our Christian walk where Jesus also leads us into dark and seemingly unsure places, perhaps even what seems to us as dangerous and/or disagreeable places.  But if we will but follow, without fail, He is leading us to the pleasant waters of greater satisfaction with Him.  He is deepening our relationship with Him, our fellowship with Him, our awareness of our need for Him.  

 One more consideration: the skittish sheep had to be willing to walk into this dark room in order to get to the cool, pure water.  All the time our Jesus is working hard for us.  He has already worked hard revealing to us Who the Father is and how we can live a Christ-like life.  Then He did the hardest thing of all – He died for us!  Now He lives every day interceding for us.  We are never for an instant forgotten by Him.  He never stops working for us!  He makes plans for us, plans which will lead us into even greener pastures and stiller waters!  Sheep have to learn to trust their shepherd when he leads them into dark caverns.  So, too, must we learn to trust Jesus our Shepherd when it appears that the path ahead is dark.  If we would but follow and trust, we will always find that it leads to still waters.

 What if dew is not available and neither is there an available well?  What then?  The shepherd must lead the sheep to a stream.  Often as sheep climb or descend to a mountain stream, they will find puddles along the way.  Puddles filled with urine and feces from previous flocks.  Muddy puddles from the many feet of sheep gone before.  Puddles filled with parasites.  As dumb as they are, they will stop and drink of these!  It is unthinkable!  But it is just like any human being.  Sure, the path to clean, pure water might be a climb, or even a scary descent, but if one is following the Shepherd Jesus, there is beautiful life-satisfying water at the end of the journey.  Do not stop along the way to intake the polluted water.  

 Often in our lives we find ourselves on a mountain.  Either climbing or descending it, both can be tricky.  But if we will but just keep on following our Savior, the path will be sure and will always lead to still waters.  Water, in the Bible, is always referring to the Holy Spirit.  It is He Who brings us stillness, peace in our souls if we but yield to His promptings in our heart.  He leads us into grace, which gives us the enablement to climb or to descend.  In both walks we need surrender to His soothing Presence.

 Sometimes there may be a river nearby, but the Shepherd knows the swift moving water will frighten the sheep and/or, if any dare come close to get a drink, the current will easily carry the sheep away.  So, even if it means a greater distance, the shepherd must lead the sheep to still waters.  We must always be willing to wait for the water supply the Shepherd Jesus will lead us.  We might pass a water supply that will be enticing to us because of our thirst, but, if we go there, we will be in great danger.  Let us be patient to wait for what the Shepherd has planned for us.  

 Beside the still waters the shepherd can clean and mend the wounds that the sheep have sustained in the journey.  Here is calmness.  As we have seen, the word for ‘still’ is actually a noun meaning rest.  It is a place, not an adjective.  The still waters are a place of rest.  We are to be always resting in Jesus.  That is to be our state.  

 God created us with a thirst for Him.  The unsaved seek many ways to quench their thirst, including a lot of polluted potholes. They do not realize that their thirst can only be quenched with Jesus.  Only with Him will anyone find complete satisfaction.  Mt 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.  The word ‘drink’ in spiritual terms means to take it in, to accept it, to believe it.  It refers to a person who assimilates the very life of Jesus to the point where it becomes a part of him.  

Application

Still waters…..complete and perfect rest.  Is that what your soul is experiencing right now?  If not, seek what it is that is stealing that from you and let Him correct it as you yield to Him completely.  Seek Him early every morning.  The rich and satisfying dew of His Word awaits you every day.  Be in His Word daily.  Memorize it.  Meditate upon it.  Study it.  Read it.  Pray.  Only by this will you hear clearly His still small voice leading you to still waters.  Remember, all He wants for you is to abundantly satisfy your thirst and see you resting completely upon Him and His leading.

 We must be willing to follow.  The Shepherd cannot lead if we are not willing to follow.  How are we doing at following?  Are you allowing Him to lead you into quiet time with Him every day?  Is there some prompting from the Spirit which you are resisting right now?  Is there a hesitation to do the thing that you know He wants you to do?  Give it to Jesus.  Let Him take away your fear so that you can wholeheartedly and completely follow Him.  

 Be willing to follow no matter what the road ahead appears to be.  Trust in Him that He will only lead you to still waters….rest.  If you have a lack of faith for where He is leading you, then give that unbelief to Him and let Him return to you perfect faith.

Sometimes our flesh desires to take the easy way out and drink from the potholes along the way.  Make sure you are not doing this!  They are so unhealthy for you!  He only knows what is best for you.  Keep on following Him – only then will you experience rest.  Be willing to wait for His still waters.  Cry out to Him for He will even give you the patience you need in the waiting process!  Dear friend, there is nothing so sweet as drinking from His still waters.  May you know it today.

Follow On by William O. Cushing

1.     Down in the valley with my Savior I will go,
Where the flow’rs are blooming and the sweet waters flow;
Everywhere He leads me I will follow, follow on,
Walking in His footsteps till the crown be won.

o   Refrain:
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Everywhere He leads me I will follow on!

2.     Down in the valley with my Savior I will go,
Where the storms are sweeping and the dark waters flow;
With His hand to lead me I will never, never fear,
Danger cannot fright me if my Lord is near.

3.     Down in the valley, or upon the mountain steep,
Close beside my Savior will my soul ever keep;
He will lead me safely in the path that He has trod,
Up to where they gather on the hills of God.

Psalm 23:2a

by Jilene Scherenske

This is the third in a series of articles on Psalm 23. I have found this study to be a great blessing to my soul and trust it will be to yours also. The reader should be aware that I have used Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 as a resource. I refer often to his book and knowledge of the care of sheep. Then I take his insights, combine them with the Word of God and meditate thereon. This is the result of my meditations.

Psalm 23:2a

Oh my! Just the Hebrew meanings to these words give us a rich insight into this verse! “maketh to lie down” means to make to rest. He makes it so that we can rest! “Green” refers to a tender grass or herb, in other words, the best (most nutritious, best tasting). He always feeds me with what is absolute best for me! “Pastures” are our habitation and pleasant places. This is where we need to always be – feasting in His green pastures, not pastures of our own making!

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures…” First let us learn about the nature of sheep so we can better understand who we are and Who our Shepherd is. Keller says that sheep, because of their great timidity and skittishness, will not lay down and rest unless four requirements are met. 1) They must be free of all fear. 2) They are very social creatures and so will not rest if there is any kind of friction with the sheep! 3) They cannot rest if they are being bothered by flies or parasites. 4) Lastly, they will not lie down if they are hungry. So, they must be free from fear, tension, aggravations, and hunger. The beauty of this nature of the sheep is that they are completely helpless to relieve any one of those requirements. Only the shepherd can fix it! Only he can make it possible for them to lie down and rest, to be content and quiet and thus flourish. I am always amazed at the creative and imaginable and wise creation of God. In every creature He has put within them a mechanism for survival. Just take the bee, for example. One of the many things He did for them was to create them with little scrub brushes on their knees so that every time they exit a flower, they can take that brush and clean out all the pollen from their airways. Otherwise they would suffocate! Every creature has a uniqueness about him that protects them. But I do not see that in sheep! I think God made these creatures helpless and in desperate need of a shepherd so that He could use them as an analogy throughout His Word to reveal to us, who don’t think we need shepherding, how tremendously we really do need our Shepherd Jesus!

1) Free from fear. It is the nature of sheep to be fearful. A jack rabbit suddenly bounding across their grazing grounds can instantly startle one sheep who will suddenly turn and run in fright. The whole herd will then follow blindly, not knowing why they are running! They have no self-defense mechanisms. They get scared and they run! If an ewe is pregnant, she will immediately abort her lamb and fall over dead. Nothing reassures the sheep more than the presence of the shepherd whether it be daytime or nighttime. The application to us human beings is obvious. We, too, are easily afraid. A strange sound in our home will put us on high alert! News of political unrest upsets us, and we think about moving to another country! A sudden and strangely timed phone call from a loved one makes us wonder what bad news they bear. But for us Christians knowing that Jesus is there with us settles us down immediately. The promises of His wonderful and continual presence are a quieter to our souls. This happens frequently, and as I write, we have just learned of a UND football player who, over Christmas break, had a skiing accident and is paralyzed. Immediately his mom posted on Facebook Romans 8:28 (And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.) God’s presence in the midst of that tragedy brought immediate comfort and calmness to this mom’s soul! PTL!

Ps 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Pr 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Matt 28:20 …and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Heb 13:5 …for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Jer 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Ps 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

What a calming effect these verses have on our soul!

I need not say it: we live in a troubled world full of disease, awful sin and wickedness. And then there is all the unknown and unexpected. These can produce a great panic in us. When tragedy strikes our first impulse is a desire to run. But riding in upon the horizon of our disquietness comes Jesus. Perfect Calm. Our souls suddenly feel relaxed, settled, encouraged, hopeful. Fear is the thing that now runs away. Ps 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. God’s gracious Spirit is conveying the presence of Jesus to our fearful hearts. Remember, fear does not come from God. 2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. But there is one thing that keeps this blessing of His presence away from us. It is when we fail to go to Him, fail to cry out to Him. The moment a fearful thing presents itself, we must turn to Jesus, Who is a constant Presence in our lives. Tell Him the fear we feel. Ask Him by His power to remove it and restore to us perfect peace. He will gladly do it, but we must ask! We must yield our fear over to Him.

2) Free from friction, tension, rivalry, cruel competition. In most, if not all creature societies, there is a bent for who will be the boss. With chickens we call it the pecking order. With cattle and other animals, it is the horning order. Such is the case with sheep; with them it is the butting order. Typically, an older ewe who is domineering and arrogant makes herself the boss of a herd. She will drive other ewes and lambs away from the best grass or the choicest place to lie down. It is not uncommon for this bossy ewe to walk up to a younger ewe minding her own business, arch her neck, tilt her head, dilate her eyes and approach the other with a stiff-legged gait. She is in effect saying, “Move over! Out of my way! Give me ground or else!” If the other ewe does not move immediately, she will be butted unmercifully. Or if she takes the challenge and butts back, a few strong butts from the dominant ewe and she will be scurrying away for safety. If this is allowed to continue it will have a most detrimental thing upon the herd. They will become edgy, tense, discontented and restless. They will lose weight, become irritable and fail to thrive. The remedy? The presence of the shepherd! As long as they could view his presence, the sheep quickly forgot their rivalry, stopped their fighting and settled into quietness. The Bible is an amazing book. It describes this very butting order in Ezekiel:

Eze 34:16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. 17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. {cattle: Heb. small cattle of lambs and kids} {he goats: Heb. great he goats} 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

I suppose I can blame our sin nature, but we humans also act much like the bossy ewe. Whether we realize it or not, we have a bit in us of wanting to keep up with the Joneses and perhaps even be a bit better than they. At the office, in our communities, in any organization, even in our families and at church the desire for recognition and self-assertion goes on. It is probably mostly seen in the business world. Everyone is seeking that promotion over another. In our families, wives seek dominance often. Even children seek to be the more favored one or to be their own boss. In our churches people seek to be accepted and thus seek to be recognized more than another and as a result rivalry is produced, and jealousy, and feelings get hurt. Some are bossy and bullish. Some seek to stand up for their rights or put himself in a good light. This creates much unsettledness and friction within the body. But when our eyes are on Jesus and not on those around us, there is peace, harmony, companionship, and sweet fellowship. All of our snobbery, selfishness, arrogance ends when we are acutely aware of Jesus’ presence. “It is the humble heart walking quietly and contentedly in the close and intimate companionship of Christ that is at rest, that can relax, simply glad to lie down and let the world go by.” Keller When we allow Christ to shepherd us, then we don’t have a concern for our reputation, for our acceptance by others. We are satisfied to let Christ do that for us. As Ezekiel stated, it is Jesus Who will determine what my status shall be. And it is His estimation of me that is of greatest importance. His indwelling Spirit, if allowed to do so, will make me free from fear of what others might think of me and free me from the desire to get ahead of another, free of the fleshly attitude of insisting on my way.

3) Sheep cannot rest if they are being bothered by flies or parasites. Especially in the summer, sheep can be driven to absolute torment by flies of all kinds and ticks. When pestered by these it is impossible for them to lie down and rest. Think of it: a dog or cat can use his feet to scratch himself or even bite off a tick. Cows have tails to swish away a fly. But what does the sheep have? The only thing he can do is stomp his legs, shake his head or rush into a bush to hide from them! A good shepherd will dip his sheep to clear their fleeces of ticks and other parasites. He will use insect repellents to keep the flies and other creature irritants away. He will lead them to shelter belts of trees and bushes where they can find refuge from these tormentors. This costs the shepherd much. He must provide the insect repellents, the dipping materials. He must also stay with the sheep so that he can be alert to the first signs of these pests. His constant goal is to provide for the sheep so that they can rest and be content. Their thriving in every way is dependent on them being able to rest.

In our Christian lives we also have pests. Some come in the form of petty frustrations, like that little habit of your husband’s that always gets under your skin. Or perhaps it is a personality quirk of a co-worker, or even of a friend. Maybe it is the long line at the bank that is always long because they do not staff enough people. So many little frustrations that have the potential of leaving us in a state of mind that is anything but peaceful and content. Can we find contentment even though these exist? Of course! If we will allow ourselves to be dipped into the Holy Spirit, we will realize the presence of Jesus in our lives. When we turn to Him, tell Him about the frustration, no matter how silly or how little it seems, He immediately comes to the rescue. “Lord, I know this thing is little in the big picture of my life, but it is bugging me, and I can’t seem to get free of its grip! Please take this frustration from me. Let me release it into Your care.” Now you have just invited Him into your problem – something He is delighted to be invited into. You have placed your trust in His ability to change you and, perhaps, to change the problem. Knowing He is now in charge of it brings peace. He may choose to only change you, and allow the problem may continue, but it will no longer pester you as long as your eyes stay on Him. He will give you His supernatural patience and that will bring to you the rest you need.

4) Finally, there must be freedom from the fear of hunger if a sheep will be able to rest. Our Psalm implies that that is exactly what the shepherd does because he leads them into green pastures. He leads, he does not drive them. He leads softly and gently, never forcing himself upon the flock. Interestingly many of the great sheep countries of the world are dry, semi-arid areas. Believe it or not, most breeds of sheep flourish best in this sort of terrain. They are susceptible to fewer hazards of health or parasites where the climate is dry. But, as you might imagine, that type of land is also sparse of luscious pastures. The land where David kept his sheep was a dry, brown, sun-burned wasteland. Green pastures did not just happen by chance. They were the product of tremendous labor, time, and skill in the usage of the land. Green pastures were the result of clearing rough, rocky land; of tearing out brush and roots and stumps; of deep plowing and careful soil preparation; of seeding and planting special grains and legumes; of irrigating with water and husbanding with care the crops of forage that would feed the sheep. All of this cost the shepherd tremendous labor and skill and time if he was to be a good shepherd. This was the only way the sheep could enjoy green pastures. But green pastures were exactly what they needed for the lambs to mature and the ewes to have a heavy milk flow. In green pastures the flock could fill up quickly and then lie down and rest and ruminate. A hungry sheep, on the other hand, would be continually on its feet, on the move, searching for more food. They are not content, do not thrive and thus are of no value to their owner. Keller

In scripture God led the Israelites from Egypt into what He called the Promised land flowing with milk and honey. Flowing with milk and honey meant that the pastures would be lush and green. He led them from sin, symbolized by Egypt, into the promise of abundant life in Him. That is the picture of what He has done for everyone of us; He has given us the ability to inhabit the promised land, an abundant life. He sacrificed much to give us those green pastures of the abundant life. First, He sacrificed by leaving heaven, leaving His glory behind and living among us, His creation, who had chosen to go their own way and were very hostile toward Him. Then He sacrificed His life so that we could experience abundant life - a life filled continually with peace and contentment and victory over sin. Jesus knows our thoughts; He knows our battles. Every day He works to clear the rocks of stony unbelief from our souls. He works to ream out the bitterness that creeps into our souls, sometimes unawares at first. He breaks up the hardened and proud heart. Then He plants the seeds of His precious Word into our broken-up heart’s ground. He waters our heart’s soil with His soothing Presence. He tends to our hearts continually with His Holy Spirit, always leading us and guiding us into more green pastures. His green pastures are never exhausted! His goal is to constantly see us satisfied with Him. It is the only state in which we will grow to be more Christ-like. Jesus leads us into His green pastures, but it is for us to feed upon them. The saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” Let us be sure we are taking full advantage of all His promises, of all His green pastures, and fully enjoying their full value by feasting on His Word every day, taking all our concerns to Him in prayer, and yielding to His rule in our life.

His abundant life is “green”. In our natural world we hear over and over again, “eat your greens”, the more the better. Greens are the best there is for us. They are the most nutritious, the easiest to digest, pleasant to look upon, absolutely wonderful for our health. And so it is with God’s word. There is nothing better for us spiritually. All we have to do is receive the Word, believe it and stand upon it, stepping out in faith. The more we feed upon God’s Word, the greater and more constant will be our rest! Mt 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. We are blest beyond belief that God has given us the power to appropriate such a promise!

Application

Let’s take one more look at ourselves. Do you have any fears? Are there long-standing fears in your life? I would fear that my daughters might be kidnapped and/or raped as they were growing up. But every time that fear threatened, I cried out to God to keep them safe. He did just that! And he kept me from worrying. There are many things in our life over which we might be fearful. Don’t hang on to those fears! Give it up to Jesus right now! They will destroy you. They will limit the abundant life He wants to give you. They will also limit your ability to give Him glory with your life, because by clinging to that fear, you are in effect saying that God is not big enough for you. His presence IS enough. Let it be enough for you. Yield to the Holy Spirit to give you the gift of peaceful rest.

Are you content with where you are, or do you seek to be in another place? By that I mean, do you long for a better place for your reputation? Do you desire for someone to see you and your worth in greater ways, to be accepted more by a certain someone more than you think you presently are? By all means, do not fight for that place! Let God provide it. Is there someone that you feel is in contention for your place? Do not worry about it. Let God handle it. Our reputation is His job. We just need to keep our focus on Him Who is continually with us!

Are you free from irritations? Is there anyone with whom you feel at odds? Some disagreement that has not been resolved? Or perhaps someone in your life has a personality quirk, or a personal habit that drives you batty! Two things must happen: you must first of all be willing to forgive them. There are times when the offender will never ask for forgiveness, but you must give it anyway for your own sake. Otherwise a root of bitterness will grow and poison you! Even if it is just a small quirk that you can’t stand, forgive that person of it, forgive them for not seemingly trying at all to change and/or stop the habit. Then yield the thing that troubles you to the Holy Spirit. Tell Him that you cannot find the will within yourself to forgive or to be patient with it. Ask Him to give to you the desire to forgive and/or be patient. Tell Him that by an act of obedience, whether you want to or not, you desire to forgive because you know it is the right thing to do. Ask the Holy Spirit to take away the irritation from you and replace it with peace. He will do all that for you if you will but ask!

Lastly, how well are you allowing Jesus, our Shepherd to lead you? Remember, He will not force you to follow. But He will gently and continually tap on your heart. His still and small voice can be easily heard. And He will lead you to luscious pastures, but He cannot force you to eat. Are you feeding on the Word of God to the extent that He is calling you to eat? Is there anything about your fellowship with Him, your times in His Word, to which He is gently calling you to, but you have not yet responded? Deepening our walk with Him, spending more time with Him, is not an easy habit to improve upon. But I have found many times that if I call upon Him to develop this new habit, He does so quickly. Perhaps He calls you to read through the Bible in a year. Perhaps He is calling you to spend more time in prayer. Perhaps He wants you to meditate on His Word longer. Maybe He is asking you to memorize more than you currently do. Yield to Him! Tell Him how hard this is for you. Tell Him you do not know how to do it. Tell Him you just cannot figure out where to get more time to do it. Whatever the devil tells you the obstacles are, give them over to Jesus and He will obliterate them and then give you the grace to follow His gentle leading….and you will find the pastures even greener!

What is there left to do but to thank Him for all His hard work of shepherding you and providing for you those lush green pastures of His Word?

Psalm 23:1b

by Jilene Scherenske

This is the second in a series of articles on Psalm 23. I have found this study to be a great blessing to my soul and trust it will be to yours also. The reader should be aware that I have used Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 as a resource. I refer often to his book and knowledge of the care of sheep. Then I take his insights, combine them with the Word of God and meditate thereon. This is the result of my meditations.

Psalm 23:1b “…I shall not want.”

Because the Lord is my awesome Shepherd there is nothing that I shall need. I will not need anything! What a bold statement! It is perspective. One’s cup is either half empty or half full. This declaration can only be made by one who fully knows the Lord, knows and believes in what He can do, and has placed his trust completely in Him. Not only does the word ‘want’ mean lacking in nothing, but it also means that one is so content with the Good Shepherd’s care that they crave or desire nothing else! What a beautiful place to be! A great example of this is the following story: “One of the poor members of the flock of Christ was reduced to circumstances of the greatest poverty in his old age, and yet he never murmured. "You must be badly off", said a kind hearted neighbour to him one day as they met upon the road, "you must be badly off; and I don't know how an old man like you can maintain yourself and your wife; yet you are always cheerful!" "Oh no!" he replied, "we are not badly off, I have a rich Father, and he does not suffer me to want." "What! your father is not dead yet? he must be very old indeed!" "Oh!" said he, "my Father never dies, and he always takes care of me!" This aged Christian was a daily pensioner on the providence of his God. His struggles and his poverty were known to all; but his own declaration was, that he never wanted what was absolutely necessary. The days of his greatest straits were the days of his most signal and timely deliverances. When old age benumbed the hand of his industry, the Lord extended to him the hand of charity. And often has he gone forth from his scanty breakfast, not knowing from what earthly source his next meal was to be obtained. But yet with David he could rely on his Shepherd's care, and say, "I shall not want;" and as certainly as he trusted in God, so surely, in some unexpected manner was his necessity supplied.” John Stevenson From Treasury of David That is the kind of perspective I’m talking about. That is the perspective I want in my life.

Let us think for a moment on the author of this psalm. David had known great poverty. He had lived for years in caves, depending on food only from those who would provide it. When avoiding Saul, there was once a time when he sent his men begging for food to Nabal, and another time when he went begging to Ahimelech, and yet he says in this Psalm, “I shall not want”. That’s because, even though they were hungry at those times, yet David knew and trusted in God to supply whatever he needed. He had known tremendous personal sorrow both in his sin with Bathsheba and the rebellion of his loved son, Absalom. Yet here he declares that he will never experience any lack or need. He knew if he did not get everything he desired that that thing was not best for him, or that he would have it in due time. And he did! He never starved in all those years of living in caves and running from Saul. Like Paul, David had learned whatever state he was in to be content (Phil 4:11). How is this possible? Because, as Paul declared a couple verses later, he could do all things because Christ was strengthening him. “The wicked always want, but the righteous never; a sinner's heart is far from satisfaction, but a gracious spirit dwells in the palace of content.” From Treasury of David Remember the rich young ruler? What did Jesus tell him? He directed him to “…sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor…and come…follow me.” Mk 10:21 But the ruler went away sorrowful. What was his problem? Perspective! He thought he needed his riches to keep himself happy. Think of Job, or John the Baptist, or even Jesus. They had many material and/or physical needs. We know from Paul’s life that he had great need physically and materially. Think of all the great missionaries who have gone before us. None lived in comfort but they had what they needed! George Muller was a missionary in England who was led of God to take in orphans and had quite a number of them. Yet almost every day they had no food to give the children, and every day the Lord provided in wonderful ways, like a milk truck breaking down in front of the orphanage and, since the milk would quickly spoil, the driver gave all the milk to them! God never goes back on a promise.

“I shall not want” – means that I will not lack any temporal things. Just as God promises to feed the ravens and clothe the lilies, He will never allow His children to starve. Sure, we may not possess all we want, but God will see to it that we have what we absolutely need. “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” Ps 34:10 I have all the things that I need, not because I have money in the bank, not because I have the health and skill to earn money, but because, The Lord is my Shepherd.

“It is the boss – the manager – the Master in people’s lives who makes the difference in their destiny.” Keller When we have yielded to Christ as our Master, we find contentment and peace. But those who have self as their master, will go the way of the flesh and satan will use that to destroy them. They are like sheep who have an uncaring shepherd who does not see that they are fed and watered and protected as they ought to be. Satan leaves his sheep weak, struggling to survive, full of despair. They are bound by satan’s will for them. But those who have Jesus as their Shepherd are content – and that is the sign that one has Jesus as their Shepherd – contentment. And why wouldn’t they be content? Jesus cares for His sheep perfectly. He loves them dearly. He never sleeps but is continually watching over them. He knows each one by name and cares for him individually. He feeds them with the best of pastures. He keeps them safe from disease and from predators. He even gave His life for them. He gives them life abundant if they will but allow Him to be their Master. Who would not want a Shepherd like that?

There are some who are under the Great Shepherd’s care but choose to go their own way. These are carnal Christians. Keller tells of a beautiful sheep he had once. Strikingly beautiful. She birthed good lambs that were strong. In every way just the kind of top-notched sheep one would want in his herd. But she had one problem. Even though she had lush pastures to graze upon, yet she always roamed the fence looking for a spot to escape. Often, she would end up grazing on rotten weeds much less satisfying, yet still she was determined to break through the fence. Soon she taught her lambs to escape as well. And then the rest of the herd began to follow her example as well. As much as he hated it because he loved her so much, Keller was forced to slaughter her so that the whole herd was not ruined. Sometimes that is what happens to carnal Christians, God has to take them home early because of their bad influence.

I liked the picture of another’s illustration of sheep , some of whom do not trust completely in the Master’s care: “Come down to the river; there is something going forward worth seeing. Yon shepherd is about to lead his flock across; and as our Lord says of the good shepherd -- you observe that he goes before, and the sheep follow. Not all in the same manner, however. Some enter boldly, and come straight across. These are the loved ones of the flock, who keep hard by the footsteps of the shepherd, whether sauntering through green meadows by the still waters, feeding upon the mountains, or resting at noon, beneath the shadow of great rocks. And now others enter, but in doubt and alarm. Far from their guide, they miss the ford, and are carried down the river, some more, some less; and yet, one by one, they all struggle over and make good their landing. Notice those little lambs. They refuse to enter, and must be driven into the stream by the shepherd's dog, mentioned by Job in his "parable." Poor things! how they leap, and plunge, and bleat in terror! That weak one yonder will be swept quite away, and perish in the sea. But no; the shepherd himself leaps into the stream, lifts it into his bosom, and bears it trembling to the shore. All safely over, how happy they appear! The lambs frisk and gambol about in high spirits, while the older ones gather round their faithful guide, and look up to him in subdued but expressive thankfulness. Now, can you watch such a scene, and not think of that Shepherd who leadeth Joseph like a flock; and of another river, which all his sheep must cross? He, too, goes before, and, as in the case of this flock, they who keep near him "fear no evil." They hear his sweet voice, saying, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee." Isa 43:2. With eye fastened on him, they scarcely see the stream, or feel its cold and threatening waves. W. M. Thomson. From Treasury of David Wow! Where do you fit in this illustration? Are you the sheep that stays close to the Shepherd and crosses the stream quietly and in confidence knowing that even when you face scary things you will have no want of any thing? Are you the sheep that doubts at times and thus suffers a bit when the trials come, but find sure ground in the end? Or are you the weak lamb who enters the river terrified? Seek to be the confident, trusting one, the one who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that God will always provide everything you need. Beg God for that kind of trust. Only He can give it to you, though you must be willing to receive it and step out in faith. But if you are not there yet, know that the Lord, your Shepherd, will rescue you and bring you to safe ground.

Ge 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, Isa 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Application

If God is so great and so loving, and He is, then why would we ever distrust Him for the little things of life? He Who has given us His riches in Christ Jesus, will also supply our earthly needs. I have experienced this greatly in my life. Time and time again God has supplied my every need, whether it was an emotional need, a spiritual need, or a physical need. He has never failed to be faithful to me. Be willing to wait, the supply doesn’t always come as soon as we would wish, but it always comes. We must be careful to not have the mindset that if we are pleasing God, we will be greatly blest materially and physically. Yes, God does bless us, and sometimes greatly with material and physical needs, but mostly God blesses us spiritually so that when God calls us to some hardship we can still boast, “I shall not want” because we will never lack the expert care and provision of our Lord and Master. Often what we think is a need in our lives, God knows that it is actually something that would not be best for us. Let us be sure we are trusting God for what our true needs are!

Psalm 23:1a

by Jilene Scherenske

This begins a series of articles on Psalm 23.  I have found this study to be a great blessing to my soul and trust it will be to yours also.  The reader should be aware that I have used Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 as a resource.  I refer often to his book and knowledge of the care of sheep.  Then I take his insights, combine them with the Word of God and meditate thereon.  This is the result of my meditations.  

Psalm 23:1a

“A Psalm of David.  The LORD is my shepherd…”

This psalm is positive from start to finish.  It is read to those who are dying, to the  combat soldier, to those who are burdened.  It is sung when one is rejoicing or maybe sorrowing.  As someone said, it is the nightingale of all the birds.  It covers all the bases; whatever emotion we find ourselves in, whatever the situation, it ministers to that need.  

This great psalm in a myriad of ways, as we shall see, causes us to reflect on the Person of Jesus and on what He does for us.  It is important to realize that David is not speaking from the view of the shepherd, but he is seeing Jesus through the eyes of the sheep, as if he were one of the flock.  He speaks with a great sense of pride as he proclaims Who his wonderful Shepherd is.  From firsthand experience David knew how sheep fared. depending on their master.  Some flocks did well because they had a caring shepherd; others were sickly, starving, and in endless hardship under a shepherd who was irresponsible in caring for them.  As we shall see, our loving Shepherd feeds us with an abundant life.  

“The LORD is my shepherd…”  “The Lord” – so just Who is the Lord?  What is He like?  Why does He have the legal right to be my Lord, my Shepherd, my boss, my manager?  The Hebrew name used here is Jehovah.  It refers to the God of Israel, but, more than that, Jehovah means that He is self-existent and eternal.  No one made Him.  No one created Him.  He is a Being that has always been and always will be.  He depends on nothing and no one for His existence.  He has no beginning and there will never be a time when He will cease to exist.  He is The Lord.  There is none other.  There will never be any other Lord of lords.  

The LORD is boss over everything that exists.  Whether we acknowledge that or not does not change the fact that He is still in control and oversees everything that exists.  Those who hesitate in allowing Him to be Lord of their lives, their supreme Boss, do so because they have a limited view of Who He really is.  We look at Him through human eyes and human understanding and secretly assign to Him weakness of some kind, and therefore shirk from giving Him full authority over our lives.  Think of it:  if there is some area in your life where He is not Lord, not your Boss, is it not because you think you know better than He and therefore surmise that He is not qualified in that area, that He has a weakness in that area?  Or perhaps you do not understand what He is doing and thus assume He really is not in full control or is not a truly good God.  Either way He is being limited in your mind as Lord of your life.

So just exactly Who is He?  Let’s think first of His power and might.  Let’s view the heavens, the stars and let’s remember that only about 3,000 stars are visible to the unaided eye on a clear moonless night. About 100,000 stars can be seen using a small telescope. There are an estimated one hundred billion (100,000,000,000) stars in our own Milky Way galaxy, although some estimates range up to four times that many.  A typical galaxy may contain anywhere between about ten million and one trillion stars.  There are an estimated 200 billion galaxies, although science knows it has not discovered all of them yet.  The Lord made them all and controls them all!  Let’s look down upon the earth.  In one cup of sand there are at least 2 million grains of sand.  Imagine how many are on the earth!  If I took a handful of soil and put it under an electron microscope, I would discover billions upon billions of micro-organisms so complex in their own peculiar cellular structure that only a fraction of their functions on earth have been understood!  Such figures are unimaginable, yet we have a God Who created them all and sustains them all.  Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  How great is His might!  How great is His wisdom!  How unimaginably great is His power!

If only we remembered that He created us!  What a masterful task!  But let’s not stop at His creative power and wisdom for that is only a small part of who He is.  He is the God Who loves us!  Loves us far beyond what we can really understand.  Loves us so much that He gave His life for us, dying an extreme tortuous death.  Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He took all of our sin upon Him.  He died for us so we could live eternally in heaven with Him.   Does that not give Him the right to be our Boss?  Who loves like that?  Loves us so much that He desires us to fellowship with Him as Friend to friend even though we continually reject Him daily by not yielding to His Spirit’s control.  Sheep, as we shall see, cannot possibly take care of themselves.  They were not given the capacity to do so by the God Who created them.  They need constant care in every way.  Like sheep, we too, need constant care.  We tend not to think we need constant care; we tend to think we can do at least some things by ourselves!  But the truth is that anything we do on our own is useless, it ends up in a mess.  That’s why Jesus longs to fellowship with us, so He can give us the care we so desperately need.  He chose us, created us, then bought us back.  He chooses to seek an intimate relationship with us, and absolutely delights in caring for us!  Wow!

Isa 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Eze 34:11-14; 23 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.  As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.  And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.  I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.   I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.  I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.  23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

He owns me and He has every right to own me.  He created me and then He died for me that He might have me back.  He deliberately chose to make me the object of His love.  He intercedes for us minute by minute.  Yes, He has every right to own me.  Who are the sheep in this Psalm?  They are those who have accepted Him as Savior.  He owns everyone because He created them and then He bought them back, but He can be Shepherd only to those who call Him Lord.  He will not force any to be in His flock.  

Remember: He is THE Lord – there is only One.  Whether I choose to make Him my Lord, is up to me; but He will always be Lord.  

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Ac 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

“The Lord IS…” – He is my Shepherd right now and He will always be my Shepherd!  There is no “I hope so” in it; no “but”, no “if”, just simply “is”.  It is a fact.  It’s present tense and it will always be present tense.  It was present tense yesterday and will be present tense tomorrow!  It is present tense so that no one can claim Him as Shepherd one day and not another.  He never abandons us!  He is my Shepherd yesterday and today and tomorrow!  Always….that’s a great word to describe Him – ALWAYS – for He is constant in all things.  This very moment I am under the pastoral care of Jehovah God!  He “…will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb 13:5.  Again, everything about this Psalm is so incredible.  Can I really comprehend what God’s continual presence means to me?  I doubt it!  But in what I do realize, I know it to be a blessing immense!  What peace it brings me.  What confidence in Him.  

De 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

De 31:8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

“The Lord is MY …” – Herein is perhaps the sweetest word of this psalm.  He, Jesus, is mine!  He is my Caregiver.  He wants to be my Caregiver.  There is no “He is the Shepherd of the world” in this paragraph.  But rather, “He is mine!”  He longs, yea, yearns, to be an intimate Friend with me.  He cares for me as if I am the most valuable being that exists!  He shepherds me as if I were the only sheep in His flock!  Every moment I have His undivided attention.  I am His possession; and He is mine!

He is mine!  The Great God of the Universe, the Most High God, is mine!  I can claim Him for my very own!!  Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, I know I have the opportunity to stand before Him forgiven, loved, accepted.  There is in me a desire to be accepted, especially by my authorities.  I can’t stand it for even a minute when I have offended my husband and know that now there is a wedge between us.  I apologize immediately because I long to once again be in harmony with him.  I long for my pastor to accept me.  I want my bosses to accept me.  But greater than that, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the God of this universe has accepted me because of the cross!  He is mine, and I am His.  The words of the hymn I am His and He is Mine express it well:

1 Loved with everlasting love,

Led by grace that love to know;

Gracious Spirit from above,

Thou hast taught me it is so.

O this full and perfect peace!

O this transport all divine!

In a love which cannot cease,

I am His, and He is mine.

In a love which cannot cease,

I am His, and He is mine.

2 Heav'n above is softer blue;

Earth around is sweeter green.

Something lives in every hue

Christless eyes have never seen.

Birds with gladder songs o'erflow;

Flow'rs with deeper beauties shine,

Since I know, as now I know,

I am His and He is mine.

Since I know, as now I know,

I am His and He is mine.

3 Things that once were wild alarms

Cannot now disturb my rest.

Closed in everlasting arms,

Pillowed on the loving breast -

O to lie forever here,

Doubt and care and self resign

While He whispers in my ear,

I am His and He is mine.

While He whispers in my ear,

I am His and He is mine.

4 His forever, only His;

Who the Lord and me shall part?

Ah, with what a rest of bliss

Christ can fill the loving heart!

Heav'n and earth may fade and flee;

First-born light in gloom decline.

But while God and I shall be,

I am His and He is mine.

But while God and I shall be,

I am His and He is mine.

One more thought as we venture into this great Psalm.  If He has chosen to be my Shepherd, then I am to surmise that I am valuable to Him!  When an earthly shepherd buys a flock, he has done so with great sacrifice, hard earned money, and those sheep are very valuable to him.  Jesus gave His life for us – does not that define our value to Him?  Isa 43:4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.   Ps 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!  Ex 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:  Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.  1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  

“The Lord is my Shepherd…” – From here on out, the remainder of this Psalm describes Who the Shepherd Jesus is and what He does for us, His sheep.  Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation we are described as His sheep.  (I found 81 listings in the Bible for sheep.)  In this study we will learn not only the wonderful love and wisdom and care of our Savior, but the characteristics of sheep as well, which, in turn, will expand our gratefulness for our great Shepherd and His wonderful care of us.

Shepherd – This great Lord of all lords, chooses to condescend in this analogy to the position of shepherd.  In those days shepherds were the lowest of the lowest.  They were stinky, going without baths for many days.  They lived among animals.  They were thought to be without wisdom….and yet Jesus, the Creator of the all, chooses to compare Himself to a Shepherd so that He can aptly describe His love for us.  

If He is our Shepherd, then we are His sheep for a shepherd must needs have sheep!  Sheep are owned, and so are we…double owned by the One Who created us and then bought us back at a very great price.  We belong to Him.  As a shepherd boy himself, David knew two things well: he knew the nature of sheep – their absolute helplessness to survive; and he knew how valuable he was to them.  So now David sees himself as a sheep and the Shepherd as being as valuable to him as life is itself.

As a Great and Good Shepherd He cares perfectly for His sheep…and He is able to do that, not only because of His great power and skills, but because He knows us so well.  He has numbered every hair on our body!  But even better: He knows every thought that we think.  Therefore He will never misunderstand us and act accordingly.  What a relief!  "I know them, and they follow me." Joh 10:27.  If every hair of our head is known by Him, then how much more is He desiring to care for us entirely?  He has that kind of intimate knowledge about us.  Of course He cares for us!  He created us!  If I were to purchase a puppy and desired to give it goodly care, I would research that breed.  Learn what its weaknesses were physically.  I would research what was the best dog food to feed it.  I would learn in every way I could, how best to care for him physically, i.e., food and exercise, etc.  I would love him greatly, perhaps even sometimes to his hurt!  But I would never know what he thought {if dogs have thoughts!)  I would not be acquainted with every cell of his body so that I could custom design my care for him.  But Jesus knows ALL ABOUT US!  He knows every weakness we have, be it spiritual, physical, emotional.  He custom designs our care in every way!  And He has no limits to what He can do for us.  And….He wants to care for us…the cross is proof of that!

Application

So we have in this Psalm a great analogy of how God cares for us!  God began David’s life with the humble and common task of tending sheep.  Often in a Christian’s life, God puts us seemingly away doing something mundane.  But even then, He asks us to do the simple, the common task in a way that will please Him.  And He never wastes a moment of our lives.  Every experience we have will be used for His honor and glory, just as God used this simple employment of tending sheep to bring to scripture awesome truth!

Jesus is the Most High God.  He is the Creator of everything that exists.  That being true, do we acknowledge Him as Boss in our life?  Or are there some areas where we think we can do better, thus creating the assumption that He has weaknesses?  There is nothing sweeter than allowing Jesus to be the Shepherd of one’s life.  Surrender to complete dependence upon Him today.  

He is Your Shepherd every moment that you breathe.  If you were the only person who existed, He would still be with you, caring for you.  Rejoice in that!

If Jesus is a Shepherd to us, and He is, then we must be sheep to Him.  Meek, quiet, trusting, obedient, useful, sociable, inoffensive.  What kind of sheep are we?  Are we the kind that follow our Shepherd in every way, in every moment, even when we don’t understand the path before us?  Let’s aim to be so.  Let’s beg Him for this enablement.

As we proceed through this Psalm you will be amazed at all the many ways Jesus our Shepherd cares for us!  I can’t wait to share all the details with you.  They will greatly lift Your spirit!

A Chapter of Life

by John O’Malley

2 Samuel 16

If our lives were viewed like a book, there would be chapters that would leave our readers scratching their heads. Some chapters of our lives would contain days where we cast a positive reflection of God. Yet some chapters would cast negative reflection on and of our Lord. There would be days we could say, “I did right.” Other days, “I didn't do so well.” There are days where our lives clearly bring glory to God and other days where our lives bring shame on the name or work of Christ. I am happier with myself on the days I do right and am disappointed when I fail.  

David's life, like many of our lives, has chapters we can be content with and some with which we will not be content. How you handle adversity and adversaries are indicators on how you're doing as a believer. I read this morning in my devotions about a moment in David's life that gave me pause. I reflected on David's response when faced with a moment where he could blow it or choose better. It was a good chapter in David's life; it's a chapter I want to emulate in my own life. 

I'll call this chapter: Choosing the Honorable

David had a person in his life that wouldn't leave him alone. His name was Shimei who accused, attacked, and even abused David. This bitter man, who could not resolve his ill feelings for the demise and downfall of Saul, now makes it his mission to make David's life miserable. You know that there are people God allows in our life who are bitter; they can bring out either the worst or best in us. David was on the run. Absalom, his own son, was solidifying his own position in Jerusalem. David was on the move. He encounters this bitter man, Shimei. The Bible notes that he is from the house of Saul, the man from whom God removed His hand. David and the people are weary. (16:14) 

Notice the behavior of Shimei: v5-9

He came forth cursing. He cursed as he came.

He cast stones at the King. He cast stones at the servants of the king.

David was surrounded by God's people and God's man.

His cursings were nothing more than bringing up his past: misrepresenting his present, and mocking his place and power with God.

Godly men around David said, “Let me kill this dead dog. Let me take off his head.”

David speaks: v10-11

Let him curse. (“My own son wants to kill me: I'll not bother with the likes of him.” 

Let him alone.

Let God work it out. (whether God told him or not)

Keep moving.

When the curses fly.

When the stones are cast.

When the accusations are hurled.

When dust is stirred.

When others have the upper position. (along on the hill’s side over against him)

Greater Things to Come

By: Amanda Baker

John 1:49-50  Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.  50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

One of the first things that Christ did in His earthly ministry was to seek out and call His disciples.  John 1:35-51 gives us record of Christ’s calling John, Andrew, Simon Peter, Phillip, and Nathanael.  These five men were the first of many people to follow the Lord while He walked on this earth.  As I studied this passage recently, something about Nathanael’s encounter with Jesus struck me.  Jesus sought out Phillip and called him to follow Christ.  It took no convincing on Phillip’s part to follow Christ.  He must have heard about Him, and we know he realized Who Christ was because of what he tells Nathanael.

John 1:45   Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Nathanael’s response proves he needed some convincing.  

John 1:46   And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

As you continue through this passage you see that Jesus convinces Nathanael of His identity by telling him something that only God could have known about Nathanael.  Christ immediately ministers to his heart and Nathanael responds by following Christ.

It is amazing to me how our God ministers to each of us as He calls us to serve Him.  Some He calls once and they need no other explanation.  Others He has to woo and minister to carefully until they are assured of His work in their lives.  But each one is brought into the loving arms of his Savior just the same.  The striking statement of assurance for us in this passage is what Christ tells Nathanael in verse 50, “thou shalt see greater things than these.”  Christ assures us even as we are called to minister for Him that this is only the beginning.  He is going to do so much more in our lives than what we have witnessed when we choose to answer His call.  Be encouraged today in all the great things God is going to do in your life as you answer His call to be His disciple.

And Hast Not Withheld Thy Son, Thine Only Son.

by Joshua Rhoades

This past week, I finished reading Genesis. One of the chapters that I was compelled to study further was Genesis 22. The Holy Spirit led me to the phrase in verse 12 which states, “seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” and verse 16 which states, “and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son.” The Lord knows all yet draws our attention to the fact that He had asked for Abraham to sacrifice “thine only son”. Abraham was known for the blessings of God being upon his home. He was a wealthy man, yet Abraham was asked to travel several days in the wilderness, climb a mountain, then slit his only son’s throat and offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord. Yet in the asking, we see afterwards the Lord’s acknowledgment. God lets Abraham know aloud, of the fact of the rarity of son’s in Abraham’s old age. Abraham learned valuable lessons in this experience, yet God confirmed to Abraham that “I know I asked the most that I have ever asked, and you sacrificially offered him to me”. Of all the wealth that the Lord had bestowed upon Abraham, yet God asked for Isaac, “thine only son”. There have been a number of times in my life when I’ve asked the Lord questions to circumstances that I did not understand. There have been times when I learned that my wife and I were going to bury our stillborn son on New Year’s Eve. Questions, emotions all over the map, what is the purpose I ask? I take comfort in knowing that God looked down from heaven and saw Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah, and knew that he would be asking Abraham to give what was most rare and precious to their family. I take comfort in knowing that Almighty God also gave His only begotten Son to be sacrificed. It wasn’t a waste, but so that we could be washed “from our sins in his own blood.” 

Abraham would gain through Isaac’s life, the future nation of Israel. When we give to God, when we sacrifice to God that which is most precious in our lives, we gain more than we gave. 

He Hears Me

by John O’Malley

Psalms 120:1   In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.

A short time ago, I was in an office where there were two moms who had 4 children between them from age 2 months to 3 years old. Each child was engaged in different activities. Occasionally as one child ran into a situation he interpreted as needing his mother’s attention, he began to cry aloud because of his difficulty. 

I was engaged in a conversation with one of the mothers when all of a sudden amidst all the other noises and cries from the other children she said, “Oh, that one is mine; excuse me.

What a precious thought to consider that the billions of people who cry aloud in this earth are all heard in God’s omniscience. However, when the distress of one of His children is uttered, the Heavenly Father hears that one and is attentive to our need.

Have you considered that the Lord of Glory is tuned to your distress frequency? When you broadcast, He is listening. Since Christians are constantly pursuing friends who will listen to them, why not turn to Him instead. You know His listening.

Weary Pilgrims

by Kristen Kelley

My husband purchased the classic Pilgrim’s Progress for my birthday this year.  It is a work that has long been on my “need-to-read” list.  As the main character makes his lengthy journey, I find myself wondering, “When is he going to reach the Celestial City? Shouldn’t he be nearly there by now?”  But author John Bunyan accurately portrays the Christian life – it is a series of defeats and victories, of valleys and mountaintops, of weaknesses and strengths.  Any number of things tries to hinder the pilgrim on his way – the Slough of Despond, lions, Apollyon, the Valley of the Shadow of Death . . . and so it is with us. 

It isn’t always easy to travel from one missions conference to another.  There are times when I feel the weariness in my very bones. 

“I didn’t volunteer for this,” my heart sometimes wants to say.

“Yes, you did,” the Lord whispers in return. “Don’t you remember that day as a teenager, when you kneeled beside your bed?  You told me you surrendered all your life to Christian service and that you would do anything I asked of you. This may not feel like ‘missions’ yet, but answering questions, sharing your testimony, riding in a vehicle for long hours at a time, packing, singing, homeschooling on the road . . . this is the ministry that I have given to you, right now!  Are you still surrendered? Are you still willing?”

God reminds me of my recent book on the subject of miscarriage, as well.  “You’re listening to the tears of others who are hurting. You’re sharing the Gospel and the comfort that is found in Christ.  You’re in the business of rescuing souls from the power of Satan’s darkness – Do you think you won’t be fought?!”    

How about you, Dear Brother or Sister?  Do you, too, feel the battle raging?  There are days when we all wish to quit – our jobs, our ministries, our role as “mom” or "dad" . . . “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall . . .”  Do you recall the remainder of that verse? “ . . . but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:30-31) 

God desires for us to “Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” (I Chronicles 16:11) The truth is, we can’t live even the “easy” days without Him! We need THE LORD if we are ever to “ . . . run with patience the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) 

There’s an old hymn that reads:

“He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater.

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.

To added affliction He addeth His mercy,

To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half-done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,

Our Father's full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men,

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,

He giveth and giveth and giveth again.”

In Galatians 6, Paul writes “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” 

Have you been struggling with “continuing on”, as I have in recent days? Have you found yourself weary, even in the midst of doing GOOD things - the RIGHT things?

May we allow the Lord to help us and enable us as only He can do!

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (II Cor. 12:9-10)

What’s Your First Reaction?

By: Amanda Baker

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his window being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

I love the book of Daniel.  Daniel is one of those Bible characters that I look forward to meeting one day in heaven.  From the first time we are introduced to Daniel, he is portrayed in his faithfulness regardless of his circumstances.  He had influence on his friends who, in turn, stood for right as young people.  There are many years of Daniel’s life that are not recounted for us in Scripture.  But I believe that we can conclude that he remained faithful in those silent years.  

When Daniel is in his nineties, the other rulers in the kingdom became jealous of Daniel and his excellence and sought to find fault in him.  Daniel’s clear testimony was evident in the way the wicked rulers sought to create an issue between Daniel’s God and the king’s decree.  The story is a familiar one, but let me point out again a testimony of Daniel’s faithfulness in his first reaction to this problem – “he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before His God, as he did aforetime.”  This difficult circumstance did not shake the foundation of this faithful believer.  He had “purposed in his heart” as a teenager to follow the Lord even in a pagan land.  And now as an old man, he knew that God would care for him because of his faithfulness.

Do you and I react to circumstances that cross our paths like Daniel?  Is our first reaction to “take it to the Lord in prayer”?  I have to admit that often I try to find the solution on my own.  Many times I find myself in a bigger mess than I started with because of my lack of faith in God.  If Daniel’s God was powerful enough to protect his friends in the fire and shut the mouths of the lions, is He not worthy of my faith and trust in the little bumps in my road?  Don’t forget that we serve the same God that Daniel did!  May we trust Him and be faithful in every aspect of our lives today.

Overcoming Your Devotional Obstacles - Book Review

by Christian Garcia

About the Author

John O'Malley is the President of World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions. He is committed to educating and training missionaries for the Great Commission while investing in college students preparing for ministry. Respected for his preaching, writing, and leadership, Mr. O'Malley is a champion for the cause of Christ. 

Purpose of the Book

The author's purpose “…is about putting tools in your hand to help you go from defeated to victorious in your time alone with God."

Targeted Audience

This book is fantastic for the new believer. If you have had the opportunity to lead a soul to Christ and began a discipleship process, you’ve seen the overwhelmed look on the new convert’s face. Their eyes bulge at the concept of reading a book filled with a mountain of literary and cultural challenges. Wise is the mentor who has this book on hand to dispel the fear of new believers.

But it’s not just for new believers. Frustrated or discouraged believers who find challenges with their time with God find hope. I identified with each one of his eight obstacles and could pinpoint moments in my life where I struggled. So if you’re ready to flood the barren land of your time with God with fresh water, this book is a read for you.

First Impressions

Author's Sincerity

John O’Malley does way more than present facts about having your time with God. Within the book, he personally offers his own help to answer questions readers may still have about their alone time with the Lord. In fact, each chapter that uncovers a possible obstacle to a person’s time with God concludes with a personal invitation for readers to share their thoughts, takeaways, and questions with the author.

Freedom from Guilt

I remember the reoccurring guilt I would feel during my time at Bible college when it came to my devotional life. Students I looked up to all had a variety of reading and prayer methods. From the classroom and in private conversations, the professors I respected offered a multiplicity of ways to spend time with God. On many occasions I would sit alone with my Bible and start with a read-it-through plan, only to get past a few verses until I suddenly stop, switch gears, and try a topical study. I desperately tried everything at the same time, feeling guilty for not spending enough time studying out a particular word or covering more ground of God’s Word.

Relatable Content

He excellently describes the gap between our expectations of our devotional time and reality. In the dream-world, he imagines a woman sitting in solitude, with perhaps music and perfect lighting to adorn the atmosphere. Her eyes sparkle with tears as she drinks in the refreshing streams of truth from the pages of her Bible. Pulling back the screen, he exposes the harsh reality of how it is for the average mother: kids making noise, clothes and toys scattered throughout the room, and other distractions clamoring for attention.

 Whether your challenges are weak comprehension or a lack of Bible knowledge, Overcoming Your Devotional Obstacles provides practical solutions to meet your needs.

Full of Practicality

This book is not an educational book to teach you the value of devotions. It’s a manual, a how-to guide to meet the needs of various believers. In fact, chapter one allows readers to skip ahead to different portions that fit their scenarios. As he unpacks eight obstacles a person may face in his time with God, he provides specific strategies or “tips” to break through the barrier. In the back of the book is the “bonus section” where readers find multiple reading plans, links to personal downloads, and strategies you can apply the next time you get alone with God. 

My personal takeaway

Of the eight obstacles he wrote about, I identified most with the obstacle of comparison. As a Bible college graduate, I remember the pressure to have the perfect Bible reading plan. Students I looked up to and professors I highly respected expressed how much time they spend with God and what they were reading. Listening to how much they were enjoying their time with Jesus made me feel three inches tall when I thought of my own time with God. 

Then I came across chapter four, where John O’Malley wrote, “Release yourself from other people’s picture frames and live in the picture frame of His grace and mercy.” Those words resonated with my heart and encouraged me to stop comparing myself to those around me and focus more on loving my walk with God.

Buy it

To order John O'Malley's Overcoming Your Devotional Obstacles, click here.

En Español, por favor….. In Spanish, Please!

by Duey Whitfield

En Español, por favor….. This is a cry that we hear on a daily basis as missionaries reaching the Spanish here in the US. Please speak in Spanish. I am reminded that it is necessary to consider the fact that not everyone speaks English. I am also reminded that this doesn’t relieve us of our duty concerning reaching these people. The Great Commission that is given to the Church in Matthew 28 does not stipulate only a certain language group. 

Paul reminds the good folks in the Church at Philippi that there is a day coming that “every knee shall bow….. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

“To the glory of God the Father” is a very strong statement made by the Apostle. When the day comes that we (as Christians) stand before the Lord it will be a great day and truly it will be to God’s glory as the ransomed are called home; but the other side of the coin is that there will be those that will have to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord that will not be to the glory of God the Father. This will be those who have not trusted Christ as Savior. Also, it will be those who haven’t heard the Gospel because it wasn’t in their native tongue therefore they are not able to understand the Gospel. In chapter 2 and verse 11 we are drawn to the word “tongue”. The word tongue literally means language! Paul reminds the Church that we have a responsibility to reach people because of this day and reminds them of the day when everyone will bow before the Lord.

Leading up to these two verses, Paul begins in chapter 1 with his greeting to the Church and then on to describe his joy through tribulation then we come to verse 27. Chapter 1:27 gets a lot of attention these days and is well published as a goal, however, there is not much followup to the preceding verses.

It is my heart’s desire to point out a few truth’s that will help the Church reach it’s people groups with out any Spiritual Discrimination:

1. Paul charges the Church to be UNYIELDING in verse 27 – Paul says that our conversation (our lifestyle) becomes the Gospel of Christ. The only way this is possible is to be unyielding to the pressures of the world. Our lives are to become as Christ.

2. Paul charges the Church to be UNDIVIDED in verse 27 as well as thrice in 2:2 – As our life becomes as Christ we are commanded to be of one Spirit, One Mind and of One Accord!

3. Paul charges the Church to be UNAFRAID in verse 28 – As adversity comes into the life of the Christian we learn that it comes because of our Salvation. Paul reminds them that this is the same thing that happened to him.

4. Paul charges the Church to be UNDERSTANDING in how this can be accomplished in 2:1-8. He gives the COMMAND to have the mind of Christ, he shows them the CONDITION that Christ took on the form of God, he shows the COUNTENANCE of Christ in His humility and he reminds them of the CONFORMATION in Christ going to the cross to do the will of the Father.

5. Paul charges the Church to be UNIQUE in accepting their responsibility in 2:9-13. With the reminder of verses 10 and 11 Paul then turns to the personal responsibility of the believer in reaching people. In verse 12 Paul charges the believer to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” with the knowledge that they had just received. As we gain an understanding that we are responsible for reaching ALL PEOPLE it should serve as a reminder that there is a day coming that we will give an account for those things “done in the body”.  We have the promise in verse 13 that all of the power of heaven is available to us as we yield to every impulse of the Spirit of God.

Now, we have the Scripture that carries the command that we are to carry the Gospel to the countries of the world. With that comes language barriers. In the day of technology that we live in, the Gospel is readily available for a lot of those that surround us on a daily basis. Yes, there are languages that do not have the Gospel, this is being worked on by those that God has called and gifted to do so. We are responsible for what we can do. In doing so, God has brought a tremendous amount of people groups to our front door. Let’s reach them!

The United States is now the SECOND largest Spanish speaking country in the world. We have a great opportunity to reach these folks on a daily basis. As our Jerusalem changes, our command and commission doesn’t. Here are a few things that you may want to do to begin to reach the Spanish in your area if you haven’t begun already:

1. Use bilingual tracts for group and individual soul-winning. Target neighborhoods and communities where the housing is predominantly Spanish speaking.

2. Have a Spanish emphasis day. Inviting your Spanish Community in to be recognized.

3. English classes for Spanish speaking people, using the Bible as the text book,

4. Spanish speaking Bible study, using interpreters or a trusted individual that is attending to interprete. Grow this Bible study into a Sunday School and eventually into regularly held services.

Most of all, pray for these as well as others that may not speak English as their first language. Our desire is to see everyone come to Christ as Savior. If there is anything we can ever do to be help, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Our prayer is that God would use each of us to reach those He brings before us each day.

Fat, Dull, and Closed

by John O’Malley

Matthew 13:11-15

When questioned by the disciples about His use of parables, Jesus replied that there were three issues affecting mankind’s ability to grasp Him. He identified a problem not just in His time. He did it by quoting a message by Isaiah generations earlier. This moment of teaching lends valuable insight to modern problems on Planet Earth.

The average believer today has the same failure to grasp Christ. Yes, we have hearts, but we have over-indulged in self and have become fat. True, we have ears, but we have allowed God’s Spirit and Word to be ambient noise we tune out so we can hear what we want. Certainly, we have eyes, but they are closed to seeing anything but our preferred mirrors that we select because of their ability to make us look good.

In this season of over-indulgence, let’s pause and examine our hearts, ears, and eyes. Have these portals to the soul become fat, dull, and closed? May we slim down, sharpen up, and see around us what He would have us to learn. It would be a shame today if we missed His lesson for us today because of being fat, dull, and closed.

A Care Caster

by John O’Malley

I Peter 5:7     Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.

Are you a Care-Catcher or a Care-Caster? 

More often than not, most believers actually catch and hold life’s cares.   We are not to catalog, inventory, and review our cares. Believers are not to catch and hold life’s cares.  We have different instructions.

Peter writes we are to be Care-Casters. The cares in your life today over which you fret are not to be managed by you. Our instructions are clear; all our cares are to be cast not caught.

Life will throw cares our way. We can either be a care catcher or a care caster. What is your choice? 

A Channel of His Love

by Kristen Kelley

I am used to saying “goodbyes”.  I grew up in a military household, and have lived in several different states during my life.  But this huge lump I feel in my throat when the tears threaten – that is something new to me . . . There are times on this deputation journey when it is truly hard to say “goodbye”.  When God is at work in a congregation – when people’s hearts are tender – without a doubt, God can knit those hearts together in a truly beautiful, wonderful way. 

I John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

I have met so many dear Sisters in Christ, over the past few months!  I have felt God’s love poured out through the kindness of His people in a way I never could have imagined.  Ladies who have taken a genuine interest in me and in my family.  Ladies who have shared laughter and godly fellowship. Women who have prepared lodgings, worked nursery, and cooked meals.  Fellow “Miscarriage Mamas” who have shared with me their own stories and have encouraged me regarding my book. Sisters in Christ who have told me sincerely that they are praying for us and will continue to do so. There are times in these meetings when my heart just overflows. 

Romans chapter 12 shows us that a people who fully gives themselves to the Lord, can then genuinely give themselves to others.

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Romans 12:9, 10 “Let love be without dissimulation . . . Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love . . . ” Not hypocrisy, but true, genuine Christian love!

Romans 12:11, 13, 15-16 “. . . fervent in spirit; serving the Lord . . . Distributing to the necessity of the saints; given to hospitality . . . Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.  Be of the same mind one toward another . . .”

God has comforted me, and I will seek to comfort you.  God has blessed me with food and I will share my table with you.  God has provided me a home and I will give you a place to sleep for the night. 

The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:22, 23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance . . .”  It is truly a beautiful thing when you see such fruit lived out in the lives of fellow believers!

I Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

The greatest of these . . . The very best.  “Charity” is LOVE – and oh how wonderful such Christian love is! We are a part of the family of God!

This journey of deputation has challenged me!  Am I being a channel of Christ’s love today?  Do I selflessly put the encouragement of others above my own needs and desires? Am I allowing God to lead me to the hurting, the weary, and the travel-worn? What an honor and a privilege to be used of God in such a way! 

John 15:9 “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.”

True Love

by Amanda Baker

Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 There are many familiar passages in Scripture that many of us could probably quote from memory.  But one of the beauties of the unending fathoms of truth from the Word of God, this passage strikes me again with the depth of God’s love for me.  The Fruit of the Spirit is a single fruit that is produced by the Spirit in Christians as we allow Him to work in us.  It is not a mistake that the first part of this fruit is love.  It is on this principle of love that a Christian will see all other parts of the Fruit of the Spirit produced.  Someone has related all the other parts of the Fruit of the Spirit to its basis – love – as follows:

·     Joy is love exultingor rejoicing.

·     Peace is love resting.

·     Longsuffering is love enduring.

·     Gentleness is love caring.

·     Goodness is love transparent.

·     Faith is love unwavering.

·     Meekness is love submitting.

·     Temperance is love overcoming.

 There are a few things we can gather by looking at how Christ interacted with people while He was on this earth.  By the example of Christ’s passion for all men while He was on this earth, we should be challenged to love ALL people like He did.  Following His example, we will love even those who despise and hurt us because His love for us is never conditional on our love for Him.  Lastly, He proved His love for us in His actions – He died for us because He loved us, not because we deserved His love.  

 Romans 5:8 – But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 How often do we just give lip-service in our love for Him and for others?  If we are exercising the love He displayed for us, we will love Him and others with our concrete actions rather than just with lip-service.  While the world tells us that love is feeling that we should give into, take some time to mediate on the greatest love that we Christians have been shown and follow His example in exercising true love.

Three Points of Permission From God to Live an Abundant Life

By Steve Schramm

At the time of this writing, I have been a Christian for around 24 years. Although I am “young,” I have seen and witnessed many trends in the church--some good, and some bad.

One unmistakable trend I’ve noticed is this notion of defeatism--which I’ve written about recently on my blog. 

In the article I paint a portrait of the “Christian Defeatist”:

She is public about her Christianity, but has nothing but negative things to say. She envies the promiscuous lifestyle of those who live seemingly unbound from God’s eternal directives.

She plays the victim—always waiting for the next person to complain to or about. She tells her problems to anyone who will listen! She is a Christian defeatist. She is a person who believes there is a God, but believes that belief in God is a limitation—not a liberation.

It’s likely you know this person! You may even be this person. But the life Jesus offers is not the one described above. The Bible describes a life of freedom, purpose, and abundance. It’s not all about the “pie in the sky when you die”; you can have steak on the plate while you wait!

Here are just three “points of permission” where the Bible proclaims that we can have life, and “have it more abundantly” (John 10:10):
#1. In Our Identity

John 1:12 - But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name...

When you become a Christian, a transformation takes place. Much like the caterpillar emerges unrecognizable as a butterfly, so the unbeliever undergoes a kind of “metamorphosis.”

The Christian life is about becoming a son of God.

The Biblical scenario involves Christ uniting his life to ours, through the power of the Holy Spirit, thereby entering into an eternal relationship with our Creator. The Bible describes God using relevant metaphors and analogies, such as the “Alpha and Omega” (which means the first and the last).

The Psalmist wrote this under the inspiration of God:

For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof (50:10-12).

Each of us are a unique creation of the God who made the sun, the moon, and “the stars also” (Genesis 1:16); this same God makes us a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17) when he unites his life to ours in salvation.

We have a new identity! “...old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

#2. In Our Prosperity

Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

But not only is our identity made new and abundant, but also our prosperity. 

Perhaps one of the saddest things missing in many churches today is a biblical theology of prosperity.

Of course, the reason for this is obvious: False “prosperity gospel” teaching has created the need for correction, and much of this correction has led to an equally unbiblical “poverty gospel.” The Bible does not teach us that we must be poor in order to remain humble and biblical, nor that abundance and prosperity are natural consequences of proper faith and “positive confession.”

Rather, as one preacher recently put it, “between prosperity theology and poverty theology lies a biblical theology of money that teaches work, reward, and societal advancement.”

But there’s a catch! And, it’s the key!

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.

You see, if we’re ever to understand real abundance and prosperity, “[we] must decrease and [God] must increase” (John 3:30). God can take care of our every need if we’ll only seek him and his will foremost in our lives.

#3. In Our Generosity

1 TImothy 6:17-18: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate...

Finally, we see confirmation of our last point here again in 1 Timothy: God gives us all things richly to enjoy; but we’re not to trust in riches (after all, they’re “uncertain”)! Instead, we trust “in the living God.”

But, what next?

Paul takes us to the logical conclusion of this scenario. We enjoy the riches, sure, but we don’t become highminded! Instead, we “do good...be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate…”

In other words, we put what we’ve been blessed with to good use! We use it to serve God and to serve others. And so it comes full circle, because we’ve realized that, to the best of our human ability, we are sacrificing in selflessness--exactly as Christ did which gave us our new identity in the first place.

Here we find an example of what the writer of Ecclesiastes called a “threefold cord [that] is not quickly broken” (4:12):

1. Our identity tells us who we are in Christ.
   

2. This informs our prosperity, because we learn to call on God for our supply.
   

3. These culminate in our generosity when we model Christ, in Whom we find our identity.
   

This is how we arrive at a proper theology: coherence and consistency. Of course, coherence like this is exactly what we’d expect from a Bible that is true, unbroken, inerrant, and infallible: a “more sure word” (2 Peter 1:19) that will “not pass away” (Matthew 23:45).

Thank God for our new identity in him, which affords us an abundant, prosperous, and generous life.

Mark My Word

by Gail Gritts

Over the years, I have formed a habit of reading my Bible through yearly.  It’s a good habit, but not one without challenges.  I make it a goal to read five chapters each day. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail, but that is my goal.  When I get to the Old Testament prophets I have to take a huge gulp because they no longer read like a story narrative or poetry, they are sermons!  Hard sermons!  But invariably, I find they open new treasure boxes of truth.

Another habit I enjoy is that of reading at least one chapter of a book each day.  Again, sometimes I succeed, and sometimes I fail. Other times, I get so absorbed in the book that I finish it in a few days.  Lately, I have read two books by Glynn Harrison, The Big Ego Trip,andA Better Story.  I would highly recommend them both.

I make mention of them because, more often than not, God uses His word and my outside reading to help me understand principles and ideas.  This happened the other day while I read through my set of five chapters in Jeremiah.  As I was trying to digest what I had been reading in Glynn Harrison’s books, my eyes were opened to matching instruction in God’s Word.

Allow me to show you what I was seeing briefly.

Jeremiah 20:12 reads, “But, O Lordof hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart.”

God knows and tries our hearts.  He sees right down to the thoughts and intents of our hearts as he says in Hebrews 4:12.

Jeremiah 23:16, “Hearken not unto the words of the prophets(the false prophets) that prophesy unto you! They make you vain:(empty, void of knowledge) they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of theLord.”

Man is successfully sculpting a society void of richness and contrary to God’s design.

Jeremiah 23:17, “They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.”

What? Do we not read this all the time and hear it in music lyrics and through TV programs and movies? “Be yourself.  Do what makes you happy. Follow your heart.  That old wives tales of the judgment of God is outdated. Nothing bad will happen to you.”

But Proverbs 28:26 says, “He that trusteth in his own heart of a fool.”

Jeremiah went on, “The burden of the Lordshall ye mention no more:(stop telling me what the Bible says) for every man’s word shall be his burden;(every man did that which was right in his own eyes.)  Result: “for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lordof hosts our God.”(Jeremiah 23:36)

And don’t think he doesn't know or see.

Jeremiah 23:23, 24, “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord.  Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”

I began to wonder, how many of us have swallowed the preaching of the world?  Oprah, Joel Olsten, etc. they all preach the same gospel – their own gospel.

Jeremiah 23:18  “For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? Who hath marked his word, and heard it?”

It behooves us to try the spirits and search our hearts!  Are we following the counsel of the world and winding up with a life void of richness?  Do we follow our own heart and disregard God’s word?  Or, do we live in the presence of God, acknowledging his activity, and seeking to stand in his counsel?  Do we mark his word?