Tag: pleasures

Today’s Verse: Psalm 43:18-19

Your Past Doesn’t Determine Your Future

Do you ever let the things in your past keep you from the future God has planned for you? Perhaps your past is filled with hurt, betrayal, grief and loss. For some, the past is littered with mistakes, wrong turns, and failures. We all have those things that we want to keep secret from everyone else, yet when we feel God calling us to some task, Satan is right there rehashing that past in our minds and telling us that God could never use someone like you…someone like me. In Psalm 43, God says, don’t remember what’s in the past because He is the God of new beginnings and He’s about to do something new in you! God asks you the same question He asked the writer of Psalm 43 – “Do you not see it?“

In Psalm 43, God says, don’t remember what’s in the past because He is the God of new beginnings and He’s about to do something new in you! And He’s asking you, “Do you not see it?“

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Turn the Replay Off

The moment we gave our heart to Christ, Satan lost us as a soul to spend eternity in Hell with him, but if he can keep us an ineffective Christian, then we will not be about the work God wants us to do for Him and others may not come to faith in Christ. So instead we flounder around, living like we’re defeated instead of living the victorious life we have in Christ. Satan wants us to focus on the past. He wants us tangled up in all the skeletons in the closet. He replays every sin, mistake, and failure so that you feel worthless and useless in the cause of the Gospel. If He keeps our mind replaying the past, then we can’t see the “new” that God is doing in us. So turn the replay off and look for the something new.

Satan wants us to focus on the past. He wants us tangled up in the skeletons in the closet. He replays every sin, mistake, and failure so we feel worthless and useless in the cause of the Gospel. Turn the replay off and look for the new God is doing in you.

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The Past can’t be unwritten

In Psalm 43:18-19, God says, “Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” My friend, you do not have to live with the weight of your past strapped to your back. Whatever is back there is done!

Shake off the hurt and betrayal. Forgive those people as Christ forgave you. Take any grief or loss you have to Christ and allow His peace and love to flow over you. Any mistakes or failures that make up your story have already been forgiven by God. The story of your past can’t be unwritten, but the story of your future is something beautiful yet to be seen.

The Story of your future is yet to be seen

But not only does God not want us to dwell on those things; He wants us to know that He is about to do something new….even now…right now, in this moment! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Maybe that something new is the breakthrough you’ve been longing for so you can release the grief. Maybe that something new is calling you into a new ministry where He can take the experiences of your life and use them for His glory. What is it He is calling you to do for Him? He wants to do something new in you today. Will you surrender to His will? What might be holding you back?

Two People from the Bible with a past

King David

David is one of the most known people from the Bible. He’s called, “a man after God’s own heart.” He brought a sling and rock to sword fight against a giant – and won. Samuel anointed David king of Israel while Saul was still on the throne. Saul became jealous of David and hunted him down and tried to kill him on several occasions. His own son rose up against him and tried to take the throne from him. But one of the things David is most remembered for is his encounter with Bathsheba.

While David’s men were out at battle, David home and he looked out his window and saw Bathsheba bathing. A gentleman would have looked away, but instead David was caught up in his lust for her and had her brought to the castle and slept with her. She became pregnant. He tried to cover up the evidence of the sin by bringing her husband home from the battle so he would sleep with her and they could then pass the child off as his. But he refused to go into his wife when all his fellow soldiers were still out at war. So David had him moved to the front line and arranged things so he would surly be killed and he was. David then married Bathsheba. So David was an adulterer and a murderer. But David was also repentant of his sin.

A Nameless woman in the New Testament

Over in the New Testament, the religious leaders were determined to catch Jesus in some kind of trap that would discredit him. They brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, ready to stone her to death. (I’m not sure if you ever noticed – but where was the man involved? They only brought the woman.) So when they asked Jesus what they should do with her, he simply wrote in the sand. The Bible doesn’t tell us what He wrote, just that He wrote. Then He stopped and said, “Let Him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

We all have sin, so no one cast a stone. One by one they turned and left. When it was just Jesus and the woman, he said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Do any of them condemn you?” She said no and then and he replied, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” We are never told the name of this woman. The point of the story is God’s mercy and forgiveness, not who she was. But whoever she was, she walked away alive regardless of what he past was.

Her message: God will do something new in you

What would this nameless woman say to you today, if she could? Well, the Bible doesn’t record a message from her to us today. However, I believe that she would say, “Stop living in your past and start living in God’s mercy. If He has forgiven you and made you new, why do you hang on to what is old.” With much excitement in her voice, she would say, “Look! He’s doing something new – and you don’t want to miss it. Stop looking behind you. Life is in front of you.”

Stop living in your past and start living in God’s mercy. If He has forgiven you and made you new, why do you hang on to what is old. Look! He’s doing something new – and you don’t want to miss it. Stop looking behind you. Life is in front of you.

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Here’s what’s new in the shop this week

Here are some of our favorite designs:

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

Couple activities include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
• Conversation Starters.
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
• Romance Builders.
• Relationship Builders.
• Personal reflections.
• Date ideas.
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

 

Look for the GLMW Group on Facebook.

Join the community of couples on Facebook who are committed to intentionally growing their marriage and learning how to have a marriage that honors God. Here you can post photos of the different activities as you do them, ask questions of other couples, share how God is using this book to strengthen your marriage, and grow with other Christian couples. We’ll see you in the community.

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A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 
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Today’s Verse: Psalm 37:5

Bless this mess!

How often do we start out on some project or task or ministry and then half way through when things aren’t going right we  cry out to God and say “God, Bless this mess!” No matter what we do, we need to start out by seeking God’s will and then commit to Him what He’s calling us to do. If we know we are in His will, we can trust Him and know that He will act…in His time. We can’t always see what He’s doing, but we can know that He is at work and bringing everything together to accomplish His perfect will in our lives. Our part is to commit your way to the Lord and trust Him

Willing to trust

Psalm 37:3 says “Trust in the Lord.” When God has placed a passion on your heart it is exciting and we’re full of energy and can’t wait to get started. We jump in with both feet and off we go. It isn’t enough just to know what God wants you to do. He also has a plan for how to achieve His plan. If we don’t consult Him with how to accomplish His plan, we can get ahead of Him or take a different path to get there than He had planned. The result usually is just a big mess. In the end, God will accomplish His plans, but we often make the route there much harder than God intended.

The result of not trusting God with His plans for you

God had a plan for how Jesus would enter the world. He picked a nation. He then picked a person – Abraham. And it would be through Abraham that all the world would be blessed because generations later Jesus would be the final sacrifice that would pay the price for our sins. God had promised Abraham that he would be a father of many nations. The only probably was Abraham was father to none and he and his wife were too old to have kids. Yet Abraham chose to believe God.

Years later there was still no children. So Sara, his wife comes up with the brilliant plan to give her maid to Abraham to have a son by her. Because Hagar was Sara’s slave any child that Hagar conceived by Abraham would legally be Sarah’s son. Abraham agrees and Hagar has a son. But Hagar’s son was not the son of the promise and the result of their actions is we still have national tensions because Abraham and Sarah went outside of God’s plan to help God achieve his plan.

God doesn’t need our help. He wants our trust. When we commit our ways to Him we are trusting him with our hopes, dreams, failures, plans, finances, marriages, children, health – everything.If we are willing to commit our ways to God, then we don’t trust Him.

Delighting in the Lord

Verse 4 in Psalm 37 tells us to Delight ourselves in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart. This doesn’t mean that when you wake up in the morning a bright, cherry red Lamborghini will be parked in your driveway and your name will be on the registration slip. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, we experience pleasure from being in His presence. When we are in His presence, our will will align with His will and the desires of our heart will begin to match His. So we can be assured that when we delight ourselves in the presence of the Lord, He will give us the desire of our heart – because they will match His desires.

Commit Your Way

When we trust God and delight in Him we will have no problems committing our way to Him. Committing our way to God means entrusting everything in our lives to His guidance and control. If we are going to commit our way to the Lord, then we must build our lives upon God’s values and not the world. We need to recognize that our time, gifts, talents, and possession are given to us by God to be used for His glory. Because these are blessing from God, we can commit them back to Him and entrust Him with every part of our lives.

Stop Hanging On

I have a poster that hangs in my office of a kitten that is hanging on to a tree branch by its claws. The caption reads, “Hang on, Friday’s almost here.” But God doesn’t want us to dig our claws in and hang on to our dreams, plans, time, gifts, etc. We need to see our dreams not as ours, but as God’s dream that he planted within you. Our plans are not our. They are His. The time we’ve been given on this earth is His. The gifts and talents we have? Those are His to that he has entrusted to us to use to carry out His dreams and plans.

What is it that you are hanging on to? He’s standing underneath you saying, “Trust me. Let go. Commit it to me and see what I can do.” Walking with God from a heart of trust is the greatest expression of your love for Him. Whatever you are hanging on to are the things you are not trusting Him with. If you are hanging on to something, chances are you are not living in His will and either you will be miserable or you’ll just make a big mess of trying to accomplish God’s will on your own.

Stop hanging on. Trust Him. Delight in His presence. And commit your ways to Him. Then watch Him act through you and see just what God can do with a heart fully trusting and committed to Him.

Stop hanging on. Trust Him. Delight in His presence. And commit your ways to Him. Then watch Him act through you and see just what God can do with a heart fully trusting and committed to Him.

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We have Christian tees, face masks, mugs, bags and more!

Here’s what’s new in the shop this week

Here are some of our favorite designs:

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

Couple activities include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
• Conversation Starters.
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
• Romance Builders.
• Relationship Builders.
• Personal reflections.
• Date ideas.
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

 

Look for the GLMW Group on Facebook.

Join the community of couples on Facebook who are committed to intentionally growing their marriage and learning how to have a marriage that honors God. Here you can post photos of the different activities as you do them, ask questions of other couples, share how God is using this book to strengthen your marriage, and grow with other Christian couples. We’ll see you in the community.

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 
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Today’s Verse: Psalm 34:13-14

The Path to Peace often begins with the tongue

I love pretty much any moving Sandra Bullock is in and one of my favorites is Miss Congeniality. In this movie, she plays the role of a tom-boyish cop who is sent in undercover to a beauty pageant to try to figure out who is making threats to blow up the contestants. She starts our feeling like the girls in the pageant are flighty and silly and sit around all day talking about world peace. But if ever there was a time our world needs peace – it’s now.

As a teenager I participated in a youth mission trip. We went to parks and performed a musical entitled, “Walk in Love.” One of the songs we sang was about the tongue and some of the lyrics were “It gets me deep in trouble and it keeps me talking double.” Isn’t that true? If we do not carefully watch the words of our mouth we can easily find ourselves in trouble. The tongue holds tremendous power. Power to build up and power to destroy. Power to brew up dissent and power to bring peace. And power to divide or power to bring unity. Oh, how we should strive to honor God with our words by keeping our tongue from evil and deceitful speech and by using it to seek and pursue peace.

Go imagineering with me

For just a moment I want you to think about being on a beach. The sun is setting. The waves are rolling around your feet. Seagulls cry. The wind is blowing in your hair. And the Creator of the World is walking alongside of you. You feel contentment and….peace.

Years ago there was a commercial from a product call Calgon. Calgon was probably the introduction into the world for aromatherapy. It was a box of powder that you could put in your tub and then escape from the screaming kids, the ringing telephone (the kind that attached to the wall of your home), the bills that needed to be paid, and the chores waiting fro your attention. Wouldn’t it be nice if a box of powder truly had the ability to bring contentment and peace – even for just a half hour?

Seeking and Pursing Peace

The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom. The word carries the idea of wholeness and completeness. It can also refer to completing or repairing a relationship or to describe something as uninjured, safe, complete, peaceable. It can also refer to harmony between friends or allies, success in one’s endeavors, good health, and security.

That is definitely worth seeking and pursing! And David four ways we can seek and pursue peace.

Keep your tongue from evil

The tongue an and has been used to wound, deceive, and corrupt others. Unfortunately, the world chooses to most often use the tongue for evil. So what classifies as “speaking evil?” We speak evil when the words we say wound someone else, regardless of our motive or intent behind the words. Think about what you say and if its something you would not want someone to say about you, then don’t say it to someone else. Derogatory remarks, racial slurs, lies, false accusations, or any other words that lower a person in the eyes of others is “speaking evil”. Sometimes we are guilty of “speaking the truth in love,” but our real intent is to bring out the faults of others into the public eye either out of a heart of revenge. That isn’t speaking the truth in love – it is speaking evil.

To keep our tongue from evil, we must speak words that build others up, regardless of race, religion, age, gender, or past mistakes.

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Simply put: Don’t speak evil, pursue peace, edify others

The simple rule of thumb here is: Don’t speak evil. The question is not, did I say that with good or bad intentions. Rather the question is Am I speaking evil. In Romans 14:19, Paul wrote: “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” To edify is to build up. So if we want to keep our tongue from evil, we need to make sure the words we are saying build up another person, regardless of race, religion, age, gender, past mistakes or any other qualifier. The only way we can bring down our ingrained stinking thinking is to see others through Jesus’ eyes – a person so worthy to Him that He died for them just as He did for you. We need to love others that much – that’s loving our neighbor.

Don’t speak evil. Pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

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Sounds to me like a solution to the racial division that is rocking our world!

We defeat our stinking thinking as we see others through Jesus’ eyes-a person so worthy to Him that He died for them. We need to love others that much – that’s loving our neighbor.

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Keep your lips from deceitful speech

Don’t bear false witness against your neighbor

Deceitful speech is founded in any kind of lie. In the Ten Commandments, one of God’s commands is to not “bear false witness against your neighbor.” That means you don’t say something about them that isn’t true. It can be a lie about why you were late to work this morning or about how you spent your time while working at home.

Don’t make promises your don’t intend to keep

Since its its an election year, there are probably a whole lot of politicians who need to practice keeping their lips form deceitful speech. Making promises to win someone’s favor when you have no intention of keeping those promises constitutes deceitful speech. Or let’s make it more personal. As a parent, how many times have your kids asked you to do something and you say, “In a minute, honey.” But you know in your heart that “in a minute” isn’t ever coming? Making promises that you know you have no plans to fulfill is deceitful speech. It also breeds distrust, anger, and bitterness – all of which are destroyers of peace.

Don’t make yourself look better than you are

What about making yourself look better than you are? One of the ethics that counselors go by is we never tell a client we are more than what we are credentialed for. So if I am licensed as a professional counselor, I would not advertise myself as a psychiatrist or tell a client I was working with that I’m a psychiatrist. Maybe for you that might look like your boss wanting to promote you but you need skills you don’t have and you try to “fake it” and make them think you have those skills. Proverbs 8:7 says, For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. and Proverbs 12:17 says, He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.

If it is deceitful, then don’t let it pass your lips. Instead, speak truth.

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Turn away from evil

Let’s face it – we live in a broken, sinful world and evil is all around us. But we are not to conform to this world. We are to turn away from evil. As I thought about this phrase, I can see two possiblities for how we turn away from evil.

When evil is in front of you, turn away from it.

The first is like picking a checkout line at the grocery store. You start to get in one but its a long line and several customers’ carts are loaded full and the line next to that one short and the one person in that line just has a few items. So you turn away from the long line and go to the short one. Or maybe it’s late at night and pull into a gas station to get gas but you see what appears to be a hold up going on inside so you turn away and then just down the road pull over and call the police to report it. If we see evil in front of us we should turn around and go another direction.

When you have committed evil, repent from it.

The second way we can turn away from evil is in the idea of repentance. If we have done something evil, then we need to confess it, seek God’s forgiveness and repent of the sin. If we keep going back to the same sin over and over, then we probably are not truly sorry and we certainly haven’t repented. When we repent of a sin it like going down the path of sin, realizing that we got off the highway of righteousness at some point and so we stop, turn around, and take a completely new path that leads back to righteousness.

Turning from what is evil means when evil is in front of me I turn and go another way. It also means that if I’ve done something sinful, I repent and turn away from that sin.

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Do what is good

Whenever we remove something from our life that shouldn’t be there, we need to fill that space up with something that should be there. So if we want to know peace, we have to do what is good. That’s more than just keeping the 10 Commandments. It is also being obedient to do what God asks you to do. Doing good is extending goodness to other people. It is exhibiting empathy and sympathy. If Jesus would do it, then you can too and you can be sure you are doing what is good.

Doing what is good is more than keeping the 10 Commandments. It is also doing whatever God asks of you, extending goodness to other people and showing empathy and sympathy. If Jesus would do it, then you can too.

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We have Christian tees, face masks, mugs, bags and more!

Here’s what’s new in the shop this week

Here are some of our favorite designs:

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

Couple activities include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
• Conversation Starters.
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
• Romance Builders.
• Relationship Builders.
• Personal reflections.
• Date ideas.
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

 

Look for the GLMW Group on Facebook.

Join the community of couples on Facebook who are committed to intentionally growing their marriage and learning how to have a marriage that honors God. Here you can post photos of the different activities as you do them, ask questions of other couples, share how God is using this book to strengthen your marriage, and grow with other Christian couples. We’ll see you in the community.

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 
Follow us on:

Today’s Verse: Psalm 32:8

Comfort in know God Instructs, Teaches, and Guides

With COVID numbers rising once again, it’s good to be reminded that God never takes His eyes off what is happening here on planet earth. When we seek Him with our whole heart and listen for His voice, He will instruct, teach and guide us as we make the journey in life. God initiated that journey the day of your conception and you will continue that journey until you have reached your eternal destination.

As we journey from here to there, we will find many paths that we must choose and if you listen, God will make it evident to you that path that is part of your intended journey. He will also use the paths of your journey to teach us and instruct so that He can make us more like Him. Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye.”

God Instructs

At first we might think that instructing and teaching is the same thing, but there is a difference. When you instruct someone, you’re giving them a set of tools or tasks to do something specific. For example, if I want to crochet a blanket for my sister for her birthday today, I need to follow the instructions so that the blanket takes the correct shape and pattern. If I want to assemble a piece of furniture, I need to follow the step by step directions to avoid having to take things apart and reassemble over and over again.

Whenever I don’t follow the instructions of whatever project I’m working on, I can become frustrated, even angry, and give up. Walk away. Maybe to never pick it up again. Or perhaps, as a last resort, I pick up the instructions and decide the manufacturer actually knew what they were talking about and when I follow the instructions my project turns out well.

So whatever journey God outlined and ordained for your life, He instructs us by giving us the exact tools we need to do the specific journey that was designed for us. He will never tell us to do something without giving us the skills, gifts, and abilities we need to be able to fully accomplish His plan for us. So if you are hesitant about take that first step onto the path He has placed in front of you, go ahead and take the step. You can know God will instruct you every step of the way.

God Teaches

Where instruction provides the skills, teaching is more generic. You can teach almost anything: concepts, ideas, theories, history, or what the Scripture has to say about how we should live. Teaching implies “education” which includes academics but also encompasses moral and social aspects of our development. Instruction takes the basics of what is taught and moves it to application and processes. YouTube can teach me how to crochet. It can teach me about different kinds of tools and how to use them to build furniture, but until I pick up the crochet hook or the tools and begin following a specific set of instructions what was taught in YouTube is nothing more than head knowledge. Teaching gives us the knowledge in our head but instruction moves it to action.

We can see a good example of teaching and instruction in Moses. At the burning bush, God speaks to Moses and teaches him about who he is, saying “I AM.” But once he teaches Moses, he then gives him specific instructions: “Go to Pharoh, tell him to let My people go, and then lead the people to the promised land.”

God Guides

Psalm 32:8 tells us that God guides us with His eye. He’s looking out and watching over us. He sees what we cannot see. He’s not leading us blindly along. Rather He is purposefully guiding us with the ending destination in mind.

The great thing about Moses’ life journey is that God constantly guided him. When his mother placed him in a basket to float in the Nile trying to save his life from the Pharaoh who was murdering all the baby boys, God made sure that he was found by none other than Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her own son which ensured that Moses would be raised as a prince who would learn all there was to know about Egyptian law, court etiquette, and receive the best teaching and instruction in all of Egypt. But Moses still needed more teaching and instruction to be able for God to use him for God’s plan to bring the nation of Israel out of slavery.

After Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating one of the Hebrew slaves, it was discovered and Moses fled and left Egypt. He then spent the next 40 years tending sheep but it was there that he would learn the skills he needed to shepherd God’s sheep our in the wilderness. Then when God sent Moses back to Egypt, God guided him in what to say and what to do.

Destination Preparation

God does the same today. He is a God that is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. But when we allow the noise and distractions of life and we believe the lies of Satan, the still small voice of God is drowned out and it becomes difficult to hear God above the noise. So sometimes, we need to take some time out and just be still in His presence and listen (without talking) for the voice of the Holy Spirit within us. And He will guide you through the wilderness when there seems to be no way. Just listen for His instructions and His teachings – they are preparing you for the destination.

God will guide you through the wilderness when there seems to be no way. Just listen for His instructions and His teachings. They are preparing your for the destination.

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We have Christian tees, face masks, mugs, bags and more!

Here’s what’s new in the shop this week

Here are some of our favorite designs:

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

Couple activities include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
• Conversation Starters.
• Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
• Romance Builders.
• Relationship Builders.
• Personal reflections.
• Date ideas.
• Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

 

Look for the GLMW Group on Facebook.

Join the community of couples on Facebook who are committed to intentionally growing their marriage and learning how to have a marriage that honors God. Here you can post photos of the different activities as you do them, ask questions of other couples, share how God is using this book to strengthen your marriage, and grow with other Christian couples. We’ll see you in the community.

904.239.8937
A non-profit ministry located in Jacksonville, FL 
Follow us on:

Today’s Verse: Psalm 23:1-3

Don’t miss the meaning

Most people have at least heard of the 23rd Psalm. Many Christians can quote it. It is the Psalm where David says, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” It is a Psalm that comforts and calms our souls. Often it is read at funerals. President Bush read it to America after 9/11.

However, because of it’s popularity, we can miss it’s meaning. It is somewhat like singing the old hymns in church. We sing them, but we don’t really often stop to take in the depth of their meaning. When I used to lead music in my dad’s church, I could look out at the congregation and the mouths were moving but the words of the songs were often not connecting with their hearts. Can we say we’ve worshiped if we just remotely sing? Or would it more appropriately be called “lip service”?

The Psalm from the author’s eyes

King David is the author of this Psalm. In our world, today the majority of us don’t get the full meaning of this beautiful psalm because we fail to understand the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd of the Bible. But David knew it well. He was a shepherd before he was a king. In fact, when God sent the prophet, Samuel, to anoint David as king, David was out tending the sheep. So if we really want to understand the beautiful message of this psalm, we need to see it as David did. He knew what it means to shepherd sheep and when he became king of Israel, he learned what it meant to shepherd God’s sheep – the nation of Israel.

All we like sheep

The Bible refers to us as sheep nearly two hundred times. However, it is not usually a compliment because sheep are smelly, stubborn, and prone to wander. They also are not the brightest animal on the block. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way.” (Isaiah 53:6). Like sheep, we are smelly with the filth and stench of sin in our lives. We turn our own way because we stubbornly think we know better than God. So we wander away from God and try to do life our way but then when we make a mess out of life we bleat like a lost sheep looking for the Shepherd to rescue us out of our mess.

The Nutshell Take-away

If we were to sum up this Psalm in just one sentence it would be this: You can’t fully know and understand the Shepherd unless you are one of His sheep. Only once you enter into and have a relationship with the Shepherd can you understand that He provides, protects, and preserves His sheep. In the first three verses of Psalm 23, we find four things the Shepherd provides for His sheep.

If we summed up Psalm 23 into just one sentence, it would be this: You can’t fully know and understand the Shepherd unless you are one of His sheep.

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The Shepherd Provides a Relationship

In verse 1, it says, “The Lord is my Shepherd. That’s a relationship. “The Lord” is the Hebrew word, “Yahweh” and it was first revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14 which is where Moses has his encounter with God at the burning bush. Moses asked, “Who should I say sent me.” God replied, “Tell them “I AM [Yahweh] has sent you.” So David is saying here, that “I AM” is “my” shepherd.

Verb tense makes a difference

Notice that the verb is present tense, not past or future. It is right now in this moment that God is our shepherd – and you can say that in every moment of life. Shepherding wasn’t the job career that everyone signed up for. It was the lowest, unpleasant job. Sheep require a 24/7 shepherd. They couldn’t be left alone. So they’re had to be a shepherd on duty every moment, in every season, and in every kind of weather. Jesus is just that kind of Shepherd. He never goes off duty. In fact, He never clocks out and trades off with another Shepherd. So not only is He my Shepherd, He’s my only Shepherd. In Exodus 20:3, we find the very first of the Ten Commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before Me” and in verse 5 God says we are to have no other gods before Him because He is a jealous God. He will not share His place with anyone or anything else. If He is our Lord, there can only be one Lord on the throne.

Pronoun choice creates a personal relationship

Let’s also not read too quickly past the pronoun choice David uses. He says that the Lord is my Shepherd. “My” is a possessive personal pronoun. Our Shepherd offers a personal relationship with Him. In the entirety of Psalm 23, David uses “my,” “me,” and “I” 17 times. Because He is with me 24/7 and because I am His creation, He knows me by name. He knows what tends to make me wander and where I can get off track. He knows when I’m hurt, wounded, or in trouble. My Shepherd knows when I’m spiritually hungry and thirsty. He knows when I’m anxious or fearful. And He knows when I need rest and peace. He is my Shepherd and He knows me personally. It’s a relationship.

The Lord, Yahweh, I AM, is my Shepherd. “Is” is a present tense verb, so He is my Shepherd right now in this moment. And “my” is a possessive personal pronoun. He is my Shepherd and He knows me personally. It’s a relationship.

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The Shepherd provides Replenishment

Whenever we wander away from the Shepherd we are wandering away from the Bread of Life and the Living Water. We become spiritually hungry. Also, the further away we wander, the more tired we become and we need rest. But sometimes we can be right with the Shepherd and busy doing whatever the Shepherd asks of us and get tired too. Sometimes we are so busy pouring into other people that we need to take a moment like Mary did and sit at the feet of Jesus and allow Him to pour into us.

Whenever we wander away from the Shepherd we are wandering away from the Bread of Life and the Living water.

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The second part of verse 1 says, “I shall not want.” That is the words of person who has been fully replenished by the Shepherd. If sheep are left to themselves, they can’t even find grass to eat or water to drink. They need a shepherd to lead them. They also need a shepherd to watch over them, because they really are not smart enough to sense when danger is near. Our Shepherd is also called the Bread of Life and the Living Water. In other Psalms, David calls Him a fortress and strong tower. And in another Psalm David talks about hiding in the shelter of His wings. So our Shepherd replenishes our spiritual hunger and thirst and He provides protection when we can’t see the danger traps that Satan would set out to ensnare us with. So if we’re feeling spiritually hungry and thirsty, we might be wandering too far from the shepherd. Or if we’re feeling anxious and afraid, we may have wandered too far from the Shepherd.

If we’re feeling spiritually hungry and thirsty, we might be wandering too far from the shepherd. Or if we’re feeling anxious and afraid, we may have wandered too far from the Shepherd.

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The Shepherd provides Rest

Verse 2 of Psalm 23 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” Us stubborn sheep often refuse to rest when we need to. We think we have to keep pushing – keep getting ahead – keep serving God – keep on, and on, and on like the Energizer Bunny. But even the Bunny’s batteries run out eventually. In the New Testament, Jesus empowered the disciples and sent them out to do ministry in His name. They returned excited, but also weary. In fact, they had been doing so much ministry that they hadn’t even had time to eat. Jesus said, “Come away with me to a deserted place and rest for a while.” (Mark 6:31) Our Shepherd knows when we need rest.

He makes me lie down

Again, let’s point out the choice of verbs that David used in verse 2 of Psalm 23. The Shepherd didn’t invite the sheep to rest. The verse says, “He makes.” We are so stubborn that sometimes we have to be forced to slow down and rest. There are many us that for a while now have needed a slower pace in life. In this time of “social distancing” and “together at home,” we are getting a forced time of a slower pace of life. If you’ve been needing some rest, maybe the Shepherd is making you to lie down in green pastures for a while.

in green pastures

If we are going to rest, then there are two things we need: a sense of safety and a comfortable place to lie down. Psalm 4:8 says, “In peace I will lie down to sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” When a world-wide pandemic is around, it’s easy to become fearful, anxious, worried. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of sound mind. Fear comes from Satan and it keeps us bound up so that we are not effective for the Kingdom of God. But 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you.” Our Shepherd is sovereign. He’s in control. We can trust Him with every single part of our lives. When we trust the Shepherd, we have no need of fear or anxiety. Whenever there is fear or anxiety in our lives, that’s an area where you have wandered away from the Shepherd.

The other thing we need is a comfortable place to lie down. The Shepherd didn’t makes the sheep lie down on a hard, rocky place. He took them to a soft meadow of green grass. It is kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. When she decided she needed a nap, she laid down on Papa Bear’s bed and it was too hard. Momma Bear’s bed was too soft. But Baby Bear’s bed was just right and so she fell fast asleep and slept so soundly she didn’t hear the bear family return home. The Shepherd will make us rest, but He knows we need the soft, green meadow that is just right – not too hard and not too soft.

He leads me

Once again, I want to point out the choice of verbs that David uses. I find it interesting that David said the Shepherd makes us to lie down in green pastures, but He leads us beside still waters. So I meditated on these two verbs and asked why are we made to lie down in green pastures, but led to still waters. Sheep need water as much, if not more so, as rest. So with a little googling, I learned that sheep are afraid of moving water and they will not drink from it. So the Shepherd leads them to a still, quiet pool so they will drink. The Shepherd also has to make sure that the water they drink is safe to drink – that it isn’t polluted and full of parasites. How often do we wander away from the Shepherd and drink from waters polluted with the parasites of sin? We need the Shepherd to lead us so that the water we are drinking from is the pure water that comes from the Living Water.

beside still waters

I don’t know about you, but when I sleep, I need “white noise.” Some people like to go to sleep with the sounds of nature, such as a rain storm or gurgling brook, or the ebb and flow of the waves of the ocean. I’ve tried all of those and I just end up getting up and down with trips to the bathroom. I’m also of an age where I have “personal summers” or “power surges” whatever you want to call it and so I sleep with a fan on. I also have an app on my phone called Abide where I can choose Bedtime Meditation stories based on Scripture. Without these two things, I have a hard time getting to sleep. My mind is constantly planning the next post, or planning the next ministry opportunity, or creating the next idea, or the next chapter in the next book. So these “background noises” help me focus my mind on Christ, my Shepherd, and He leads me beside the calm, still waters so that I can drift off to sleep.

The Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures when we need rest but he leads us beside the still waters. We need to be led to the pure water of the Living Water so we are not drinking from water polluted by sin.

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The Shepherd provides Restoration

Sheep are careless, curious, and cantankerous. The are often in need of being restored. So we find in verse three that the Shepherd “restores my soul.” If we restore an antique piece of furniture, we bring it back to what it was originally like when it was first created. We revive it to it’s former state and renew it so it looks like new. When David wrote about restoring His soul, he was talking about repentance. Who else would understand the need of repentance more than a King who had been guilty of both adultery and murder? It is through repentance of our careless, curious, and cantankerous sins that we find restoration with the Shepherd and we are renewed and revived spiritually.

Who else would understand the need of repentance more than a King who was guilty of both adultery and murder? It is through repentance of our careless, curious, and cantankerous sins that we find restoration with the Shepherd.

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Also, because sheep are prone to wander, they can easily become lost or find themselves in danger. They can fall or become a victim to a predator. Sometimes a sheep will roll over on its back, feet flailing in the air, and they are not able to roll back over again. This is called being “cast down.” When this happens gas builds up inside of them, cutting off their circulation in their legs, and they die within just a matter of hours. When the Shepherd finds a sheep that is cast down, he rolls it back over and lifts it up to its feet. He then straddles the sheep and begins rubbing it’s legs to restore circulation, while talking to it gently to try to calm it from its panicked state.

The Shepherd Is Tenderly Calling

When we wander from our Shepherd and are rolling around in our sin, cast down, the Shepherd tenderly calls out our name. He picks us up and sets us back on our feet and restores us to the fold once more. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve strayed. A heart of repentance is all that’s needed to bring about restoration. And then, back in the fold, you’ll once again enjoy the personal relationship with the Shepherd, be replenished, find rest for your weary soul and the restoration of His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Is He tenderly calling for you today?

The Shepherd tenderly calls us whenever we wander. A heart of repentance will bring about restoration so we can enjoy the personal relationship with the Shepherd, be replenished, and find rest. Is He tenderly calling for you today?

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