For His Name – Psalm 23:2-3

Psalm 23:1-3 (esv)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Today we will look at the verses 2 and 3 of Psalm 23. If you missed it, Verse 1 was covered here. Please take a read as today I am building on that post!

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

Once we are submitted to God, and we have laid down our striving, our personal desires and wants, He begins to lead us. One of those places is that He will lead us to places of rest and recovery.

Remaining in the symbolic language of sheep and a shepherd, green pastures are just what the sheep need. It provides them with a place to rest and eat. To recover from any journey and get strong. In the life of a sheep, there is not a lot more they need!

An interesting aside at this point on the translation. I believe the literal Hebrew translation of ‘still waters’ is ‘waters of rest’.

And yet, physically, I don’t think many of us see a rest of this kind! So what is the Psalmist talking about?

He restores my soul.

He is talking spiritually. He brings us to a place of spiritual rest, and even emotional rest in Him. The hectic pace of life may well continue, our personal circumstances probably won’t immediately change – but our internal self will. We will suddenly find ourselves at rest in Him. We will no longer be striving, trying in vain to achieve ’Gods purpose’ in our life, which in reality may have less to do with God and more to do with our personal desires.

I just want to take a quick detour here. One of the things we need to keep in mind when we are even contemplating rest in God, is that God is our creator. He made us. And not only did He make us, but He made us as we are. He gave us the physical and emotional make-up that we have. Some of our desires are no doubt twisted and distorted by sin, but many of them, or at least the root of them were given to us by God.

Just because you give up all for God doesn’t mean he is suddenly going to call you to do something that you are not able to do, or would not be able to deal with. He made you. He created you, just as you are, for His purposes. And He will use those talents, gifts, emotions and circumstances in your life to further His kingdom.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

He leads me. He guides me. Once we have given up the desires that we held so dear, the striving to do Gods work, He can then finally lead us.

Many of you will have seen someone, or had experience trying to lead a toddler through a shopping centre (or anywhere really!). As you walk down the aisles, it is all taking just too long. The want to scream, they want to run, they want to play, they want to touch, they want to grab. They want anything else but the apparently mundane chore of walking up and down aisles of goodies without touching most of them. The junk food aisle is the inner dread of any parent or caretaker, as they know they will be dragged in, and could well face a tantrum of nuclear proportions if the situation gets out of hand. I want this! This is what I WANT! I WANT IT NOW OR I WILL SCREAM!

The toddlers desire is for the things they want. We as parents know what is best for them, and that is not a huge bag of red candy! Yet in the toddlers mind, that is best for them, right now.

Whilst it is an extreme example, I am sure you know where I am going. I wonder how many times God has to sit back and say ‘no, that is not what is good for you’. ‘No’. Or even ‘Do it then, but you will be sick’ (A common parental response especially after Easter!).

One more thing on God leading us, is that he leads us in paths of righteousness. He leads us on the right paths, that are pleasing to Him. Every decision we take is like choosing between one path and another, and only God in His infinite wisdom can lead us down all the right ones, when we submit our desires to Him.

But what is it all for?

For His names sake.

And finally, we come to the clear reason. God is leading us to where He needs us, for His kingdom, and His glory. By submitting to God, we are putting God, the creator of the whole universe, the creator of each one of us, in His rightful place.

Revelation 4:11 (esv)

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

We were created not because God needed friends, or even worshippers. We were created for His glory.

Once we let go of our personal desires, and let God take control of our lives, we will not only find rest, but we will be used in the most effective way possible for Gods kingdom and glory.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for the peace offered in you. Thank you that we can come before you, declared righteous through your son Jesus, and seek rest and direction. Even more so, thank you that you don’t just turn us away, but offer us rest and refreshing in you! Teach us to always seek you, and help us to know Your paths, that we might be used for Your kingdom. Grant in us a desire to see Your kingdom come in our lives now. In Jesus Name. Amen.

(photo : flickr / sshb)

I Shall Not Want – Psalm 23:1

Psalm 23:1 (esv)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Over the past few weeks, I haven’t been able to get this verse out of my head! It usually starts with just the verse rolling around up there (I am guessing there is plenty of space!), and ends up with the Keith Green rendition wandering around with it.

I am thinking, God is trying to tell me something. Does that ever happen to you?

So, as part of what God is trying to tell me, I will share some of my thoughts here with you.

The Lord is my shepherd.

This part of the verse is a double declaration. Firstly, David (the psalmist who wrote this) is declaring ‘The Lord’. That God is Lord over all, that God is in control. Secondly, he is immediately declaring allegiance ‘The Lord is MY shepherd’. My. That is a personal declaration of headship, that David firmly beleives in God, and trusts Him with his life. It is not claiming God as ‘his own’, but the exact opposite – he ‘belongs to God’.

What is the role of the shepherd? To provide, to protect, to guide, to heal.

By declaring that the Lord is my shepherd, David is declaring that the Lord will guide him, protect him, provide for him and heal him. And I think this leads to the second part of the verse perfectly.

I shall not want.

This is both a declaration of faith and intention.

Of faith – David is trusting the Lord to provide for him. To look after him. To guide him. To heal him. David shall not want, because God will provide no matter what the circumstance. The Lord will provide exactly what David needs ‘for His names sake’ (vs 3)

Of intention – David is also declaring that he is going to submit his will to God. His desires to God. His wants to God. He is declaring that he shall not want for anything, because God will not only provide but He will also guide.

One of the problems with ‘wanting’ is that it is not always a Godly desire. The things that reside in our heart are not always the best for us, and are not always in Gods will. By wanting, and driving ourselves towards those wants, we can often drive ourselves away from Gods plan for our lives. He knows what we are going to do – but that doesn’t mean what we do will be the best for us!

What shall we do?

What shall we then do, in light of David’s example? I think it is already obvious, to agree with David and declare in our own lives ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want’.

If we are to read the Lords Prayer again in Matthew 6:10-11, you will see this is also covered in there. ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread‘. We are declaring that our desire is not to live by our wants and desires! But to live by Gods will and desire, that His kingdom would come, and His will be done. We are also praying that we don’t just get what we want, but are provided for that day the things we need to get through.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for the example of your servant David. Help us to be like him and also declare that You alone are our shepherd, that we commit ourselves completely to your care. Help us to see that it is not our desires in this life that will bring your Kingdom, but your will alone. Help us, teach us, guide us, protect us and provide for us like sheep, just as we put our complete faith and trust in you. In Jesus Name. Amen.

(Photo flickr/markscott)

Old Wives Tales – Mark 10:23-27

Mark 10:23-27

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

I was reading a great post today from Trevin Wax – Urban Legends: The Preachers Edition. It is about stories and myths that preachers use to emphasise their point or help explain the Bible - believing them to be true in most cases. I know personally I had heard the first two.

The first one is around this verse in Mark, and relates how there is a gate in Jerusalem called the “eye of the needle.” A camel could pass through it only after stooping down and having all its baggage taken off.

The take away is supposed to be that we can be saved (if we are rich) – but we need to lose our baggage, and be on our knees before God.

The problem is, there is no proof that such a gate existed, and from my perspective, even when I first heard it preached, it weakens what Jesus is saying here. Take a look though at the last verse, which I believe is the key take away for us all.

And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

With man it is impossible. Totally. Even on our knees with no baggage, we still can’t do it, because it is simply impossible to be saved without the work of Jesus in our lives.

So what does this mean for our lives now (apart from without God we are lost)?

If it’s not in the Bible – be wary. If then further research doesn’t show it to be accurate through reliable scholars, then it is a fable, an old wives tale, a myth to be left out. God doesn’t need help to spread His word – no matter how great we think the example is!

John 8:31-32

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

2 Timothy 2:15-17a

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.

1 Timothy 1:3-4

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardshipt from God that is by faith

2 Timothy 4:3-4

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Lord God, help us to rightly handle Your Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us and others through it, not falling into myths and false teachings, no matter what we think of them or how helpful we think they will be. Help us to focus on You and You alone. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Hungry? Starving? Matthew 4:4

Matthew 4:4 (esv)
But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

How often do you eat? I don’t know about you, but I live in a ‘prosperous western’ country. Three times a day is pretty much the minimum. Add in a few snacks and nibbles and you pretty much total it.

Am I hungry? Occasionally. Am I ever truly hungry? Probably not. I would honestly say no, it has been a very long time since I experienced real, desperate hunger. I know I am very blessed and fortunate in this regard.

How often do you read the Bible?

How often do you take time to meditate on Gods Word?

John 6:47-51 (esv)
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

If you are not reading Gods word regularly – then I would say you are starving. You are malnourished. You are hungry. We are called not to live by physical ‘bread’ alone – not to just eat and drink and ‘live life’ – but to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Where do we find Gods Word? Where can you go to nourish your soul, to fill up your spiritual self with the sustenance it needs to live?

The Bible.

Read it. As much as you can. Make time for it. Just as you make time to have breakfast, lunch and dinner – make time to read Gods Word every day. Multiple times a day if you can!

Lord God, help us to know when we are hungry, when we are malnourished and when we are starving. Show in us a natural hunger for the things of You – to know You, to read Your Word. Give us a desire to want to live by Your Word, and to never have enough. In Jesus Name. Amen.

(Photo:Flickr/jamieanne)

Daily Bible Reading?

How is your daily Bible reading going?

I’m almost finished my current plan – I am doing the ‘Old and New Testament’ plan right now compressed to 120 days. It’s nice to be able to have both Old and New Testament every day, it helps bring a context to the day! You can see more of the plan here – www.youversion.com/reading-plans/old-testament-and-new-testament

Once this is done, I am going to follow the Chronological plan (probably compressed to 150 or 180 days). These plans are great to help understand when things actually happened or were written, rather than the default ‘thematic’ placement of books in the Bible. So while I am still reading every day, I am getting to see how things fit together just a little bit better – www.youversion.com/reading-plans/chronological

I use the plans at youversion as I am comfortable reading using the iPad or iPhone, even online. But you can just pick a book of the Bible and start reading – you don’t need a formal plan to get started!

So however you want to do it - just get reading!

Reading your Bible Still?

Hows that Bible reading going?

So. We are 5 months into the year – hows your Bible reading coming along? Some of you made a ‘new years resolution’ to read more – is it time to look at that again?

I know at the end of December I undertook to read the whole Bible in 90 days, through a youversion.com reading plan – I have to admit, it was tough some days, but I got through it and finished on time! After that I took a short break, and am now back to a more manageable level of reading, but I think I will take up that plan again soon, as I did get a lot out of it.

What did I learn? All sorts of things really! But one of the great things was I got a speed overview of the whole of the Bible. Obviously with that level of comitment I couldn’t spend a lot of time contemplating a verse – but it was a great reminder of many of the things that are in the Bible that you just forget are there. It is also a great way to really start to understand more about God – about His plan for us, and His plan for the whole world. Starting with creation, through the Patriachs, Israel, the captivity and exile, all the way up through Jesus, the Acts and finally to Revelation. Whilst sometimes we spend a lot of time on a book, chapter or verse (look at me – I have been posting studies on Romans for almost a year, and I’m only just past half way!), I think it is good to occasionally get a reminder of more of what God is doing, and what He has done.

I also learned that you have to discipline yourself to read every day – whether it’s a chapter, a page, or 15 chapters, they all require discipline and commitment. And trust me, God rewards that commitment on our part when we make it.

So if you haven’t taken the challenge up to read your Bible every day – do it! There are many plans out there, like the ones on youversion.com or esvonline.org (and plenty more I am sure!), or you could be all ‘old school’ and actually pick up your Bible every day and read a few chapters

Do you have a favorite plan? If so – share it with everyone!

And I encourage you, keep it up

DZ