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

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”

Psalm 23

A famous actor was an after dinner speaker at a big fund raising function; and apparently he was well known for his voice because when he stood up to speak, he invited his audience to choose a poem for him to recite. There was a long silence until an older preacher raised his hand and asked for Psalm 23.

The actor was slightly taken back, but agreed to read the Psalm provided the preacher recite it after him; which the old man reluctantly agreed to do. So the actor recited Psalm 23 and received a standing ovation.

Then the preacher recited the Psalm, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Upon seeing this reaction from the crowd, the actor went over to the older preacher and said to the guests “Do you know the difference between his version and mine? I know the 23rd Psalm; but this man knows the Shepherd.

The difference between the two men in that story is that one knew about the Lord and the other knew the Lord. The reason why the old preacher’s recitation of the psalm moved people more than the actor’s is that it was obvious to them that the old preacher was not simply going through the motions but was actually familiar with the Shepherd of whom he spoke.

Is He your Shepherd?

If He is your Shepherd you will submit to Him. One cannot actually know God without obeying Him. You can know that He is your shepherd by keeping His commandments (1 John 2:3). Sheep follow the Shepherd (Psalm 23:2). They listen to His voice and follow His directions.

If He is your Shepherd you will trust in Him. If you are going to keep His commandments you will have to come to trust in His care. Following the Lord’s directions can be difficult at times. It can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, if you will trust in Him you can say with David, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).

If He is your Shepherd you will enjoy Him. Having fellowship with God is not meant to be a burden but a joy. Praying to Him, doing His will, and worshipping Him are wonderful blessings that we are to enjoy. Do you enjoy spending time with Him?

If He is your Shepherd you will want for nothing. “I shall not want” are words that imply contentment. The satisfaction that is received from God is deeply spiritual and lasting. Searching for satisfaction from material things may satisfy you for a moment but it will always lead you to want more. Sheep are completely satisfied when they submit, trust, and enjoy their Shepherd.

Can you recite Psalm 23 as someone who knows the Shepherd?

A girl had a nice little piggy bank. Her father wanted to teach her about saving, so he talked to her about putting her money into a savings account at their bank. He very carefully explained to her that when she put money into her account, the bank would pay her interest on her money and that her money would grow that way.
The big day came. They went to the bank. She gave her piggy bank to the woman opening her account. Then she just stood there and stared at the woman. “Is there something else I can do for you?” the woman asked. 

The little girl answered, “No, I’m just waiting on my interest!”

The girl didn’t understand that there was a delay between sowing her money in that account and reaping the harvest of her interest.

This is a very important principle to grasp in life. Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8).

Since we reap what we sow, we need to understand a couple of very important facts about today:

1. The things happening in your life today are the results of what you have sown in the past. You are reaping the harvest of what you sowed a week ago, a month ago, a year ago.

2. What will happen in the future will be determined by what you sow into your life today. If you want to change your future, then you need to change what you are sowing today.

Have you been sowing to the flesh or to the Spirit?

Isn’t that the way it is with us at times? We are so quick to pick out the faults of others while we are blind to our own faults. Take the time to consider your life and your relationship with God. Don’t consider how your spouse, children, parents, or friends could do better,  but how you can do better and be more pleasing to God. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith…” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

A young man was the only survivor of a shipwreck.  He was swept by the waves onto a rock.  He lay there all night until he was spotted and rescued the next morning.  He was asked, “Did you tremble while you laid on the rock during the stormy night?”  The young man answered, “I trembled all night… but the rock on which I laid never did.”

One thing that is desired by each and every one of us is security. All of us 
want to be able to cling to a rock that is stable and firm when the storms come.
Where is your rock?  In What or in Whom do you place your trust?  What is the source of your security?

True security cannot be found in men, power or money. True security can only be found in the Lord. The Psalmist wrote with confidence, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken” (Psalm 62:1,2).

Security is found in God alone! The key is a right relationship with Him that provides peace, courage and strength when the storms come.

True security is found in hearing and obeying the Lord’s commands. 
”Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).

In order to build our lives upon the Rock…, we must place our trust in Christ (Acts 16:31), repent of our sins (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), be baptized into Christ so that our sins can be washed away 
(Acts 22:16).  Then, as we continue obey Christ our lives are continually founded upon the Rock that will never tremble.

Do You Stand On That Rock?

Two bachelors were talking one day, and their conversation drifted from politics to sports to cooking.
One of them said, “I got a cookbook once, but I could never do anything with it.”
The other one said, “Too much hard work in it, huh?”
The first one said, “Yeah, it sure was. Every one of the recipes began the same way – ‘Take a clean dish.’”

Our relationship with God is very similar. God says to us, “Take a clean life” and we say, “Hold on a minute! We cannot do that” because “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  We may feel overwhelmed because our lives are stained with sin.

Fortunately, God has made it possible for us to be cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ. We need to have the same plea as David when he wrote, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin…..Create in me a clean heart, O God”        (Psalm 51:2,10).

Let us have the attitude that says we will do whatever God asks us to do to be cleansed from our iniquities.
“And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16).

We should be so happy that God does not operate that way! When God says something, you can count on it! Peter said that “the Lord is not slow concerning His promise as some count slowness…” (2 Peter 3:9). Paul and John said, “God is faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:9, 10:13, 1 John 1:9). When God makes you a promise he does not try to escape from it. He will not say, “I really did not mean it.”
God means what He says!

Have a great weekend!

You mean that the Apostle Paul was not perfect? I know that he did some terrible things before his conversion but once he became a Christian he lived a perfect life didn’t he?

Here he is writing to a group of Christians and teaching them how to live in their service to God and he claims that he is still not perfect. He still has room to improve.

I don’t know about you but that gives me great hope. I have been a Christian for nearly 17 years and I still mess up. Sometimes I become so discouraged. However, Paul gives me the key to success in this life. I need to forget about the past and all of my failures and keep reaching towards the ultimate goal, heaven! I must remember that my Christian life is not about where I am right now, but where I am going!

Keep pressing on to the goal!

If you are not satisfied, look and see what you are hungering and thirsting for.