The Good Shepherd

My last blog talked about focus and has caused me to examine just what I am focused on. I was shocked. There is much going on, transition at church, busyness at work, a friend suffering emotionally, a friend in medical crisis. However, what I came to see that I was focused on task, self-reliance. I am trying to refocus and ensure that Christ is at the center of all. As I am doing this I have been lead to the first 3 verses of the 23rd Psalm;

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

So just to quickly share what has come to light (come into focus) in those 3 verses

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want – describes where my focus should be – on the Shepherd and if it is I shall not be in want – the phrase shall not be in want in Hebrew means not in need of anything.

2a He makes me lie down in green pastures – thinking contextually this was not a land of green pastures and green pastures would require the sacrificial and loving work of the Shepherd and then; oh my goodness, for me to be able to lie down in my Shepherds pasture – what comfort. Read an interesting thought concerning this verse that for a field to bear fruit it must lie fallow – it must rest – not so reliant on my efforts.

2b he leads me beside quiet waters – Quiet waters just complete this Oasis provided by the Shepherd where the sheep can lie down in what John Piper describes as restful security – no worries!

3a he restores my soul – He, the Shepherd – restores my soul – not me; not my efforts; not you and with just a little focus on the Shepherd; oh how my soul is being restored! The phrase being restored in Hebrew has this connotation of refreshed, revived, restored!

3b He guides me in paths of righteousness – how are we guided in paths of righteousness – by the Shepherd, by His word, by study and by worship – Amen.

3c for his name's sake – All this done out of love, out of mercy, by His grace and for His names sake – all for His Glory – Amen and. Amen!

Father – You are so amazing, so glorious, and so wonderful. Please forgive me my lack of focus, my worry and my lack of trust. Thank you that we have a Shepherd, a Shepherd that provides; a Shepherd that will restore. I pray for each of us that we will have maximum clarity and even with all we have going on, the trials, the needs, the activities, and that our focus will be on our Great Shepherd – praying in the name of our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ Amen.

Grace and Peace!

Focus

I have a friend who is struggling right now. I am not sure how to help; he wants space. It has caused me to think and pray. You know life is full of stuff – trials, storms, tribulations. Yet, I think that no matter what is going on if our focus is correct we can persevere, we can move forward in this life.

Focus is an interesting word. It means the concentration of attention or energy on something, maximum clarity and a point where there is a convergence of light. So to me the question becomes where is our focus? Pastor Scotty Smith in a recent prayer helps provide me some clarity when it comes to focus.

He said, “It’s only because of your cross, Jesus, that we can be certain that trials don’t come to us as punishment for our sins, but for the purification of our faith. We praise you for exhausting God’s judgment against our sins. We praise you that your cross was our Judgment Day. The perfect love of the cross drives away all fear of judgment and punishment (1 John 4:18). What peace this give us… what hope… what freedom!”

So this stuff of life is not punishment and with focus we can see that the result will be the purification of our faith. With focus on God, Christ and the cross we can have true peace, eternal hope! Amen and Amen.

In Psalm 42:11 we see;

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Downcast, disturbed? Focus on the cross of Christ; put your hope in the Lord. May we all concentrate our attention, may we all achieve maximum clarity, may we find that point where there is a convergence of light. May that focus reveal the Love of our Savior!

Grace and Peace!

Treat Others As...

Our church is starting a series on 1 Thessalonians and so far it has been really enlightening. I just heard a sermon on chapter 2 and imbedded within it was some great instruction on how to treat others.

It comes from verses 6b – 12;

6bAs apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

To me it boils down to one word; love! But, what does that really mean or better yet what does that look like? Well, guess what; Paul tells us. Paul explains we should not be a burden to others; we should be gentle loving like a mother caring for her children. We should love so much because we care. We should care enough to share the gospel but we should also care enough to share our lives. We should deal with others as a father; encouraging, comforting, urging others to live lives worthy of God.

You know the world is in desperate need for a love like this. May we all reach deep and love others. Reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw; Love Wins!

Grace and Peace!