Hello my friends. I can’t get out study from yesterday out of my head. I cannot shake the discussion about persecution and I cannot just move on. I am sure we have all experienced persecution in one form or another, we have been rejected, we have been talked about, we have been left out or uninvited when everyone else got an invitation. We have been alone at times, and not my choice. We have been hurt. It is something we have all experienced and yet, one thing remains. As dark and hard as times get, Jesus is still Jesus. God is still God; He is still our Father, THE CREATOR. And He dwells within us through the Holy Spirit. The circumstances we face day in and day out, will not change those facts. And, even on the good days, it brings me comfort. Even when things are good, the friends are plenty, my heart is not broken, the bank account has money in it for spending rather than just paying bills and everything is as we dreamt of. The facts remain the same: Jesus is still Jesus. God is still God; He is still our Father, THE CREATOR. And He dwells within us through the Holy Spirit.
We are going to jump around in the Word today as we go into a Psalm and leave Matthew. I love my Sweet Jesus as I think about Him as my Savior, Rescuer, Rest Provider, Defender and Captain of the Team – MY TEAM! So we are gonna look at the Word…
Lord – Teach me… Amen
Turn with me to Psalm 23. Spend a few minutes reading it...
This is a psalm of David, which means it was written by a man in the Old Testament named David, who happened to also REALLY love the Lord, God is Father .
We learn right off the bat that the Lord, is our shepherd. Which means He will provide for our every need. He will defend us, He will feed us, He will make sure we are not snatched away in the night by the prowling enemy. He will search for us if we leave the group. And so, in Him, with Him, we lack nothing.
We also learn that the Lord, provides us with opportunities to rest. I find it interesting that verse two says “He makes me…” rather than “He asks me if I would like to…” because more often than not, I don’t want to rest in green pastures beside the still waters. I don’t want to take a day and rest, or a weekend off, I would rather keep going because there is stuff that has to get done. But, there have been times in my life that He has made me rest, and when I say He made me, I mean He made me and I went kicking and screaming! I mean HE MADE ME REST, and I didn’t enjoy it for the first year. Literally!
I love that the Lord refreshes my soul. I don’t know about you, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is better right now than a glass of ice cold water with a lemon wedge in it and it is really, really, really perfect if the ice is crushed into little balls rather than cubed. Well, for me, the Lord refreshed my soul through the love and sacrifice of my Sweet Jesus. The blood that poured out on that cross is more refreshing and life giving than that perfectly ice cold, lemon wedge water with crushed ice.
We are told that He guides us along the right paths, he doesn’t make us go down the right paths. Interesting that the Word says He will make us lie down in green pastures, but He will not make us travel the right path… And, no matter which path we choose, He has made His choice, His choice was made on the day His blood poured out. He has chosen me, He has chosen YOU.
An no matter how dark the days get, or how hard the trails we face might be or how heartbroken we might be after persecution, He is our comfort. His Word is our life line and His love is our pillow of peace. And better yet, He has prepared a table in the presence of our enemies. This is by far my favorite part… He has prepared a feast for me, complete with nachos, pickles, homemade salsa, ice-cream and more, just for me, to sit down and enjoy in the presence of the very ones who have rejected, persecuted, hurt, and at one time devastated me. He prepares a table as His way of loving on me, providing for me, giving me everything I could ever want, in front of the very ones who mocked me and therefore mocked Him.
You see, with Him, no matter how hard our day s might be, His goodness, love, faithfulness, joy, peace and forgiveness will follow us for the rest of our lives. We cannot escape it, He is our shepherd! And, as if that wasn’t enough, we will one day get to go home, hug His neck, kiss His cheek and spend forever with Him. Oh how sweet is HE! , Jesus is still Jesus. God is still God; He is still our Father, THE CREATOR. And He dwells within us through the Holy Spirit, we cannot change that, and it is so much more… Praise HIM!
Have a great day today! Celebrate HIM and I pray He showers you with His love today. I honestly pray that He will provide a table for you of your most beloved foods and that you may enjoy Him a little more today than you did yesterday!
Comment, if you want to, about anything that is on your mind! He is good!
Jesus – you are good. Thank you for the blood that was poured out so I might get to know you. Amen.
Horray for summer! :) I'm so happy I have been blessed to be surrounded by friends, dirt roads, country music, hammocks, and endless laughter. And I have realized for the first time that Jesus is right here with me. I'm wake boarding and he is watching. And let me tell you, it's one of the coolest things I have ever been a part of!
ReplyDeleteJacque Kosmicki
I completely agree about the rest! While teaching marriage classes, we teach about the wife is to be at REST. The husband is to be Christ like in the marriage and the wife needs to feel peaceful and be able to rest in Christ. I know that Christ knows that us women need our rest. When we have rest, our home, jobs, life in general is so peaceful. When we as women are in a place of un-rest, life is crazy, loud, unsettled. For us as women, we need to learn to REST in HIM and know that He can take care of all our needs even though there are times we feel like we need to take care of it or we want our spouse, family, or friends to take care of it. There have been many times I have had to put myself in a "timeout" and talk to the Lord and say, I need rest... He tells me right back, "I'm giving it to you, but you need to let things go!" Wow, that spoke to my heart, not just to my ears and through them! Remember to talk with God and share what is on your heart, he will listen and we will tell you what you need to know or do.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I love this passage. This word hidden in my heart has been my bread on so many days. We named our first son, in both English and Chinese, out of this passage. Shepherd in English and 清泽 -clean, clear, pure pool of water- in Chinese. And I agree with you, Mary, about that refreshing glass of water!
ReplyDeleteSurely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
ReplyDelete