My Shepherd

 Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The familiar Psalm is a favorite for many. It is a Psalm of comfort and reassurance. Jesus is the good Shepherd that will give us peace during troubled times. In this life there will be trials and tribulations. Trouble times will come, and storms are inevitable. Sorrow and suffering come to all who live, the just and unjust. But those who have put their trust in the Shepherd have been given the promise of peace. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me.” When we find ourselves going through the valley of despair, He is there to lead us and walk beside us. We are prone to fear and fret about tomorrow because it is our human makeup to stress and worry about “What if.” But the Holy Spirit gives us the strength and power to lean on Jesus and let Him direct our paths. I find comfort in the song written by Bill Gaither, “Gentle Shepherd.” For there is no other we can turn to show us the way and give us peace and comfort. 

Gentle shepherd come and lead us.
 For we need you to help us find our way
Gentle shepherd come and feed us
For we need your strength from day to day
There's no other we can turn to
Who can help us face another day
Gentle shepherd come and lead us
For we need You to help us find our way

Suffering

2 Corinth 1:7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

To suffer, means to experience pain and loss. The pain may be physical, emotional, or even mental. The loss may be due to evil demised, unfortunate events, or the death of a loved one. Christian are not exempt from suffering. Sin has scared this world of all that his pure and good. The consolation of Christian is that God give the grace help us endure the suffering we bare. And through suffering we are able to emphasized with those who also suffer, and give them comfort. When bad things (suffering) happen to good people, it is an opportunity for lovers of God to show forth God’s love and goodness. God is good and He does all things in His time and for His purpose. Like Job, who am I to question the almighty and His ways. Accepting suffering is not easy, but it is what God desires. Yes, we are encourage to ask God to relieve us of our suffering, and He is able. But, ultimately, like the 3 Hebrew children that were thrown into the fiery furnace. It it be God’s will, He can and will bring us through our suffering. 

The Comfort of God

2 Corinth 1:4 “who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.”

God gives that we may pass on the blessings He gives us. In times of difficulties and hard places, God Comforts us extending His love and care. His love reaches us and give us peace in times of trails and sadness. Life is filled with things that go wrong and we find ourselves alone with our problems. But God, who sees our despair and our heart ache comes to us in ways that are beyond comprehension. His desire is that we would extent this comfort to others in their pain and suffering. As part of the body of Christ, we reach out to each other and also reach out to those who need the Lord. Those who are going trough trouble waters and difficult times. Showing comfort to others is just often a kind word, financial aid, being there to led a ear, and of coarse, praying for them. God cares when we hurt and He care when other hurt. We live in a hurting world that needs the comfort of God.

Life is Tough At Times

Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”-

Life is tough at times. We have valleys of discouragement, mountains of problems, roads of confusion, and places where life is unpleasant. Facing life head on and trying to overcome the tough times is not easy. Sin had brought about some of these rough times. Living to satisfy the desires of the carnal flesh most often ends in destruction. The wages of sin is death and the way of the transgressor is hard. But for those who are doing their best to serve God and live according to His Word, life still happens and problems are just as real. As a children of God, and one that belongs to God, we can be comforted in knowing that God cares and has promise to make a way through the tough times in life. If there is sin in our lives, He wants us to confess them and trust the blood of Christ for forgiveness. If we are living in obedience to Him, He wants us to commit the things that happen in life to Him. He will bring us out of our discouragement, our problems will seem as mountain hill when He is in control, we can walk with confidence that we are following the right road, and in the rough places, He will bring joy and contentment. 

The Lord is Thy Shade

Psalm 21:5 “ The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.”-

In the shade, we are protected by scorching rays and the heat of the sun. There are days that the sun beams down hot on our face as we step outside our homes. In Colorado, if you can get to a tree that provide sufficient shade, one can be outside comfortably. A breeze often will come by, and being in the shade it cools the body with comfort. The Lord has promise to be our shade when things get unbearable. The trails and temptations that scorn us each day can be intense and wear us down. The hand of God covers us in times of hardship and shades us from the attack of the enemy. He is our keeper and will keep us from being scorn by things that will cause us to quit. We can keep working and living for God knowing that He is our keeper and will shade us with His hand of protection.

Broken Hearts

Psalm 34:15,18 “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,...”-

Having a broken heart can happen to anyone. Our hearts can break when we lose someone that is close to us. Hearts our broken when a relationship does not work out. Seeing those that are close to us going through a difficult time can also cause our hearts to break. Then our hearts can be broken when we see others who are lost or have lost their way spiritually. It is hard to know what to say when we see hearts broken. Most of the time it is best to say very little and be there to listen and pray that God will bring comfort. This is especially true when it come to losing a loved one or the breaking up of a relationship. Just being there to show support and to let them know that they are not alone in their sorrow. God is the master of healing broken hearts. He knows what others are facing and how to bring comfort. His eyes look on those who love and serve Him and He desire to listen to the cry of the heart that He may show His loving kindness. God is not the author of hurt, but is the author of healing. To the heart that cries out to Him, God will not turn away. In time of grieving and sorrow, we can ask God to be the comfort of all comforts to those we grieve with, and if we find that we are suffering from a broken heart, may we flee the place of refuge and cry to Him that He may draw near to heal the heart that is broken.

Comforted and Established

May 25^th, 2008

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

There are many who start out the race who do not finish. They are hindered from finishing for many reasons. Paul is concern that these new born in Christ become established in Christ. He knows that there will be obstacles that they will face that may cause them to turn back to their former ways. It is important that a new Christian be disciple and instructed in the Truth of God’s way. For those who are establish in God, must continue to increase in love toward the love of Christ and others.

News from Abroad

• Sends Timothy
• The comfort in knowing
• Staying informed

New Converts

• Babes in Christ need nourishment
• Guided in doctrine
• Instructed in proper conduct
• Grow increase in God- draw nigh to God

Never Turn Back

• Admonition to press on
• Don’t quit when the roads gets tough
• Suffering and afflictions will come
• Satan will attempt to discourage

Need for Fellowship

• Desire to be with God’s people
• Forsake not the Assembly
• Sharing each others burdens

Night and Day Praying

• The importance of daily devotion
• Prayer time- mediation- study
• Thanksgiving and praise

Nature of the Heart

• To increase in Love toward God and other
• Establish our heart to live blameless and Holy
• Only the pure in heart will be ready for His coming