I'm kind of a wordnut. Since there is no official definition for wordnut (simply because there is no such word) I will give you my own:
"one crazy about words, one who enjoys looking at definitions and origins."
Now I could call myself a wordsmith but that would make me a liar, defined as "one who lies".
Wordsmith is defined as:
>an expert in the use of words.
>or a person, as a skilled journalist or novelist, whose vocation is writing.
Even though I certainly can't take claim to the first definition of wordsmith I would love to claim the third, using my reasoning that I co-write messages and blogs for Lovely Branches Ministries. However, due to my misuse of words and phrases on many occasions, (many can attest to this) whether verbal or written, I can't even take claim to that.
So I stick to wordnut instead of wordsmith. Just because I enjoy researching the deeper meaning of words doesn't mean I'm an epxert at it, oops I mean expert.
So, where in the world is Edna going with this you may ask? If indeed you have traversed this far with me.
Commission, the Great Commission to be precise. Our main message on the Vine Press page, "Ready, Set, GO" was about our call to the Great Commission from Matthew 28:
‘Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’
No, you will not find the word commission in this profound command from Jesus but you have the principle of commission written all over it.
Below are a few of my thoughts (in green) when I looked up the definition of commission at merriamwebster.com (in blue).
Origin - Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin commission-, commissio act of bringing together, from committere. First Known Use: 14th century
As true followers of Christ we, together with Christ, are on a mission to disciple (train in truth) others, so that they might be fully equipped to follow Him themselves. As mentioned in the Ready, Set GO message it might be referred to as the Great Co-Mission. This is no solo mission, sweet sister. It is one we do in and through Christ.
A task or matter entrusted to one as an agent for another;
Gotta love that word entrusted. ;0) Paul in 2 Timothy 1:14 tells young Timothy, "Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in you."
That word entrusted in the Greek is "paratheke" meaning a deposit, a trust or thing consigned to one’s faithful keeping; used of the correct knowledge and pure doctrine of the gospel, to be held firmly and faithfully, and to be conscientiously delivered unto others.
As a follower of Jesus Christ you too have been entrusted with the truths of God's Word. And like Paul and Timothy you are called or commissioned to pass them on to others.
a fee paid to an agent performing a service;
You might be scratching your head on this one. "God doesn't pay us" you might say, "for performing a service for Him." I beg to differ my dear friend. Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." That word rewarder (in the Greek once again) is "misthapodotes" meaning one who pays wages, a rewarder.
Oh my Goodness! (Here's where the wordnut in me starts to really come out.) God truly does pay us, spiritually speaking, when we perform a service for His kingdom. We know it as a blessing. When we are obedient God blesses our obedience. Let me give you a personal example from yesterday. (I will make this short since I've already used more words then I should be
allowed to use.)
I started my morning with God leading me to Isaiah 6 where Isaiah is approached by God in a vision. God asks Isaiah, in simple terms, "Who will go on my behalf to do my work?" After much trembling and repentance Isaiah says to God, again in simple terms, "I'm the guy. Send me."
This passage, coming on the heals of the the Ready, Set, GO, message sent me to prayer. "God help me to be faithful like Isaiah. Show me those I can minister to." Not necessarily an easy prayer to pray for you never know where God might lead you. But just the same I was compelled by the Holy Spirit to pray it, with much trepidation.
Fast forward a few hours. I'm in a Hutchinson book store aisle looking for a book when a young woman next to me asked about Frances Chan and his book "Crazy Love." At which point I got excited about her interest in this book. (Go to crazylovebook.com and see why.) I eagerly tried to help her find it. Another gal in the same aisle heard our conversation and responded with "I got that book for Christmas. Is it good?" I responded "Oh my goodness. Is it good!?!" Thus, what ensued was a conversation that started about Frances but quickly led to talking about God and His Word. As one of the gal's mom joined us I found myself encouraging these sisters in Christ in various ways. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a quiet person, yet in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Edna, you might need to tone this down a bit. Not everyone in the store is a believer. They might boot you out of here." I considered that was probably my flesh speaking. And yet there was another voice who encouraged me to be faithful at all costs. That was probably the Holy Spirit speaking. ( I have to admit I am more prone to obeying my flesh voice instead of the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.) However this time I obeyed and I walked away rewarded.
By that God orchestrated encounter I felt God's good pleasure for being faithful to encourage these women. I felt rewarded by the blessing of their desire to know God at a deeper level and especially blessed by these new relationships with other sisters in Christ. (Kala, Elizabeth and Sarah, email me. Next time we will find a cozy little table and sip some coffee while we visit, instead of standing in the aisles.)
So, now I encourage you, the one reading this blog. If you have trusted Christ with your heart, soul and life then know you have been entrusted with His truths. And as His agent, together with His Spirit, you have been commissioned to go on His behalf. Imagine the rewards and blessings you'll receive, just for being faithful.
posted by Edna
Who Is Jesus, Really? Check out the video below by David Nasser entitled "Why Jesus?". If interested in joining our study starting January 20th go to the Rooted & Grounded page at lovelybranchesministries.org for all the details.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Know Thyself
As we close this study out let's take a look at a few key words from our lesson this week:
HEART (pg 91) Proverbs 4:23 says
"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life."NASB
I especially like it in the New Living Translation:
"Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life."
We learned early on in this study that the "heart is desperately wicked, hard to understand." but there is so much more to this thing called the "heart" of inner man.
Jerry Bridges in The Pursuit of Holiness describes the heart this way:
Heart in scripture is used in various ways. Sometimes it means our reason or understanding, sometimes our affections and emotions, and sometimes our will. Generally it denotes the whole soul of man and all its faculties, not individually, but as they work together in doing good or evil. The mind as it reasons, discerns, and judges; the emotions as they like or dislike; the conscience as it determines and warns and the will as it chooses or refuses - are all together called the heart.
So this whole of inner man is desperately wicked, and yes very hard to understand because it encompasses absolutely everything about you, your thought processing, your emotions, your will. It's all wrapped up in this thing we call the "heart".
And yet God has been gracious not to leave our hearts in this condition of desperate wickedness.
Ezekiel 36:26 states, "Moreover I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove your heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."'NASB
Acts 15:8-9 "God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith." NLT
Romans 10:8-10“The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart. And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. NLT
Our hearts, by faith in God's good grace, through Christ's work at the cross and the grave can be made new. Now that deserves a great big THANK YOU JESUS!!!!
Of course, once these hearts of ours have been made new we easily find out they still have tendencies to stray. God is in the process of transforming these hearts of ours from the moment we give the whole of our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ to the day we stand before Him in heaven. So in this transforming process we are encouraged to "watch over our hearts" which leads us to our second word.
STEWARD (pg 92) We are called to be good stewards of these hearts of ours. We read from our study that the word steward comes from the old English word "ward", keeping charge of something and "sty" meaning pigsty. Seems quite appropriate when you consider some of the yucky emotions that flow from these hearts of ours. I like how Proverbs 4:23 says to "guard" our hearts. it means to protect it, to protect the treasure of God's word which has been planted in you. We can easily hear Paul's words to us which he also stated to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20, "Guard that which has been entrusted to you."
That takes us to the next word CHOOSE (pg 93, #2). For in guarding we are choosing. Every time a negative emotion threatens to take you down for the umpteenth time you can choose to go back to God's word, the only place of absolute, unadulterated truth. We sometimes prefer to let ourselves seep slowly into the pit of emotional nothingness but we know there is no joy, peace or hope there. Run to His Word sweet sister, to get God's voice of trust. You may have to run there over and over and over again before you sense God's peace and strength but don't give up. God's word makes it clear in the New Testament that perseverance is absolutely necessary in getting through our short lives here on earth. We've heard it said many times, "life is hard". For that very reason we need to cling to that which gets us through. At the end of this long race called life is our God waiting with open arms. Until then choose to persevere.
DEPEND is our next word (pg 93, #4). For when you are choosing to run to God you are learning to depend on Him, to trust Him. Colossians 1:29 tells us "For this purpose also I labor, striving according to his power, which mightily works within me." To some degree this seems contradictory - I need to depend on His power and yet I am striving. I can't tell you that I comprehend this verse completely in its complexity but I can tell you that when I look at it in light of our emotional struggles I come up with this: Depending on God is sometimes extremely difficult. When I am in the middle of an emotional funk it takes effort on my part to get up off my lazy spiritual behind and seek Him. My will is involved here as God's power pushes me toward Him and His word, to rest at His feet and allow the "power which so mightily works in me" to begin to take hold of my emotions. God does His part but there is a part we play as our wills need to be surrendered to Him in our day by day emotional struggles.
Question 4, page 94 asks why has God given us these "muddled emotions." First we have to understand that when man was first created in the garden his emotions were pure and undefiled, until sin crept in for the very first time. Sin corrupted a beautiful and perfect inner man, a perfect heart. So our emotions are first and foremost effected by our sinful nature. Throw in the deceptive culture around us and the lies of an enemy of your soul and our emotions become "muddled". In fact, sometimes they are downright maddening. However, it is in the amazing gift of our emotions mixed with faith that we truly understand God's love for us. Let's close with this descriptive passage from Ephesians 3:14-21, the New Living Translation. Do more than just read these words. Meditate on them, sweet sister. Let them seep deep into that emotional heart of yours. In no time your heart will be singing His praises.
When I think of all this,
I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources
he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ,
though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power
that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus
through all generations forever and ever!
Amen.
HEART (pg 91) Proverbs 4:23 says
"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life."NASB
I especially like it in the New Living Translation:
"Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life."
We learned early on in this study that the "heart is desperately wicked, hard to understand." but there is so much more to this thing called the "heart" of inner man.
Jerry Bridges in The Pursuit of Holiness describes the heart this way:
Heart in scripture is used in various ways. Sometimes it means our reason or understanding, sometimes our affections and emotions, and sometimes our will. Generally it denotes the whole soul of man and all its faculties, not individually, but as they work together in doing good or evil. The mind as it reasons, discerns, and judges; the emotions as they like or dislike; the conscience as it determines and warns and the will as it chooses or refuses - are all together called the heart.
So this whole of inner man is desperately wicked, and yes very hard to understand because it encompasses absolutely everything about you, your thought processing, your emotions, your will. It's all wrapped up in this thing we call the "heart".
And yet God has been gracious not to leave our hearts in this condition of desperate wickedness.
Ezekiel 36:26 states, "Moreover I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove your heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."'NASB
Acts 15:8-9 "God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith." NLT
Romans 10:8-10“The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart. And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. NLT
Our hearts, by faith in God's good grace, through Christ's work at the cross and the grave can be made new. Now that deserves a great big THANK YOU JESUS!!!!
Of course, once these hearts of ours have been made new we easily find out they still have tendencies to stray. God is in the process of transforming these hearts of ours from the moment we give the whole of our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ to the day we stand before Him in heaven. So in this transforming process we are encouraged to "watch over our hearts" which leads us to our second word.
STEWARD (pg 92) We are called to be good stewards of these hearts of ours. We read from our study that the word steward comes from the old English word "ward", keeping charge of something and "sty" meaning pigsty. Seems quite appropriate when you consider some of the yucky emotions that flow from these hearts of ours. I like how Proverbs 4:23 says to "guard" our hearts. it means to protect it, to protect the treasure of God's word which has been planted in you. We can easily hear Paul's words to us which he also stated to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20, "Guard that which has been entrusted to you."
That takes us to the next word CHOOSE (pg 93, #2). For in guarding we are choosing. Every time a negative emotion threatens to take you down for the umpteenth time you can choose to go back to God's word, the only place of absolute, unadulterated truth. We sometimes prefer to let ourselves seep slowly into the pit of emotional nothingness but we know there is no joy, peace or hope there. Run to His Word sweet sister, to get God's voice of trust. You may have to run there over and over and over again before you sense God's peace and strength but don't give up. God's word makes it clear in the New Testament that perseverance is absolutely necessary in getting through our short lives here on earth. We've heard it said many times, "life is hard". For that very reason we need to cling to that which gets us through. At the end of this long race called life is our God waiting with open arms. Until then choose to persevere.
DEPEND is our next word (pg 93, #4). For when you are choosing to run to God you are learning to depend on Him, to trust Him. Colossians 1:29 tells us "For this purpose also I labor, striving according to his power, which mightily works within me." To some degree this seems contradictory - I need to depend on His power and yet I am striving. I can't tell you that I comprehend this verse completely in its complexity but I can tell you that when I look at it in light of our emotional struggles I come up with this: Depending on God is sometimes extremely difficult. When I am in the middle of an emotional funk it takes effort on my part to get up off my lazy spiritual behind and seek Him. My will is involved here as God's power pushes me toward Him and His word, to rest at His feet and allow the "power which so mightily works in me" to begin to take hold of my emotions. God does His part but there is a part we play as our wills need to be surrendered to Him in our day by day emotional struggles.
Question 4, page 94 asks why has God given us these "muddled emotions." First we have to understand that when man was first created in the garden his emotions were pure and undefiled, until sin crept in for the very first time. Sin corrupted a beautiful and perfect inner man, a perfect heart. So our emotions are first and foremost effected by our sinful nature. Throw in the deceptive culture around us and the lies of an enemy of your soul and our emotions become "muddled". In fact, sometimes they are downright maddening. However, it is in the amazing gift of our emotions mixed with faith that we truly understand God's love for us. Let's close with this descriptive passage from Ephesians 3:14-21, the New Living Translation. Do more than just read these words. Meditate on them, sweet sister. Let them seep deep into that emotional heart of yours. In no time your heart will be singing His praises.
When I think of all this,
I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources
he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
May you experience the love of Christ,
though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power
that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus
through all generations forever and ever!
Amen.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Mixed Up Emotions
Sheep, one of many, many animals God created. And out of all those He created he chose to use the sheep to compare His children to. Because our study this past week focused so much on us being God's sheep and Jesus being our Shepherd I googled "characteristics of sheep". What I found from Answers.com was quite telling. This animal is pretty wacky in its behavior and as the ladies from both the morning and evening class looked over the list they found it quite easy to see the similarities. See what they shared (in red) next to the characteristics in gray:
They are of a gregarious nature...meaning they love to be with the herd, they are herbivores. Sheep must have a leader (shepherd) and must be told what to do and where to go, other wise they'll wander off and get lost.
1. timid, fearful, easily panicked [We have a tendency to let things frighten us quite easily.]
2. dumb stupid, gullible [We are quite easily swayed by the wrong things.]
3. very vulnerable to fear, frustration, pests, hunger [We are weak and are easily discontented or troubled.]
4. easily influenced by a leader, by the shepherd [A pastor's (earthly shepherd) words are held in high regard which is why we need to be discerning about their words, are they biblical or not.]
5. stampede easily, vulnerable to mob psychology [We have a tendency to go with the crowd, even if the crowd is not going the right direction. Again we need discernment.]
6. little or no means of self-defense; can only run [Our only defense against the forces of evil is the Holy Spirit. There is no "self" defense, only "Christ" defense.]
7. easily killed by enemies [Again susceptible to enemy attacks which as a Christan can be quite prevalent because we belong too Christ.]
8. the shepherd is most effective, calming influence [We know our Savior's tender calming voice and its influence on us in difficult times brings peace.]
9. jealous, competitive for dominance [Even God's children can get caught up in competition within the church. This is pride and we know how God feels about that.]
10. constantly need fresh water, fresh pasture [Our need for God's Word through His Spirit is constant. It is what we should thirst and hunger for.]
11. have very little discernment in choosing food or water [Again we are easily swayed if we aren't grounded in what His Word is. We can sometimes choose things that are not necessarily spiritually healthy for us.]
12. best water source is early morning dew [Early morning time is best time to spend time with God. As a side note: several gals mentioned their quiet times with the Lord are either during kids nap time or later in the evening. It was agreed that God will and does arrange our times with Him depending on where we are in our lives. What's important is that we are at least getting some intimate fellowship with Him in His word at some point in our day.]
13. perverse, stubborn - will insist on their own way , even eating poisonous
plants or drinking dirty water [Yahh. This would be God's children. No need to say more.]
14. easily "cast" - flipped over on their back, unable to right themselves
will die of starvation if not turned over by shepherd; helpless [Only our Shepherd can get us back on our feet when we've been knocked down.]
15. frequently look for easy places to rest [We like the comfortable life.]
16. don't like to be sheared, cleaned [A good spiritual scrubbing is uncomfortable and sometimes painful but necessary and beneficial.]
17. too much wool can cause sheep to be easily "cast" [When we carry the burdens of life instead of giving them to God we can be easily brought down by the enemy.]
18. creatures of habit; get into "ruts" [We are very easily stuck in our own ways and old traditions and sometimes are not willing to step out of those old ways to follow Christ.]
19. need the most care of all livestock [We require a lot of upkeep. God is such a God of grace for He never pushes us aside. He always cares for us.]
20. need to be "on the move"; need a pre-determined plan, pattern of grazing [We get accustomed to our to do lists and daily agendas. God has a way of taking us out of our comfort zones by bringing unexpected events into our lives.]
21. totally dependent of shepherd for every need [Whether we know it or not we are dependent on God for absolutely everything. And I do mean everything.]
22. need "rod and staff" guidance [We definitely need God's gentle but firm prodding to get us to move and when we stray He gently uses the crook of Hi s staff (hand of reproof and discipline) to bring us back. Again a God of grace.]
So little lamb, did you find yourself anywhere in that list of characteristics? I sure did. Look at the verses below, which you will also find on page 85, #3 to see God's perspective:
Isaiah 53:6
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
Jeremiah 23:4
Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord have spoken!
Jeremiah 50:6
My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray
and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.
Psalm 100 was not mentioned on Thursday but it is one that keeps coming back to me since this study:
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
What a great picture of our Good Shepherd, the One who protects, guides, watches over, provides and supplies all our needs. He could easily cast us aside and yet does not. His grace is awesome and we should do as the psalmist does above, be reminded of how good God is to us, even in our all our mixed up ways.
We finished our study focusing on Psalm 119 (page 85, #4) Take the time to read through that this coming week. Yes, it is long, really long. But worth a thorough going over. You will see that the psalmist deals with lots of personal emotional issues and yet at every turn he always brings himself back to his personal anchor - the Word of God. Sometimes classifying it as statutes, commandments, precepts or testimonies, his point is clear - God's Word is his foundation, his treasure of life.
As emotionally mixed up sheep we can rest assured when life throws us a few curve balls that our Shepherd's Word to us is our anchor. Like the Psalmist let's seek to also make it our treasure. Now that's not a baaaad idea. (I just couldn't resist.)
They are of a gregarious nature...meaning they love to be with the herd, they are herbivores. Sheep must have a leader (shepherd) and must be told what to do and where to go, other wise they'll wander off and get lost.
1. timid, fearful, easily panicked [We have a tendency to let things frighten us quite easily.]
2. dumb stupid, gullible [We are quite easily swayed by the wrong things.]
3. very vulnerable to fear, frustration, pests, hunger [We are weak and are easily discontented or troubled.]
4. easily influenced by a leader, by the shepherd [A pastor's (earthly shepherd) words are held in high regard which is why we need to be discerning about their words, are they biblical or not.]
5. stampede easily, vulnerable to mob psychology [We have a tendency to go with the crowd, even if the crowd is not going the right direction. Again we need discernment.]
6. little or no means of self-defense; can only run [Our only defense against the forces of evil is the Holy Spirit. There is no "self" defense, only "Christ" defense.]
7. easily killed by enemies [Again susceptible to enemy attacks which as a Christan can be quite prevalent because we belong too Christ.]
8. the shepherd is most effective, calming influence [We know our Savior's tender calming voice and its influence on us in difficult times brings peace.]
9. jealous, competitive for dominance [Even God's children can get caught up in competition within the church. This is pride and we know how God feels about that.]
10. constantly need fresh water, fresh pasture [Our need for God's Word through His Spirit is constant. It is what we should thirst and hunger for.]
11. have very little discernment in choosing food or water [Again we are easily swayed if we aren't grounded in what His Word is. We can sometimes choose things that are not necessarily spiritually healthy for us.]
12. best water source is early morning dew [Early morning time is best time to spend time with God. As a side note: several gals mentioned their quiet times with the Lord are either during kids nap time or later in the evening. It was agreed that God will and does arrange our times with Him depending on where we are in our lives. What's important is that we are at least getting some intimate fellowship with Him in His word at some point in our day.]
13. perverse, stubborn - will insist on their own way , even eating poisonous
plants or drinking dirty water [Yahh. This would be God's children. No need to say more.]
14. easily "cast" - flipped over on their back, unable to right themselves
will die of starvation if not turned over by shepherd; helpless [Only our Shepherd can get us back on our feet when we've been knocked down.]
15. frequently look for easy places to rest [We like the comfortable life.]
16. don't like to be sheared, cleaned [A good spiritual scrubbing is uncomfortable and sometimes painful but necessary and beneficial.]
17. too much wool can cause sheep to be easily "cast" [When we carry the burdens of life instead of giving them to God we can be easily brought down by the enemy.]
18. creatures of habit; get into "ruts" [We are very easily stuck in our own ways and old traditions and sometimes are not willing to step out of those old ways to follow Christ.]
19. need the most care of all livestock [We require a lot of upkeep. God is such a God of grace for He never pushes us aside. He always cares for us.]
20. need to be "on the move"; need a pre-determined plan, pattern of grazing [We get accustomed to our to do lists and daily agendas. God has a way of taking us out of our comfort zones by bringing unexpected events into our lives.]
21. totally dependent of shepherd for every need [Whether we know it or not we are dependent on God for absolutely everything. And I do mean everything.]
22. need "rod and staff" guidance [We definitely need God's gentle but firm prodding to get us to move and when we stray He gently uses the crook of Hi s staff (hand of reproof and discipline) to bring us back. Again a God of grace.]
So little lamb, did you find yourself anywhere in that list of characteristics? I sure did. Look at the verses below, which you will also find on page 85, #3 to see God's perspective:
Isaiah 53:6
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
Jeremiah 23:4
Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord have spoken!
Jeremiah 50:6
My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray
and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.
Psalm 100 was not mentioned on Thursday but it is one that keeps coming back to me since this study:
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
What a great picture of our Good Shepherd, the One who protects, guides, watches over, provides and supplies all our needs. He could easily cast us aside and yet does not. His grace is awesome and we should do as the psalmist does above, be reminded of how good God is to us, even in our all our mixed up ways.
We finished our study focusing on Psalm 119 (page 85, #4) Take the time to read through that this coming week. Yes, it is long, really long. But worth a thorough going over. You will see that the psalmist deals with lots of personal emotional issues and yet at every turn he always brings himself back to his personal anchor - the Word of God. Sometimes classifying it as statutes, commandments, precepts or testimonies, his point is clear - God's Word is his foundation, his treasure of life.
As emotionally mixed up sheep we can rest assured when life throws us a few curve balls that our Shepherd's Word to us is our anchor. Like the Psalmist let's seek to also make it our treasure. Now that's not a baaaad idea. (I just couldn't resist.)
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