I Shall Not Want

November 20, 2009 at 1:07 pm (God Concept, Grace Insights)

In the 23rd Psalm, the Phrase, ”I Shall Not Want”….. have you ever given that phrase much thought?  I must admit that I have thought about it some but maybe not to the degree that I should have.  In my study on the 23rd Psalm I have found some intriguing things that I would like to share with you.

The Word “want” here actually has a broader meaning than one might imagine.  No doubt the main concept is that of not lacking but can we really know what David was referring to here as he was a shepherd of sheep for many years as well.  It was discovered here that a broader meaning is that of being utterly contented in the Good Shepherd’s care and consequently not craving or desiring anything more.

We can be sure that David was not really speaking of a materialistic or financial means because we find him experiencing extreme, intense personal poverty and acute hardship and adversity at times in his life.  One would recall as David was on the run from Saul in his early years and again as being estranged and on the run from his own son Absalom.  Just recently in the Ladies Bible study that I teach on Wednesday mornings we looked at the passage in Revelation 3.  We focused in on Rev. 3:17 that states, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’  But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”  Wow…there is it in Scripture that we can posses all that this world affords us physically, materialistically, socially, and relational and I can still be wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked in a spiritual sense.  When these attributes characterize my spiritual life, my fascination and excitement with these earthly things will fail me and I will not be able to find peace and contentment deep within me even though all manner of things that this world can give me are scattered about in front of me.

So what exactly does he mean here?  I think David could be saying here, “I shall not want or lack the expert care and management of my Master.”  Who is your master?  Jesus himself even said that it is impossible to serve two master’s.  We will hate one and love the other.  It is important to understand who our master is and the significance of belonging to that master or shepherd.  One is a Good Shepherd and the other is an imposter.  The imposter cares nothing for his flock.  Because he doesn’t love and care for the sheep, they are weak, thin, impoverished, malnourished and sickly.  They are riddled with ticks, parasites, disease, and filth.  The imposter abandon’s them and leaves them to fend for themselves.  The imposter that I am speaking of here is our enemy Satan.  You know you belong to either him or Christ.  We are either children of darkness or children of Light, children of a scandalous imposter or children of the King….and the only thing scandalous about our King is His great affection and love for us.  There are no boundaries that will prevent Him from being all that a Good Shepherd is for us.  The Sheep under His care and management will never want or lack any good thing.

If you and I can entrust ourselves to Christ’s control and management we will find there a radiant, serene and joyous confidence and quiet joy that surmounts all the tragedies of our time.  We will find that contentment we long so for.  Which, incidently….Contentment should be the hallmark of the man or woman who has put his or her affairs in the hands of God.  The paradox we see though in our society is the intense fever of discontent among people who are ever speaking of security.  The very thing that they pursue with all their might believing that it will be the thing that provides security for them is the very thing that can be sucked right out from underneath them in a heartbeat.  My friend, Christ – the Good Shepherd is the only sure foundation upon which to build ones life.  Spend your energies, time, and resources pursing Him and He will fill you and you will never want again.

John 4:13-14 “Jesus replied, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water.  But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether.  It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.” NLT

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The LORD Is My Shepherd

November 13, 2009 at 2:02 pm (God Concept)

Who is your LORD?  Who do you worship or serve?  Do you know Him personally?  Do you fellowship with Him often?  How do you perceive Him?  Do you know anything about His character, His attributes, His Ways?  My LORD is Jesus Christ.  He is my Shepherd and a very good one too! 

Sometimes our view of Jesus is often too small, too cramped, too provincial, too human.  And because it is, we feel unwilling to allow Him to have authority or control – much less outright ownership of our lives.  We lack in trusting Him and being able to experience a walk of faith that we are called to because we don’t know who He is.  When looking at sheep management, the lot in life of any particular sheep depended on the type of man who owned it.  Some were gentle, kind intelligent, brave, and selfless in their devotion to their stock.  Under one management sheep would struggle, starve, and suffer endless hardship.  In another’s care they would flourish and thrive contentedly.  Under God’s care He invites me to consider myself His sheep – His special object of affection and attention. 

The relationships given to us to communicate how we are to relate to our Heavenly Father are that of a father and his children and of a Shepherd and his sheep.  These concepts were first conceived in the mind of God our Father.  They were made possible and practical through the work of Christ.  They are confirmed and made real in me and you through the agency of the Holy Spirit.

You and I were bought with a high price.  Not only did He create me but He bought me again at the incredible price of His own laid down life and shed blood.  Therefore He was entitled to say, “I am the good Shepherd.  The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”  I belong to Him simple because He deliberately chose to create me as in the object of his own affection.  he literally lays Himself out for us continually.  He is ever interceeding for us; He is ever guiding us by His gracious Spirit; He is ever working on our behalf to ensure that we will benefit from His care.

An interesting mark of sheep is that they don’t “just take care of themselves” as some might suppose.  They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care.  It is no accident that God has chosen to call us sheep.  The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways.  Our mass mind or mob instincts, our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance.  Yet despite these adverse characteristics Christ chooses us, buys us, calls us by name, makes us His own, and delights in caring for us.

If you know anything about real, live sheep management, you know that each shepherd has his own distinctive earmark which he cuts into one of the ears of his sheep.  In this way, even at a distance, it is easy to determine to whom the sheep belongs.  It is not the most pleasant procedure to catch each ewe in turn and lay her ear on a wooden block, then notch it deeply with the razor-sharp edge of the knife.  There was pain for both sheep and shepherd.  But from the mutual suffering an indelible lifelong mark of ownership was made that could never be erased.  And from then on every sheep that comes into that shepherd’s possession would bear that shepherd’s mark. 

There is an exciting parallel to this in the Old Testament.  When a slave in any Hebrew household chose, of his own free will, to become a lifetime member of that home, he was subjected to a certain ritual.  His master and owner would take him to his door, put his ear lobe against the door post and with an awl puncture a hole through the ear.  For then on he was a man marked for life as belonging to that house.  For the man or woman who recognizes the claim of Christ and gives allegiance to His absolute ownership, there comes the question of bearing His mark.  The mark of the cross is that which should identify us with Him for all time.  The question is – does it?

Jesus made it clear when he stated emphatically, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  Basically, A person exchanges the fickle fortunes of living life by sheer whimsy for the more productive and satisfying adventure of being guided by God.

Can you say as David did, “The Lord is my Shepherd!”  Are you thrilled to belong to Him?  It is then that we flourish and thrive no matter what life my bring to us.  Get to know your Good Shepherd!

Dana

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My Secure Source

October 16, 2009 at 12:42 pm (Our Faith Journey)

This week I have fought some discouragement.  I know we are going to face it but I was not prepared for it and really was not focused on it until my husband started asking me some questions about it.  All the sudden it became my complete focus.  It started to monopolize  the rest of my week.  I knew that first off I needed to get some time alone and figure out what I was believing about myself in the midst of the situation.  Upon doing that God had another divine appointment for me.  At the last minute Tony and I ended up going to lunch with a friend of ours on Thursday that is also in ministry.  I did not say a whole lot about my discouragement until briefly mentioning it at the end of our time together.  He asked me a very good “Why” questions that really got me to thinking and based on my response it revealed to me what I was looking to for security.  God began to confirm in my spirit what I had been sensing Him to be saying the last several weeks to me.  What I need is Him – time with Him – focusing on Him – being with Him – Abiding in Him – Depending on Him.  That is the message of what we teach here is that we are to “exchange our life for Christ’s life, our strength for His strength”.  I am to seek to remember Christ is my life!

Psalm 62:1-2 “My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation.  He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.” NASB

vs. 5-8 “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.  He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.  On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.  Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” NASB

Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you.  My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.  I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.  Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you!  I will honor you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.  You satisfy me more than the richest of foods.  I will praise you with songs of joy.” NLT

vs. 8  ”I follow close behind you; your strong right hand holds me securely.” NLT

Lamentations 3:21-26 “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.  The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.  ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in Him.”  The LORD is good to those who wait fro Him, To the person who seeks Him.  It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD.” NASB

Dana

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The Work of Grace

October 7, 2009 at 2:33 pm (Grace Insights)

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,”

~Titus 2:11-12

Grace is much more than forgiveness for our sin.  It is what teaches us not to sin in the first place.  I have struggled with letting go of my incredibly legalistic way of living (my brand of flesh) because I’m afraid that if I don’t follow the rules, my life will begin to spin out of control.  I think this may be a common fear that keeps many people trapped in legalism.  We’re afraid that if we focus too much on grace, we’ll end up sinning more.  But the Truth is actually the opposite of what we think.  It’s the law that urges us to sin (Romans 7) and grace that teaches us not to.  Living by grace gets our self-effort in doing the right thing out of the way so that the Holy Spirit can produce His fruit in us–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Rebecca :-)

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Listening Under The New Covenant

October 2, 2009 at 1:41 pm (Prayer & Praise)

I Corinthians 2:9-14 “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”  But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit.  For the Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.  No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.  And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.  When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom.  Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain truths.  But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit.  It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. ”

I Corinthians 2:16b “But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”

A wonderful aspect of living under the New Covenant of God’s Grace is that we have the priviledge of fellowship and union with Christ.  Part of that fellowship and union is being able to hear God speak to us.  Yes, He speaks!  We often miss it due to our busy lifestyles or our impure motives etc… But I am learning if we stop, take time to listen and be still, He speaks!

Under the New Covenant we now can receive wisdom from the Spirit because we now have the Spirit of the living God within us to talk to us and guide us.  The Holy Spirit is the key to everything in a believer’s life!  I think the enemy of our souls does everything in his power to cause us to miss this because it offers such a vital link to victory.  Because no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God and we have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit of God inside us.  So we can now understand what God has freely given us.  We literally have the mind of Christ so we can know God’s thoughts and heart on an issue/decision.  This is marvelous news!!

Dana

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The Evidence of A True Believer Part 3

July 30, 2009 at 2:35 pm (Prayer & Praise)

Sorry I have been away for awhile.  Here is the next part of “The Evidence of A True Believer Part 3 and I have listed the first four points that we have already discussed so far for you:

1.  True Believers believe that Jesus is the Christ.  I John 5:1

2.  True Believers will live in the light as Jesus is in the light.  I John 1:5-7

3.   True Believers have a deep since of their sinfulness.  I John 1:8

4.  True Believers will keep His Commandments.  I John 2:1-2

Now for number 5….

5.  True believers will have a geniune love for others.  I John 2:7-11 

If anyone claims to live in the light yet hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.  In the NLT the end of verse 11 says that, “such a person is lost, having been blinded by the darkness.”  On over in chapter 4 of I John verses 7–8 say, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.  Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  But anyone who does not love does not know God-for God is love.”  Chapter 4 in I John comes right out and tells us what “real love” is…..have you ever thought about it?  Verse 9 confirms that God showed us how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him.  We did not love God first but He loved us while we were unlovely, while we were yet sinners as Romans 5:8 says.  Real love is not what Hollywood promotes but real love is that God loved us and sent His only Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  Obviously this is our standard to love others but we must remember that we can’t do it in our own strength which is why we so need to humble ourselves before our father and examine ourselves and then allow Christ to love others through us.  The last part of verse 16 is quite direct….”God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”  Now hear verses 20-21, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see how can we love God, whom we have not seen?  And God Himself has commanded that we must love not only Him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.” 

I have purposfully put all the verses in here today so that you can see clearly what the Word of God says.  This is not opinion or even a good idea, it is God’s holy Word spoken to us.  We can’t fake this one….we must have His Holy Spirit living in us and loving through us as we embrace the love that God has for us all.

I John 3:1 “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children, and we really are!”

Dana

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Proving Myself

July 17, 2009 at 9:13 am (God Concept, Identity)

For many years, I have believed the lie that  in order to be accepted, I must prove my value/worth to others by my performance/achievements/success .  Entangled with this lie was another lie, that other people must accept me in order for me to accept myself.  God spoke the truth to me recently in a very special way:  I don’t have to prove my worth because God has already created me valuable.  He is the judge, not other people.  Therefore, if God accepts me (which He does with open arms), then I can accept myself.

This morning, God gave me an opportunity to practice this newly revealed truth.  I got up late, had barely enough time to shower & dress, grabbed a frozen dinner for lunch, and ran out the door without any breakfast.  The road I normally take to work is closed this week for construction, but I forgot that, and out of habit headed that way.  When I realized what I’d done, I had to take a roundabout way to work.  I just knew I would be late, and I was stressed.  Then I remembered what God said, “You don’t have to prove anything.”  I didn’t have to prove that I was good by being on time to work.  I began to relax and slow down.  The pressure was gone.  I was believing God.  I arrived at work with 2 minutes to spare and a whole lot less stress.  Thank you, Jesus!!!!

“I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;”           ~Psalm 139:14

“to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. “            ~Ephesians 1:6

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The Evidence of A True Believer Part 2

July 13, 2009 at 5:54 pm (Grace Insights, Identity)

Well, I have had a break in posting this last week because Tony and I have been on Vacation!  We had a great time visiting with my family and enjoying a couple of days of beach time!  We had some good time to rest so I guess we are ready to get back at it.

In part 2 of our discussion of the evidence of a true believer we left off with ending chapter one and looking at point 3 that showed us that we will have a deep sense of our own sinfulness if we are true believers.  Chapter one ends with verse 10 stating, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” 

Let’s pick up with point #4 that will start us off with I John 2.

#4.  If we are true believers we will keep His commandments.  I John 2:1-2 tells of the wonderful grace that is ours through Jesus Christ being the propitiation for our sins and He is our Advocate with the Father if we sin.  How truly blessed we are in the abundance of grace that we have received.  That grace and mercy poured out on us will lead us naturally to verse 3 that says, “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.”  A true believer will welcome Jesus’ teachings into their lives and they will process that teaching and make the needed adjustments.  I John 2:4-6 says, “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in Him the love of God has truly been perfected.  By this we know that we are in Him:  the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”  I don’t know about you but that is putting it in pretty plain language for me! 

Here are some questions to ask ourselves:

*Do I obey His commandments?

*Do I tend to continue in sin without any sense of sorrow and repentance over my choices, actions and attitudes?

*Do I welcome His teachings into my life and make the proper adjustments in my lifestyle?  If not….why?  If so….How have I done this recently?

*Is there a genuine desire to walk in the same manner as Christ walked?  You can check out Phil. 2 for an idea of the manner in which Jesus walked.

* Do you sense a true humility about yourself before the Lord?

Take time to examine yourself.  This idea that if we are truly in Christ we will obey His commandments comes up several times in I John and in other places in Scripture.  If you do know Him in a personal and intimate way, you will not be able to continue in sin.  His kindness will lead you to repentance and true lifestyle change and you will not be able to continue in your sin…..not if you truly know Him.  Do you know Him today?

Dana

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The Evidence of a True Believer

July 2, 2009 at 4:16 pm (Prayer & Praise)

Hello Everyone,

As I mentioned in the previous blog, this is the first of several blogs about the evidence that will be in our lives reflecting that we are indeed children of God.  We must start here….

#1.  True believers believe that Jesus is the Christ.  I John 5:1

I don’t know that anyone could communicate it any clearer than Steve Green when he sang, “There is no other name but Jesus…”.  What a powerful message that is not very popular with the world due to it’s need to be politically correct.  Jesus himself is quoted in John 14:6 as saying that He is the way, the truth and the life.  Acts 4:12 tells us that there is no other name by which men might be saved.

#2.  If you are a true believer you will live in the light as Jesus is in the light.  I John 5-7

If we say that we are in the light, yet live in spiritual darkness we are only lying and we are not practicing the truth.  God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.  So there is going to be a difference in our lifestyle verses the world’s lifestyle.

#3.  If we are a true believer we will have a deep sense of our sinfulness.        I John 1:8

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  My friend, do you understand repentance?  Are you humbled when you look at the enormous price our Savior had to pay on behalf of your sinfulness?  I Corinthians 6:20 tells us we were bought with a price.  The price that Christ paid for our sin was one that was very, very expensive.  We are literally dead in our sins and transgressions.  We were helpless to save ourselves and doomed to spend an eternity completely separated from God.  Our state “in Adam” was a helpless state and only God could do anything about it.  Out of His deep love for us even while we were yet sinners, Romans tells us, that Christ died for us.  My friend, without Christ we were dead and doomed.  When I think about what my sin caused our Savior to have to endure it breaks my heart and yet….I worship and reach out to Him because without him, as the hymn says, “how lost I would be.”  I realize even now that my feeble attempts at righteousness is as filthy rags before Him.  So you see, our only hope is Christ alone!

Well, I hope these are thought provoking for you and allows you to examine yourself as well.  I was reading in Revelation 21 & 22 this morning and oh, what a glorious place we are going to be called to one day soon.  I feel such an urgency to remind the church to examine herself!  I feel such a burden to participate in the disciplining of the church because there is still much to be done and eternity is so close – even at our doors!  The fields are rich and ripe with the harvest but our workers…..where are they?  Many have been wounded and have abandoned their post.  Many have fallen to temptation and are caught in the holds of sin.  I’m telling you, our time is drawing nigh and many are lost all around us. 

Now, I know some of you may be thinking, “yea, yea….people have been saying that, “the end is coming” or that, “we are living in the last days” for years now and we are still here!”  First of all, we must be careful of our interruption of the term “last days”.  We think that term means within the very near future.  But in the Bible the term was used several times in the New Testament and that was over 2,000 years ago.  So, it is important to note that the Hebrew term “the last days” can also be translated as “in the distant future” (NLT) or “in the days to come” (NIV).  Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the term “the last days” refers to an indeterminate period of time leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ.  Now, with that said, I will say that no other generation that has lived has seen what our generation is seeing.  Prophecy fulfilled!  If you are a student of eschatology (the study of end times) and you have been keeping up with what is going on in our world then you know what I am talking about.  You are seeing events unfold and fall into the line of Bible prophecy like never before.  My friend, it is amazing!  It was behoove all of us to pay attention to the Word of God and what is going on in the world today….and literally….. for Heaven’s sake….let’s be busy accomplishing Kingdom agenda items!

Dana

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Examine Yourself!

June 30, 2009 at 5:19 pm (Identity)

2 Corinthians 13:5-6 “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine.  Test yourselves.  If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is among you, it means you have failed the test.  I hope you recognize that we have passed the test and are approved by God.”

Well….ok….some events that transpired recently got me looking at this verse again.  Growing up I remember hearing several sermons on it and in my home church around the fall of my freshman year in High School we hired a new pastor.  He was a great preacher and during the first year and a half at our church we experienced a serious revival.  I’m not talking about the bring all your lost friends kicking and screaming type revival….for that is not true revival.  I’m talking about a word from the Lord for the church….a cleaning house sort of thing.  God began to move amongst our congregation and people confessed sin, made things right with fellow believers, and low and behold….people who thought they were saved years ago came marching down that isle weeping and repenting confessing that they needed Jesus!  I remember being exhorted to ”examine myself” to see if I was in the faith.  After this happened in our church we were a different congregation!  The Spirit was alive and well in our church, we experienced a love for one another that unified our hearts, our worship was moving and sincere and our hearts were palatable to the Word.  Our congregation began to reach out to our community and we began to grow in record numbers.  It was a sweet time in my life that I will always remember and praise His Name….I was forever changed!

Have you experienced the change that Jesus brings?  Do you really know Him?  Do you sense a deep burden and sorrow over your sin and a urgency to confess and repent before the Lord?  Do you recognize your depravity without Him?  These are things we need to ask ourselves.  Upon my experience in my home church in High School and my examining myself, I am convinced that there are many who sit in our pews/seats each Sunday week after week and they are lost.  Oh….they say that they ” I took care of that a long time ago” or “I prayed that prayer….” or “me and the ‘Man upstairs have an understanding”….but where is the change?  The humility?  The love for God and His children? The obedience to the Word of God? 

I am embarking on a little study right now in I John on the Evidences of Our Faith.  I will post a little everyday so join us and see what comes to light

I was going to put this on the New Life Design Facebook page but the Facebook page is down right now and my dinner is just about ready so I am heading home to eat with my Honey!  I am sure you will understand!  For those of you wondering, “So, is she saying her husband cooks??”  The answer is a resounding YES!!!  If you are wondering how I landed that….well, that was one of the things I prayed for while I was single because I hate to cook!  Sorry if you are already married and you missed out on that one!!  :)

Dana

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