Monday, December 10,
2012, 5:57 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me this morning with the song “A Believer’s Prayer” playing in my
mind. Then he put this song in my mind:
Jesus, Lead Me / An Original
Work / July 22, 2011
Jesus, lead me
all the way.
Be my hope and
be my stay.
Gently lead me
where I should go,
So Your Spirit,
I want to know.
Open up my
heart to You.
Fill me with
Your love and truth.
Make my heart
want to obey.
Be my Lord
today. Gently lead always.
Jesus, lover of
my soul,
Cleanse my
heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed
in my heart today,
As I turn from
my sin and pray.
Make Your will
known to my heart.
May I not from
You depart.
How I long to
hear You now,
As I humbly
bow. Jesus, hear me now.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 23 (NIV 1984):
The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet
waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths
of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your
staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table
before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head
with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and
love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in
the house of the Lord
forever.
My Shepherd
A shepherd is “somebody who looks after sheep” or is “somebody
who is responsible for caring for and guiding a group of people” (Encarta). A
shepherd, in Biblical times, fed the sheep, took them to pasture, groomed and sheared
them, delivered their young, led them where they should go, went after any who
wandered off, and protected them from anything or anyone who might harm them. This
is a picture of Jesus, as our Good Shepherd.
The Bible oftentimes compares the people of God to sheep,
and Jesus Christ to a shepherd, i.e. he is the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd
would lay down his life for his sheep, and that is exactly what Jesus Christ,
God the Son, did for the people of this world.
Jesus Christ, God the Son, left his home in heaven, came to
earth, took on human flesh as a newborn baby, suffered, and was tempted as we
are, yet without sin; was mocked, criticized, ridiculed, chastised, rejected,
despised, hated for telling the truth, and forsaken, abandoned, denied and
betrayed by his closest companions. He was beaten beyond recognition, and he
was hung on a cross to die for the sins of the entire world. When he died, our
sins died with him, and when he rose from the dead, he conquered death, hell,
Satan and sin so that we could, by faith in him, be set free from slavery to
and the ultimate punishment of sin (eternal damnation).
The true sheep of God, i.e. true followers of Jesus Christ
know the voice of the Shepherd, they listen to him, and they follow him in
obedience wherever he leads them. The Shepherd calls his sheep by name and he
leads them. His sheep will only follow him. They will never follow a stranger
(a false shepherd of the people), and, in fact, they will run away from a
stranger, “because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice,” i.e. they are
able to discern truth from lies. Jesus Christ is not only the Shepherd for the
sheep, but he is the gate, and all who enter in through faith in him will be
saved from their sins, and will have eternity with God in glory. Jesus Christ
came to give us new and full lives in him. [See John 10]
Not in Want
A Good Shepherd takes good care of his sheep. Yet, not being
in want does not mean that we will never go without anything of this world,
that we will always be happy (by the world’s standards of happiness), and/or that
we will never experience trouble or hardship, or persecution or sword. In fact,
Jesus promised his disciples that they would go through hardship, that they
would be persecuted and that they would be hated for the sake of his name and
for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, the New Testament writers
echoed those words of Jesus when they told us much the same thing. We are
taught, though, that these times of hardship and trouble are for our good – to teach
us patience, endurance, perseverance and to mature us in our walks of faith
with Jesus Christ.
So, what does it mean then to not be in want? I believe,
whereas this might be speaking literally of physical shepherds and their sheep,
it is speaking metaphorically and spiritually to us of our relationship with
Jesus Christ, who is our Good Shepherd. Our green pastures and quiet waters,
thus, are not physical, but speak spiritually of the Lord Jesus meeting our
needs for spiritual nourishment and rest in him in the quiet trust we exercise
in our relationship with him. He supplies all that we need for living this
Christian life, and he will fill us with his peace and joy, with his presence,
and with the knowledge of his power and his authority to work miracles in and
through our lives for the glory of God. So, we never have to fear anything or
anyone, because God has all our circumstances under his control.
Paths of
Righteousness
A path, in this context, is “a course of action or a way of
living; direction” (Encarta). Righteousness has to do with Christ’s
righteousness (virtue, morality, goodness, uprightness, honor, honesty, purity,
etc.) being credited to our account and lived out within us and out through us
on a daily basis. We are made righteous (in right standing with God) by God’s
grace, through the blood of Christ shed for us, and through faith (repentance +
obedience) in Jesus Christ, and we are continually being made righteous through
that same faith (see Luke 9:23-25; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 1:17; 3:22-23; 4:3-5; 6:13-18;
8:24, etc.).
So, Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account when
we believe in him as Lord and as Savior, but it is also a progressive
experience of the Christian faith and practice as our Good Shepherd daily leads
us in a way of living in Christ’s righteousness, holiness and purity. And, we all
need to daily be in his word, listening to what he says, and then following him
in obedience in the righteous path he shows us to follow. There is no value in
praying for God – Jesus, our Good Shepherd - to lead us into righteousness, if
we do not intend to follow.
No Fear!
We all have our areas of weakness where we seem to be the
most vulnerable to Satan’s attacks, perhaps due to personal history or
experiences we have faced in our lives. Jesus conquered sin in sinful man, and
through Jesus we have complete victory over sin, yet Satan will try to work his
way back into our lives sometimes, and he will try to get us to return to our
former ways of responding, reacting and dealing with life’s situations. I
believe, based upon the number of times in scripture that it says the words “Don’t
fear,” or something similar, that it must be a problem that many of us must
fight against.
Yet, when we truly comprehend, not just with our minds, but
in our hearts and in our spirits the reality of who God is, and what he has
done for us, and all that he provides for us, and the unending love, mercy and
grace he offers to us, and all his power and majesty and absolute control over
all things, all circumstances, and all people of this world, we should not fear
anything or anyone, even when faced with the possibility of torture or death
for our testimony for Jesus Christ. Yet, we often revert to fear when faced
with even the slightest of difficulties, and we are tempted to take matters
into our own hands, to give up, to run away, or to just be complacent, because
we feel things are out of our control. They are! We just have to face that
reality! Yet, they are not out of God’s control. We have no need ever to fear because
our Lord is with us, and he will lead us, guide us, protect us, encourage us
and he will rescue us from all evil attacks if we will let him, and if we will
take on and use the spiritual armor he has provided for us to use to fight off
the attacks of our enemy.
A Table
The table is in reference, I believe, to a banquet table
where we can come and be fed the riches of God’s truths, and drink of his
life-giving Spirit, and find refreshment and renewal in him for our wearied
minds, bodies, and souls. Each and every day of our lives we can come and sit
at his feet and take in his word and drink in his love, grace, mercy and his
many blessings he has for our lives. It is here that he leads us in the path of
righteousness and he comforts and encourages us, and it is here where we find
correction, too. It is here that he anoints us for his service, and he calls us
to specific areas of ministry, and he fills us with all kinds of spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus. I love my times with God each day!
His House
The Lord’s house is his temple, which collectively speaking
is the true church of Jesus Christ, his body. For David, it was a physical
temple, yet it was much more than that. The temple of God represented a place
where the people of God could come into his presence. We who believe in Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior are that temple, as we have the Spirit of God living
within us, so we are blessed beyond measure to be able to come into God’s holy
presence day and night, seven days a week. It is the most wonderful place to be
ever!
I understand why David wanted to dwell in the house of the
Lord forever! We, who have come to know Jesus Christ, by his grace and through
faith (repentance + obedience) in him, will dwell with the Lord forever in his
holy presence - beginning now and forever with him in glory. God’s goodness to
us and his love will be with us forever! Amen!
A
Believer’s Prayer / An Original Work / July 31, 2012
With
my whole heart,
Lord,
I pray to be Yours,
And
Yours always.
Lead
me in Your truth today.
May
I love You, and obey.
Lead
me in Your righteousness.
When
I sin, may I confess;
Bow
before You when I pray;
Live
for You and You always.
Love
You, Jesus,
You’re
my friend.
Life
with You will never end.
You
are with me through each day,
Giving
love and peace always.
You
will ne’er abandon me.
From
my sin You set me free.
You
died on that cruel tree,
So
I’d live eternally.
Soon
You’re coming back for me;
From
this world to set me free;
Live
with You eternally.
Oh,
what joy that brings to me.
I
will walk with You in white;
A
pure bride,
I’ve
been made right
By
the blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned
by His sacrifice.
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