The Lord-Our Shepherd

 

The Lord is my shepherd

 

The duties of a shepherd are tough. They are the lowest rung of society. The majority of their days and nights are spent out in the wilderness.

I shall not want

God supplies all the shepherd’s needs. The shepherd, in turn, sees to it that his flock has nourishment and water in order to grow and survive.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

The shepherd chooses places of safety for his flock to rest through the nights.

He leads me beside the still waters.

The shepherd chooses the right spot for the sheep in his care to rest and receive refreshment.

He restores my soul

When a shepherd tenderly cares for his flock, the sheep are more docile and easier to work with.

He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.

A shepherd guides his flock safely through the fields as he leads them in search of food and rest.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

A shepherd guides his flock through dangerous places. The sheep don’t realize that dangerous places exist.

I will fear no evil; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

The sheep are not fearful. They know their shepherd. They follow him because the trust

him.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

The shepherd sees to it that his flock has what they need to survive and to grow. Those predators whose purpose is to devour the sheep watch as the shepherd cares for them.

You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.

When his sheep get caught in briers, the shepherd rescues each one. He washes each injury. He repeats the process until the wounds are healed.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

Sheep are not the smartest creatures placed on God’s earth. They seem to be the most protected. They are led by their shepherd to safe fields where they are allowed to feed and receive rest as well.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The sheep eventually serve a purpose for their owners. Even then, each lamb, each sheep is taken into a special place of protection by the one who has protected them.

Like David, each of us can claim the Lord as our shepherd. God watches over us as we go through each day of our individual lives. He protects us, His children, as we go through our days. He allows His beloved children to rest. He keeps us from danger. He uses items around us to keep us safe. He provides us, His children, with nourishing foods.

I am certain that each one of us here has experienced difficult times in our lives. Some of those times may have been extremely long. It may even seem like we felt alone in our times of stress or hardship.

We may have wished we could talk to someone about the difficulty we were having but, at the same time, didn’t want to burden anyone else with our issues.

We have God; He will listen no matter how big our issue may seem to us.

In the Light of His Countenance

 

  

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                                  Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound\!

                 They walk, O Lord, in the light

                     of Your countenance.

                   In Your name they rejoice all day long,

                    And in Your righteousness, they are exalted.

                  For You are the glory of their strength,

               And in Your favor our horn is exalted.

                                                                      Psalm 89:15-17(NKJV)

I came across this passage as I participated in a time of prayer and fasting. It caused me to pause and reflect on certain phrases.

who walk in the light of Your countenance

We, who claim to be believers in Jesus, must choose to walk with Him and do as He directs us.

In Your name they rejoice all day long,

From time to time in each day, we may have events, small or large, that cause us to give praise or thanks to Jesus for. Your list may be different from your best friend’s. We may give thanks for having the sunshine coming through our windows. We may feel thankful that we have heat or air-conditioning and fans, depending on the weather or time of year. We may receive an answer to prayer. We may give praise to God for the progress a friend has made after being severely ill.

Prayer: Father God, Thank You for Your presence each minute of the day. Thank You for everything You do for us from the time we awaken to the time we go to sleep. You are so precious to us. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN

God’s Guidance for Us

 

imaginebible.org

When we ask God to guide us, what are we asking Him to do? Do we ask Him for His guidance, or do we ask Him to approve our plans for what we want to do?

By asking Him to guide us through a difficult time, we allow Him to:

Guard us from questionable influences.

Unite us with others who can help us.

Infuse us with Your Spirit.

Don’t give up on us.

Envelop us, Your children with Your love.

I have been going through a difficult time this summer. Most of what I write will reflect what I have been feeling. The Lord knows all about this time of my being down. He and I have had some good talks about the issues involved. Some of these circumstances are long standing situations that I really had no knowledge of.

Trust Fall

 

Rick Warren Quote

I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20 (NKJV)

This is another entry based on the devotional we are studying in Sunday school,

Finding Soul Rest by Curtis Zachary.

In this section, he talks of times when a person stands on an elevated level and turns his or her back to those on the ground and falls backwards into the arms of those standing below.

I have never done this and I doubt that I ever will. When I first read his thoughts, I thought of Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt and her holding the football until the last second and then pulling it away. We all know the result of this maneuver—Charlie Brown falls on his back.

A fairly young woman in our class said she only trusts God. My own thoughts are that certain people I know have a strange sense of humor and would think it funny to do something similar to Lucy. Therefore, I have chosen not to try this exercise, ever.

I am learning to trust God with more of my life. This has been a very good word for me to study this year.

When I called my Sunday school leader about my thoughts on this particular devotion. She remembered that trust was my word for this year.

Trusting God helped me to stay calm when I was working to get registrations for Vacation Bible School. We had a small school but it was a good one.

Our church congregation is trusting God to heal our pastor who is on medical leave until at least next February. He seems to be improving each time I see him. He and his wife come to Sunday services and have returned to our Thursday morning Bible Study when they can.

Trust

I like acronyms. This is one of my favorites.

Totally

Relying

Upon the

Savior’s

Timing.

The Makeup of Trust

What do we know about how to trust God?

Sometimes we ‘say’ we trust Him but turn right around and do something our way; we don’t wait on Him.

We have to have patience in order to wait for God to remedy our concern. There are times the Lord has to teach us something before He is ready to take care of our request.

We sometimes have to wait for God to answer our prayers because we may have asked for something that He knows we are not supposed to have or not ready to have.

Where are Our Eyes?

As I look at the world, both secular and Christian, I see a lot of turmoil. I have come to expect this from the secular world. Even then, those in that sphere try to hide their thoughts and make those watching believe that all is as it should be.

Right now, I see and hear of things transpiring among Christians that cause me to wonder, "Where are their eyes?" Are they looking at themselves or are the truly looking to Jesus and seeking His guidance.I

I cannot give particulars, nor do I want to.  When we give our hearts over to Jesus, we ask Him to guide us through the issues that come up in our lives. 

On several different occasions, I have heard people say, "COVID really changed how we respond to others, or how we do things." We need to get our eyes off COVID and get our eyes back on Jesus. I am just as guilty of using excuses for not doing what God has intended for me to do in following Him.

I know He will forgive me. I just hope I can forgive myself.

Declare Praise

 

                        

worldhistory.org

I will declare Your name to My brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

You who fear the Lord, praise Him!

All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,

And fear Him all you offspring of Israel.

Psalm 22:22-23 (NKJV)

Words of David

David tells God that he, David, will firmly speak His Name to his fellow worshipers in the middle of the gathering of His people.

Do believers today have that kind of freedom? Some groups still practice giving testimonies of praise. When I hear people say God helped them through a trial, it encourages me.

David advises those who fear (respect) the Lord to praise Him, even if we can only praise God for the things we have taken for granted-the everyday things.

He tells those descend from Jacob to glorify God. We are to lift God up and let Him be who He is meant to be.

The shepherd king also tells those who are descendants of Israel (Christians are grafted into this group.) to deeply respect God for all the things He has done for us, His unworthy children.

We are made worthy of His love and care because of Jesus.

Father God, We Trust You

 

'''Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all you do and He will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

On the afternoon of January 29^th, 2024, our church office put out a prayer request for our pastor who was in the ICU. His wife had taken him to the ER. The entire church received the same message.

I texted his wife with a prayer that evening. I called my best friend for prayer. I received a call from a young woman who had heard of the pastor’s circumstance.

On Tuesday, January 30, the pastor’s wife texted me to with an update. Pastor had had a mild stroke.

Since last July, we are in a new denomination. During our Mustard Seed prayer time, I was told to add a certain name to our prayer list. It was a name I did not recognize. I asked who he was. He is going to be our interim pastor. (In one day’s, time the district had arranged for someone to come in and carry out Pastor Rick’s duties.) I like the way this has been handled.

One of the men in our local church volunteered to bring us a message this past Sunday. So, things are going on.

I found myself telling God that I knew we had to trust Him for the outcome, and we will. I find myself telling Him that for some of my personal issues and now for this circumstance facing the church.

I believe God knew Pastor and his wife, Cheryl would have this circumstance enter their lives. I also believe that they will trust the Lord, implicitly.

My best friend once told me she trusted God implicitly. I am learning that I can, like her, trust God without reservation. As I have shared with some in a Facebook group, I believe God chose this word “trust” for me for this year. I learn something about it each week.

We Will Find Rest

 

connectusfund.org 

Thus says the Lord:

Stand in the ways and see,

And ask for the old paths, where the

good way is,

And walk in it.

Then you will find rest for your souls.

But they said," We will not walk in it." Jeremiah 6:16 (NKJV)

Words of God spoken through Jeremiah

Jeremiah prophesies against Judah, calling her to repent or face judgment at the hands of Babylon.⁽¹⁾

Stand in the ways and see,

Could the Lord through Jeremiah be telling the people of Judah that they need to look at how they live, to evaluate their lifestyles in the light of His Word?

And ask for the old paths, where the/ good way is,

Could the Lord be telling them to look fondly to the values they were taught and see the goodness of the relationship they previously had with Him?

And walk in it;

Could the Lord be telling the people of Judah to revive the practices of of their relationship with Him?

Then you will find rest for your souls,

Does God give them the hope of finding peace and soul rest? Does God give us hope when we listen and obey Him?

But they said, "We will not walk in it."

The people of Judea answered in a negative way. They did NOT want to walk in the way that the Lord told them they needed to do. Are we sometimes guilty of the same stubbornness today? Do we keep on doing what we like rather than what He tells us to do?

Prayer

Father God: Guide us in the path You want us to follow. Guide us through the difficult times we face. Give us Your wisdom as we progress through each day. In the Name of Jesus. I pray. Amen.

(1) Jeremiah Study Bible © 2013 page 972

A Closer Look at My Word

 

fineartamerica.com

I participate in a Facebook group called One Word 2024. This is the exercise we are asked to do for January.

___________________________________________________________________________________

1.Where Is My Word?

My word, TRUST, appears on my journal cover. I try to write in it every day; so, I see it every day. It is in a gift of prayer cards that sometimes guide me when I pray. It appears on some small note pads I received from a friend.

I read several devotional books. Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest has several entries dealing with my word. I also have run across my word in The Upper Room and Our Daily Bread.

2.What Does My Word Look Like?

Picture, if you will, a small child sitting on his or her father’s lap. The child has his or her eyes focused on the father’s face as he speaks. The child is engrossed in hearing what the father says.

3. Why This Word?

God chose this word for me. I had one word “chosen”. Then I found another word that seemed to speak to me. But, as, I was finishing praying for someone, I heard “she has to have trust for the outcome.” As I typed the beginning of this post, I received a phone call from a dear friend from church. A lady, for whom we have been praying, could be very close to meeting Jesus in the next week. We are and have been trusting God in all this.

Rest In the Lord

 

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Do not fret because of him who

prospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked

schemes to pass.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath,

Do not fret—it only causes harm.

Psalm 37:7-8 (NKJV)

Words of David

Rest in the Lord

Relax, do not get upset, Do not get overly excited.

wait patiently for Him.

Be patient; waiting is a learned response. We are not born with the ability to wait.

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

We are given excellent advice here. We are not to worry about things that really do not concern us. Even if some action affects us, if we are not directly involved in the issue, we are not to worry about it. If someone we know prospers, we should be happy for them and remember that reverses do happen.

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

We are not to worry about those who choose to concoct evil things into our lives. IT is a fact of life that there are people who choose to do devastating things to others as Christians, we are to be bigger than that.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath,

David tells us to stop being angry and to not pursue ‘getting even’ with those who cause us hurt. We are NOT to act like children on the school playground.

Do not fret—it only causes harm.

As a child, I seemed to be one that took all things to heart. I worried about everything to the point of crying. My mother told me innumerable times that I needed to stop it or I would make myself sick. I seemed to grow out of it. Until I was middle-aged. I went through some difficult adult things. Then a Christian friend told me the very same thing. I took my friend’s words to heart. I am so thankful that I relearned that lesson.

December Reflections

 

O Christmas Tree

I received a phone call two days after I requested the hardware store to reserve one of their trees for me. It was in. They were very nice and helpful. It came with lights (battery powered). Jim seemed to like it.

                                                              

This is such a sweet little tree. 

Getting Things Done

I was able to do some online ordering for part of my family’s Christmas. I also ordered a couple of things to help me with an ongoing circumstance in our home. For us Christmas presents have come to the level of “what do you need?”.

Feeling Better

In some ways, I am feeling better than I have in a long time. All I can say is: It must be the Lord.

WOTY Change

For the first time since I started doing the Word of the Year, I changed my choice from the one I decided on earlier in the Fall. I will tell you more at the end of these reflections.

Writing

I gave my effort to create a VBS program to our new Children’s Ministries Director. Two Sundays later, he told me he was going to utilize part of the material to teach the Sunday school children about Bible heroes. I am thankful that some children will be learning from my efforts.

Church’s Food Drive

For several years, our church has had a Food Pantry. The first Sunday of each month, the congregation brings staple foods to the church and place the items in a designated place. There are some who choose to make monetary donations. This year, for Advent, we had an Advent Food Drive. Each Sunday of Advent, there was a designated item for us to donate. There was a decorated cabinet placed in the narthex to hold the items. As of the close of service on the second Sunday of December, the cabinet was overflowing, and items had to be placed on the floor in front of it. On the third Sunday, there was one cleared shelf for that week’s designated food. I took a picture of the cabinet.

On the last Sunday of Advent, there was a small blurb in the worship folder that our food drive was successful. On the Sunday after Christmas, the cabinet had items on top of it and there were still items stacked around it.

Christmas Shopping

In doing some Christmas shopping about mid-month, I noticed a book rack at my local CVS store. I noticed one particular title, Keep Calm and Trust God by, Jake and Keith Provance. I needed to find some things for gifts. I also found Stress Less, A Woman’s Devotional Guide to Tranquil Living by Donna K Maltese. Three of my friends received these books for Christmas.

WOTY 2024

It’s time for me to unveil my Word of the Year 2024. My word is TRUST. The selection of this word is special to me. I had chosen one word and then I had second one came to mind. One day, I had a thought that I needed to trust God more than I have been. When I saw those books, at CVS, I had to get one for myself. Whenever I choose a word, I find it in my reading whether it is a passage from the Bible or a book by a Christian author. Hmm! This already has held true. The day I found those books was December 15^th.

Our son ordered me some journals for Christmas. The cover has Proverbs 3:5 on the front. “Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.” He did NOT know about my choosing a word a year or that I had chosen “trust” for this year. Two of my friends gave me assortment of scripture related item and each assortment had that same scripture included. I believe God is trying to tell me something.

                                                              

I believe this is the scripture 
that will guide me through 2024.

Feeling Energized

As of the middle of December, I feel energized and actually have looked at some websites for Christian magazines that I can possibly submit articles and stories to.`It feels good to write that.

Christmas Weather

The weather forecast for Christmas was listed as “spring weather”. Christmas Day the temperature was to be around 59*. We might not have any snow at all this winter. When we have had exceptionally warm winters in the past, there has been a lot of illness. Both hospitals here have put restrictions on visitors. They do this from December until March as a way to keep people safe from the flu, COVID-19, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses.

Happy New Year

I would like to wish each of you a very healthy and happy New Year.

Be Thankful, Bless His Name

 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

                                                            Psalm 100:4 <NKJV)

How we enter God’s house can forecast what we get out of the worship experience.

If we have been rushed and are frazzled because of that fast pace, we will not receive what God wants to give us.

I once read that our days actually begin the night before. If we have a time of restlessness at night, we could have a difficult day on the following day. I am attempting to work on this condition in my life.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

Yes, we must enter God’s house with a thankful attitude. We serve a God who loves us.

                                * He saved us from our sins.

                                * He has been extremely good to us.

                                * He may have brought us through some very difficult times.

And into His courts with praise.

When we enter God’s sanctuary, we must give praise to Him.

                            * Praise Him that we got to His house safely.

                            * Praise Him that we are healthy enough to be in His sanctuary.

                            * Praise Him for those others who are able to be there.

                            * Greet those who are there.

                            * Greet those who are visiting. Make them feel welcome.

Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

                         * We must give thanks for each gift God has given us.

                        * We must give God thanks for those things He allowed that we thought were

                            difficult issues that we learned from those circumstances.

                        * We must bless His Name because of all He has done for us. We do not deserve                                         anything from God, except death and, yet, He has given us eternal life.

God’s Encouragement to His Children

 

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord,

thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give

you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

Words of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah.

The Lord had just informed the exiles, who were being punished for sin, that the promise of peace would be fulfilled in 70 years.

They were to live their lives in Babylon like they would have lived them in Jerusalem. (verses 5-7) He also warns the exiles not to listen to the “false prophets and diviners” in their midst.

Now, I know how long 70 years is-that is seven decades. For a lot of people that is a lifetime.(Among those who were originally exiled were some who would never see home again. The younger generations would only know of Jerusalem through stories told to them by their elders.)

A lot of people really like the words of this verse and adopt it as their life verse. I was one who did. I saw it every day as I passed a Christian book store on the way to my dad’s to pick up my stepmother to take her to radiation treatments.

When I read the context, I learned more of what it meant. These words were an encouragement for the exiles that they could do well in Babylon and not be discouraged by the way they might be treated.

Be Kind

 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving, one another, even as God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV)

Words of Paul: What is he telling us?

Be kind We are supposed to treat others as we want to be treated. (Luke 6:31)

tenderhearted Sometimes, this is difficult to do. However, the Apostle Peter tells us to be compassionate toward each other, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling. (1 Peter 3:8-9)

Forgiving We sometimes need to choose to forgive our Christian brother or sister and even those who aren’t. I admit, there are times this can be difficult. We must learn to forgive. When we forgive another person, we let go of our hurt. When we forgive, the action is for our good.

even as God, through Christ, forgave you.

When we forgive another person, we model Christ to them. That other person may remember what we did or how we acted at that time. It may bring them closer to Christ.

As I sit here thinking about how I could come across to those I meet, I realize that my thoughts are not always nice. I had an occasion to tell someone today that I was not happy with their phone tree. It told me a prescription for my husband would be ready this past Monday. Today is Thursday and they still don’t have it. None of their other stores have that item either.

Sometimes, what I want to say to someone would come across as rude, angry and downright mean. I don’t mean to be that way but I get upset that things don’t go according to “clockwork”.

My one comment to her that brought a smile to her face was: “You need to put your phone tree in time out for telling lies.”

Please keep us in your prayers.

God’s Thoughts Toward His People

 

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

Words of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah.

The Lord had just informed the exiles, who were being punished for sin, that the promise of peace would be fulfilled in 70 years.

They were to live their lives in Babylon like they would have lived them in Jerusalem. (verses 5-7) He also warns the exiles not to listen to the “false prophets and diviners” in their midst.

Now, I know how long 70 years is-that is seven decades. For a lot of people that is a lifetime. Among those who were originally exiled were some who would never see home again. There were probably many people who only heard stories about Jerusalem.

A lot of people really like the words of this verse and adopt it as their life verse. I was one who did. I saw it every day as I passed a Christian bookstore on the way to my dad’s to pick up my stepmother to take her to radiation treatments.

When I read the context, I learned more of what the verse meant. This practice has made me more aware of what certain passages of scripture truly mean.

Pray About Everything

 

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:4-7 (NKJV)

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice!

Each of us has something over which we can rejoice.

* Did you sleep well?

* Is the sun shining?

* Did you have a good breakfast?

* Is your house warm?

* Are your children/grandchildren safe from harm?

Let your gentleness be known to all men.

Gentleness is one of the fruit of the Spirit. When we can react to a circumstance gently, we show others that we belong to the Lord. Jesus was gentle when He spoke to the woman caught in adultery. He also spoke gently when he spoke to Mary and her sister Martha when their brother Lazarus had died.

The Lord is at hand.

God is near to each of His children. When we face harsh circumstances, all we have to do is ask Him to guide us through the problem. We can do this non-verbally, just by asking Him with our thoughts or through our hearts.

Be anxious for nothing,

Anxiety sometimes causes circumstances to appear more serious than they actually are.

Anxiety can also lead to serious health issues. A counselor once told me that, as humans, we sometimes have a tendency to own circumstances that are not ours. As Christians we have to decide whether the issue at hand actually belongs to us.

but in everything by prayer and supplication,

Paul tells us that we must pray about everything.

* Pray about your friends and their family circumstances.

* Pray about the issues of our nation and the nations of our world.

* Pray about your finances.

* Pray about your relationships.

* Pray about your neighborhood.

with thanksgiving,

We must thank Him for all we have, for the people in our lives. We should thank Him for the merchants in our towns and cities and those who work for them.

let your requests be made known to God;

We must remember to make those requests to God first. Sometimes, we must ask others to pray for unspoken requests. On social media, I have seen requests for prayer that said, “God knows why.”

and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding,

The peace of God is what we desire in dire situations. It is that peace that carries us through those tough times,

*When we initially deal with the loss of a loved one.

*When we go through personal illness. When we go through times of uneasiness, personal or national.

Some people go through times each day where they need the peace of God to get them through.

will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Jesus guards the hearts and minds of each of us. He stands at the door of our hearts and reminds us of His love for us and that He can stave off the attacks of the enemy that might cause us to doubt ourselves or allow us to become unduly upset over something that would cause harm to us, His children.

God, Our Foundation

 

ifci.org

For You are my rock and my fortress;

Therefore, for Your name’s sake,

Lead me and guide me.

Psalm 31:3 (NKJV)

Words of David

David states again that God is his rock and fortress. This is David’s way of stating that God is his foundation and his strong defense.

All of know that when someone builds a house, footing has to be poured and a foundation has to be laid. These are basic to the stability of the structure. For certain careers, training and education has to be sought. Likewise, these basic steps are required to insure those working in those fields are knowledgeable.

David is asking for God to lead him and to guide him through whatever life brings to him.

Each of us believers in Jesus must seek God’s leading and guidance each day. This is a practice I need to learn to do each day. I believe I must do this in order to please Him and to allow me to stay closer to God as my day goes on.

During the COVID lock-down, I developed some bad habits. What I have learned through this past Lenten season is that I really have to do better about my daily schedule. I NEED to be on a schedule in order to get things done. Please pray for me that I am able to get a plan to get some things done that will help me conquer a weight problem and find a way to get some exercise into my routine.

God’s Presence Gives Us Rest

 

Daily Prayer USA

And He said, “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.”  Exodus 33:14(ESV)

Words of God spoken to Moses.

Moses has a lengthy talk with God. He seeks God’s help in understanding his role in this journey.

God tells him that he (Moses) will not be alone in this part of the journey. God would be with Moses throughout the journey.

Moses responds in a forthright comment, “If Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” (Verses15-16) Moses knows he cannot lead the nation by himself, In fact, it sounds like if God isn’t with him, Moses asks God not to take the people any farther.

In our present day lives, we sometimes need reassurance that God’s presence is with us as we travel through this life. Each of us has faced, is facing, or will face times when we doubt that we can go on without God being with us. When we ask Him to accompany us through those hard times, He guides us through them.

David said it in Psalm 23:4;

Yea, 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.

No matter how tough the circumstance, God is there with each of us. Because of His love for us.

God Gives Us Hope

 

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Now hope does not disappoint,

 because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by

the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:5 (NKJV)

Words of Paul written to the believers in Rome.

Paul has just told the Roman believers that hope is the by-product of character. We receive this thing called hope because God envelops us with His love. This out-pouring of His love comes to His people during difficult times. Paul calls these times tribulation.

Today, we have tribulation going on everywhere we look. Senseless killings, unexplained accidents, earthquake upon earthquake, we might wonder why these things are becoming so prevalent. Mark 13:8 tells us “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles These are the beginnings of sorrows.” (NKJV)

One would wonder “Where is our hope?” Our hope is in the LORD. We know certain events are out of our control, and yet, we know in our hearts that God is in control and loves us through his Holy Spirit.

Rest for the Heavy Laden

 

Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

Words spoken by Jesus.

In this passage, Jesus invites certain people to Him. Those to whom He extends His hand have fallen into a special group of society.

He addresses those who are overworked, have a lot of responsibility that has been thrust upon them, those who are under a lot of tension. There are those that have issues laid on them by others.

He tells them that He will guide them through to be stronger as they learn of Him.

“In Jesus’ day, taking the yoke of another meant coming under that person's leadership and walking in that person’s footsteps.” ¹

My best friend is going for physical therapy at this time. She goes, gets her treatment and then comes home and rests for a while. We all need to follow Jesus’ invitation when we find ourselves stretched to the limit of our endurance either physically, mentally, or emotionally.

At church this past Sunday, we sang the following hymn. I don't think I ever heard it before. I love the message.