Goodness and Mercy

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Ps 23:6)

"The Lord is my shepherd" starts this psalm and it ends with this wonderful promise above. So, if we follow the Lord as our good shepherd, goodness and mercy shall follow us. In the Webster's dictionary, it defines goodness as "quality or state of being good: the virtue of character, decency, honesy, integrity, morality, probity, rectitude, righteousness, and uprightness." Mercy means: "compassion shown to an offender; divine favor; a fortunate circumstance."

But goodness is impossible for any of us as a human being. The Bible says: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) And as it states in Isaiah 64:6, our righteousness is as filthy rags. Our righteousness is not our own, it is imputed through the blood of Jesus Christ. "For by faith are ye saved through faith, not by works lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8) Being good or religious can't change our status in God's eyes. We can't do anything to save ourselves or keep ourselves saved. We can only do good through the goodness of Jesus Christ.

Mercy means that Christ has forgiven us and it also means we can now forgive others and show compassion to them. "Righteousness and peace have kissed each other." it says in Psalm 85:10. Without the righteousness of Christ, there is no peace.

And, of course, the biggest challenge of all is I Corinthians chapter 13, the love chapter. If we all lived by this philosophy, most of the problems of the world would be gone... But because of rebellion and sin that's not going to happen any time soon. However, we can still shine as lights in the world and know that goodness and mercy will follow us just like it says in this great psalm...and it does. Believe me, it does if you just walk in his love...

Thank you Lord for your great love for us as shown on Calvary! Let us never forgot what you did for us on the Cross! Thank you for all your blessings and may we always walk in your righteousness, mercy and love! In Jesus Name, Amen!

Thou Preparest A Table Before Me...Comfort In Troubled Times

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. (Ps 23:5)

Sometimes God puts us in a difficult situation with enemies all around us on every side. We feel closed in and defeated. We don’t feel like there is any hope for us. We’re between the Egyptians and the Red Sea.

Do you ever feel that way? I certainly do and I cry out to the Lord for help. Still, He doesn’t always help the way we ask Him to. He holds our feet to the fire. We feel the flames of the fierce fiery trial. He tests us even when all around us the world is watching and probably hoping for our defeat. But it’s not going to happen, sorry to disappoint them. God is in control and more powerful than all our enemies combined.

Though there be a sinkhole under our house, the cracks widen more each day,

Though we’re under water, we’re desperate and the problems won’t go away.

Though I just got a 200 dollar speeding ticket, and I don’t remember a thing.

(I think its menopause and my memory is evaporating…)

Though I worked 45 hours and there’s no end in sight to my labor,

Though both of us are exhausted, and our resources are few and meager.

Though the stock market plunged 400 points, still we can be confident and not afraid.

We’re standing on the solid rock of Jesus and in Him we can sing his praise.

So I will go, plead my case, in the presence of the pagans I will cry.

I will throw myself on the mercy of the court and ask for the grace of God…

And also pray our mortgage can be refinanced so we can keep our home

But even if we become homeless and destitute, we can still praise Him alone.

Because He is sovereign, right and true. He will guide us with his staff and chasten us with his rod

He will bless us in the presence of our enemies and protect us in the midst of the trial.

And though we lose everything, this one thing is sure, He loves us and everything is secure in Him...

 Father, Thank you for strength. Thank you for courage and hope of eternal life with you. We love you and trust in you these most turbulent times and abide in your grace. Keep us looking up to you and resting in your arms of love. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Walking Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.(Ps 23:4)

This week was a thoughtful and sad one thinking about the events of 9/11. We as a country went through “the valley of the shadow of death” when that happened. Now, the events are fading and we have already forgotten all about God. We think He doesn’t exist so we can do our own thing. Sex outside of marriage, illegal drug use and excessive alcohol consumption have left us a bad legacy.We've been rebelling this way  for at least 40 years so we have had two generations who don’t even know what morality is. It sometimes feels as if God is dead or has given up on us. Meanwhile, many families are suffering financially and they now say one out of every 6 children lives in poverty. Almost 50 million Americans are now below the poverty line.

What happened? Is there a connection between rejection of God and our moral decline? Yes, I believe there is. We have made idols and have bowed down to them. We also have murdered innocent children in the womb by the millions. The consequences of sin are all around us. God has taken away our prosperity in spite of “give away” programs and gov’t spending. Taxing the rich to give to the poor is not a healthy society, it is an imbalanced one. We, as human beings, want control over our own money, lives and fortunes. We want to give out of our own money to the poor not have the government redistribute our money by force for us. It is bondage with the system we have now. Humans do not want gov’t interference in the form of excessive taxation. I know from experience how painful and rough can be to part with your hard earned money.

What about the Good Shepherd in all this? Well, he will be with us through our trials. It’s as simple as that. He will also comfort us as we walk through them. He will use his rod to discipline us and his staff to protect us from predators. I am glad He is with me. I am a dumb sheep and wouldn’t have made it this far without his guidance and help.

What about you? Are you walking through some rough circumstances? Just keep trusting Him. He loves you as you are. Turn to Him and He will be your guide through all the rough storms and the good times, too.

Lord,we ask for your help today. Our country is in bad shape and is drifting further from you. We are weak but You are strong. We are surrounded by our enemies. Please intervene on our behalf and be swift to rescue us. Please be our protector and guide, like the good shepherd in this psalm. We love you and want to serve you. In Jesus Name, Amen.

He Leadeth Me in Paths of Righteousness for His Name’s Sake

We have so far found out that the Lord is our shepherd and his guidance is the theme of this whole psalm. He leads us through good times which are the” green pastures” and difficult times which are the “still waters” as he meets our every need – “we shall not want”.

Now, what does it mean that when David wrote that “He leads us in paths of righteousness”? I believe, according to what the Bible teaches, that through all the experiences of life, the good, the bad and, yes, even the ugly, the Lord is leading us gently like a shepherd. These are the paths that He has chosen for us even when we are not aware of Him. When the World tempts us or evil betrays us and bad things happen to us we sometimes think we are straying and drifting in a sea of confusion. Then, we lose faith in the Good Shepherd. However, He does intervene and gently guide us back to Him and we will experience  more faith than we ever had before.

I remember in my own life how He has intervened and I will give you a few examples. Whenever we have moved, we have found a good church right away and Christian friends almost immediately. This has happened with us the last three times.  My story “The Rich Uncle” – that’s here on my blog – is a example of one of those times.

Also, He has led me in terms of employment also. I heard a still, small voice when I didn’t know what to do tell me to go back to substitute teaching. My other job, being a homemaker which I do during the summer months I found by going to two random networking meetings and meeting each of my bosses at each one. Then, I randomly pulled Arlene’s card right out of a full basket and called her. We talked about it and she hired me right on the spot.

Bob, too, my husband got his bus driving job idea from a friend, Charlie, who used to do it. At first, Charlie wanted me to be a bus driver, but I didn’t feel right about it. However, I told Bob and that planted the seed. Now, he’s doing it and he loves it. It is a real ministry opportunity.

So even in the chaos of life, somehow the Lord does His will. I wish I could say it was easy, but it is not. However, I believe God is good and does His will in our lives if we are Christians and love Him. Like the Lord’s prayer we can pray that the Lord will come to our rescue. He may take us out of our troubles or deliver us through them. Either way, his direction will guide us and his will is the wisest way we could go.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. And we give you all the glory, Jesus! Amen!

He Leadeth Me Beside Still Waters…

We are now on the third week of Psalm 23 and it’s been a rough ride for me! Thankfully, the Lord has already miraculously intervened the last few days and helped me. I also want to add that  a few wonderful friends and relatives also have come to my aid too and I thank them also. I know the Lord is testing us – Bob and I – and hopefully He will be able to use me in a greater way and more effectively for His Kingdom through these trials.

So that brings us to this week’s verses – Psalm 23:2-3. Last week it was green pastures, now it’s still waters. I thought about the comparison between the two. I thought of Irene and all the rushing water and flooding that was left behind after that hurricane hit the northeast last week. Then, I thought of a pond of stagnant water. What was the difference? Looks like its busyness and inactivity.

Now, the green pastures can be visualized as a pleasant scene: richness, prosperity and life. Stagnant or still water, however, can be smelly, polluted or tainted. Could this be a contrast, too? Yes, I think it is. Still water could mean poverty and green pastures mean prosperity. Both are times of waiting on the Lord. Rushing waters mean busyness that could distract us away from God because we can become too busy for Him.

What does all this mean? It means, I think, that no matter what happens to you in life, good times or rough times, happiness or despair, prosperity or poverty, the Good Shepherd is leading you. He never fails to guide you through all your circumstances. What, then, is the result of all these experiences? It’s the next verse “He restoreth my soul…” He renews us, restores us and refreshes us as we follow Him. This is so we can fight more battles, oppose more evil and trust Him even more.

So whatever you’re going through right now, whisper a prayer and ask Him to guide you through it. Trust Him with your life. Though His ways are sometimes curvy, you will be led safely home. Yes, whatever happens, just remember that He’s always there, always waiting with open arms to love and always eager to encourage you to grow in your walk with Him as His child.

Father, thank you so much for all your love and guidance through these perilous times were in! Both in prosperity and poverty will we trust you to keep guiding us to our last breath. Help us to always glorify You in all we do. In Jesus Name, Love, Laura