Facing the future without fears

A lot of people spend so much time worrying about tomorrow that they never enjoy today.

As David concludes Psalm 23, he is not afraid:

Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the
Lord forever."

You too can be free of anxiety, fear and worry about the future. Here's why:

1. God is watching over you.  When we have a personal relationship with God, then we have a God who is concerned about us. He loves us.  Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

2. God's Grace is working in you. Not only goodness will follow you.... "mercy will follow me all the days of my life." What is Grace?  Grace is God's riches at Christ's expense. Grace is the fact that God gives you what you need, not what you deserve. Mercy is Grace in action.  Why do we need Mercy?  Because we make mistakes, we falter, we sin. We're not perfect.

So in the future, you not only need God's Grace, you will also need His Mercy.

3. Heaven is waiting for you. "... and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  God says "I have this life planned for you and surely Goodness and Mercy will follow you through it..... but that's not the end!"  God builds it to a crescendo!  And David ends this Psalm with "We are going to Heaven!"

Who is Heaven made for?  Not everyone.  It is made for those who say "God, I want to be a child of God. I want to follow You."

It isn't up to you to make sure you get to Heaven safely.  Once you commit your life to Christ, He will make sure you get there safely because you are truly trusting Him.

How do you know you're going to Heaven? Jesus says "my sheep listen to me and follow me."  Are you listening to what God says to do with your life? Are you following Jesus Christ? Is He your Shepherd and your Savior?

If you say, Yes, I'm listening to God and I'm trying to let Him lead my life, letting Jesus Christ be my Savior; I know I'd never get to Heaven on my own and I'm trusting Him.  Then you can say with absolute confidence, Surely I know I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This concludes my writings on Psalm 23.  If I were to sum up what we've learned, I would say this:  The good Shepherd provides protection, provision, peace, providence, companionship (His presence), and paradise. Jesus is all you need.

God's Antidote to your Hurt

Psalm 23 verse 5 says:

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup overflows.

How do you handle your hurts? Many times we handle hurts in the wrong manner. Today I want to talk about some WRONG ways to handle hurt and then I’ll talk about the RIGHT ways to handle hurt.

Four wrong ways to handle hurt:

 1. Ignore it. – We say, “That didn’t hurt me;” I’ll deal with it later;” “It’s no big deal.” Ignoring your hurt never heals it.

Look at what Psalm 39 says about trying to ignore hurt:  “But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased. My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned…” (v.2, 3)

2. Run from it.  We find activities to take our mind off the hurt. But when we return, the problem is still there.

3. Hide it. We might wear a mask and say “everything is fine.” Revealing your feelings, however, is the beginning of healing. Sometimes it helps to talk to a Christian you trust.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. - James 5:16

4. Worry over it. If Christ is really in charge – why should I worry? Worry never solves problems. It never heals hurts. The more you worry about it, the bigger it seems.

Three right ways to deal with hurt:

1. Let Jesus PROTECT YOU. Sheep have many enemies – wolves, coyotes, bears, snakes. Sheep are defenseless animals. They don’t run fast. They don’t have sharp teeth. They don’t have claws. They need protection and only the Shepherd can provide that. The job of the Shepherd is to lead, feed, and protect.  Romans 12 says:  Repay no one evil for evil…If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Romans 12:17-19  Part of having faith in God, is trusting that He will protect you – even from your enemies. The longer you try to get revenge, the longer you are not trusting God.

2. Let Jesus HEAL YOU.   Shepherds used an oil mixture on their sheep to protect their flock from enemies (flies, mosquitoes, etc). Sometimes He heals by sending people to help us – that is called fellowship. Sometimes He heals by making His presence known in our lives.  Sometimes the healing takes place right away and sometimes it takes time. But God always heals if we trust Him. He heals the brokenhearted – it is a promise you can count on.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. - Psalm 23:5

3. Let Jesus BLESS YOU. In the Bible an overflowing cup is a symbol for total satisfaction. It represents that all our needs are cared for. We are totally taken care of… totally blessed. If you have Jesus as your Savior, you can say “My cup overflows. My life is spilling over with His blessings.”

God never stops filling your cup. You are always welcome at His house. He even says, “I’ll prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies; I’ll anoint your head with oil; your cup will always be overflowing.”

God has caused my cup to run over with hope, love and joy. What does your cup overflow with?

Have a wonderful week.

Dark Valleys

"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."

There is an old Arab parable that says: "All sunshine and no rain makes a desert." If you never have any down times, dark times, gloomy times in your life, you'll be dried up. You'll have no depth to yourself, no maturity. It takes good times and bad times to make a mature person. Life is a mixture of pain and pleasure, of victory and defeat, of success and failure, of mountain tops and valleys.

Even in our darkest valleys, our darkest days, God is there. "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." Psalm 23:4.

In Israel there is a real Valley of the Shadow of Death. It's a steep, deep and narrow canyon. The sun only hits the bottom of it when it's directly overhead at high noon. The rest of the time the bottom of the canyon is dark. David probably led his sheep through the valley of the shadow of death as he was growing up.

There are five facts about valleys that you need to remember whenever you go through a tough time:

1. VALLEYS ARE INEVITABLE
2. VALLEYS ARE UNPREDICTABLE
3. VALLEYS ARE IMPARTIAL
4. VALLEYS ARE TEMPORARY
5. VALLEYS ARE PURPOSEFUL

Remember that the passage says "through the valley of death."  It doesn't say "to the valley" or "detour around the valley" or "into and stop in the valley."  The darkness or rough times or trials are temporary. You go through it.

God has a reason for taking you through the valleys. Whether it's doubt, depression, despair, discouragement, defeat -- He's got a reason behind it.

What do you do when you go through dark valleys?

1. Refuse to be discouraged. Focus on God's power rather than your problem. Col. 1:11 "God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient."

2. Remember that God is with you. God not only promises us His power in the valley, He promises His presence. You will never go through a valley in life by yourself. You will never go through a dark day alone. God has said, "I will be with you."

3. Rely on God's protection and guidance.

The rod and staff were the two basic tools that a shepherd used to protect and guide the sheep. A rod was basically about two feet long; at the end of it was a heavy knot. Shepherds were very skilled at hurling the rod, like a missile, at anything that would attack the sheep. A staff was a long stick with a crock at the end of it. The shepherd uses a staff to guide and comfort. He will use the staff to draw the sheep in close to him. He will use the staff to lift them up when they're down.

God uses his rod and staff to protect, guide and comfort you. Remember: the valleys are temporary but necessary. But you will never have to face the rough times alone. Trust in God to help you through the valleys.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

He restores my soul

We are studying Psalm 23 and how God relieves stress in our lives.

He restores my soul.

This is good news; we all need to have our soul restored periodically.  We get hurt -- life's tough.  We get beat up by discouragement, depression, despair.  We have fatigue, failure, frustrations, and fears.  We all have hidden hurts from our past.  We carry wounds, battle scars, and emotional garbage.  God wants to take away this stress.  He wants to restore your soul.

How does He do that?  He does that when you allow Him to relieve you of three things that cause emotional instability:

1.  Let God remove your guilt.
2.  Let God relieve your grief.
3.  Let God replace your grudges.

You cannot get rid of guilt by yourself. You cannot pretend that guilt doesn't exist. You cannot "rationalize" it by saying "everybody feels that way." You cannot blame other people.

You must give it to God to take care of. He is the only one who can remove your guilty feelings.

You must understand this: God relieves you of this guilt the first time you ask. And He does it immediately. God forgives and then He forgets. And this you must do as well.

Sometimes we suffer grief. Sometimes our heart is broken. What do you do when your heart is breaking? What do you do when the grief overwhelms you in life? Throw a giant pity party? Play the "if only" game? Withdraw into a shell, hide in a cave, isolate yourself from humanity and say "I'll never let another man hurt me!" Do you just pull back and resign from life and be miserable the rest of your life? There are other options. You can let Jesus restore your soul.

Please remember this. To get rid of the guilt, you must:

1. Accept what cannot be changed.
2. Focus on what's left ... not what's lost.
3. Pray it up!

Don't exaggerate it, dedicate it. Give it to God. You're going to be hurt in life. Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional. The Bible says, "Blessed are those that mourn," but too long we take our mourning and hold onto it and turn it into moaning. The Bible says, play it down and give it up. Give it to God. Psalm 37, "Commit your way unto the Lord." Instead of saying, "This is devastating to me!" say, "God, help me make it through this situation!"

When you hold a grudge, who does it hurt? It doesn't hurt the other person. They probably don't even know you're thinking about them. It only hurts you.

How do you rid yourself of grudges? Give it to God. It's as simple as that.

Romans 12:19 "Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for He has said He will repay those who deserve it."

You will never be healed from your hurt until you accept God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ and then you offer that same forgiveness to other people. Jesus Christ can remove that guilt and nobody else can. He specializes in new beginnings. It's called being born again. He can wipe the slate clean. There is no reason in the world for you to go on with a guilty conscious when He offers forgiveness. Just accept it. Stop punishing yourself for the past.

Jesus Christ wants to heal your damaged emotions. He will restore your soul if you'll let Him.

I hope you have a wonderful week and I hope you feel better already!

Take time to rest

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Today we are continuing our series on Psalm 23. We are looking at seven ways we can relieve stress in our lives. Last week we looked at the problem of worry and found God’s Antidote for Worry. Today we are looking at God’s Antidote for “Busy-ness”.

People are busier than ever. Busy-ness has become an epidemic in our lives. Let me give you an example. Dinner time. The picture of the family sitting down at six o’clock and eating a home cooked meal together has almost disappeared. More Americans than ever before are eating their meals in restaurants. The words, “Let’s just grab something to eat.” – carries with it the sense of busy-ness in our lives. Did you know that many fast food establishments don’t call themselves restaurants but call themselves "stores"? By calling themselves stores, it gives the impression these places are not a place to go and enjoy a meal – but they are a place were we go to shop for meal. Many of the fast food places keep records of the amount of time it takes the customer to place the order until the food is delivered in their hands. The goal is to get as many customers through the "store" as they can in the least amount of time. This is how busy we are in our lives.

Did you know that God really does want you to relax?  Yes!  It is his antidote for busy-ness.

Realize God wants you to relax.  The only way that we can really enjoy life is by getting enough rest. The only way that you have enough energy to make it through another day is take the time to rest. It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know God enjoys giving rest to those he loves? Psalms 127:2

God never intended for us to work ourselves to death. Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed. Exodus 23:12

The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath. Mark 2:27  What this means is that the Sabbath is there for your benefit not the other way around. God knows that you need rest to recharge and revitalized. His will is to keep to healthy mentally, spiritually and physically. Rest so you can be refreshed.

Is your life a busy place where things sometimes feel like they are moving at breakneck speed? In the midst of my extreme busy-ness, I sometimes feel the need to escape, to decompress. My response? To create a quiet place. On those days when I don’t have specific chores or plans, I retreat to a quiet place. I grab some lunch and sit where I can read, listen to music, think, pray—and be refreshed. I think this is the essence of what the shepherd-psalmist points to in Psalm 23:2. He sees the Good Shepherd bringing him to “still waters”—that is, waters to rest by. It pictures a quiet place, a retreat from the pressures of life, where you can rest in the presence of the Shepherd of your heart and be strengthened for what lies ahead. Even Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to pray and commune with His Father. Mark 1:35.

We all need retreats in our lives, not only because of the overwhelming nature of life, but because of our dependence on the resources of the Master. In our fast-paced days, it is essential to find a place of solitude, “a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God.”

All of us can make time to meet with God, but do we? In Robert Foster’s booklet “7 Minutes With God,” he suggests a way to begin:

Start with a brief prayer for guidance, then read the Bible for a few minutes, and close with a short time of prayer that includes adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication for others. It’s vital to take time today to connect with the Lord, who is our life.

We need to set aside the time
To read God’s Word and pray,
And listen for the Spirit’s voice
To guide us in His way.

I hope you find time to rest and reflect this week.

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my Shepherd

Psalm 23:1  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  In other words: "The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need."  

We begin a new series I'm calling Stressbusters. We're going to look at the seven greatest sources of stress.  They are all found in Psalm 23.  And the antidotes are also found in Psalm 23.  Psalm 23 is the most beloved psalm of the Bible.  And it tells us what God is really like.  It's a picture of God.

The first cause of stress is Worry.  We all have pet worries:  finances, jobs, relationships, marriage, kids, health...  There are three problems with worry.  Worry is unhelpful, it's unreasonable and it's unhealthy.

It's unhelpful because it never accomplishes anything, it never solves anything.  It is stewing without doing. It's like racing your car engine -- you create a lot of smoke and noise but you don't go anywhere.  Worry has never solved a problem. It's unhelpful; it doesn't work.

It is unreasonable.  It exaggerates your problems and makes mountains out of molehills. It just makes problems seem bigger and bigger.  The more you review something when you're worried about it, the bigger it gets.  To worry about something you can't change is unreasonable.

It is unhealthy.  The body was not made to worry; it's unnatural.  When you worry you get ulcers, backaches, headaches, insomnia.  Our bodies were not made to worry.  Worry makes us unhappy.  Worry strangles the life out of you.  It's unhealthy.

You weren't born worrying.  You have to learn to worry.  You have to practice to be good at it.  The good news is that if worry is learned, it can also be unlearned.

What is the antidote for worry?

Psalm 23:1  "The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need."  If I believe that God is going to take care of me, I'm not going to worry.  How does making God my shepherd show the antidote to stress in my life?  If I let the Lord be my Shepherd, how is that an antidote to worry?  You have to know what shepherds do. 

§  A shepherd provides.  He provides food, shelter, the basic necessities for his sheep.

§  A shepherd protects.  He defends against enemies, harm.

§  A shepherd guides.  He leads sheep when they're confused and don't know which way to go.

§  A shepherd corrects.  Any problem that comes along, he corrects it.

The amazing thing is this:  God has promised to do these four things in your life if you'll trust Him, if you'll let Him be your shepherd.

Isaiah 40:11 "God takes care of his people like a shepherd."  God says, I'll take care of you, I'll guide, protect, correct.  I will help you, if you'll let me be your shepherd. 

He even gets more specific in Phil. 4:19 "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."  This doesn't say, God will meet all of your wants. There's a difference between needs and wants.  If God met all of your wants, you'd be the biggest spoiled brat in the universe.  He's not going to give you everything you want.  It would be like the Midas touch.  Soon you'd be miserable.  But He has said, "I will meet all of your needs."

How Do I Make God My Shepherd?

God is not the Shepherd of everybody.  He's only the Shepherd of those who let Him be the Shepherd.

Accept Jesus as My Lord

"The Lord is my Shepherd."  -- The Lord can't be your Shepherd until the Shepherd is your Lord.  The two go together.  You can't ask Him to be the Shepherd without allowing Him to be your Lord.

Jesus Christ is Lord in your life if He's calling the shots in your life.  If He's not calling the shots, He's not Lord. And if He's not Lord, He's not Shepherd.  Because the Lord is my Shepherd.

To accept Jesus as Lord means three things.  John 10:14, 27 "Jesus said, `I am the good shepherd... my sheep know me ... they listen to my voice, and they follow me.'"  These three words are what it means to have Jesus as Lord:  You know Jesus, you listen to Jesus, you follow Jesus.  You put Him in control.

Who's in control of your life?  God gives you the option.  He doesn't force Himself on anybody's life.  You have two options -- either you can be in control of your life or you can let God be in control of your life.  God doesn't co-pilot.  God is not going to force it on you, but either you can be in control of your life or you can let Him be in control of your life.  He made you.  He knows what will make you happy more than you do.  He has the power to bring those things to pass.  But He's still going to give you the option.

If God is running your life and He's your Lord and your Shepherd, you know He can control anything so you don't sweat it.  Make Jesus the Lord of your life.

Begin Praying About Everything

Pray about all the stuff you usually worry about.  Just talk to God.  He wants your friendship, your relationship.  Prayer gets in touch with God who can change it.  Whenever I'm worried I have two options -- I can panic or I can pray.

Phil. 4:6 "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything... if you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."

Pray about everything.  Don't just pray about religious things.  Most people, when they pray, pray prayers they think God wants to hear.  Pray about everything.  If it's big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about.  God's ability is greater than your anxiety.

"Cast all of your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."  I Peter 5:7

What's got you worried?  What is it that causes you to fuss and fume, toss and turn, wondering "Is it ever going to work out?"  What is it that when you think about it you get that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach?  God knows exactly what you're going through.

"Your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well what you need, and He will give them to you if you give Him first place in your life and live as He wants you to."

I invite you to take the first step by opening your life to Jesus Christ if you've never done so.  Ask Jesus Christ to become your Lord -- your boss, manager -- and Shepherd, as He's promised to do. 

Have a wonderful new week. Ask the Lord to be your Shepherd.