The LORD is my Shepherd - Psalm 23:1

Our most precious of all psalms was written by a young David, a shepherd and a future king.  Can you just imagine his thoughts as he gazed upon his sleeping sheep and the glorious star-filled heavens.  In fact, he wrote many of his thoughts and we have such wonderful wisdom from what he learned from his job and from his God.  He had joys, fears, struggles, grief...every imaginable emotion was written from his time out in the fields and on the throne.  This was before the throne ever became a reality.


He knew what it was to be a shepherd - he came from a long line of them.  He knew they were responsible for every need of their flock.  He knew they needed to make themselves known to their sheep so they would recognize their voice.  He knew the shepherd would need to gently but firmly guide his sheep back onto the right path.  He knew if they were afraid, he would be the one to comfort them and restore them.  He knew their enemies would be his enemies.  He was their protector and would never leave them.  In fact, he may have been speaking as one who knew exactly what it meant to need a "shepherd".  For he knew who the "Good Shepherd" was and had a vital and committed relationship with Him.


Phillip Keller has written A SHEPHERD LOOKS AT PSALM 23 he says:

When the simple...statement is made...

that "The Lord is my Shepherd", it

immediately implies a profound yet practical

working relationship between a human being

and his Maker.

Do not miss John 10 where Jesus tells the Pharisees: "I am the good shepherd" (v. 11) and "...my sheep know my voice" (v. 27).  They could choose to follow Him or reject Him...but they couldn't do both.  Either He had authority and responsibility for them, or He did not.  Either they surrendered the control of their lives to Him or they did not.

I choose to call Him my Shepherd!  I give Him authority and responsibility to guide my life.  He is wisdom, I am not.  He is love, I am not.  He knows the future, I do not.  I am humbled by His leadership in my life and grateful.

For further study: Psalm 100:3, Psalm 119:176,  Isaiah 40:11, Isaiah 53:6, Jeremiah 31:10, Ezekiel 34:1-31, Matthew 9:36, Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:4

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word,

Love,

Holly



LOVE - 1 Corinthians 13

I love restaurants that let you choose among a list of items: "Pick 2"...one from the salad list, one from the sandwich list...or better yet, one from the dessert list too!!!


Our pillows today come from another kind of list...a LOVE list!

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,

it is not proud.  It does not dishonor

others, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no

record of wrongs.  Love does not delight

in evil but rejoices with the truth.

it always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Guess what?  We don't get to choose the ones that are easy, or comfortable, or ones that suit us.  This list was given to us to obey in full.  Paul is telling this body of believers that this kind of love (agape love, the kind that God has for us, unconditional-like...) is the solution to their problems within their church.  Max Lucado says about this list in A LOVE WORTH GIVING:

When we love someone we take the entire package.

No picking and choosing.  No large

helpings of the good and passing on the

bad.  Love is a package deal!

Here's an idea for your Valentine's Day celebration (and mine!).  List all the things that "love" looks like and find something in each area to love someone with.  For instance, if you find yourself getting impatient, go out of your way to give something back to that person.  Give them a gift or an action that shows them they matter to you.  The next day, go to the next item on the list.  No "Pick 2" this week.

For further study: Exodus 34:6-7, 2 Chron. 5:13-14, Psalm 32:10, Jer. 31:3, Lamentations 3:22-23, John 13:34, Romans 5:8, Galatians 5:22-23, James 2:10, 1 John 3:1-24.

Happy Valentine's Day, friends.  Be blessed in your understanding of God's love!

Love,

Holly



Praise the Lord - Psalm 92:1

It is good to praise the Lord

It is good to gaze upon His majesty

To proclaim His love in the morning

And His faithfulness at night

To worship and praise the Lord

by Lenny LeBlanc

The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to examine the old year...what were your priorities, do you want them to be different, will you challenge yourself in the new year?  Personally, I am never terribly happy with myself as the old year closes...I have once again let the year get out of control with details and busyness.  I have no excuse...my husband likes quiet...prefers quiet.  I am guilty of thinking I can and should do more than is reasonable.  My times with the Lord become less and less about Him and more and more about what needs to be done with my day.

Listen to Lysa TerKeurst in her study WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WOMEN SAY YES TO GOD when talking about making the choice of worry or worship:

We all worship something.  We must choose whom - or what -

we will worship.  Will it be the opinions of others, our

fears, or even our own comfort.  Or will it be the One

who created our souls to worship.  Whatever we worship,

we will obey.

The psalmist in our psalm for today had seen the Lord work...he had been protected and guided by His hand (v. 11), and he knew that if he praised the Lord, he would "flourish like the palm tree and grow strong like the cedar of Lebanon" (v. 12) and he made a choice to do so.  Who or what will you praise today?  The world will be screaming for attention and distraction, I don't have to yield to it!  It is GOOD to praise the Lord!!

For further study: Deu. 32:3, 1 Chron. 16:29, Psalm 95:6, Psalm 150:6, Proverbs 27:21, Daniel 2:19, John 5:30, Romans 1:21, Hebrews 13:15, James 5:13

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly







Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always - Psalm 105:4

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow

strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace"

Hymn by Helen Lemmel

Happy New Year, friends!  Did you know that the above hymn was written by a blind woman?  She, of course, didn't need physical sight to look upon her Lord...neither do we.  We only have to recognize that there are good things to look upon and some not-so-good things to look upon.  What are you looking at today?  What are you looking for?  I've used this quote by John Lubbock before, but I think it bears repeating

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for."

Ann Voskamp, in her Christmas devotional THE GREATEST GIFT, talks about Samuel as he was "looking" for a new king.  She says "always, always, first the eyes...", meaning, I think that she was agreeing with Mr. Lubbock that it is with our eyes we find what we look for.  Then she says:

Joy is a function of gratitude and gratitude is a

function of perspective.  you only begin to change

your life when you begin to change the way you see.

Oh I am so ashamed of some of the things I spend my time looking for...temporal and worldly things.  Everything in the world causes our eyes to look away from our wonderful Savior.  What we look for and how we see things affects everything we do...our lifestyle, our relationships, our goals, our joy.

Think about Peter (Matt. 14:22-36) and the joy and satisfaction of obeying Jesus in stepping out of the boat and going to Jesus on the water.  "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and began to sink...".  Oh is that not the story of our lives?

If we look for things that are wrong, we will find them.  If we "look for the Lord and his strength", we will find Him!  Our choice.

For further study: 2 Chron. 7:14, Psalm 34:5, Psalm 121:1, Prov. 4:25, Isaiah 55:6, Zechariah 12:10, Matt. 6:33, John 1:35-36,  2 Cor. 4:18, Phil. 4:8

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior - Luke 1:46-47

Have you ever been in trouble?  Realized you were in pretty hot water and not sure what to do?  Unfortunately I have and I did a lot of maneuvering before coming to the realization I better own what I did.  Our sweet Mary, mother of the Savior of the world, found herself in a very unexpected place...through no fault of her own.  We get our first clue that this is really big when the angel of the Lord says to her: "you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:9).  Whew...at least she's not in trouble with Him!  It was a mystery, but she took this sudden turn of events and took it for what it was...a tremendous privilege and gift from God.   Nancy Leigh DeMoss says about her:

What gave her life significance was her relationship

to Jesus...and it is what makes all the difference in

our lives as well.

Listen to Max Lucado:

Christ grew in Mary until He had to come out.

Christ will grow in you until the same occurs.

He will come out in your speech, in your actions,

in your decisions.

Mary didn't try to cover this up or change the circumstances.  This ordinary woman took an extraordinary assignment and rejoiced!   Have you made a place for Him in your life?  Have you "treasured in your heart" (Luke 2:19) His gifts to you and yielded to the plans He has for you?

Listen to Ann Voskamp:  "There is no need to produce or perform or perfect - simply become a place for God.  That is all."

You don't have to make Christmas happen - He has given us His Son as a gift - receive and treasure!  Merry Christmas, sweet friends, and rich blessings on your 2015! 

For further study:  Ezekiel 36:26, Job 23:12, Psalm 46:10,  Psalm 51:10, Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 29:13, John 3:27, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 1:27, James 1:17.

Love,

Holly

Always GIVE THANKS to God for everything - Eph. 5:20

Good morning and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  I have been trying to send this blog for weeks now...and I think the Lord finally has my heart where He wanted it -- VERY GRATEFUL!  I think that's where Paul was when he wrote this message...I think that's where his heart was throughout all his writings.  If there was ever someone who had a reason to grump, it would have been him.  He was writing many of his letters from prison...hungry, cold, lonely, destitute...but he wasn't grumping...what was he doing?  Praising God and thanking him with a joyful heart.  That's where I am today - and desire to be every day!  To be fair, it is not always my "default" position.

ALWAYS - This is not a moment-by-moment state - the word means "at all times".  Even when things are not going right...in fact, especially when things are not going right.  I believe gratitude is the defining mark of a believer - one who has hope in an eternal God and Savior.  Martin Rinkart wrote the hymn "Now Thank We All Our God" when he was surrounded by death and destruction. As a 17th-centry Lutheran pastor, his ministry was hard and yet he still found many things to be grateful for.  Nancy DeMoss says "True Thanksgiving comes at a cost".

TO GOD - Paul knew to whom he was thankful.  He was a brilliant man and his faith was strong...He knew the circumstances of his life were not an accident.  In 2 Tim 4:17, he said "...the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength".  He was grateful to God and God alone for that which was hard and that which was good.

FOR EVERYTHING - Listen to Billy Graham:

Thanksgiving for the Apostle Paul was not a once-a-year celebration,

but a daily reality that changed his life and made him a joyful

person in every situation.  Nothing turns us into bitter, selfish, dissatisfied

people more quickly than un ungrateful heart.  And nothing

will do more to restore contentment and the joy of our salvation

than a true spirit of thankfulness.

 

Recently I have seen a number of articles on Facebook giving the characteristics of toxic or unhappy people.  Most of them have to do with an ungrateful heart.  Don't read them if you don't want to be convicted about your grumbling, self-centered lives.  But if you want to have a heart of joy like Paul, acknowledge the ingratitude of your heart and the worldly pursuits we let define our lives.  "Always GIVE THANKS to God for everything" and let the life of Paul show you a way to live that brings joy to your heart and glory to your Father.

 

By the way, I have even more things to be thankful for this week than last - my sweet husband, who recently lost his mother, developed a pulmonary embolism and he has just returned home from the hospital, by the grace of God.  I am among the most thankful.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 

For further study: Psalm 69:30, Psalm 100:4 (notice how you enter His presence), Romans 1:21,

1 Cor. 15:57, 2 Cor. 9:15, Eph. 5:4, Phil. 4:6, Col. 2:6-7, Col. 3:15-17, 1 Thes. 5:18.

 

Love,

Holly

To the one who pleases Him, God gives WISDOM KNOWLEDGE HAPPINESS - Ecc. 2:26

I remember reading Gail MacDonald's HIGH CALL HIGH PRIVILEGE when I was a new pastor's wife and a bit overwhelmed with ministry, marriage and babies.  She had a chapter in there entitled "Serving an Audience of One" and it relieved me so much to know that I would never please everyone - and would probably collapse trying - but there was only One worthy of my devotion.  When we do what pleases Him - as Heb. 11:6 tells us - we are rewarded (I just love rewards!):

And without faith it is impossible to

please God, because anyone who comes to him

must believe that he exists and that he rewards

those who earnestly seek him.

 

Simple faith in who He is is what pleases Him...Isaiah 64:6 says "our righteous acts are like filthy acts"...no, Jesus said in Matt. 17:10: "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed...nothing will be impossible for you."

 

Our passage today reminds us we get some very big rewards when we please Him:  WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE HAPPINESS.  Is there anything you long for not in those three categories?

A.W. Tozer in THE PURSUIT OF GOD says:

 

Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise

himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers

of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility,

and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner

and weaker days.

 

Who have we spent time trying to please today?  Have we been rewarded?  If not, we maybe ought to examine the object of our affection and our devotion!

 

For further study:  Psalm 104:34, Proverbs 15:8, Matt. 6:33, John 8:29, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Cor. 5:9, Col. 3:23-24, 1 Thes. 4:1, 1 John 3:21-11

 

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

 

Love,

Holly