The Lord is my Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake
Psalm 23:1-3

This is such a familiar scripture for so many of us and yet because few of us have had any experience with actual shepherding we miss so many of the nuances of the passage. I’m reading a book by W. Phillip Keller called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 and it is opening my eyes to the concept of contextual reading of the scriptures. When David wrote the 23rd Psalm the readers or hearers of his day would understand the correlations between them as followers of God and the sheep that so many of them had daily contact with. Jesus used common every day illustrations that were so very relevant to the people of His day but are somewhat lost on us today. If we don’t take time to delve deeper into the context of the day when it was spoken or written, we could miss out on some really enlightening lessons. Let me give you an example, what do you think people will think of in a few hundred years when they read about Twitter or texting or iPods or one of a zillion techo-terms that we use today in our language. They won’t know who Seinfeld is or what tailgating is so what kind of trouble would they have understanding what we were referring to in our books. I want to challenge you to dig a little deeper when you are reading the Bible, study it, go online, read what other students have come up with, you will probably begin to see the scriptures in a whole new light! -pc

One Thing I Do Know

“One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see” John 9:25In this Gospel passage the religious leaders ask Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents causing him to be born blind?” To the religious elite, the man doesn’t seem important except to make a philosophical/theological point. Jesus in contrast had compassion on the man and healed his blindness. Organizations, governments even churches too often become insulated from the needs of the individual and get caught up in the agenda rather than the person. This mentality holds the hurting at a distance, far enough to keep us from getting our hands dirty. Jesus, He who created the universe has the ability to see the big picture, but is still willing to use His own hands to bring hope, help and healing. “Lord, give us your hands to heal this hurting world, today!”

pc

New Life?

July 30, 2009
“Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
John 3:3 (in response to Nicodemus)
Have you noticed how often Jesus and the apostles refer to the new life that we can experience in Jesus? Why would Jesus say this if the people weren’t missing out on something important… like life, but surely they were alive if they were listening to Him? Over and over again we are reminded that the life that we experience in Christ is different than the life we experience outside of the life of Christ. We are told to be born again, saved, rescued, transformed and many other examples of the radical life change we can experience when we are totally immersed in the love and life of Christ. What is holding you back today? Let’s walk wholly in His life!

-pc

Effectiveness of Prayer

I frequently have the opportunity to encourage people to develop their communication skills with God, we call this prayer. If we did a survey I am pretty confident that we would find that the majority of people we know pray, many on a regular basis. With so many people praying, don't you wonder why more folks don't have a more satisfying prayer life? I have taught people to pray for years and have found that when there is a block in communication it is always an issue on our end of the conversation, not God's end.

God is waiting to here from us, the only thing holding us back from an incredible conversation with the Lord is our hesitancy. Spend some time talking to your Lord today!

Blessings!

pc

Trading Off

Have you ever noticed how often in life we have to compromise? We have a pop up camper which requires a certain size vehicle to pull, we also have 4 kids at home so when we go somewhere together we need seating for 6 or more if they bring friends. When our minivan was totaled we had a dilemma. We had two little cars, both very economical but they only seated 5 people and neither was big enough to pull our camper, what to do? A new minivan would cost well over twenty thousand dollars and we already had a loan on one our cars. So, I did it, I bought a used SUV, not just any SUV, a Chevy Suburban (translation- a small ocean liner). Found a great deal, low mileage, good price and I have to confess, I love my new used TRUCK! I love all the room, I love sitting high above the traffic and I love the safety such a well engineered vehicle provides my family. But, there was a trade off, the gas mileage is pretty abysmal, a Prius it's not. Our other car gets 25-32mpg so we can drive it the most but when we need the room and the power, the Suburban is ready to go.

In life we have to make sacrifices, mpg for size is just one example; how about some more? Less fatty, salty, yummy junk food for a slimmer waist line and healthier heart. How about patience in our purchasing so that we pay with cash rather than getting ourselves deeper in debt and paying those crazy interest charges. Try this one on, listen more and talk less then have more friends than you have ever had before!

In our walk with the Lord we make sacrifices to deepen our relationship, sacrifices like giving up a little of our sleep so we can spend some time in prayer and Bible study before we face the struggles of the day. In our service to God we may give up some of our precious time to go and bless someone else; whether we are feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, teaching English as a second language, or whatever God may lead us to do. At first it may seem like a bother but I can almost guarantee that after serving God's children you will be even more blessed than they.
What are some areas that you might want to sacrifice to grow closer to the Lord?
pc

He is Risen!

Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia! As I look back over this day I am grateful for the celebration that we experienced as a family of believers. This year I was especially moved by the Holy Thursday and Good Friday gatherings. When we walk the Holy Week journey with Jesus, we experience Resurrection Sunday in a more powerful way. I am so grateful for the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross and His victory over death. A victory that we share in as we trust in Jesus as our Savior. Just as our church celebrated Christ's resurrection, so did believers all over the world, all of us rejoicing in the common theme of an empty tomb. Christ is alive, let all the world rejoice!

God's Blessings!

PC

The Pressure to Connect

Well, it has been awhile, sorry... wait a minute why do I have to apologize, blogging is not a job responsibility, family chore, friendship requirement or is it? Do I really need to check my Facebook twice a day, three times a day, hourly, is it really necessary? What if I have a life away from my laptop? How often do I need to look over my emails, is it absolutely crucial for me to have a Blackberry which allows me to check my email continually through the day? Is it rude for me not to get back to the 50+ people that email me every day, what if I don't get a response out to them for 3 days, does that mean I don't care or does it say that I am overwhelmed because I am trying to keep connected with 300 other people at the same time.

This staying connected can be a blessing and a curse, I was talking to someone recently who practices a weekly electronic sabbath, no email, no Facebook, no computer, no TV (sports too?), no video games. What a great idea! I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to.

Hey, here's a challenge for you, turn off the computer and go spend some face time with a real person.

God's Blessings!

PC