I Shall Not Want

"I shall not want..."

Psalms 23

Some have translated this phrase "I shall not lack anything. There are at least two potential applications to this phrase. First, Gods children (sheep) can be assured that all our spiritual needs will be met. Secondly, God also provides our material or physical needs. Paul says in Philippians 4:19 "my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus". When we consider that God is the owner of everything and His riches are limitless, we can be confident that He will provide what He knows is best for us.

To a large extent we in America have lost all concept of needs contrasted with wants. My visits to third world countries, Guatemala, Colombia, and Africa really awakened my senses to that fact. They have so much less, materially, than we do yet seem completely satisfied. I think our culture strongly encourages us to think of many unnecessary things as needs. The other thing I noticed is that those whose perceived needs have not grown out of balance seem to appreciate more the spiritual side of life.

Often, I think, we feel our spiritual needs are not being met but we are simply not appropriating Gods blessings in our lives. Ephesians 1:3 says "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Notice that this passage tells us He lavishes the riches of His grace on us (v. 7-8). The blessings are there for us to accept.

I think another problem we have is we take Gods blessings in our lives for granted. Remember the story of the ten lepers that were healed (Luke 17:11-19). Only one said thanks. We should recognize Gods provision in our lives and be specifically thankful for all He supplies, whether spiritual or material. Ive noticed it is much easier for those who have little to be thankful, than for those who have much.

God has given you much. May I suggest you take the time to consider all He has given you. Consider the freedoms we have including reading and studying the Bible and all the resources He has given you to help you understand it. Do we appreciate the freedom of worshipping publicly? Spend some time thanking God for His provision in your life.

The Lord Is My Sherherd Part 2

Notice how David personalizes this Psalm. He does not tell us that the Lord is a shepherd, but that he is my shepherd. David recognizes the relationship of himself as a sheep and the Lord as his shepherd. As a shepherd himself, David clearly understands the relationship between the two.

Consider now the responsibilities of the shepherd. Scripture gives us much information about the shepherd because it was a common occupation in those days. The intelligent shepherd knows that sheep are creatures of habit. If left to themselves they will follow the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes; and pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites. The shepherd must also care for his land so it remains good for grazing. That is why the shepherd moves the sheep so often while grazing.

The shepherd is also responsible for the safe-keeping of the sheep day and night. Jesus says in John 10:7 "I am the door of the sheep". That is a phrase of protection. At night sheep are herded into a safe place which can be guarded at a single opening. The shepherd lays in that opening to protect His sheep.

The shepherd is responsible for disciplining his sheep. At times sheep like to wander away from the flock. The shepherd may break the leg of a sheep that consistently does this to keep him from going astray.

The shepherd cares for his sheep when they are hurting or in danger. In Matt. 12:11 Jesus says "What man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not hake hold of it, and lift it out?" Matt. 18:12 talks about leaving the 99 sheep to find the one that has gone astray.

The shepherd and the sheep know each other. The shepherd has a peculiar call to which his sheep responds. John 10:27 tells us "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." He also places an identifying mark on each of his sheep so that no one can steal them.

Spend some time today considering the ramifications of the Lord being your shepherd.

The Lord Is My Shepherd Part 1

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

Psalm 23

As I read the twenty-third Psalm the first word that catches my attention is "Lord". I think it is important that we contemplate the meaning of that word. There is a difference between the Lordship of Christ and His Saviorhood.

Many today, and in history, have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, but really don’t understand how to allow Him to be the Lord of their life. Others understand but aren’t willing to allow Him to be Lord.

One way to look at the difference is that when we trust the Lord Jesus as our Savior we trust Him for our eternal destination. When we accept Him as our Savior we can have assurance that we will spend eternity with Him. When we allow Him to become the Lord of our lives He assumes control of our moment by moment lives here on earth. We consistently seek His counsel and follow His will in all we do.

He does this through the ministry of the Holy Spirit who indwells us at the moment of salvation. His desire is that we remain full of the Holy Spirit. That, however, is our responsibility. Ephesians 5:18 exhorts Christians to "be filled with the Spirit". We do not receive more of the Spirit, but the Spirit has more of us. The phrase means that we are to continue being filled. The Holy Spirit desires a moment by moment relationship with us, but that relationship may be hindered by sin in our lives. Filling is that ministry which is accomplished in the believer when he is fully yielded to the indwelling Holy Spirit.

As we are filled with the Spirit we will carry out the exhortation of Paul in Galatians 5:16 which says "walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh". Here we have a command "walk by the Spirit" and a promise "you will not carry out the desire of the flesh".

I pray that you will allow Jesus to be the Lord of your life. In doing so, you will carry out His will and will be richly blessed.

The Ascension

"And He led them out as far as Bethany,

and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

And it came about that while He was blessing them,

He parted from them. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

and were continually in the temple, praising God."

Luke 24:50-53

Luke ends this book with the dramatic account of Jesus return to His Father in heaven. Now that we have gone through the book of Luke I suggest you begin a careful study of his next book, Acts. Acts 1:9 picks up where Luke 24:53 ends: "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; and they also said "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

Can you imagine the thoughts and feelings of these men as they watched their Savior return to His Father as He had told them He would do? It must have been an amazing sight and one that was indelibly imprinted on their minds as they walked through the rest of their lives and faced the trials and hardships He had told them about.

The next time Christians will physically see the Lord Jesus is when He returns to rapture us into heaven. I Thes. 4:16-18 says "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord." That imminent return is the Christians great hope.

Jesus told the disciples to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to indwell them as the Father had promised and they were obedient. When that happened they would receive power and become witnesses for Him throughout the world. That is our mission today as we wait for His return. We know that those disciples were faithful in carrying out the mission they had been given. I pray that same faithfulness will be true of you.

Clothed With Power From On High

"And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you;

but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed

with power from on high."

Luke 24:49

Jesus continues in His final address to the disciples by reminding them that they will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That is what He means by the phrase "clothed with power from on high." Notice He told them to stay in the city until that happens. There are a couple of points we should notice from this comment. First, in order for them to be effective in their ministry it was critical that the Spirit minister in and through them. He did not want them to go out on their own. He wanted them to recognize their need for the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Secondly, all they were to do was wait. There was nothing they could or needed to do to earn the presence of the Spirit. Jesus had told His disciples earlier (John 15:7) "it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." He also told them that the Spirit would "teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you (John 14:26). In (John 16:13) He further explained "He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

I like what Bruce said the apostles would gain from the presence of the Holy Spirit "enlightenment of mind, enlargement of heart, sanctification of their faculties, and transformation of their characters." The Holy Spirit is active in the heart of every Christian today accomplishing those same things. He is severely limited in some of our lives because the presence of sin and our refusal to yield to God’s will for our lives. Others have not been properly taught about His present ministry and because of that His effectiveness is limited.

I pray that you will realize the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life as a child of God and will allow Him the full orbed ministry He desires.