Forever

Contemplate on this word “forever” for a few minutes. It is one we cannot fathom with our own minds. It is an important word in the Bible, however, for it is used 339 times. Another similar word is eternal and it is used 97 times in the Bible. These words give a different perspective to our existence. The physical aspect of our lives that we live here on earth is an extremely small part of our existence.

Of much greater importance is our spiritual nature because it exists forever. When we live with eternity in view our priorities become aligned with God’s priorities. First we should consider that God gives every one of us the choice of spending eternity with Him in heaven or away from him in Hell. Since we are born as sinful creatures we are bound to spend eternity in Hell unless we personally choose to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Once we have done that we are eternally secure in Him. God will never go back on His promise or His acceptance of us. Jesus says in John 10:28-29 “I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Once we accept Jesus as our Savior and begin to study His Word we begin to realize the importance of eternality. We learn that because God is eternal, everything about Him is everlasting, including His love (Psalm 103:17; Jeremiah 31:3), kindness (54:8), power (Romans 1:20), and purposes (Ephesians 3:11). We, as believers have an “eternal house in heaven” ( II Corinthians 5:1), where we will enjoy “eternal glory” with Christ forever (II Timothy 2:10). We also experience eternal joy (Isaiah 61:7).
I pray that you will learn to live consistently with eternity in view.

Dwelling In God’s House

The word dwelling means taking up permanent residence. It strongly implies that our relationship with God is more than just a visit or something temporary or part-time. I’m also reminded of the word "home" when I think of dwelling. A home is much more than a house. It is not only a physical place, but a location where your life is centered. Betty and I have lived in our current home for over 35 years. Our daughter was only six years old when we moved here and our son was only two. They both consider this to be their home. It is where they grew up and contains many memories for them. It is where much was learned as they matured to be adults. It is a place where they have always felt very secure.

The Christian’s relationship with God is also permanent and secure. The phrase, "Dwelling in God’s house" doesn’t mean we live in a physical church building, but that we enjoy full and permanent communion with God. He is a safe haven and we can trust Him in all situations. We are secure in that we know that His love for us is always faithful and unchanging and He will not ever leave us or forsake us even though we might stray in our relationship with Him. We are always welcome back into true fellowship with Him.

A home is where we are with family, those we love. We can be very transparent with them because they know us better than anyone else. Our relationship with God is also that way. We are always completely transparent before Him. He is the perfect Father, always desiring the very best for us, and if we follow His will we will be completely satisfied in Him. We can bring Him our problems and concerns because He loves us. As we seek His counsel through His Word and prayer we receive guidance for our lives. In times of distress His Spirit comforts us and in time of joy He rejoices with us.

Finally, I’m reminded that we, as Christian’s are just visitors here on earth. In John 14:2 Jesus says "In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you." Christ is now in heaven preparing a place for us where we will dwell forever. There is an old gospel song that says "This world is not my home, I’m just passing through". We as God’s children can look forward to the permanent, eternal place He is preparing for us.

Lovingkindness Follows Me

The psalmist not only says that God’s goodness will follow him, but also God’s lovingkindness. The Hebrew word that this is translated from is most often translated “mercy”. Mercy may be described as compassion or forbearance. It is because of God’s mercy or compassion that we experience His grace. His forbearance is exhibited in His great patience with us.

Psalm 32:10 says “He who trusts in the Lord, loving-kindenss shall surround him.” That is a good picture. It is comforting to think that we are completely surrounded by God’s mercy. That gives me a feeling of great love and protection.

In Psalm 51:1 David says “Be gracious to me, O God, according to thy lovingkindnesss; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions.” Another attribute of God’s lovingkindness is graciousness. It is because of His grace that He has forgiven our sins although we were totally undeserving. We enter into a personal relationship, not through anything we have done, but because God forgives us.

In Psalm 59:10 we learn “My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes.” Two thoughts come to my mind as I consider this verse. First, God comes down to us. We are not capable of going up to Him, but He condescended to come down to us. Secondly, in Him we are always triumphant. Paul says in II Corinthians 2:14 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ…”

David proclaims in Psalm 63:3 “Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee.” I believe David often began his prayers with thankfulness for God’s mercy and compassion and that is good for us to do also. Often we rush into our prayer life listing all the needs we would like God to meet. God patiently listens to us but I believe He would be much more pleased if we began our intercession with thankfulness and praise for who He is and what He has done for us. Would you consider making this a habit in your prayer life?

Goodness Follows Me

After describing Christ as our Shepherd and the results of submitting to Him, the psalmist now states with confidence, using the word “surely” that “goodness and loving-kindness would follow me all the days of my life.” Let’s consider first the word “goodness”. There are several verses in Psalms that help us understand this word.

First in Psalm 27:13 David exclaims “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” We can recognize God’s goodness in our lives and it keeps us, as His children, from despair. We don’t despair because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the confidence we have in our relationship with Him.

Psalm 31:19 says “How great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast stored up for those who fear Thee, which thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee.” The goodness of God here is pictured as a bank from which we can draw. The bank holds an inexhaustible supply of God’s goodness. Secondly, it is available as we take refuge in Him. Psalm 46:1 says “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 86:17 says that in God’s goodness He helps us and comforts us.

When we are feeling downcast or discouraged it is beneficial to remember that God’s goodness is always with us? He may take us through deep waters and dark valleys but it is always for our good. His goodness draws us into a deeper relationship with Him. He wants us to depend on Him and trust Him with every aspect of our lives. We can be sure that because God loves us He always desires the best for us and His goodness will always follow us.

My Cup Overflows

The psalmist now begins to reflect on the impact of the Lord’s presence in his life as a Shepherd. His first thought is that his cup overflows. I am reminded of John 10:10 where Jesus says “I am come that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” As I observe many Christians today it is apparent that they are not living an abundant life, but a defeated life. That is because they are not allowing the Lord Jesus to be the Lord of their lives. They have trusted Him as their Savior but are not willing to trust Him as their Lord.

Paul talks about “those who receive the abundance of grace” in Romans 5:17 explaining that they will “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” In II Corinthians 1:5 he tells us that “just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” And in 8:2 he gives the example of the Macedonian churches “that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.”

In our culture when we think of overflowing and abundance we most often are viewing things from a material perspective. Paul talks about joy in affliction and poverty. I’ve taken mission trips to Guatemala, Colombia, and Africa and have seen the very poorest of the poor. Yet, the Christians I’ve met there are some of the most joyful I’ve met. I think it is because they have truly come to understand what it means to depend on the Lord.

Another verse that comes to my mind as I consider the overflowing cup of the Christian is Ephesians 1:3. Here Paul exclaims “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.” That verse tells us the blessings have already been given; all we have to do is appropriate them in our lives.
I pray that you will allow Jesus to be the Lord of your life on a moment by moment basis so that you may experience the joy of an overflowing cup.

The Anointing of Oil

We previously discussed the summer pastures the shepherd prepares for the sheep. Now it is summer and the sheep are in those pastures. Summer time brings out a lot of flies. There is a fly called a nose fly which is particularly bothersome to the sheep. The nose fly lays its larvae in the nose of the sheep and as those larvae develop they cause an itching which make the sheep go crazy. You can imagine what something crawling around in your nose would feel like. The remedy is for the shepherd to put a mixture of linseed oil, sulfur and tar on the sheep’s head which keeps the flies away.

Another habit of sheep is that they love to rub their heads together. This causes the transmission of scab, an irritating and highly contagious disease caused by a microscopic parasite. In old Palestine the remedy was to put a mixture of olive oil, sulfur, and spices on the sheep’s head.

The anointing of the head of the sheep may be compared to the anointing of the Holy Spirit on our lives. I John 2:20 tells us “you have an anointing from the Holy One”. In Acts 10:38 we read that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Just as the anointing of the oil to the sheep’s head brought contentment, so the anointing of the Holy Spirit brings peace in our lives. He is our only true source of contentment.

Remember Paul said in Philippians 4:11 “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” His contentment came from the ministry of the Holy Spirit in his life. Americans today struggle to find contentment and are unable to do so with material things. There is always the desire for more. The Christian, however, learns that contentment comes from a relationship with God, rather than something we can purchase. Therefore, our contentment is based on our relationship with Him, rather than anything this world can provide.

I pray that you will continually recognize the spiritual peace and contentment that God can bring in your life through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

God Prepares A Table

It is easy to pull this verse out of context and many commentators do saying that this scene takes place in a banquet hall. We must remember that this entire psalm is about a shepherd and his sheep. I believe this verse refers to the work a shepherd does in preparing the summer pastures for his sheep.

During the winter months shepherds around Palestine would make trips to the summer pastures; going from the valleys into the high tablelands and begin preparing them for use in the summer. In early spring he would visit once again and look for the best grass for grazing. He would check for poisonous weeds and eradicate them because sheep will eat everything. He also would distribute salt and minerals in appropriate places and clear out the existing water sources.

I think this is a picture of Christ’s preparation for the future of our lives. He brings into our lies those who can mentor us and help us grow in Him. He leads us to good churches where we can be fed. Through the Holy Spirit He ministers to us so that as we yield to Him and accept his guidance we are led in paths of righteousness.

This verse also tells us that He does this in the “presence of our enemies”. It is a reminder that the enemy is always around and watching looking for an opportunity to side-track us and to lead us into sin. However, Christ as our great Shepherd is also always with us and He has experienced every temptation we face and is willing and able to keep us safe and provide for us if we allow Him.

God has provided a table specifically for you and wants you to eat of it. As you do that you will grow in your relationship with Him and realize true spiritual success and joy. I pray that you will constantly partake of what He has prepared for you.