Who's YOUR Shepherd?

Shepherd: a person who tends sheep; a pastor (a spiritual overseer)

Surely: with assurance, confidently; without doubt, certainly 

How many times have you said/rehearsed the 23rd Psalms?? Any "regular" church-goer has probably recited this at least a 100 times; but how many of those times have you ever stopped and really thought about what you were saying?

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Do you know what it means to be a Shepherd? A Shepherd is a person who looks after and tends to the needs of the sheep in his flock. He protects them from danger and makes sure that they are where they need to be, when they need to be there. As your shepherd, The Lord is looking after you and making sure that all of your needs are met.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

As your Shepherd, He allows you to get your natural and spiritual bellies fed with the good stuff -- not the dried-up, used-up fields that won't fill us up and keep us properly nourished. Oh no, we get to graze and rest within the hearty green pastures. And He makes sure that there are plenty of times of peace and calm (still waters) in our lives.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even when we feel beat down and broken, He restores our soul -- He fills us with His grace and peace and He makes us whole again. Like that spiritual GPS we talked about some time ago, He's always guiding us along the path of righteousness to our ultimate destination (by His side).

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Even when we've sunk to what feels like the lowest of the lows and it seems like death is shadowing us, He's right there... and if we will just believe and follow him without question (much like those sheep faithfully follow their Shepherd) we will have no reason to fear -- just ask Ms. Gloria - she's a living testimony! He is with us and He will use His rod and His staff to fend off any evils that try to attack His flock - be that illness, depression, or anything else that might try to come after us.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

In the natural, most of us tend to watch our backs around our enemies... and our so-called "friends" as well! As sheep are cautious of coyotes and foxes; we have to be cautious of anyone who tries to steer us from The Lord. How awesome is the Shepherd that prepares a table for us right smack-dab in the middle of those enemies?! There's no need to watch our backs when our spiritual Shepherd has anointed us with His holy oil and is watching our backs for us!

On top of that - our Shepherd is here to make sure that our cups are running over. Take a quick minute to visualize that -- a cup that's so full that the contents inside are literally spilling out -- talk about having more than you need, right? That can and will be you - if you will just have faith and keep believing. You might feel like the brokest of the broke right now financially-speaking, but stand strong flock and keep following your Shepherd... sometimes it takes a little while to prepare a table! After all, we'll wait <somewhat> patiently for hours for a table at a nice restaurant. Can't we be patient enough to wait for The Lord's perfect time? I truly hope so, because this table and that overflowing cup are certainly well worth the wait!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

This verse is one of those verses that really brings things home for me personally. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."  Not "possibly," and not "maybe," no, the Word says SURELY -- our definition tells us that means without doubt or certainly -- goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. The next time the world seems against you, rehearse that - "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life"- and say it until you believe it, because if your Shepherd is with you, who can be against you??

So stay true to your Shepherd and He will stay true to you... and He will dwell within and around you for ever!

With all that said, let the church say amen... and AMEN!                    

It's SO Important that We Forgive!

Forgiveness: To pardon, to give up resentment. to grant as a favor, a gift

You know how we always like to receive presents from people? Well what about giving yourself a gift? I'm talking about the gift of life - Forgiveness.

No matter what we perceive has hurt us or has caused us shame and grief, we must always remember to forgive. Forgiveness is our path to healing, not to mention, it's what God expects us to do.  If we offend someone; we must quickly repent. If someone offends us; we must quickly forgive. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Forgiveness is big with God, because it's an expression of His love. When we choose not to forgive, we are putting limits on ourselves... as well as on the Lord. We are holding back on His love, His joy, and His peace that we should be showing one to another - instead we carry around all sorts of unprofitable weight.

Matthew 18:21-22 says, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (In case you were wondering - that’s every 2 ½ minutes.)

Forgiveness is a choice - if we are on the receiving end of someone’s unkind words or if there were unkind deeds that were done to us in the past, we have a choice. We can choose to forgive and move past barriers that will separate us from others (and from the Lord) or we can tie God hands with our unwillingness to forgive. How easy is it for us to forget that we have made mistakes in our life?? Keep that in mind next time you're holding a grudge. We must forgive others so that we can too be forgiven.

We have no excuse for holding grudges; for not forgiving others... while Jesus was hanging on the cross He said, "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Surely we can do the same, right? Especially since we're not hanging on a cross! Forgiveness is a gift - one that we can all use and one that we all need.

I read this in my email a couple of days ago, I want to share it with you. Forgiveness is the economy of the heart...forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, and the waste of your soul.

With all that said; let the Church say amen... and AMEN!

Let's Show Love To..Well...EVERYBODY!

Love: unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as the fatherly concern of God for humankind

My friends, as we approach Christmas, it's important that we remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. With that in mind, we should also remember how important it is that we make an effort to take on the nature of Jesus Christ. This means that we need to show love and compassion toward one another and remember that when the Lord blesses us, we should be a blessing to someone else - that blessing could be with our time, our money, or simply by sharing the word of God. Of course, this should be a way of life for all of us, but let's face it - for most of us - it's not!

Before we get tangled up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, let's show the love of Jesus to someone we might not normally show it to. For instance, when we see road construction, let's not get upset about it slowing us down, making us late, or about the dust making our cars dirty - instead be grateful that the road construction is making the roads safer for us. When a car pulls out in front of us in traffic, let's be thankful that they did not hit us. If we can do something special for a neighbor instead of gossiping about them, let's show the love of God to them and do something special to brighten their day.

The Father gave us the perfect gift when He gave us His son Jesus. This is a gift that simply cannot be duplicated. So if we don't get that gift we wanted this holiday season, let's show gratitude instead of disappointment. We don't know the gift giver's situation - that gift may have been the best gift he or she could afford. It's not the gift that's important, it's the reason for this season - Jesus Christ!

Isaiah 9:6 is a good reminder that the Father gave us everything we could possibly need, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!"

With all that said, let the church say Amen and... AMEN!!

Time Waits For No Man!

Time: the period or moment in which something happens

Time is constantly moving -- it waits for no man. Can you believe that we're about to enter into a new year, when it feels like only a few months ago we were saying the same thing about 2015?! Since time has a beginning and an designated end - and we can't control either - it's imperative that we get busy! This is our journey, and on this journey we have a specific destiny to fulfill. So if you're wondering about the best way to spend your God-given time - a good starting place is to consider how God looks at time and how He wants us to use it.

Since we are accountable to God for how we use our time, we must plan our time around what's really important. Matthew 6:33 says; "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." We must seek God first to get strength, wisdom, and directions to fulfilling our destiny, and then we move forward.

My friends, I think you'll agree when I say that whatever controls our time, controls our life. We can simply look at Jesus for an example of this: He had thirty three years on this earth, and during that time, He was always doing His Father's business. He used His time, strength, wisdom and direction to do exactly what the Father called Him to do - healing the sick, raising the dead, opening the eyes of the blind, making the lame walk, feeding the hungry, and the list just goes on and on. The point here is that Jesus spent His time here doing what His Father wanted Him to do.

Think about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - he had but 39 years on this earth. In his time, he was busy doing what God called him to do and he made many, many major accomplishments. He made the best use of his time by working toward and accomplishing the things that he knew were truly important.

What we don't want to do is waste time by being disobedient like Lot's wife, for instance. As you likely recall, there were things going on in Sodom and Gomorrah that God was not pleased with. In His merciful way, God gave Lot and his family the opportunity to escape, so they could continue on with their destiny. But Lot's wife didn't want to leave her past, and her time was shorten, as she looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.

Time is so very precious, because by it we have an opportunity to escape everlasting misery, and obtain everlasting life. We may lose things in this life for one reason or another, but it's very possible that we can get back something that's even better than the first thing. However, when time is gone it's impossible to get more. When you really think about it - time is more precious than money, because when our time is gone, we can't purchase it with money; therefore, let's not spend our time chasing money, but rather chasing the will of God!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen and… AMEN!

When It Rain, Sometime It Pours, But Brighter Days Are Ahead!

It may be raining in our life right now, but my friends, I'm here to tell you - the sun is going to shine again!

Sometimes when it rain, it pours - but have no fear - there are brighter days ahead. Psalms 30:5 tells us that "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." I realize that this is probably easier said than done, but when the storms of life start raging, we must hold on to God’s unchanging hand. We do that by sending up our praise, our prayer, and by quoting His word back to Him.

You know, sometimes we get a little lazy with our praise to the Lord - we don’t spend as much time in prayer like we use to; we become so busy with other things that studying the word becomes a chore. So the Lord allows a little rain to fall. Mind you, He’s not allowing that rain to kill us - it's just enough so we will bow our knees and give Him the praise that He so rightly deserves. It's also a reminder that we need to put our trust back in Him and not in ourselves. He does this out of love for us.

The Lord allowed some rain to pour in Job's life, but after Job humbled himself and acknowledged God's sovereignty, he came out with twice as much as he went in with. God allowed some rain to pour in the children of Israel life, but when the sun started to shine for them, Psalms 105:37 tells us that they came out with silver and gold and there was not one feeble person among their tribes. Slaves leaving Egypt with silver and gold! Can you imagine that?!

If the rain didn’t fall, we wouldn’t know how to appreciate the sunny days! God also allows the rain to fall to see what’s in our heart; to see if we are in love with the gifts He gives us or if we are in love with the giver. It’s easy to praise the Lord when the sun is shining, but it’s so important to always have the same praise when the rain is falling on and around us.

It's imperative that we remember what the word of God tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, regardless of whether it’s raining or if the sun is shining: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Also, remember not to get a bad attitude just because it’s raining in your life.  A bad attitude is just like having a flat tire - you can't go anywhere until it’s fixed!

In the days of Noah it poured, but for the ones that were obedient, there were brighter days ahead and the sun did indeed shine! So, be encouraged my friends - the Lord is too Holy, too Righteous, and too Just to allow anything to cross our path that’s not for our good and His Glory... no matter how it may appear to us! When it starts raining, sometimes it pours - BUT there are brighter days ahead!

And with all that said, let the church say amen… and AMEN!