Prayer - Taking A Load Off

It’s another Sabbath evening. These are precious, precious times. Times to physically, mentally and spiritually unwind. The rest offered on this day is one in which I am refreshed in the presence of God. It’s as though as I relax further I’m able to give him all the week’s stuff and He in return gives me peace of mind and rest. Were you to be made aware of the stuff that’s been on the menu of my life this week, this is a most gratifying and relieving activity in which to engage.

I did have it mind to write on another subject this evening, but just before I got to blogging I did the evening devotion with the girls. Sometimes I read from their Children’s Bible, sometimes we watch some bible cartoons or sometimes I’ll just make up a story on the spot. This evening I chose the latter. As I held both close to me it gave me a chance to meditate and ponder with them in some quiet. As I did so I reflected on the power of prayer and made up a simple story on the lines of how essential prayer is in every walk of life in whatever we’re doing.

We obviously prayed to end the session and on tucking the girls to bed a new song entered the consciousness. By new I mean old, but it was new in my head at the time after another song had dominated for a fair while as you’ll see in a later post.

The first song that popped in me head was Tis The Blessed Hour of Prayer, the second was Sweet Hour of Prayer then of course the third was Did You Think To Pray. Sometimes being so far from home, my parents and the old way of living and doing church I forget some of the old favourites that my dad loved singing to himself. These three compliment each other very well and as you look at the lyrics you notice them really selling the virtues of taking the time to pray whether it’s when your life is dark and dreary or as a balm when you’re weary or even as one on whom we can cast every care.

It is so reassuring to know that God offers all of this through prayer. So once more I salute my parents and my old church for embedding these songs into me so that even now as I look to solve some complex and deep issues, and also enjoy the rest made for man, I am reminded that prayer is the route through which all that I need can be found. In the light of that conversation the rest is made even sweeter, the joy is even richer, the peace is even greater as I can engage as friend to friend as well as son to Father.

So enjoy these reminders (even one modern updating) and remember you can take a load off through prayer – talk, He’s listening, listen, He’s talk, stop He’s embracing you and giving comfort even in the hardest times and whatever your life situation He is right there to live it with you.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Dealing With Cares: Sing A Song

You know I’ve been mentioning assignments of late, well tonight is a very interesting one as I have to complete another one. I believe it really is the last proper assignment that I’ll have to do for a while, so if I can put in the effort over the next hour or so then I should be fine. Trouble is, I’ve been grappling with it since about 2pm this afternoon and that’s a rather long time to be dealing with an assignment that in other worlds I could polish off in a few hours. Such is the life of a man with a lot on his mind.

So what to do when there’s much on the mind? What to do when you’re in a challenging spot in life? Well sing a song of course! Even thinking about it in the run up to doing this blog piece as an illuminative ad-break from the assignment I chuckled at that whole concept. You’re in a spot of bother so sing a song. The Bible is replete with episodes of that happening. Whether it’s the suggestion of the prophet of God to Jehoshaphat when they were going out to war, or the response of the people in the Exodus on making it through the Red Sea as their enemy was flushed out.

The most outstanding episode that springs to mind is the one with Paul and Silas in Acts 16 who have just had the snot beaten out of them as punishment for upsetting the social order with their scandalous gospel talk. So then whilst locked up and presumably coughing and spluttering from the beatings they have received, what better way to pass the time behind bars than to sing a song or two.

Now I obviously don’t have a clue what they were singing. For most people the highlight is the bit afterwards where the earthquake comes and gives the prisoners a chance to do a runner. The guard wants to kill himself only to have Paul and Silas reassuring him that there’s no break-out today and there a gospel invitation is given and the guard and his family get in the business. That’s worth a big shout out right there and then. That’s great to see.

I’m still stuck on the singing business, though. Now the Praise and Worship fanatics will make a big deal of the usual mantra ‘when the praises go up, the blessings comes down’ and do the spiritual hokey-cokey and turn around because that’s what it’s all about. Sing a song – praise Him and He turns up and everything’s alright.

There are of course elements of truth in this glorious approach to life with God. There is however, something about singing a song that doesn’t just put our spiritual debit card to withdraw a blessing from God. There is something in singing a song that turns the words into the melody of the heart that brings them to life, giving them feeling and power that sometimes on their own would not be possible at all.

What it also engenders is presence. For as many people who have experienced ‘victory’ in praise, there are others who through singing a song endure and keep their hope set in God even when the circumstances continue to look dim only because of the Presence it engenders. It’s almost as though as we sing our hearts are intimately connected with the One who gave us the song in the first place. It’s no longer a matter of ‘getting results’ but it’s a reminder of where our first love rests. Music is surely powerful in evoking those sentiments of the soul and heart.

So it comes to me on this Sunday evening with loads on my plate mentally speaking. No I’ve not been beaten physically and imprisoned, but the last year or so has been rather harrowing on occasion. As things build up to the current day there is a great temptation to become overwhelmed with it all, until someone throws a song my way.

No ordinary song as you can hear, but one that says it is more than understandable to have issues. It is life to have many cares and then to deal with them is to follow the advice of Psalm 55:22, which Pete would repeat later on – throw those cares on God. Literally pick them up and throw them in God’s direction and having done so rest assured (two words that really need to be embedded into our psyche) that God Himself will keep us going. Not only will we keep going, but we won’t fall.

Now on that point I think it’s important to be very clear that the kind of fall I envisage hear is very much like the walking over a cliff fall – as in a fatal fall. God allows slip ups, but He will not let His righteous ones fall (especially from that height). So at this hour with things cracking off left, right and centre, I just sing a song and I am reminded of His wonderful love for me and His presence with me, so that I need not carry my cares at all.

A dear friend of mine gave me those words of assurance that I could let go of all the stuff that I’ve been carrying. He was confirming this verse. I can let go of it all, I can throw it at God’s feet and rest assured of His sustaining work in my life. It will literally be not me carrying myself or keeping myself going by sheer power of my will. It is God keeping me going. That is the reality for my situation. He is sustaining me. He is enabling me to keep on loving my wife and children. He is enabling me to keep up with my responsibilities … like finishing assignments on time. He and He alone is doing this and I am so glad that He is.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Fast and the Curious: Hunger and Thirst for God

So this is blog entry 150 for the year. One short of equalling the year’s record set in 2007 and thus only two short of exceeding that record and at the rate of entries on course to break that mystical 200 barrier. Not that it’s about idolising minutiae of blog entries, but it is about having a target if I hope to be a more consistent writer. I mean how much more can you get in consistency than surpassing one every two days and so to less than every two days. That would be tremendous for me and give hope for the future.

As ever an update on how we go to where we are now. First has been the ignorant start that led to an awareness of why fasting is so important. Relationships play a vital role in growing in fasting and there are great benefits found here. This was typified in a most remarkable episode that should have had lasting implications for me. Yet the last entry should just how busyness can lead to a downfall even from the heights that had been reached personally.

In any case a scripture to get on with things.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)

In many ways the timing for this entry on the Fast and the Curious series is most apt. The other night I was part of a church gathering which looked at Psalm 34 which says in verse 19 that encouraging piece of news for all believers – many are the afflictions of the righteous! Yeah, yeah, the Lord delivers us from them all, but did you see that first word – many. That sounds like quite a lot. As in that’s not a cheap and easy quick burst of affliction and that’s your lot, oh no, many. It’s in the contract. It’s a part of the deal. Now sure later on it would also go onto mention that the wicked gets lots of afflictions as well almost as if life comes with lots of afflictions but I’m sure some of us would prefer to join a side where afflictions aren’t in the ‘many’ category. I mean that’s what a lot of life is geared to isn’t it – stress-free, trouble-free, minimising pain, etc. etc. Yet here in God’s beautiful and glorious Word we’re told that this is not the path of the Christ-follower.

It gets worse (or better depending on your perspective). Jesus spends a considerable amount of his time telling potential followers that the road is not a glamorous one and is fraught with persecution, rejection, misunderstanding and trials. Just in case you think the New Testament writers would ease up on us Jimmy, Pete and even John give the impression that this journey is not for the faint-hearted.

Then just when you think it’s safe to emerge from the barrage of just what a hard life it is we come across, Paul lays on the above verse, which was mentioned in the same service. We rejoice in our sufferings? We do? Really? Rejoice? Well apparently this is where the rest of the verses provide the assurance that there is a purpose to the suffering even if an understanding isn’t always clear. That purpose is character building that reminds us of the hope we have evidenced by the reality of the Holy Spirit given to us.

The hope, the character building and the very presence of the Holy Spirit in life, points unmistakeably to Jesus. For some reason that still astounds me to this day, despite the fact that the label says Christian and we have come because of Jesus it seems only too easy once you get in there to forget the place He plays in the whole business. No we don’t forget Him completely, we still sing the songs about Him, we still talk about Him from time to time and we definitely hear about Him every time we’re in a church context. Yet a real heart devotion to following Him and becoming like Him gets lost in the shuffle of other life priorities – family, work, money, self, etc. It’s as though we love Him one minute and the very next we’re back to loving ourselves. One of the most loving things then about suffering is that in building character it reminds me often on whom I rely, on whom I trust, on whom my very existence and all else is dependent. For I have two options when I suffer – withdraw from God into myself, or draw out from myself and get closer to God.

I never knew that until 2004-05 when circumstances conspired to thrust me to the place of God being everything to me and meaning everything to me. The whole point of loving God, desiring God came through in a powerful from outside my box. It’s connection to fasting should be obvious, but to draw it out, there is nothing to rings out a more desperate cry for God than abasing our very human nature to hear from God, to experience God, to declare our ultimate desire for God above all else – including the very food and drink that others would suggest is fundamental to life.

As God drew me out of the hard season of 2004-05 He reminded me of some key inspirations to getting to know God and love Him and hunger and thirst after Him. First of all there was the ministry of John Piper which you can follow through the Desiring God web-site. To this day I do not know how I got into Piper. I think it may have been around a time I was getting a Bible database which included documents by different Christian writers, Piper being one of them. I was then fascinated by what he had to say about church and this went further into the core of his ministry which he defines as Christian Hedonism. Well he couldn’t have put something more provocative to someone like me who was already aware of the negative connotations of hedonism. Reading it and finding out that our greatest pleasure and desire is found in God and so it makes sense to make much of Christ. From the end of my university days until around the time of my marriage I didn’t pay too much attention to Piper after discovering him at university.

Yet coming out of my dark times I realised just how important desiring God really is to existence. Since then Piper’s ministry has had a profound influence on my passion and desire for God and teaching and writing and speaking. It was nowhere near my cultural and Christian background. What I was getting from Piper was not like anything I had experienced before and not because he wasn’t from a setting that was jumping and shouting. I laugh at the thought of someone like Piper ever being able to come and speak oat our church, but I would love it. I admire the way he is passionate about Jesus and the gospel. That was simply infectious and to know that his ministry had been relatively successful for over two decades of hard service was also very instructive. To see such passion and enthusiasm matched with such a diligent approach to study caught my attention. To hear his call for deeper relationship with God brought me closer to committing myself further to prayer and fasting. The God that Piper mentioned was the same that I’d heard for some 20 years at home, but there was just something insistent about the presentation. Something that said Jesus is so much more worthy of my entire life than any other ministry I had come across before.

The heart of fasting has been to feast on God and I’m grateful for this first remarkable character who helped develop that desire. Yet that was not enough and there would be another significant other who would nudge me in a certain area. That will be outlined in the next blog episode.

What I do want to finish this entry with, though, is an encouragement to go beyond your own way of knowing in exploring God. Be prepared for God to speak to you outside the conventional circles, so that just in the same way that Abram was called from his cultural norms and to come out to engage with the living God. Fasting plays a crucial part in the call of Christ to come out of what we know to what He knows. That is an exciting journey and very daunting, but lo He is with us always …

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
dmcd

Fast and the Curious

I’m aware … I don’t know if you know … but I am aware that even on this very blog I don’t always come quick to fulfil my word. It’s not to say I don’t fulfil my word, it’s just that my original timescale for fulfilling it and the actual timing are somewhat skewed. Now I know you find that hard to believe, after all how can a man of my verbose nature struggle with time-keeping?? OK silly question, end of the day I’m not always prompt and don’t always make my deadlines but I guarantee you my heart is well into improving in this area so that when I say we will have this, then I say it knowing I will deliver – a bit like the Man I follow.

To give an example of what I’m talking about, check this entry last year giving an update on how I was. Note specifically the promise of something on Desperately Seeking God looking at fasting. So that was April, check what I say in May. It’s looking good, but not quite coming out on time. Now check what I say month later.

So there you go – good intentions, bit slow in matching it with outcomes … until now.

So I was not sure if I ever documented my journey in fasting but it’s worth putting it down in this series the first entry will be called … well you can read the title can’t you! For the benefit of the exercise the definition of fasting I’m using is the abstinence of food and drink for some spiritual purpose. More details will emerge as the blogs go on.

Fasting was fairly alien to me until I left home for university. Now hold on a minute, you might say … if you had an inkling about my upbringing. Your parents are Christian, no? You go to church, no? Your church does fasting, no? So … help me out here how does that work? Those kinds of questions could be buzzing around … or not – that depends on you right but I’m happy to air questions you may have asked in your head, it gives a base to answer them. So yes my parents are Christians and dedicated ones at that, not nominal types. The home church in which I grew up was into fasting … I think. It was never a big deal in my family and I never got the impression it was that big a deal in the church. As a result I didn’t make a big deal of it. In fact forget a big deal, it wasn’t a deal at all!

This changed in 1997 when I spent the summer with a family friend who was yet to become a personal dear friend (hey Reuben!). During my time with him, I went to the church observance of fasting on the first Sunday of every month. This was not a practice that I did back in my hometown church for whatever reason. This church practice was a meeting for a few hours to pray. It was not that memorable. In fact I couldn’t recall anything of great significance during that period about fasting and praying other than it being done and the great relief that took place when I could actually eat again. The fasting wasn’t for that long anyway, well it felt long but it was barely the day itself in which we fasted and other than the meeting itself my mind wasn’t really focussed on anything in particular during the time of fasting.

So that’s a starter for ten, find out more about my journey of fasting in the next blog where you’ll discover how things took a change the more I got involved in church stuff. You’ll also get to see how I grew in my understanding of just how important fasting is not just for church stuff but individual consequences. See the link that this had with some of my eating habits.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Prayer Point Update

Just a quick note to let you know I love blogging and missed having been busy of late with the first weekend of some new initiatives at church. I am doing a bit more on Twitter these days and have been able to record some of the church events there. Some challenging things have been brought up recently that I need to act on which will hopefully lead to me fulfilling some exciting developments. Keep praying for me.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
dmcd

More Monthly Personal Reflections

This month really appears to have been one rooted in prayer. So even though for COG as a whole it’s been themed on young people, personally it’s been more of a journey in the importance of prayer.

This is reflected in the prayer day we had at the YMCA as well as the overall time of prayer and fasting that COG joined with the rest of North Staffs in the run up to Pentecost. Then as you’ve noticed there’s been, the season on prayer in the Daily Thoughts.

God’s been answering prayers in a major way Kevaughn got baptised this month which was a serious answer to prayer. Authrine had an outstanding personal breakthrough which again can be linked to prayer. Yesterday I had a brilliant day with Karen Way a dearly loved friend from Derby who’s about to take on leadership with her husband of their local YWAM. She was just such a blessing to the mission at the YMCA and also as a result a great Kingdom connection.

There have been various God encounters throughout the month that highlighted the fact that prayer has to be the foundation of growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
da man cd

Pray Believing

As we approach the end of the month, so I approach the end of the Daily Thoughts series at work on prayer. Just like the Word itself, coming to the end of something like this only highlights how much more could be said on the subject. It’s fascinating even approaching the subject in the way that DT does it to see the many dimensions and factors involved in talking about prayer. Today’s particular thought inspired this blog entry.

The issue here is faith. It is a topic we looked at as a church on Sunday and I found it really engrossing and fascinating looking at this basic of connecting with God and how it’s discussed with people just starting their own journey with God. It reminds me that part of the fun of building relationships and making disciples is being ready to share what you understand in a palatable format. That is the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) model (I’ve got to find another S for Stupid, it doesn’t get at what I’m getting at).

In any case here is the initial thought that’s been shared and following that some extended thoughts that I meditated on.

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Matthew 21:22 ESV

What a deal! Jesus seems to have turned into a game-show host offering the sale of all time – whatever we ask for we receive!! The catch in the deal, which makes Jesus a peacemaker connecting rather than a dodgy second hand car salesman, is that the key ingredient is faith. This is not mere positive thinking with fingers crossed, but a trust in our Father, built on a growing knowledge of Him so when we ask for ‘whatever’, we do so out of love from and for Him. Then there is reassurance that He hears and answers prayer.

This verse could get people into trouble and give people a reason to ‘disprove’ God. After all many are the stories of disillusioned people whose loved ones died or suffered trauma and wonder why God didn’t help them out, even when they prayed. The explanation that someone didn’t have enough faith can be patronising, insulting, hurtful and insensitive (even if on some occasions accurate). The deal here about having faith is not about having a divine cashcard to spend on absolutely anything you want, but being connected with the Source of Creation to get from Him the very best He wants for you.

The issue of believing is not primarily about belief in things to change, but trusting in the One who makes all these things, even the seemingly impossible, possible. The issue of prayer is relational and so is motivated out of a love for God and such a connection with Him that you’re able to walk in ways pleasing to Him and astounding to others. That’s why the definition and condition of faith outlined in the scripture on people of faith – Hebrews 11 – is so crucial. Faith according to verse 6 is about trusting God exists AND that He is the rewarder of those who are looking … for Him.

The deal then is not about what’s in his hand, or what am I looking to get out of Him. The deal of faith primarily is looking for Him. So as we look its fair to expect Him to give us what we need in the day to continue live as though we’re looking for Him. It is the reassurance we so desperately need when prayers appear ‘unanswered’ because if our issue is a reassurance of the reality of God we can say like the Hebrew boys in front of Nebuchadnezzar that God is able to deliver and even if He doesn’t, He’s still God.

For every Peter miraculously delivered from prayer, there’s a Peter who’ll end up crucified upside down. This doesn’t negate the worth of the gospel and the reality of God, because the bedrock is not on what He will do for me, but we will do for and through Him and we show Him most glorious as He is our strength at our weakest moments of confusion, hurt and pain. Seeing Him doing the miraculous, impossible and unexpected becomes the norm as we embrace the mysterious yet sovereign nature of the God we serve. That is why we can pray believing.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
da man cd

Prayer: Daily Dependence

Following the trend without necessarily getting into a habit of using these as extended thoughts on the ones that I send out, here’s something that forms part of Jesus’ guide to prayer.

Give us this day our daily bread – Matt 6:11

This can appear a rather odd part of the prayer. You woke up this morning, put clothes on your back and then worked hard for the best part of the week to get the money needed to get to the shop to get what you need for the day. In that way of looking asking God for daily bread is pathetic. Then we look at it from another perspective. The very ability to wake up is not something that we have given ourselves. The ability to move and work are blessings from the God who created us. In that way we really are dependent on Him for even the very basic things of life.

Yet this request goes beyond the material basics and to the heart of how we need to completely rely on God to sustain us just for the day. Just as it was with the children of Israel back in their time in the wilderness, there is not enough for us to store up for the next day, week or month. God gives us everything we need to face the challenges of the day ahead of us and our ability to look out for these provisions rather than worry about the past or the future ensures we can make the most of the present that God offers us called Today.

After all that’s why the writer of Hebrews in chapter three stresses the importance of protecting each other from conceit and unbelief by encouraging each other every day as long as it’s called today. It is amazing how often I take things for granted and never realise just how vulnerable I am to sly attacks to distract from what I’m meant to be doing today. Thank God for His Word then that instructs us on how we can do what we do in a way pleasing to Him and avoiding the many pitfalls that are so easy to fall into. We depend on God every day and need to verbalise that dependence throughout the day so as to be able to walk in the provisions that He’s made for every day.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
da man cd

Prayer: Nothing To Hide

Now I’ve said I’m not going to use Daily Thoughts as my kop out for blog entries and in a sense I’m not. What I am doing is offering a place to put down some extended thoughts on the initial daily thought that I release. Not a regular thing, but just a place for people who may have read the Daily Thought and are interested in exploring things a bit more.

However in the case of not having actually read the Daily Thought here it is.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:8)

What’s the point in telling someone something they already know? A response to this could be that as they already know there’s no point in saying anything. Yet there is something valuable in a relationship in still being open and vulnerable in sharing what’s going on. It is encouraging to the recipient that you still want to open the issue and share it with them – inviting them to be a part of the conversation and in the case of the Father a part of the resolution of the situation. That’s why transparency and honesty in prayer is beneficial.

And here is the extended thought.

I mean what would it say about a conversation if we’re holding something back? We either don’t think it’s important or we’re too ashamed to talk about it or we feel capable of dealing with it ourselves. In the context of a conversation with the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe that, in essence, could be reduced to negligence, fear/shame and pride – all things that are obstacles to healthy and effective relationship with God. Whereas in opening ourselves to involving God in our every day lives we’re in effect saying that even if we can do whatever ‘in our own strength’ we still acknowledge that even that comes from Him. Even if we can figure it out – that brain comes from Him. In living a life with transparent and open forms of communication we’re dedicating all of life to God, not just the bits that we struggle with.

Now does that mean we close our eyes solemnly and utter benedictions and doxologies to our most divine, heavenly, almighty source of all providence before opening the tin of beans, reading the newspaper, having a bath or other regular ‘mundane’ activities of life? Of course not – that would be absurd. (Although in the case of the beans there could be an argument to solicit divine protection for those who will suffer some of the gaseous aftermath of the consumption.) Prayer, however, as I’m suggesting, is an open channel of communication between God and ourselves – thus whether it’s a thought, a word uttered, a passing contemplation, all these can be our method of communicating with God on any and every given situation – hence the possibility of praying without ceasing.

So that’s why it makes sense that knowing our heavenly Father knows what we’re praying for, we might as well be open, transparent, vulnerable and considered in our prayer lives. Otherwise we’re like Adam and Eve in the garden, we want to cover up stuff out of shame, fear and pride, when we would be better off placing ourselves in His hand with everything – after all as a loving God that’s the kind of relationship He desires with us.

For His Name's Sake
Shalom
da man cd

It's Good To Pray - YMCA Style

I enjoy opportunities to encounter God and learn more about Him and hear from Him and experience Him in a variety of ways. On Thursdays here at work we have an organisational prayer meeting open to anyone to attend. Numbers vary from week to week but it’s good to see a contingent of people of various spiritual levels and journeys popping in.

From week to week I’m never too sure who’ll be ‘leading’ it. There’s the Godfather Jim Ford who usually comes in on Thursdays sometimes takes it. Then there’s the boss Danny Flynn who when he’s available pops in and shares something. In the absence of these fellows and on the rare occasion even when they are there muggins takes the session. They usually last about 15 to 20 minutes and involve a brief thought and opportunity for quiet contemplation and/or verbal expression of prayer.

Today’s was good. It’s usually good. The boss popped in and read Psalm 23 from the Message in the context of us living too busy lives and sometimes just needing to spend time in peace with God, knowing that he actually wants to spend time with us. As he read it my heart was stirred to rejoice again in the Lord who gives us rest. Such is the description of this shepherd that I was happy to take those moments of quiet contemplation. Well, as quiet as you can get with the tickly cough that I’m enduring. Now Danny had to nip off to another appointment and so left the session. People’s attention then reverted to me and yet I was more than happy to maintain the quiet contemplation aspect. So with eyes closed I mischievously said nothing literally hoping that the good shepherd would lead. And so he did as people just naturally drifted off into their work routine with no need for instruction … well, no need for much instruction, there were a few who took the initiative in my absence to suggest that if you want to go back to work you can.

The scenario got me thinking of two things. Firstly how much are we lead by the Spirit of God working within us and how much do people actually need to be lead by Spirit-led people? As I discover more and more about the call of God in my life I find myself believing more and more that as God acts He places us in positions to sow and water His Word in people’s lives that will lead them to experience Him and be lead by Him, however that comes about. Sometimes people do need to be lead, but even there the type of leading is sensitively done so people recognise God, not the vessel. The real challenge is to know how the Shepherd leads in various ways through various means, but also clearly – so there’s no need for doubt as He leads.

The second thing that I think of is how reading Psalm 23 always leads me to consider the Good Shepherd monologue of John 10 particularly verses 11-18 where the character of the Shepherd God loves is laid out to its sacrificial ends. So even if I am lead to lead others through teaching, praying, relating and encouraging the manner in which it’s done has to reflect the obedient, compassionate, sacrificial nature of the Good Shepherd.

No pressure, then.

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd