A LOST SHEEP'S PSALM

I am a sheep, and by nature, very dumb,

I know when I am hungry, thirsty and tired,

But don’t know how to get these needs met.

I know I don’t want to be prey to the wildlife out there,

But don’t know how to keep me safe.

Sometimes I am afraid and tired,

But have no idea how or where to find rest.

 Oh, somebody, HELP ME!

 Wait: I just realized what I need: a caretaker, a shepherd! A shepherd knows all the things I need, and he has the resources and the ability to provide them.    

This Shepherd found me when I was lost, wandering, and without hope. I wasn’t even aware of my condition. How sad: to be lost and not know it!

He took me into His loving sheepfold and made me one of His own. Now I am His forever; I’ve finally found love and a sense of belonging.

Ever since He brought me into the fold, things have changed drastically: He’s given me many marvelous promises, and the assurance I never had and never realized I needed. He’s promised I’ll belong to Him forever; no one can ever snatch me from His hands. I feel so secure in His care because He never slumbers nor falls asleep; my waking moments are just as safe as the moments when I’m asleep.

My loving Shepherd guides and leads me so I don’t wander away, but if I recklessly do, He comes looking for me and brings me back home safely. My Shepherd is an amazing Provider; He answers before I call, and while I’m still speaking, He hears. Talk about being loved! He’s even promised blessings when I obey Him. He doesn’t have to do that; after all, I belong to Him and all I have belongs to Him as well. Wow!  

Are you a lost sheep? Then you need my Shepherd; I know what your life has been like because I’ve been there. My Shepherd has so much room in the sheepfold; there’s room for you, and as many as know they need a Shepherd. Call on Him today, and He will bring you in, provide for you, and keep you safe. The longer you wait out there, the longer it will take to find rest and comfort -- or you might not find it at all. 

I know As long as I live, He will pursue me with His unfailing love, in all situations, and at the end, He’ll bring me safely home to live with Him forever! I encourage you to come to Jesus today; He is the great Shepherd of the sheep! 

 

 

GOD IS SLOW TO ANGER

What does it mean that “God is slow to anger?” It means God does not rush into getting angry or furious, which will also mean He gives Himself a lot of time before responding to annoying situations. We know He is slow to anger because that’s how He described Himself when He passed in front of Moses. He announced: “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). What exactly though, can make Him angry? They all come under one heading: Sin!

God is holy, and anything that goes against His nature is sin. He does not condone or make excuses for it. He makes His holiness clear to us through His commandments, so when we disregard His commands and go our own way, we’ve sinned. And we know how sin entered the world; Adam and Eve disobeyed Him in the garden, believing and obeying the serpent instead. Ever since then, sin has plagued man. The consequences are everywhere, in the form of destruction, diseases, hatred, famine, you name it. It breaks my heart! But thank God for Jesus who is making all things new, starting with paying the penalty for our sins.

God’s anger plus His justice lead to judgment, and judgment brings destruction. However, because He loves man and is slow to anger, He does not judge right away; He wants people to repent: “Our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved” (2 Peter 3:15). He has provided salvation through Jesus Christ, so man really has no excuse about facing judgment. With all that said, we know God is faithful and will not allow man to continue in sin indefinitely. He will bring judgment upon all those who do not heed His warning to repent.

We have proof of God’s patience; look at our world and all the evil that’s going on. The only conclusion we can draw is that God is patient—slow to anger! Aren’t you tired of the mess we are in right now? I am! Look at the fraud, deception, lies, murder (even innocent babies), and politics where politicians are seeking power and their personal glory, instead of working with each other for the good of the citizens. Do you ever feel like asking: “How long, Lord; how long?” I do, and I do ask because this is exhausting; evil is everywhere and seems to be getting worse by the day. When is He going to replace patience with judgment? I don’t know and neither do you. Until then, if you haven’t repented, please do so and ask for forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Don’t let that day take you by surprise; if you die without God’s forgiveness, or if Jesus returns to earth without you being forgiven, it will be too late: judgment and destruction are all you can hope for. Jesus is offering you salvation today and every day before you die. Are you going to accept it? Please don’t think you can do it later, because if you knew which rainy night your car might have a flat tire, I’m sure you’d stay off the road.      

If you are reading this and you already have a personal relationship with God through Jesus, I say hello my brother/ sister! We have work to do: work in the form of praying, living right, and testifying to others about the love of God. Let’s be like the beggar who tells a fellow beggar where to find bread. And when our Lord returns, may He find us busy winning souls!

THE GROUNDS ON WHICH OBEDIENCE CAN BE DEMANDED OR EXPECTED

Parents have the responsibility to teach and train their children if they expect them to grow into responsible adults. If children are not instructed, they won’t know what’s expected of them. But if they fail to carry out orders after they’ve been instructed, the parent has the right and responsibility to correct the child by whichever means would be effective. The same is true of boss-employee relationships; employees can’t be expected to perform duties that have not been assigned to them.  

In the same way, God instructs us before demanding obedience.  For example, He wants the gospel preached to everyone, giving them the opportunity to accept or reject Him. He’s given man the freedom of choice; that way, people are totally responsible for the outcome of the choices they make. When Jesus foretold the future in Matthew 24, He said, “The Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come” (verse 14). When people choose to not accept salvation, they have by default accepted the alternative—judgment.

After the Israelites returned from captivity and were settled in their towns (during the Nehemiah and Ezra era), they requested Ezra the priest to read to them the Book of the Law of Moses. He did, and they had a wonderful time of worship, celebrating that they had heard and understood the Word of God (see Nehemiah 8:12).

The following day, the family leaders, priests, and Levites met with Ezra to go over the Law in greater detail. “As they studied the Law, they discovered that the LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to be held that month” (Nehemiah 8:14). So, they did! “Everyone who had returned from captivity lived in these shelters, during the festival, and they were all filled with great joy!” (Verse 17) It is obvious that they obeyed because they knew what God wanted them to do. Without that discovery, they wouldn’t have obeyed.

The only way we can know what God expects of us is to read and study His Word; we need to know the specifics. If we are really interested in pleasing Him through obedience, we can’t live our lives on guesswork and assumptions. After the death of Moses, God instructed Joshua, Moses’ assistant, to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. God gave him the formula for success: “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this book of instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do” (Joshua 1:7-8).  

The apostle Paul, in admonishing Timothy, taught him the benefits of the Scriptures. Scripture teaches us what’s right and what’s wrong, and corrects us when we are wrong (see 2 Timothy 3:16). If we desire to obey God, we must know what His Word says. I should also mention that in addition to success, obedience brings us joy.

Let’s study the Word, and let’s obey it!

All quotes are from the New Living Translation (NLT).

Please feel free to share; thank you.     

LET’S NOT FORGET WHERE WE CAME FROM!

If you should ask the very next person you meet where they come from, they would probably mention a country, state, or city. They might even go to the extent of telling you which city they were born in, where they grew up, and probably, where they currently reside. All that is good information, but really, where do we come from?

The Scriptures have the answer to that question—we came from dirt! “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7). That’s right: without the breath of God, we’d just be dirt. So, here’s the equation: dirt plus God’s breath equals human; human minus God’s breath equals dirt. Without the breath of God, we are nothing.

We need to visit this equation often, because as sobering as it sounds, it is a good reminder. We need to not forget so we can stay humble, acknowledging God as the giver of life. It is God’s breath that keeps us alive. Any time we are tempted to be proud and arrogant, let’s remind ourselves that we are just dirt, and will return to dirt the moment He takes His breath away from us. Jesus reminds Christians: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  

It’s heartbreaking to hear and see people from all walks of life who give God no respect, and act like they are in charge of life, of themselves, and everybody else. We don’t thank Him or give Him glory. We claim glory for ourselves by announcing ‘who’ we are and how great we are. We proudly claim ownership of our lives and the lives of others we might have helped in small, and probably insignificant, ways. God gave us the ability, health, and all it took to accomplish whatever we’ve ever accomplished. So, guess who should get the glory for our achievements? God: not us!

The Psalmist beautifully acknowledges this fact: “Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. You turn people back to dust, saying, ‘Return to dust, you mortals!’” (Psalm 90:2-3) So, the next time you feel arrogant about whatever you’re involved in, just remind yourself that without the breath of God, you are just dirt, and tone it down, giving glory to the One to whom glory is due—GOD! 

Interestingly, when things go wrong, we quickly ask, “But where is God?” Which God could that be? If we don’t ever acknowledge Him, why do we question his whereabouts when trouble strikes? He doesn’t owe us anything; we owe Him everything we are and have, including our very breath!

Although we turn our backs on Him so often, He still loves us and seeks a one-on-one relationship with us. To that end, He sent His One and only Son, Jesus, to earth to save us. He lived among men, without sin, and died in our place to form a bridge that leads us back to God the Father.

Have you been so busy being impressed with your life that you’ve paid God no attention? Well, be reminded that you are dirt plus God’s breath, and He is going to require that breath from you sooner or later. You’ll then have to give an account of your life. What would you say for yourself then? The correct response will allow you to live with God in heaven forever, but the wrong answer will send you to hell. Nobody with some imagery of hell would consider going there; the truth is, it is an awful place where the fire never goes out. The suffering does not ever stop!

Now, this is what you need to do to escape that fire pit: acknowledge to God that you are a sinner because you are (you were born a sinner) and ask for His forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He will honor His promise by forgiving you and adopting you into His family. The Bible says: “God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood” (Romans 3:25). He will come and dwell in your heart through His Holy Spirit. This will make you His child, and Him your Father, bringing you into the one-on-one relationship I mentioned earlier.

This is only the beginning of the relationship; you’ll have to grow it through reading the Bible and prayer. The Bible is His manual for how you should live. Obey what He says, and His Word will gradually transform you into His image. You’ll recognize sin, call it by its name, and turn your back on it. His command to you is: “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 3:22-24).

Are you willing to acknowledge that you are what you are because of God? Then don’t stop there; ask Him to come into your heart, and then love and serve Him with gratitude for as long as His breath remains in you. Then when you return to dirt, you’ll live with Him forever in heaven!  

NB: All quotes are from the New Living Translation (NLT).

CHRISTIAN, YOU ARE A WATCHMAN!

We don’t hear the title “watchman” that much anymore; instead, we say “security guard.” Either way, the job description is about the same. A watchman’s responsibility depends on the needs of the employer. Most often, the watchman is expected to patrol in and around a building to make sure there’s no burglary going on. Also, a watchman’s presence serves as a deterrent to people who might otherwise want to break in. Other watchmen, however, have the responsibility of watching and warning a population of impending danger.

God needs watchmen to warn unbelievers of impending judgment, so they’ll repent and be forgiven. He does not gain anything from the death of the wicked: “Do you think I like to see wicked people die? Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live” (Ezekiel 18:23).

God called Ezekiel to be a watchman for the nation of Israel (see Ezekiel 33:7). He explained the watchman’s responsibility this way: “When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he must sound the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. … But if the watchman sees the enemy coming but doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths” (Ezekiel 33:3-6). 

In the same way, God has sent us, His disciples, to go and preach the gospel to all nations: “I have been given authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Since the church age, evangelism has been the church’s number one charge and focus. The disciples of Jesus traveled all over the then world preaching the gospel to all who would listen. Sometimes they were persecuted for their faith, but they did not allow that to stop them; they pressed on!

That charge has not changed and won’t until the Lord Jesus returns to set up His Kingdom, but it is more urgent now than ever because His return is closer now than it was then. How focused have you been? It is not enough to be saved; we need to be obedient and diligent so others will be saved as well.

Do you realize there are many people in your sphere of influence who have never heard, understood, or responded to the gospel? Let’s try to prayerfully engage them in friendly conversations and discussions; that’s all God asks of us. We can’t convict or convert anyone; that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. Our charge is to share the gospel, and the Holy Spirit will take over. It’s our responsibility to warn people, and when they repent, come alongside them and help them grow in their faith. But if they don’t repent, they will have no excuse when they face God’s judgment; we will have exonerated ourselves.

As watchmen, what’s our message? It is the same message Jesus preached, and it is this: “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of God is near” (Matthew 4:17). The Psalmist clearly charges us to “Each day proclaim the good news that he saves” (Psalm 96:2). 

If a person doesn’t get into the Kingdom of heaven, he’ll get into hell, and that’s what we should be warning them about. How do they turn to God? They’ll need to understand that “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), and that the name is Jesus, and so if you “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Dear Christian, remember, you became an appointed watchman the day you became a Christian, and you are charged to exhibit your faith through your actions wherever you are, go, or happen to be. Allow the way you live your life to complement your message. Heaven is waiting expectantly to rejoice over every sinner who repents (see Luke 15:7). Are you willing to help make this happen? Be a conscientious watchman!

GOD IS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH

God is faithful; He doesn’t do anything haphazardly. He always finishes what He starts. After creation, He announced: “It is good.” He always brings His work to completion. And the apostle Paul admonished the Philippians: “God, who began the good work within you, will continue until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).

For example, as a result of King Solomon ending his reign so poorly through disobedience, God raised up Jeroboam to be king over ten of the tribes of Israel, the northern tribe, leaving only two tribes for the house of David under Rehoboam. If God called Jeroboam to be king, you’d think he would trust the same God to help him reign. But that’s not what happened.

 Instead, soon after Jeroboam became king, he started to worry about the possibility of his subjects defecting to the king of Judah. Fearing that scenario could actually happen, he devised a plan. He imagined if he stopped them from going to worship in Jerusalem as God had commanded, his fears wouldn’t be realized. So instead of going down to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam made two golden calves on the advice of his counselors -- (not on God’s advice), and said to the people: “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” (1 Kings 12:28) Really? Where was the God who appointed him to be king? Shouldn’t he have consulted Him instead? Wasn’t a golden calf a problem in the wilderness with their ancestors? How quickly we forget!

To complete his plan, he built shrines and ordained priests (not from the priestly tribe of Levi), and then instituted a religious festival in Bethel to correspond with the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. On his appointed date, he went up to the altar to burn incense.   

Needless to say, God was not happy! He rebuked Jeroboam through His prophet from Judah (see 1 King 13:2). In the same way, the apostle Paul rebuked the Galatia church for allowing themselves to be misled by his opponents, who were teaching something totally different from salvation through faith in Jesus. Paul said to them: “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ” (Galatians 1:6). Paul’s frustration with the Galatians is evident here: “Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? … How foolish can you be? …After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human efforts?” (Gal 3:1-3) Quoting Paul, we could say to Jeroboam, “After being made king by God, are you trying to reign in your own strength? How foolish!”

How are you running your race? Didn’t you come to God through faith in Jesus? Well then, “Trust the LORD with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Since He saved you, He is also able to keep you until the end of time; just obey His Word.

God does not expect us to go out on a limb and try to figure out on our own how to grow in faith. Instead, He expects us to seek guidance from His Word and the Holy Spirit, and then rely on His prayers for us: “He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” (Hebrews 7:25). Had Jeroboam shared his fears with God, God would have shown him what to do. He would not have gone through all the trouble he went through in an effort to secure the throne. Let’s seek God in all we do, turning our fears and concerns over to Him, because He is able! He is the author and also the finisher of our faith.

STAY PLANTED BY THE RIVERBANK!

In Psalm 1, those who delight in the law of the LORD (Christians) are likened to trees planted along the riverbank. As evidence of the benefit of their location, they bear fruit every season, their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do (see Psalm 1:2-3). Why?

The riverbank obviously supplies the water and nourishment that the trees need to grow and bear fruit. The law of the LORD (the Word of God) similarly provides the kind of nourishment Christians need to grow in their understanding of God, and to bear godly fruit demonstrated by godly character and in soul-winning!

Would you like to be consistent in your Christian journey (fresh leaves all year round), without ups and downs? Would you like to bear fruit that lasts? Then stay planted by the riverbank. If trees are uprooted from the riverbank and planted elsewhere, they most likely won’t do as well as they did before they were moved. They won’t receive the needed nourishment, and will therefore be stunted in growth, bear little to no fruit, and eventually die.

This condition will be evident in Christians who don’t meditate on the Word of God day and night. How are you doing? Are you meditating like you should? The Word transforms our hearts and minds, gradually creating in us the image of our Lord Jesus. As the Word says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).   

Haphazardly reading the Word is not helpful; we need to read it prayerfully and meditate on it studiously. Let’s not have the attitude of checking an item off our to-do- list just so we feel we’ve accomplished something. If we don’t learn a valuable lesson when we read, it means we did not accomplish anything; it’s been a waste of time.

If we don’t stay planted by the riverbank, we will follow the way of the world, and instead of having a godly influence on the world around us, the world will have an influence on us. Our claim of being Christians would just be a mockery. It’s not enough to claim we are Christians; we have to live like Jesus. There has to be a difference in our responses to situations, our speech, and our way of life. If people don’t see a difference in us, then there is something wrong. Either we are not meditating on the Word or we’ve chosen to willingly disobey God. That disobedience is proof that we don’t love the Lord, and if we don’t love the Lord, we are really not Christians at all (see 1 John 3:7-10; Matthew 3:8). 

There are consequences for claiming to be a Christian and yet living however we wish: “Even now the axe of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10). The Bible labels a non-Christian as wicked, so either we are Christians or wicked; there’s no neutral title. We have to be one or the other. The Psalmist warns the wicked, “They [the wicked] will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly…the path of the wicked leads to destruction” (Ps 1:5-6).

If you claim to be a Christian, please stay planted by the riverbank; be nourished and be fruitful. God admonished Joshua after the death of Moses, “Study this book of instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do” (Joshua 1:8). As we walk faithfully with the Lord, He promises to bless us with success in all we do.

Let’s encourage each other and pray for one another to walk faithfully with our God. That will include sharing our difficulties, trials, and victories with one another. The Christian walk is not a one-man journey; we belong to the Church, the Body of Christ. Let’s do life together and be a blessing to one another!         

NB: All quotes are from the New Living Translation (NLT).