a glimpse of heaven's love

  Following and Obeying God Psalm 23:6a "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life..." The Psalmist is able to say this because of the confidence he holds in his Savior!  The whole psalm, for that matter speaks loudly and boldly of his confidence.  Why do you suppose this is true?  ...because the Lord is his Shepherd!  What a precious, precious truth that is! "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" ...that is to say, I know God's goodness and mercy shall follow me because I follow and obey God.  We can have that same confidence simply because we follow and obey God. This reminds me of a number of my posts, but one in particular is called, "The Abundant Life."  If you'll pardon me, I'd like to quote most of that post. J ohn 10:10   "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Sa...

Psalm 23:5c “…my cup runneth over.” My, what a long time it’s been since I’ve written!   I am so sorry.   We all tend to get busy with the things of this life, and some things just get put on hold.   I will try to do better! Last time, I ended with the thought that our cup should be running over…rather a lead in to this next section!   Our cup should be running over; the blessings of God truly abound! I think for this section, I am just going to recount each promise phrase that is spoken of in this psalm: (1)       Promise of Shepherding: tending, feeding, and guarding His precious sheep (2)       Promise of Providing: providing for all our needs     If we will cast all our cares on Him, He will meet those needs     A God-centered life brings peace and contentment (3)        Promise of Rest   God knows just when we are in need of rest---and He provi...

Let me first apologize for not checking into my blog in a long while.  Not that I’ve ever been very consistent or constant, but I’d like to be.  I know I don’t have thousands of readers; but I do have some…and God seems to be using this blog to some degree, so for that I am thankful. Let’s see if I can get back to the subject at hand…the 23 rd Psalm!   We had left off at the middle of verse five.   I don’t believe I touched on this last time, so let me first say, at verse five there is a change in relationship:   It changes from a scene of traveling with our Shepherd out in the wilderness and fields, to a scene of hospitality and friendship inside his tent or home.   The change goes from shepherd-and-sheep imagery to one of intimate friendship.   Get this, dear Christian: God desires a close, intimate friendship with us!   That is the greatest scene changer and thought we should capture when reading this psalm!   God de...

Psalm 23:5a “Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…”       Let’s think of that phrase for just a little bit.   What kind of picture does that conjure up for you?   First of all, to me, the word table makes me think of a banquet or feast… and oh, what a feast that would be!   You did notice God is preparing that table.   When God is in the midst of it, what a grand thing it is!   God doesn’t do things just half-heartedly…no way!   God does things BIG!!   So when blessings are in store, He gets out His BIG shovel!!   Blessings ABOUND!!   You see, dear Christian, God desires the very best for us.   It’s we, ourselves, that limit God’s richest blessings.   But when we’re walking with God, obeying His Word, wow! what blessings are in store for us!!   Let’s notice, too, God says He’s preparing that table right before us.   He wants us to see everything He has in store for...

Psalm 23:3a "He restoreth my soul..." What a statement!  He restores our soul!  Isn't that the ultimate of blessings?  There is so much in this world that seems to get in the way of our fellowship and walk with the Lord...or heartaches that seem too much for us to bear.  Some things are so heavy on our hearts--on our very souls -- that it's all we can do to get through the day.  Perhaps that's the point...it's too much for us to bear...but nothing is too much for our Savior to bear!  He desires to carry our load...no matter how deep it reaches into our souls.  Sometimes I think that is the purpose for some things taking place in our life...that we might turn to God.  He desires so much for us to turn to Him, to trust Him.  Oh, that we would! You see, God promises to not only meet our physical needs, but He also promises to meet our spiritual needs, our heart and soul needs.  Ah,...

G alations 4:4-9  says, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.   And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.     Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.   Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.   But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?" As I said in my previous entry, " tragically, it has been my experience, that many Christians today are more prone to just go their own way, with no thought of what God desires of them."  Perhaps this particular blog entry is a continuation of that, or perhaps it is ...

This is one of my favorite verses: John 10:10  "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Satan wishes to destroy you.  If you don't know the Lord, he is trying to keep you from making that most important decision; if, on the other hand, you know the Lord, Satan would love to--in the very least--keep you from walking a close walk with the Lord.  Satan would love to "sift you as wheat," and work so that your life, your testimony would not amount to anything for God.  Don't let him do that! God desires to give us the richest of blessings, and we're the only thing that stands in His way!  We are the only thing that can limit God's blessings.  It's as simple as that.  God's blessings--God's abundant life--is promised to those that follow Him and obey Him. Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall...