Prayer requests

 

Aging gracefully. 
A quaint phrase?

For some reason, whenever I hear of it, I always think of Salome, who the Bible tells us was the mom of the "sons of thunder," James and John. Her hubby was Zebedee, a comfortably middle-class type of guy with a thriving business and a great way of life. 

When we studied her some time back, we saw that she was a woman with "chutzpah," and with love for her sons. She asked Jesus for special places for her sons, because she didn't fully understand Christ's mission. She learned a lesson in humility, though, and remained a loyal follower of Jesus to the end. 

Salome was able to "change gears," so to speak. She became totally surrendered in service to God. She changed; she aged gracefully. She no longer wanted to be the way she HAD been. She wanted her words and heart to reflect His love.

Are we aging gracefully? Are we showing others His love and compassion as we spend our short time here on earth? Are we alert to needs? Are we prayer warriors for others?

I hope that these prayer request days are a blessing to all of us. I hope we anticipate, look forward to the opportunity to support our sisters (and brothers) in Christ in prayer.

And I hope that all of us will allow others the privilege and blessing of praying along with us. I can personally attest to the power of the prayers of many of you who have prayed with me. God has blessed by helping to beat my hubby's cancer, to keep keeping on, to have strength and courage to post what the Spirit guides me to say.

If you have a request for prayer, won't you leave a comment and let us pray with you? Also, if you have an answered prayer to rejoice over, let us know that, too -- if it's personal, you don't have to give all the details! Just tell us you have been blessed, and we will rejoice with you in God's mercy and love!

When it's my own fault - Psalm 25

Ohhhh, boy. Have you ever been in the midst of a difficult trial and you knew that you were in that situation because of your own actions or inaction? Because of your own sin?

Wellllllll, yes.

Been there multiple times. No need to buy a tee shirt because I have several already.

It's the kind of thing where we are in a trial and we know we should cry out to God for help -- but we're apprehensive about doing that . . . because of our own sin.

Or maybe, just maybe, the problem is not due to deliberate sin. Maybe it was our immaturity that got us in this mess. Or maybe we made stupid decisions. You know, judgement calls that we thought we made correctly, but then it turns out it was the wrong call?

Sometimes even when we pray for guidance and wisdom, we do things that result in whole heaps of troubles!

What do we do at times like those?

The next psalm we will study is Psalm 25:

To You, Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 My God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

4 Make me know Your ways, Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, Lord, Your compassion and Your faithfulness,
For they have been from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoings;
Remember me according to Your faithfulness,
For Your goodness’ sake, Lord.

8 The Lord is good and upright;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are faithfulness and truth
To those who comply with His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For the sake of Your name, Lord,
Forgive my wrongdoing, for it is great.

12 Who is the person who fears the Lord?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
13 His soul will dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants will inherit the land.
14 The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
And He will make them know His covenant.
15 My eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will rescue my feet from the net.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses.
18 Look at my misery and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
19 Look at my enemies, for they are many,
And they hate me with violent hatred.
20 Guard my soul and save me;
Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21 Let integrity and uprightness protect me,
For I wait for You.
22 Redeem Israel, God,
From all his distress.

The message of Psalm 25 is to seek God in those hard times - no matter why we are in hard times!

I'd like to encourage all of us to add Psalm 25 to our quiet times this next week or so. Re-read it so that it will be fresh for our studies. 

See you next time!

Friday slowdown

 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. (Psalm 23:6, KJV)

This recording of a beloved hymn reminds me of the congregational singing that I grew up with. Hope it's a blessing for all who pause here . . .

One more question

 

I'd like to hear your thoughts on one more question today. We've really camped out here in Psalm 23, and we've focused on contentment. 

Is there a danger in contentment? 

That's an interesting notion, no?

What's the difference between contentment and complacency?

And is discontent ever from the Lord?

I have some thoughts on this, but I'd like to hear from you . . . .

If you can, leave your thoughts below, and if you are short on time, just leave a scripture reference for us to consider.

Your turn to speak

I've learned so much from this study! I thought I knew this psalm pretty well, having listened to quite a few sermons and such . . . but there's nothing like digging in for yourself and listening to the Spirit as He guides us!

I hope that you have enjoyed it too, and perhaps gleaned a nugget or two worth keeping. 

I truly believe that God placed this study on the internet with a purpose in mind. I've been blessed to hear from people who have found our study and have gotten answers for questions, or comfort for trials. It may be that your answer here may encourage a believer who is struggling mightily. It may be that the Spirit may use these posts to call an unbeliever to Christ.

I'd like to turn the "podium" over to you, as we do sometimes. 

I'd like to hear your thoughts on a couple of questions based on our study. We've said that real contentment comes from experiencing and treasuring all that the Good Shepherd has provided for us. We've noted that this contentment is available to all believers - every one of His sheep.

Is it realistic or idealistic to believe that a person from a difficult past can find contentment in Jesus Christ alone? What are your thoughts? And if you think they can, what are some tips that you could give a person struggling with this?

I want to thank you in advance for taking time out of your busy day to leave your thoughts here to bless others.

Prayer requests

It's ironic.

We all know now what those are, pictured above. Words like coronavirus, pandemic, and more have become commonplace.

How are you doing? How are you feeling?

I don't mean do you have a temperature. Although that is important.

I mean do you feel calm? Assured? Comforted? Anxious? Frantic? Uneasy?

However we are feeling today, it's OK.

We will get through. From people in Italy singing on their balconies, to others in churches around the globe lifting their hearts and hands in prayer. From those who have put more emphasis on exercising and staying healthy, to those who have made sure that the vulnerable are cared for. Some of us have experienced grief as our loved ones have died and we've not even been able to hold their hand as they slipped into God's presence.

But we will get through. 

And it won't be just because human beings are so awesome, although we are endowed by our Creator with incredible resiliency and determination and love.

It will be because we have NOT been abandoned.

What do I mean?

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3)

So, even if it feels like the ground beneath our feet is about ready to give way, we have not been abandoned. We are not alone.

For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    he will be our guide even to the end. (Psalm 48:14)

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20b)

He is with us.

And we will get through this. All glory to Him!

Please, if you have a prayer request, leave a comment here on this post. We will be honored to pray along with you. Our Bible study prayer warriors are with you.

Two sheep dogs

 

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)

Have you ever watched sheep dogs working together with their shepherd to care for and guide a flock of sheep? Some sheep dogs work "solo" and others work as a team to follow their shepherd's commands and care for the flock while the master is away. 

I love to watch the competitions in the Scottish games, and see the dogs work. They are the happiest critters! When they are on familiar land, they will learn the different spots where the sheep are likely to gather or rest. They will gather them together calmly in the field, and then guide them in the direction the shepherd commands. What looks to us like aggressive, frantic behavior on the part of the dogs is actually not! The dogs are accustomed to moving around the sheep without disturbing them unduly. Even if the dog is moving quickly, it takes care so that the sheep are not frightened by its movements. It's the job of the sheepdog to work quickly and efficiently to move the sheep where the shepherd directs.

I was told once of a sheepdog who gathered a flock and brought it along to the shepherd, who was surprised at how slowly the flock was moving. When he got closer, he could see that one small lamb was lame - the dog was bringing the entire flock along at a pace that the lamb could handle! 

These were the images in my mind as I read and re-read verse six of our psalm. Different translations have said it as "goodness and mercy" or "goodness and faithfulness" or as the NIV up at the top of this post, "goodness and love." 

We could say that there are two "sheepdogs" who follow God's sheep 24/7. These two "sheepdogs" are goodness and love. 

You know, the rest of the world is chasing after goodness and love, but we believers have God's goodness and love pursuing and protecting us!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

When we read in the book of Genesis about the horrible trials that Joseph endured, we may think, "Wow, I just don't understand how a loving God could allow all of that to happen. How does that even work?" But Joseph looked back at his life and said:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive. (Genesis 50:20)

We can trust in God's goodness:

The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works. (Psalm 145:9)

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (James 1:17)

And we know that we can trust in His love:

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. (I John 4:16, NASB)

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Psalm 86:15, NIV)

Our future is secure. Our Shepherd will always keep us in His fold, and His "sheepdogs" of goodness and love will follow us continually.  We are the most blessed sheep in the world! Why go elsewhere? We will dwell in the house of the Lord -- we will be members of His household. 

The world may look at us and mock us. They may count us as "sheep for the slaughter," but we can be: 

...more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:37b)

Yes, the final verse of the psalm encourages us to be content by seeing God's goodness and love in every situation, both now and in the future.

Are we contented sheep in God's pasture? Do we walk every day thinking of all the spiritual riches that are ours in Christ? Do we thank Him for the spiritual waters, the green pastures, and the way He protects us in the midst of conflict? Or have we gotten so caught up in the stresses of the world that we gripe and complain? We find it difficult to be content? I suppose that some of that difficulty lies in the human spirit - when we are young, we look at those older than we, and long to be older. When we are older, we look at the younger folk and wish we were younger! (Grin)

Real contentment comes from experiencing all that our Good Shepherd has provided for us. Each and every day. Not worrying about yesterday. Not stressing about tomorrow. Contentment is available for every one of us in Jesus Christ. Don't miss out on it!