Death [Romans 5 v 12 ]

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. Psalm 23v 4. The word of God tells us that it is appointed unto men once to die Hebrews 9 v27 ], now everybody knows this, and of course most of us want to live as long as possible.It is said that this generation, are into denial in the matter of death, they rarely speak of it, or think of it. The Psalmist speaks of not being afraid of death, are you afraid of death?,someone wrote,/ The sum of all fears is the fear of death- the final loss of control/.David who wrote this Psalm faced death many times, yet he says he did not fear it, most of us will only face it only once.Some people welcome death as a friend, but is it?, the Bible says it is an enemy[ 1 Corinthians 15 v 26 ].God did not create us to die, but something terrible happened, we sinned, we disobeyed God [Genesis 3],and so an unwanted word ,and an unwanted experience came into being, death [ Romans 5 v12 ]. So sin is the cause of death,it is the penalty which effects everyone, men , women and children,humanty will never beat it,they may delay it,but thats all.
A prayer..../ Dear God help us see death for what it is, an enemy, and one we all have to face,
in Jesus name Amen./

Honour Him. [Revelation 5 v 11ff ]

He leadeth me, in the paths of righteousness, for His name sake [Psalm 23 v3] Just a few more thoughts on these words , first on , He leadeth me, Barnes writes,/ we can have this assurance, if we follow the directions of His word, the teaching of His Spirit, and the guidance of His providence./ Next , for His name sake, in other words David wants the Lord to be honoured , in all that he writes, not only in what he writes ,but in all the way the Lord was dealings with him. People seek to honour their country and often do dishonourable things, we are to honour our parents and rightly so [Exodus 20 v 12].People shower honour on so many things, but the Christian priority should be to honour their Lord,and Saviour, in all things, for He alone is worthy to recieve power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
A prayer by Francis R Havergal......Lord, Thou , needest not, I know,
Service such as I can bring,
Yet I long to prove as I can bring,
Full allegiance to my King,
Thou an honour art to me,
Let me be a praise to Thee. Amen

Paths of righteousness. [ 2 Peter 3 v11 ]

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake Psalm 23 v 3. / Now we may have difficulties in relation to being led, and we do get it wrong, mybe you are faced with a decision ,and you are not sure what you should do. There is one thing you can be sure and its cleary seen in v3,the Lord leads us in paths of righteousness,He does not lead us to commit adultery,he does not lead us into anything that is questionable, he leads us in paths of righteousness. Now as my favourite author stresses we are saved by grace, grace means something we cannot merit,by religious activities, or good works [ Galations 3 v11/ Ephesians 2 v 8-9 ]So some may say, does that mean we can live any old way? no of course not, as an evangelical, I know there will always be that tension between liberty and licence, but the truth of being saved by grace still stands. I read this in the daily devotional Word for today,/ Grace rightly understood,doesn,t prevent holiness, it produces it. The grace of God that brings salvation....teaches us to say , No, to ungodliness and worldly passion, and to live self- controlled, upright and godly lives. [Titus 2 v11-12 ]Let us never loose sight of the truth ,that our good shepherd will only lead us in paths of righteousness.
A prayer..../Dear Lord help us to walk in paths of righteousness, Amen.

He is leading. [ Psalm 48 v14 ]

/ He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake Psalm 23 v3/ Consider the personal aspect of these words, let me stress , that this a statement of personal conviction, and of personal faith. Unless we have a personal relationship with the Lord, life will have a limited purpose, or no purpose at all.Read the book of Ecclesiates ,the writer appears to write as one who sees life as pretty meaningless.This was not Davids outlook on life, he knew the Lord personally, that governed his life,does it govern our life?.So David declares ,that the Lord was leading him,and if we are a child of God ,we can say that He is leading us, but the question is this are we following Him?.Be very sure the most secure and best place in life is to follow the good shepherd,David knew this, even though it meant danger and difficulties, but in the end it meant glory[ 2 Timothy 4 v 7 -8.]
A prayer...../Dear Lord give us grace to follow You ,and to trust You . Amen.

He restores. [ Matthew 11v 28- 30

He restoreth my soul [ Psalm 23 v3 ].We often apply this to a backslider but it has another meaning to it here, it applies to the child of God, who is exhausted, weary and sad. Oh yes Christians can feel like that ,the fact that David is inspired to write these words, bears out the truth that even the greatest of saints ,can feel washed out . Behind that smile there can be a sad heart,we must not judge others, or even ourselves, but simply be honest to ourselves and to our God. I like this reading from Matthew 11 v 28- 30 in the Message,/Are you tired? Burned out on religion, come to Me. Get away with me, and you will recover your life.I will show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me, watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I wont lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you will learn to live freely./ Last Sunday I went to minister at a church , and as I arrived , I felt weary,so I whispered a prayer, when I began to take the service, I felt God infused me, and enabled me to minister.
A prayer ...../ God, we are prone to so many things that wear us down , restore our souls
in Jesus name Amen.

Gods spoilt children. [ Psalm 37 v 3 -4 ]

Psalm 23 v 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters/ Now I want you to imagine that you are a sheep , you are walking through a dry and barren landscape, with not to much to eat or drink,what you are dying for, is lush pastures, and cool water to drink. The shepherd knows this, and I suppose he will deney them their hearts desire, no of course he wont, he loves his sheep, so he gladly leads them to the place of plenty. Our Lord is not out to deprive His sheep, He delights to bless ,sometimes we give the impression that all God wants from us is to suffer and go without, and He wouldnt give us a smile. Now I am not into the prosperity so called Gospel, but sometimes I think He loves to spoil us His children,in the nicest sort of way. I see this in so many ways, in the small things He gives me, and in the gracious way He treats me.
A prayer.....Dear Father in heaven, thank You for treating us Your children in such a generous
and loving manner, at times we feel that You spoil us, we offer our thanks to You
in our Saviours name Amen.

A dependable Father. [ Matthew 6 v 24 - 34 ]

The Lord is my shepherd. [Psalm 23 v1 ], and then we read, /I shall want/, how often I have read those words, and depended on them. Why are these words there? to mock us in our times of need, no ,emphatically no, they are written out of Davids experience, in God, who keeps His word. It was God who moved David to write these words, so you and I ,would be encouraged to trust in the Lord ,who would provide for His children.When I was very young , my mum and dad seperated,a magisrtate made an order that my father was to pay my mother 25 shillings a week to help support his family,I had two older brothers and a sister ,well sad to say my dad never did pay my mother that princely sum of 25 shillings.The fact of the matter is, some fathers can not be depended on ,but from experience let me assure you, my loving Heavenly Fath er, can be depended on to look after His childrens needs.
His love in time past
Forbids me to think
He will leave me at last
In trouble to sink,
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Comfirms His good pleasure
To help me quite through.
A prayer..../Dear God we thank You for past mercies and trust You to undertake for us, all
our days, in Jesus name. Amen .