Day 1 - Psalms 1-5

Psalm 1:

Oh, the joys indeed of those that follow God's word and not the word of the wicked.  They are blessed beyond their imagination.   The more time you spend in the word, the easier it becomes to identify those that also spend time in the word.  This psalm holds two simple pearls of wisdom:  the more we delight in obeying God, the more fruitful we become.  On the other hand, the more we allow those who ridicule God to affect our thoughts and our attitudes, the more we separate ourselves from God.

We must have contact with unbelievers in order to witness to them, but we cannot allow their thoughts, actions, or sinful behavior to influence us.  In their current state, they are worthless chaff that will be scattered in the wind.  But they are still children of God, and God asks us to reach out to them.  To bring them to Jesus, without being pulled into their world of destruction.  

In Boy Scouts, I took a lifesaving class so I could become a lifeguard.  One of the sessions taught us to be very careful when approaching a drowning person.  In their struggles to survive, they may in fact cause you to drown.  They taught us to get within range and reach out to them with a rope or a pole so they did not climb on top of you and submerge you in their efforts to breathe.  This is similar to what Jesus is asking us to do.  Reach out to the lost, bring them in, but do not let them pull you down.  


Psalm 2:

The rebellious human heart is a fascinating topic.  We have all been born with a hole in our soul the size of Jesus.  We long to fill that hole with anything but Jesus.  We search for material goods to fill the void, but they only leave us longing for more.  We search for power and wealth to fill the void but in the end there just isn't enough.  We search for lust and sex to fill that void but it only leaves us empty and feeling disgusted by our actions.  We see ourselves as slaves chained to God's rules, but in reality He is guiding us to everything our heart could ever desire.  We don't want His help.  We want to do it ourselves, but we CANNOT!  We must turn to Jesus to find what we are looking for.  When we do, we wonder why we were so rebellious in the first place.

It's our sinful nature, our sinful pride, our flawed heart, everything that it means to be human pulls us away from God.  We must turn toward Him in order to find MORE than we ever imagined we wanted.  He created us!  He knows everything about us!  He knows us better than we know ourselves!  He wants to give us the one thing that will make our hearts overflow with joy!  If we would just accept His gift... the gift of Jesus!


Psalm 3:

How many times do we find ourselves in the grasp of what seems to be an unending sea of enemies.  People ganging up on us, telling us we don't know what we are saying or doing, or that will never work.  There seems to be negativity around us always.  Sometimes we give Satan a foothold to grab onto us, and when we do, his strength is sometimes more than we can handle.  We need to ask God to rescue us from Satan's grip.  Show us the way, Oh Lord.  Show us the door to safety.  There will always be a door.  We just have to pray for the light to shine on the pathway to safety.

Sleep may not come easily for us when we are in these times of trouble.  We should spend more time in prayer, asking God for guidance as to what it is that I'm to learning from this experience.  Everything happens for a reason and most often the reason is to strengthen us for the next phase of what God has planned for us.  Seek His guidance and grow.  Sleep will come when you pour out your heart to God.  Thank Him for His control of the situation.  Let Him know that you know that He is still in control and guiding you through this.  Know that victory comes from the Lord!


Psalm 4:

Sometimes we feel as though God does not hear our cries for help.  Remember, that as a believer you have been set apart by God and that He loves you.  He hears your pleas and He will respond although His answer may not be the answer you're looking for.  You must consider your problems in the light of God 's power instead of looking at God in the shadow of your problems.  Know that He is in control.  He will keep you safe.


Psalm 5:

The secret of a closer relationship to God is to pray earnestly every morning.  In the morning, our minds are free from problems and we can commit the whole day to God.  Regular communication helps any friendship grow and it's certainly necessary for a strong relationship with God.  Set aside a time each morning to spend time in the word and to pray.  You will be more rejuvenated through prayer than through sleep.  So get up a few minutes earlier, get a cup of coffee and pray to God.

As we grow spiritually, our sensitivity to sin increases.  What is your reaction to sin when you see it all around you?  Remember, God cannot condone or excuse even the smallest sin therefore, we cannot excuse ourselves for sinning just a little bit.  It is ALL equal.  As God makes us more aware of the sin around us we must be more intolerant toward it and be willing to change.  All believers should strive to be more tolerant of sinners but less tolerant of the sin in themselves and others.

What are your thoughts?  Please provide your comments for discussion.



The Shepherd


Psalms 6-10

Walking Through The Psalms

Now that you've completed the Proverbs Challenge, you're ready to dig deeper into the word.  The Proverbs Challenge gets you into reading the Bible on a daily basis and you should continue to read Proverbs on a daily basis.  You will continue to be amazed and what comes to light each time you read them.  The Psalms offer us a new challenge.  There are 150 Psalms and there are still roughly 30 days in the month, so if we read 5 Psalms a day, we will get through them by the end of the month. 

This challenge goes hand in hand with the Proverbs Challenge.  You should continue to read one chapter in Proverbs and in addition read five chapters in Psalms.  It's not as hard as it sounds and the Psalms are (for the most part) shorter than the Proverbs chapters.  Plus, each chapter in Psalms is dedicated to an idea, a concept, a concern or a fear.  

The Psalms are mostly written by David and express his concerns as he faces the realities of life.  Remember, David faced some very trying times.  The Psalms capture his songs of joy and his cries for help.  The Psalms are David's prayers that express his feelings emanating from his heart and soul as he pours them out to God.  Let the honesty of the Psalms guide you into a deep and genuine relationship with God.


The Psalms are organized into five books:

Book One:     (Psalms 1 - 41)
The first collection of psalms discusses how mankind was created, blessed, fell into sin, and redeemed by God similar to the book of Genesis.

Book Two:     (Psalms 42 - 72)
This collection of psalms describes the trials of the nation of Israel as it was ruined and then recovered.  In the same way God rescues Israel, God rescues us.  This is similar to the book of Exodus.

Book Three:  (Psalms 73 - 89)
This collection of psalms praises God for His deliverance, His power and strength, and His holiness.  It shows how we can turn to Him for our deliverance and how we should praise Him always.  This is similar to the book of Leviticus.

Book Four:    (Psalms 90 - 106)
This collection of psalms discusses the relationship of the nation of Israel to the surrounding nations.  It often compares this relationship to our relationship with the Kingdom of God since we are ultimately citizens of His overruling Kingdom.  This is similar to the book of Numbers.

Book Five:    (Psalms 107 - 150)
This collection of psalms are anthems of praise and thanksgiving for God and His word.  Most of these were originally set to music and used in worship.  Our hearts should sing as we read through these psalms.  This is similar to the book of Deuteronomy.


Your faith journey is about to be stepped up a notch.  As you continue reading through the Psalms, God will continue to highlight areas in your life that need to be addressed, or cleaned up.  Be sure to ask Him for direction and guidance as you explore what actions to take.  He will guide you down His path.  This will be an exciting and adventurous endeavor.  You will begin to feel yourself being drawn closer to God as you spend more time in His word.

I have to tell you, I'm very excited for you!!  And I'm here for you if you have any questions or comments, please post them.  I want this to be an open discussion or forum for anyone to present their thoughts.  I will post my thoughts as we go through this together.  Along the way, I'll try to provide additional resources, videos, study guides, and other media that may be helpful in your journey.

Enjoy!


The Shepherd



Let's get started

Proverbs 31 - Day 31

"Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?  She is more precious than rubies."
                                                                          Proverbs 31:10


The book of Proverbs ends with an outline of the characteristics of a strong and virtuous woman with many skills and great wisdom.  Her skills, however, do not come from her amazing achievements but instead come from her reliance on and reverence for God.  In today's society so much emphasis is placed on physical beauty and too little emphasis is placed on dignity and strength.  The "Proverbs 31 Woman", as I've heard it referred to, is an inspiration for all women to follow yet we should realize that this isn't really a model to imitate.  The days are not long enough for everything she does!  We need to learn from her actions, from her skillful nature and from her resourcefulness.  

My mother was very resourceful and was an entrepreneur in the 1970's.  While she worked a full-time job, she started a business in our basement teaching ceramics to 20 ladies 2 nights a week.  She worked very hard to help our family make ends meet.  She and my dad would garden, can vegetables, make grape jelly and do many things themselves.  They taught me how to do things myself and not to rely on others when God gave you the talents to do it yourself.  

My mother's strength and ingenuity gave me confidence that I could do what ever I wanted in life.  Her character led me to learn many skills just because you never know when you might need to do something.  I also looked for these same skills in my partner, which is probably why it took me so long to get married.  There weren't many women that possessed the characteristics of a Proverbs 31 woman, which is sad.  Today, women need to be more concerned with their integrity, their resourcefulness, their outstanding abilities and less concerned with their figure or their beauty.  Beauty is only skin deep and fades faster than we can imagine, but knowledge, integrity, resourcefulness, and skills will last a lifetime.  Focus on these instead.



The Shepherd


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Proverbs 30 - Day 30

"Every word of God proves true.  He is a shield to all who come to Him for protection."
                                                                         Proverbs 30:5


When I was a child, cartoons were only on TV on Saturday morning and there were only three TV channels available.  I would get up early (at least to me it was early) and head out to the TV.  I would grab a bowl of cereal and some milk and try to watch cartoons.  Occasionally, I would find my father already up, dressed, and discussing grown-up things with his friends over morning coffee at the kitchen table.  I would pull up a chair, grab my cereal and sit their eating, listening and wondering when they were going to finish so I could watch my cartoons.  The discussions were usually about problems these men were experiencing and they came to my father to get some insight.  I didn't realize it then, but my father was seen as a wise man by many other men.  

As I got older, I found these discussions more interesting than cartoons and they seemed to be happening more frequently.  It was the early 1970's and times very hard.  People needed help and guidance from my father and he was doing his part to help out his friends.  This wisdom that my father shared with his friends was being absorbed in me as well.  It wasn’t until later in my life that I realized that these pearls of wisdom would help me make good decisions throughput my life.  As I thought back to where I might have learned these concepts, I could only equate to those discussions on Saturday morning.  I remember when these men would leave they each would tell me how wise my father was and that I should  listen to what he was saying because it will be useful some day.  They told me how much he was helping them and how they wished they had a father like my dad.

If only everyone had a father like my dad!  Everything he taught me was true.  I could (and did) build my life on this truth and it protected me.

The Bible is even better than the wisdom my dad doled out.  Every word of the Bible has been proven to be true through thousands of years and hundreds of generations.  Those that use the Bible as their benchmark on how to live their lives have prospered.  That's why it has been the all time highest selling book in all of history and still remains so today.  The wisdom that comes from Proverbs is a shield that protects us from evil.  It gives us insight to the problems we face and helps us find the pathway through the problems.  Our heavenly father gives “rock solid” pearls of wisdom to anyone who reads the Bible - especially Proverbs.  You can trust that the wisdom is true and will help you build your life on the rock of salvation!



The Shepherd


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Proverbs 29 - Day 29

"The poor and the oppressor have this in common - the LORD gives sight to the eyes of both."                                          Proverbs 29:13


"The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both" means both the poor and the oppressor have received the same gift of sight from the same God.  They are both God's children.  He loves them both equally and He wants what's best for both of them. 

Sometimes it's difficult to see everyone as a child of God.  OK, so, more than "sometimes."  I know my family and I are all children of God and the people at church are, but that person that just cut me off in traffic?  I'm not so sure about that person.  What about that person who just started yelling at me for no apparent reason?  Yep, child of God.  Sometimes while driving I would forget that my daughter was in the car with me.  I would let a comment slip out when ever a driver did something that annoyed me.  She would respond with "That's Jesus in that car!"  and I would respond with "I raised you to speak to me that way!" in a firm tone but with a smile.   It was always a little joke that we had between us but in reality she was reminding me that we are all children of God.  We don't know why that person did what they did but maybe there's a reason for it and we should cut them a break this time... well, really, every time.

We're all children of God but we may not all be followers of God.  That's where Jesus wants us to be actively looking for those people to bring to Jesus.  The best way to do that is to stand apart from everyone else in the world.  Our actions should cause the non-believer to take notice in a godly way.  Our actions should be completely opposite of what is expected in the world.  It should make the non-believer say "why is that person always so hopeful, or happy, or pleasant?   I want to know their secret.  I want some of what they have.  They should want to ask you why you're so different and when they do you can invite them to come to church with you so you can show them.


The Shepherd


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Proverbs 28 - Day 28

"Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed."
                                                                        Proverbs 28:27

So many of us actually believe that our future is in our own hands;  that it's up to us to create a pathway to success.  We define success as having the means to purchase our wants and needs and to be able to provide for our families wants and needs.  To be able to do this we need to have lots of money and the only way to get lots of money is to get a good job and have a great savings plan.  We understand that money is a tool that we use to reach our goal.  If we were to boil down this goal to it's core value, we could say our goal is to become "self-sufficient."  We don't want to rely on anyone to get the things we want.  In order to reach that goal, I need to get all that I can - while I can! 

There are so many things wrong with that goal I almost don't know where to start...  but I think we can all agree that we see this in society today... and it's nothing new.  It's called GREED!!  And ENVY is always close by!! 

Like so many things, society has this upside down.  In order to reach that goal, a person would spend their entire life gathering money, gathering material goods, gathering stuff.  Gathering or hoarding is not giving.  In fact, it's the opposite of giving.  Yet the Bible says that we should give as much as we can to help those in need and in doing so we will rely on God to provide for us.  When we fully rely on God, we are actually doing what He has asked us to do.  We are being His hands and His feet in this world.  We're being His tool to accomplish the work He set in front of us to complete.  See, money isn't our tool - it's God's tool.  He gives us the capability to earn a living.  Our mind, our health, our muscles, our gifts are used to earn money.  God asks us to use that money wisely and for His purposes. 

I sometimes hear people grumbling about the church asking the congregation to give more; to tithe (or to give 10%).  "How can I possibly give 10% of my money away and still survive?"  I think we can all agree that if you gave 10% of your money away, you would certainly be fully relying on God to make up the difference!  But here's a twist you may not have considered.  The only reason you have the capability to earn money is because God gave you a gift, whether it be the gift of health, the gift of knowledge, the gift of creativity, and so on.  So really, the money you earn is God's money because without this gift you wouldn't have earned a dime.  Now, if you aren't giving anything to the church or if you're giving less than the 10% that God has asked us to give, then you are actually diverting God's funds for your own personal gain.  That's known as stealing!!  I believe there's a commandment that states "Thou shalt not steal!" 

Instead of asking "How can I possibly give 10% of my money away?" you should be asking "How can I possibly take more than 90% of God's money to live on?"  When you give the minimum tithe of 10% (that's right "the minimum" amount) you show that you rely on God to make up the difference.  You show that you trust in God more than you trust in money.  (Hey, wait, is that why the US money says "In God We Trust" on it? - Yes it is!)  When you put your trust in God, He will provide.  ALWAYS!  It's a promise that is made in Malachi 3:10.

Money can easily become the center of our lives.  When it does, God is pushed to the sidelines.  Here's a question that will help paint the picture.  Which do you do first or more frequently:  Read the newspaper for financial news or read the Bible to feed your soul?  Do you check your 401(k) balance before you check your spiritual balance?  God wants to be the center of our lives, not just a line item in a list of activities.  If you have time to read the newspaper in the morning, then you have time to read the Bible.  It's just a matter of choice.  Oh, and as your thinking about that priority list and the choices you're making, should we go back to the question that seems to pop up from time to time:  "Why isn't God listening to me?"   Hmmmm....

God wants us to do His work in this world.  He wants us to fully rely on God.  He has promised that when we do, He will provide for us.  He has asked us to put Him to the test on this one topic (Malachi 3:10).  He asks us to not rely on our abilities to hoard money but to give to the church and help the needy.  The degree in which we give He has promised to return to us in multiplied blessings until our cup runs over.  Give it try - starting today!

The Shepherd                                                            


"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"  -  Jim Elliot





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Proverbs 27 - Day 27

"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."
                                                                       Proverbs 27:17


When I was a child, my family raised and butchered chickens in batches of about 150 chickens at a time.  Butchering day was a family affair, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, mom and dad would each have a role.  One of the images that is forever etched in my mind is of my grandmother with two very large knives.  She would hold one out in front of her and run the other knife's blade down the cutting edge of the first one.  Then she would flip it around and do the same thing on the other knife.  This whole process was done SO fast that it was just a blur.  What seemed weird to me was that she was treating the other knife as if it were a sharpening stone.  I remember asking her what she was doing and she responded with "Iron sharpens iron."  It turns out that a really sharp knife blade, when ran down the edge of a not so sharp knife blade, will actually create a sharp edge on the not so sharp blade without impacting the sharp knife.

Similarly, a sharp (or wise) friend will also sharpen (or educate) a friend when they need some assistance.  That's why it's important to choose your friends wisely.  The people you hangout with will have an impact on your mental capacity.  If you are constantly hanging around with fools, your intellect will not be sharpened.  In fact, you will be dulled from the constant sharpening of others.  You'll need to spend time with those that are wiser than you so you can be sharpened.  People that always hang around together will, at some point, reach an equilibrium where, as a group, they are not getting smarter.  The proper mix is important.  Think of how difficult it must have been for Jesus as He was hanging out with the 12 apostles!  No wonder He went off by Himself for long periods of time!  During these times He would spend time in prayer, being resharpened by His Father in heaven.

To this end, we need to be there for others in need so we can provide guidance when they are going through difficult times.  In this way, we can redirect them back to Christ so they can reconnect with the rock of salvation.  Below is a video clip from a series entitled "Stepping Up: A Call To Courageous Manhood"  I'll add a separate area to the blog for the other videos in this series.  They are VERY good and will make you think!  Check 'em out as you can!


The Shepherd

Iron Sharpens Iron

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If you're not much of a religious person...

There was another person that walked the earth years ago that wasn't much of a religious man.  In fact, he despised religion and it's leaders.  He made the religious leaders look like fools.  That's why they pursued him, captured him and killed him.  That man was JESUS!  Jesus came to the earth to help us understand that God wants to have a relationship with each and every one of us.  Religion is a list of rules and regulations that we must follow in order to be considered "GOOD ENOUGH" by the religious leaders.  Religion keeps us FROM a relationship with God.  It stands between us and God.

Jesus wants to have a relationship with us directly - without religious leaders getting in the way.  

Jesus wants us to ask Him to come into our lives.  He wants us to choose Him so he can come into our lives and show us the way.

Andy Stanley is the pastor at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA.  In these short videos, he delivers the message that Jesus was bringing to the people in a crystal clear way. 

Enjoy!

Simple - Part 1a

Simple - Part 1b

Simple - Part 2a

Simple - Part 2b

Simple - Part 3a

Simple - Part 3b

Proverbs 26 - Day 26

"Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors."
                                                                      Proverbs 26:16


There are several references to lazy people throughout the book of Proverbs.  The reason for this is that laziness was common 3000 years ago and its very common today.  This is just another example of the relevancy of the Bible in today's world even though it is thousands of years old.  Laziness is important to overcome because it causes a downward spiral.  A person doesn't want to do something so they make up an excuse not to do it.  Then they lay around and do nothing.  By not doing anything, their muscles begin to atrophy and it begins to take more energy to do the simplest tasks until the person doesn't want to get up and do anything.  By not getting up they're continuing the cycle until they die.  I know it sounds weird to say some one could die from laziness but if the person is too lazy to get out of bed to get a glass of water they will dehydrate and die in three to five days.  "Laziness Kills"  (maybe we should start a new campaign!)

Lazy people will do anything not to work.  They will make up stories.  They will fake injuries or sickness.  They will make up any excuse to avoid work.  If you enable them to continue down this path, you are helping them kill themselves.  You wouldn't give a drunk a drink or a drug addict more drugs, so you cannot allow the lazy person to lay around anymore.  It takes time to overcome laziness, though.  You cannot conquer it in a day.  The person has to want to go do something, which means they can only be helped by someone that knows the person well enough to know what will get them going.  You have to take small steps at first but you will always end the activity with what we're going to do tomorrow.  You have to get them excited about the next step otherwise it'll be a battle to get them out of bed the next day.  Set concrete, realistic goals.  Take time to figure out the steps needed to reach those goals because one setback will convince the lazy person that there really isn't any sense in continuing.  Pray for strength and persistence.

Find a hobby that will get the person up on their own and continue to ask them how they're doing with reaching their goals.  Of course, the hobby has to be an active hobby and not just playing video games or watching movies.  Hiking, biking, gardening, and photography are hobbies that will get them outside and enjoying the sunshine.  Get them involved in the church as well.  The church always has a need for a couple of extra hands and feet.


The Shepherd


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