Gospel Clarity

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

So, what is the Gospel? In our last Blog, "Gospel Confusion," we talked about the fact that even among so called evangelicals there is a lot of doctrinal confusion and even theological error when it comes to the Gospel Message itself. How can we be eager to preach the gospel (Romans 1:15), if we’re not clear about what the gospel message is.

I believe that every Christian should be able to present the essential Gospel message in 90 seconds. Certainly every Elder, Deacon, Sunday School teacher, children’s and youth worker should know the clear gospel message as well as should baptism and church membership candidates. The purpose is not so you can just dump the message on someone and feel you’ve done your duty. The purpose is so that the essence of the Gospel message is so fixed in your mind and heart that it becomes part of who you so that it can be naturally shared.

The following gospel outline is designed for "gospel clarity". It is the simple message of the story line of the entire Bible. Of course you can add more bible verses or fuller explanations but this is the gospel in its essence. I wouldn’t suggest you try to memorize this but get the principles involved and key bible passages or verses.

FOUR VITAL TRUTHS - Answer 4 Vital Questions

Who made us and to whom are we accountable?

GOSPEL TRUTH # 1
1. GOD: The Righteous Creator

Many people like the idea of God but they don’t really understand who He is and why it matters. They often think of Him as good natured - low maintenance friend you call on in a jam.

* There are a few things we need to know about God in order to grasp the good news.

1. God Is The Creator
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Rom 1:19-20)

We are not alone in the universe. We are not autonomous and self-accountable. There is a Creator who has a right to reign in our lives. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) Therefore we are accountable to Him. If we get this wrong everything that follows will be wrong.

God Created By His Word. There Was Nothing and God spoked. He created you and you have a purpose and we are accountable to our creator. Because He is the creator, He has the right to reign over us. In essence, sin is a person’s rejection of God’s Creator rights to reign.

2. God Is Holy & Righteous
God is loving and good. He is compassionate and forgiving. But, we also have to understand that He is Holy. When Moses asked God to show Him His glory, God said, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, (Exodus 34:6-7). Now that part we get, but God also said, "Yet, He does not leave the guilty unpunished" (Exodus. 34:7b).

Some would say that God is a loving God and would not punish the wicked. That’s like saying God is the unscrupulous janitor who sweeps the dirt under the carpet. Sweeping our sin under the carpet so to speak would absolutely violate the God’ Holiness and Righteousness.

God’s love does not eradicate His Justice and Holiness. For indeed "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Romans 1:18).

Many modern attempts to redefine the Gospel leave out sin and rebellion and the wrath of God from which we must be saved. They ignore the fact that we have offended God’s holiness and come under His wrath. Anytime you see that being argued you know that is not the gospel once delivered unto the saints.

God is Holy and Righteous and He Will Not - He Cannot Overlook, Ignore, or Tolerate Sin.


What’s our problem? Are we in trouble and why?

GOSPEL TRUTH # 2
2. MAN: The Sinner

For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, (Rom 1:21-22)

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. (Rom 3:19)According to the Bible, every last one of us is a sinner. The sobering conclusion then is that when we stand before God the Judge, every mouth will be silenced. No one will mount a defence. Not one excuse will be offered. The whole world, every last one of us – will be held fully accountable to God and will be found wanting.

1. Every Human Being Has Sinned
Adam and Eve
- Genesis 3

Adam and Eve demonstrate the disobedience of us all. In the garden God told them they could eat of every tree but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They rebelled and ate the forbidden fruit. It was the rebellion in their hearts that separated them from God and sin entered the human race through them.

Sin

Sin is rebellion against God.According to the Bible, sin is more than just breaking some impersonal heavenly regulation. Sin is the breaking of our relationship with God and a rebellion against God’s reign and authority in our lives. It is the rebellion of the creature against the Creator.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)

It is written: "None is righeous, no, not one: (Romans 3:10)

For the mind that is on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; ndeed it cannot (Romans 8:7)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is full of stumbling stones, and this one is the largest. To human hearts that stubbornly think of themselves as basically good and self-sufficient, this idea that human beings are fundamentally sinful and rebellious is not merely scandalous. It is revolting" (Greg Gilbert - "What Is The Gospel" pg 51)
This is the offense of the Gospel and it is precisely what many of the modern definitions of the Gospel seek to either play down or even totally eradicate and when you do that, it is no longer the gospel of Jesus Christ.


2. God Actively Judges Sin

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. (Rom 3:19)
For the wages of sin is death, (Rom 6:23)

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (Rev 19:15)

The Bible teaches that the final destiny of unrepentant sinners is a place of eternal, conscious torment. Revelation calls it "the lake of fire." Jesus who spoke more than anyone about judgment called it a place of "unquenchable fire." It’s awful place to be and so let’s not make it sound more tolerable - less horrific than it is.

Judgment in the "lake of fire" however one might envision it sure doesn’t sound like Good News does it. The fact is however that unless you know how bad the "bad news" is, you’ll never appreciate how great the "Good New" is. And this is where the glorious hope of the good news comes into full view.


What Is God’s Solution To Our Problem? How Has He Acted To Save Us?

3.  JESUS CHRIST: The Saviour
You and I were sinners destined to be condemned. But God Himself has acted to save sinners like us!

Jesus came not only to inaugurate the Kingdom of God, but also to bring sinners into it by dying in their place and for their sin, taking their punishment on Himself and securing forgiveness for them, ,making them righteous in God’s eyes, and qualifying them to share in the inheritance of the Kingdom.


1. The Word Became
The Word became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and came into the world so that we could be forgiven and made right with God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

2. The Lamb Of God
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)God in the person of Jesus Christ, became the sacrificial lamb who died on the cross in our place to take away the sin of the world.

3. The Heart Of The Gospel Penal Substitution

The mission of Jesus was not just to inaugurate the Kingdom of God, but to do so by dying as a substitutionary sacrifice for His people. Jesus was not just King, He was suffering King.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21)Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:4-6)
* This is the heart of the gospel message and cannot be left out and still be the gospel. Jesus didn’t just come to be our example or a great teacher but to be our substitute. To die in our place for our sin.

HE IS RISEN - He rose triumphant from the grave as proof that His sacrifice was sufficient for our sins and that He has the power of life over death and the power to forgive and give us new life.



How Can I Be Included In God’s Salvation? What Makes This Good News?
4. RESPONSE: Faith & Repentance

* Acts 26;18 - Paul recounts why Christ called him and sent him.to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in meA person is saved from God’s wrath when by faith they turn from their rebellion and trust Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for the forgiveness of sin.

FAITH

1. Reliance

Real faith is a rock solid, truth grounded TRUST in the risen Christ to save you from Sin

2. Righteous Verdict

Real faith is relying on Him to secure for you a righteous verdict from God the Judge

By virtue in you Faith in what Christ has done (1 Cor 15), you are declared "not guilty"

3. Faith Alone
Real faith comes through this kind of faith alone and excludes all self effort. It comes simply through faith in what Christ did for you.

REPENTANCE

Real repentance is more than just saying you are sorry, it is being sorry but it means turning from your rebellion against God’s rule in your life and surrendering yourself to His rightful rule in your life.

...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom 10:9)

The Good News is that God has made a way for you to be forgiven for your rebellion against Him and a new life as you live under His reign.

(Next blog, we’ll shorten this to just the skeleton that can be easily remembered and become the framework from which you build your own gospel presentation while maintaining the essential message)

Check out this excellent gospel presentation: "Two Ways To Live"

Two Ways To Live

http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/2wtlonline.html

Gospel Confusion

From time to time, when I see the vast array of false teaching(s) that permeate the world, and even the evangelical church, I experience theological anxiety, a nervousness about where the church, especially the evangelical church is headed. It seems there is a constant challenge to the faith once delivered unto the saints. This is especially troubling when these challenges come from within the so called evangelical movement itself. (I’m not sure that all those who would consider themselves evangelical should be counted so, but that’s a whole other discussion).

The danger of false teaching and theological error of course is not new. From the very first days of the church we have been warned that there would be an onslaught of error and false teaching seeking to creep into the church. Our enemy of course, the Evil One, Satan himself will see to that. This anxiety is relieved only when I realize that this is God’s Church and not mine. Still church leaders and especially Elders are charged with guarding against such false doctrine. To the Ephesian Elders Paul said, "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ... Therefore be alert," (Acts 20:28-31). Therefore, "Every new generation of Elders must grasp afresh the prophetic message to the Ephesian Elders: Guard the church -wolves are coming!" (Biblical Elders, Alexander Strauch pg 140).

Perhaps this danger is no more apparent than in the danger to the very gospel message itself. If you were to ask 100 professing evangelicals "What is the Gospel?" you would get a whole host of answers. Many of those answers would contain some truth but miss the very core message of the gospel. I have observed this in interviewing baptismal and membership candidates, those presenting themselves as ministerial candidates, those applying for ministry positions and by countless authors, all claiming to be followers of Jesus. My point here is not to judge whether they are true followers of Christ but to highlight the fact that there is vast "gospel confusion." If we in the church are confused about the gospel message, how can we every effectively communicate it to a lost world.

I am not the only one concerned about Gospel Confusion. Many very prominent conservative evangelical leaders share my concern. For example:

The current evangelical understanding of the gospel is lost in a fog of confusion.
(James MacDonald - Sr. Pastor - Harvest Bible Chapel - Chicago)

There is no greater need than to know the true gospel, to recognize the counterfeits, and to set loose a generation of gospel-centred Christians. (Albert Mohler Jr. President- The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)

There is no greater challenge in an age of doubt and pragmatism than to make the glorious gospel clear. This is the greatest need for the seasoned Christian and skeptic alike. (Darrin Patrick, Vice Pres. The Acts29 Church Planing Network).

Perhaps the greatest danger in Christianity is making assumptions about what the gospel is without hearing the Bible’s clear and definitive voice. (Rick Holland, Executive Pastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California)

Believe it or not, one of the most controversial subjects on the horizon (its already here but is likely to heat up) in evangelical theological circles is "What is the Gospel?" Getting professing Christians to agree on the gospel message, "the evangel" is not as easy as you might think.

The concern has been so great that we are in danger of leaving "the evangel" behind that many conservative evangelical leaders have banded together in efforts like the "Gospel Coalition"¹and "Together for the Gospel"² as a way to promote the purity of the gospel message.

As one example of the danger to the clarity of the gospel message is a renewed emphasis in some quarters on the Kingdom of God. Of course this is a biblical concept of significant importance but some would say, "Since Jesus preached the arrival of the Kingdom isn’t that enough. Isn’t that the gospel message "That the Kingdom has come." However, shouldn’t the gospel include an explanation of Jesus death and resurrection. Shouldn’t we say something about sin and the need of salvation from God’s wrath against it? And shouldn’t the gospel say something about how people can be part of the Kingdom? Where is the good news if we tell people the Kingdom has come but we don’t tell them how to be part of it? Yes Jesus came to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom, but He also came to provide a way that we could be part of that Kingdom and to allow it to transform our lives and even our culture. He also proclaimed that this Kingdom would be eternal and we could be part of it.

In much of the literature being published today there are many definitions fo the gospel. Many of these definitions contain elements of the gospel truth but many of them actually confuse the gospel message and some of the flat out mislead or are in error. If you’ve read much contemporary explanations of the Gospel or the Kingdom lately, you might recognize some of these definitions.

1. ... Jesus wants to fill your life with new wine ... Enlarge your vision and get rid of those old negative mind-sets that hold you back.

2. Because Christ died for us, those who trust in Him may know that their guilt has been pardoned ... Christ died in my place, that’s the gospel.

3. ... The radical revolutionary empire of God is here, advancing by reconciliation ... Everything is about to change. Believe in me ... Believe the Good News so you can learn to live by it and be part of the revolution.

4. The good news is that God’s face will always be turned towards you regardless of what you have done ...

5. The proclamation that Jesus, the crucified and risen Messiah, is the one, true, and only Lord of the world.

6. Good News! God is becoming King and He’s doing it through Jesus! ... God’s justice, peace etc is going to be renewed. ... Salvation is the result of the gospel, not the centre of the gospel itself.

7. The gospel is the proclamation of Jesus ... arrival of God’s realm of possibility (his "kingdom") ... But also proclamation about Jesus. The good news that in dying and rising, Jesus made the kingdom he proclaimed available to us.8. ... as a Christian.. trying to orient myself around living a particular kind of way, the way that Jesus taught is possible. .... try to live the way of Jesus ... The first Christians announced this way of Jesus as "the good news."

9. ... to live in the reality of God now... Change your life. Live this way.Is the good news simply that Jesus loves me and I need to start thinking more positively and live by His example?

There is some truth in some of these explanations of the gospel – my fear is that in many of the explanations and definitions of the gospel the cross and therefore, the central theme of the Gospel and indeed the entire Bible has been removed from the core and either completely removed or decentralized from the Gospel Message.

So, according to the Bible - What is the Gospel Message? To use Mike Bullmore’s phrase, What is it that is at the Functional Centrality Of The Gospel? What is the message that we are to proclaim? What is the Gospel That We Are To Preach And Take To The World?

Without Gospel Clarity how are we going to see lives and cultures transformed? How are we going to see people truly converted, transformed and swept into the Kingdom of God? I do not believe God has left this unclear. I do not believe it is vague or confusing or overly complicated. I believe strongly that rather than Gospel Confusion God has revealed to us Gospel Clarity. He has clearly shown us how we can be part of His Kingdom both now and for eternity. This clarity was summed up by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and will be the focus of our next Blog so I encourage you to be on the look out for it. It is of supreme importance that we have Gospel Clarity.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

In our next blog, we'll look outline "Gospel Clarity."

Longing For God Himself

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our need to seek after God and how that relates to our prayer life. After thinking about it for many months and letting it sink into my own soul, this past Sunday I started preaching about it in a series called "Power To Change."

It seems to me that we have tried every method and every church growth strategy to grow the church in North America. There was the church growth movement then the seeker sensitive movement and now the missional movement. All of those movements have had their good points and their bad points but it seems to me that the harder we try the weaker the church has become and the more marginalised we are in our society and the harder we have tried to be relevant to our culture the less relevant we have become.

The great prophet of prayer E.M. Bounds once said, "What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men (and women, or course) whom the Holy Ghost can use - men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men - men of prayer." (E.M. Bound 1835-1913).

Listening to fellow pastor/elders and serious followers of Christ I have heard them repeatedly say, "I love Christ, but I am so dry." Surveys by George Barna and others have uncovered that the vast majority of born again Christians confess that they have not experienced intimate contact with God in the past year. It seems that Christ has redeemed us that we might have intimacy with God (John 15) and yet so many of us are not experiencing it. Our souls are dry and in need of fresh spiritual water that refreshes the soul. Could it be that all of our resources and methods and movements have actually hindered the very thing that gives us life and a vibrant Christian experience? Could it be that we need to return once again to the "spring of living water" (John 4:14; 7:38) and cultivate deep intimacy with God that would well up in our hearts and satisfy the deep thirst in our soul?

I have usually had a fairly vibrant spiritual life but I find deep in my soul a compelling yearning for intimacy with Christ. A yearning to go deeper, a yearning to know His surpassing greatness, to bask in His unfailing love, to walk in abiding fellowship with the lover of my soul. The thought of being successful wanes, the deception of greatness insignificant, and my soul longs for God Himself, that "I may know Him and the power of His resurrection"(Philippians 3:10).

It is said of Moses, "The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11a). I will never be a Moses, but I believe that God redeemed me for deep intimacy. That we may speak as a man speaks to his friend.

I was not saved very long when I first experienced such intimacy with Christ as a lonely 12 year old boy in my upper room bedroom in downtown Toronto. It was the beginning of God’s life long plan to transform my life after the image of His Son. It is not that we always live on mountain top experiences, but I do believe that God has redeemed us to experience His manifest presence in our lives that does indeed transform our lives from the inside out.

I have been asking myself "does my heart treasure Christ more than what Christ can do for me?" Is He really my treasure? Having been redeemed, seeking Christ Himself is to be the ‘new normal’ in the life of the believer. After all, it is only Christ who satisfies our souls. He is the living water. Being His follower is not about being religious. It is about living in an intimate love relationship with Him. He made it abundantly clear that this was to be our first priority. When asked what was the greatest commandment He said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30).

Once Christ is what you seek, nothing else will satisfy. Once you have experienced deep intimacy with Him, nothing else will satisfy you. Intimacy puts the rest of life in a whole new perspective.

Many believers are discouraged with their spiritual experience and with their prayer lives because they do not experience intimacy. As already stated, most claim they have not connected with God in a meaningful way in the past year.

Innately, those who have been born again by the Spirit of God have an unquenchable desire for intimate fellowship with God. We long to know Him in a way that radically transforms our lives from the inside out.  When we don't don't cultivate that, our lives become stale and dry and our Christian experience unsatisfying.

The good news is that as we seek God with all our hearts, He provides for us, through Christ, living water that refreshes our soul. There is a place "near to the heart of God" where we find such refreshment and He has promised us "You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, (Jeremiah 29:13).   I encourage you fellow follower,  seek God Himself with all your heart.   You will find Him and He will refresh your soul.

(Power To Change Sermons and resourceswill be available at www.parkwaybiblechurch.ca beginning March 15)

ON VACATION

I've been on vacation for a couple of weeks.   Check back after August 8 for new and hopefully regular content.

Seek After The Face Of God

God has been speaking to me of late about seeking His face. (Another way of expressing thirsting for Him.

The blessing of God is not so much in what He does for us as in who He is. Many people seek after what God will do for them to bless them. They are seeking after the hand of God rather then the face of God. It’s not wrong to seek His hand for He wants us to show dependance upon Him for He is Jehovah Jireh, the provider. But, if all we do, if the main thing we seek is the blessings He can provide or the answers to requests, then we miss the real blessing, the real essence of our faith, - His face, the enjoyment of the presence and His glory. In fact, He is glorified when we seek His face, when we desire Him more than anything else.

Yesterday, I was reminded from John 4 that Jesus is the "living water" that becomes in our soul a spring that wells up to eternal life (John 4;10,14). Deep, deep down, only He can satisfy the dryness of our souls. Oh, I am so thirsty for God, how about you? There are so many wells that leave us empty and parched. The real joy, the real satisfaction, comes from seeking God and God alone.

Today, walking in the park and meditating on God, I was praying through Psalm 26. I had asked the Lord, "where should I turn in Your Word to meditate"? When I was first led to Psalm 26 and looked it over I thought, "Na, must have been my own idea." But I was prompted to give it a second look.

I can’t go into all that God spoke to me about, but there are a couple of things that stand out.

" Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind" (Psalm 26:2). Wow, do I really want God checking in on what’s deep down in my heart and in my mind. Things that perhaps I don’t even what to know myself. That could be absolutely scary. Maybe that’s why we avoid such intimacy with God. Though we want to seek God’s face and experience deep intimacy with Him, we fear what it will mean.

Yet, the Psalmist proclaims, "For Your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in Your faithfulness" (Psalm 26:3). Because of His steadfast love and faithfulness, you and I can trust God to search our hearts and minds to deal with those things that keep us from seeking His face and basking in His presence.

Later David says, "O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells" (Psalm 26:8). He was referring of course to the temple in Jerusalem where God had promised to dwell among His people. There in the Holy Temple, in the Holy of Holies, was the Ark of the Covenant on which sat two cherubim of solid gold and between the cherubim was the mercy seat upon which rested the very manifest presence of God in the world. This was the Shekinah Glory, the visible manifestation of God’s presence (Exodus 25:17-22).

David loved being in the presence of God. He was a man who sought the face of God.

God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1). The real blessing, the real experience of the Christian faith, is not in the things God can give us from His hand, but from seeking His face above all. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah (Psalm 24:5-6)

What about you? What about me? Do we seek after God Himself with all our hearts. Not what He can do for us, but for God Himself. Do we really believe He is the satisfaction of our souls, the living water that springs up to wells of eternal life that actually refreshes our souls?

My heart is longing after God, how about you?   He makes us this promise,  "You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart", (Jeremiah 29:13).

Identifying With The 23rd Psalm

Rick’s Psalm 23

(Psalm 23 paraphrased to express my identity)

I had not thought much about it before,  but it makes sense.   We all have our own unique relatiionship with God.   My understanding the Word and my experiences in life have shaped this relationship as has your's.   How do I think about God,  how do I relate to Him?   Knowing and understanding your personal and unique identity before God strengthens your fellowship with God.

One way of discovering your unique identity with God is to paraphrase scripture, especially the prayers of scripture, in a way that makes them personal.    Like millions of other believers,  Psalm 23 has been especially encouraging to me at various times in my life.   This morning in my devotions, I paraphrased it in a way that expresses my experience with God as my Shepherd.



The Lord is my shepherd, I shall never lack His care and provision.

He gives me rest in prosperous places and He calms my spirit like still waters.

He refreshes my soul.

He guides me to being a godly man that my life might honour His name.

Even through the most difficult times of my life, when it is only You and me;

I will not fear because You are with me. You hold me up and bring comfort to my soul.

Even when evil comes and people turn against me, You will provide a banquet of blessings to me, You have anointed me with blessings that are abundant and good.

You have been and always will be good and merciful to me Oh God, and I will walk with You always until I dwell with you eternally in Heaven.

June 26, 2011