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Morning Devotional...



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Perhaps you can imagine the scene. In the far distance, the sun shines over the misty blue mountains. Below them lie the upland moors covered with deep rich purple heather and golden yellow gorse. Immediately in front of us, and just beyond the field gate on which you and I are leaning, is a beautiful verdant pasture.

The grass is lush and wild flowers grow in colorful array. If we stand quietly, we can hear above the soft rustle of the wind, the musical drone of the honey bees as they gather nectar from delicate blooms.

About five hundred yards away, the cool, clear waters of a river flow serenely and silently towards the distant sea.

A little flock of sheep, some with lambs, lie peacefully undisturbed near the river's edge. If we were to look at them through our binoculars, we would see them gently chewing their cud as they draw nourishment from the abundant provision of fresh food. They surely are the picture of contentment and tranquillity. This is something like the picture that Psalm 23 calls to my mind.

"He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." (Psalm 23:2) Why are the sheep in our little scene so peaceful, so content, so unruffled as they enjoy the warmth of the afternoon sun?

I think my shepherd friend, Johnny Crawford, would tell us that a flock such as we have described are free from fear, have enough to eat and are not plagued with parasites. If we remove any one of these conditions the sheep will not be at peace.

Has not God given us a lovely picture in Psalm 23 of the condition of His believing people? In Psalm 95:7, we read "For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand." Every good shepherd will care for his flock, removing the sheep from danger, providing medical treatment to prevent parasites and ensure sufficient food to keep them strong and healthy.

Our "Good Shepherd" has done so much more for His flock than the best of earthly shepherds. To start with He says to us in John 10:11, "I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep". He paid the ultimate price to purchase His flock and to deliver them from the fear of eternal death. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

In Christ our shepherd we have all we need for eternity. When we realize that "I am His and He is mine", fears quickly diminish and should fade away. When the Shepherd is present the wolf will seek some other prey. We need not fear man or devil, even if they kill us we shall live with Him.

If we are aware of His divine presence we will find food abundant for our souls and our spirits will rejoice in the Bread of Life, for He feeds us with food sufficient for our requirements. This He does as we seek to feed on His word and to find Him there. We can, with the Shulamite maiden experience the bounty of His hand. Listen to her words, "He brought me into the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love." (Song of Solomon 2:4) My friends let us feat on the good things of His word as we bask in the sunshine of His love.

"He leadeth me beside the still waters." Sheep like human beings need more than food to live; both need water if they are to survive. In Revelation 21:6, we read, "And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts'."

What is the water of life? The Lord Jesus when speaking to the woman of Samaria told her of "living water" which if a person drank he or she would never thirst again. "But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14).

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah talks about that water in Isaiah 12:2,3 "Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." And the Lord Jesus Christ explains its meaning for us in John 7:37-39, "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke concerning the Spirit whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."

We see then that the water is the Holy Spirit whom we receive by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the Great Shepherd. The Holy Spirit is needed to give life to those who are dead in sin. He is God's agent in the new birth as we are told in John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit". And it is His presence that sustains eternal life in all those who come by faith to the Lord Jesus for Salvation. It is He who enables us to become true disciples of the one who loved us unto death; the good shepherd who gave His life for the sheep.

If you and I are truly united by faith to the great Shepherd we can enjoy peace greater and more beautiful than any earthly scene. No matter what our material blessings or lack of them we have a peace that passes all understanding, food that nourishes for eternity and water that quenches the thirst for satisfaction in a way the broken cisterns of earth cannot satisfy.

To know this Shepherd is to love Him, and to love Him is to know Him in a way that can only be experienced by His flock. We will close this part of our studies with His gracious invitation as it is found in Isaiah 55:1-3a "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live."

Can you afford to reject this lovely overture of love and mercy? If you are one of His sheep, does not the knowledge of His love thrill your heart and cheer your spirit?

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Jack Scott loved his Lord! He passed away on January 10, 2001 after a lengthy illness.
He is missed greatly by his family.

Wow I am the first one here and it is only 8:10 pm on the west coast of the US. I am just home from Bible Study on James 3:1-12 The power of the tongue in cursing and blessing. At the end our pastor pray a blessing over all of us using the promises in Gods word.

Thank you for part three of the Shepard Psalm. Pat. He truly is my Shepard. Whre he leads me I will follow. Well I want to catch up here before I go to bed.

                           

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANET

[size=+3]HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANET!!  [/size][/color][/b]

Happy Birthday Ms Janet

  OH Hi ms Jane, i did not see you here.  

You did not even say any thing and you have a edit.

Absolutely superb Pat. These devotions should be in print, as should Pastor Al Moak's study of the Psalms.

Birthday greetings Janet.

I may have spoken on this text before, however His Word is new every morning. Please forgive me if I have.

'As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.'

Is there any sweeter word today for the child of God than the text written above. It should empower us with courage and a greater conviction to make a stand for our God. It should help us to show our fellow man that we are different. We are a peculiar people chosen by God.

We may be facing distressing times. There may be great mountains ahead of us causing a great deal of anxiety or perhaps deep waters as we face an empty chair where once our loved one sat.

Perhaps we are overcome with great loneliness, thinking that nobody cares about us. Perhaps our health is not what it once was and we fear a time in hospital or perhaps you are bracing yourself for the results of a scan or other such tests.

There are times when obstacles lie in our path. We build them up into mountains. We become discouraged, depressed and frightened. We would do anything rather than having to face it.

If we could walk around it we would. If there was an easy path then we would gladly take it. 'Hills at the presence of the Lord like wax doth melt away.'

Fear not my friend the Lord has a sure word for your trembling knees this day. 'As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.'

I was truly challenged by this question today:- 'Do we wish more for His glory than we do for our own deliverance?' This I have to confess left me speechless!

The child of God is not immune to pain, suffering or trial yet through all these things our Lord is with us each step of the way. Facing difficulties in our own strength will wear us out, however with Christ we can do all things.

Listen to what God is saying to your soul today, 'as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.' Can there be any greater comfort?

LOL
Your brother in Christ
Iain

I've been struggling with some personal issues for 30 years. For some reason, the fog has begun to lift, praise God!

Ever since Sherman died, I've felt a sometimes paralyzing sense of inability to do certain things. Without realizing it, in the last two weeks, these have become much more natural.

Again, praise His name - He truly is faithful.

Ruth Ann

Good Morning Everyone and thanks so much, Iain, for your kind comments on Jack's little devotionals.  I'm so glad he wrote them so that we could still enjoy them now.

When Al finishes the Psalms, he has a couple of other wonderful series on Mark and Romans and also Revelation and I'm so looking forward to them again.

(By the way, Iain, LOL can mean "Loads of Laughter".  Do you mean that at the end of your devotional? HAHAHA)

I'm just rushing through as I must get to our Senior Centre to help teach the last computer class in this series.

But I wanted to make sure that Janet had lots of birthday wishes too.

Happy Birthday
dear Janet

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[size=30]HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JANET!!![/size]
God bless you!

Happy Birthday Janet.  Hope you have a wonderful day]
Pat, great thoughts on our Shepard in Jack's writing.  What wonderful word pictures he was able to convey as one pictures the calm of the setting with the shepard in control.  Iain, your devotional thoughts remind me that God is unchanging and is just as he was at the time of Moses.

Ruth Ann, it is nice to hear that some long standing areas are clearing up for you.  Hope that continues.

Papa John, sure hope and pray that Corneilia had a good night and you will find her feeling stronger and better today.  Do they know what caused the bleeding?  

Time to head out for coffee.  See everyone later.  

I just dropped by to say HI!  

Pat, thank you for such great a devotional - it was almost like being there in the pasture and feeling His presence.

Happy Birthday, Janet

May God's blessings be on all of you today.

Mary

What a nice surprise to come in and find all the great birthday wishes this morning!  Thank you, Marilyn, Jane, Mieka, Iain, Pat, Jen and Larry.  Those graphics are so neat!  I appreciate so much your remembering.

Ruth Ann, isn't it wonderful how God can set us free?  Sometimes we just aren't ready to be freed sooner, or something, but He is always willing.  God bless you as you walk onward in this blessing of deliverance!

Hi, Mary Frances!  You just popped in here---thank you for wishing me a happy birthday.

I teach my regular painting class today, then I think Darrel is grilling spare ribs on his new grill for Beth and John.  She promised John some of the "pig" she helped raise while he is here!  Oink, Oink!!

Last night Beth and John came over, bringing cornish game hens, potatoes and corn on the cob, which Darrel grilled for supper.  Yum!  They are having such a wonderful time together.  While I don't see any signs of a budding romance particularly, you can tell they are very good friends.  I am so happy for both of them!  John leaves Saturday night.

I guess I should go fix myself some breakfast now.  See you later, though.

Mieka, I got such a giggle out of your comment about Jane's edit!

Al:  How are you two doing?

Larry:  I have a suggestion for your trips to Atlanta when your daughter goes back to school.  Ask each one of your good friends to drive you in at least once and you will have personal time with each of them and they will feel so good about being able to help you in some way.  They do want to help and sometimes it is good to accept a gift of love and caring.  

Marilyn:  How amazing to find your earring !  After all the wind and elements, it was right there beneath your step.  

It is foggy and overcast this morning.  I think I hear the foghorn - oh, that was in Seattle -  my old hometown.  I am still in Fort Collins so there isn't a foghorn in miles.

Windmill energy is right in our area and we can all sign on to have it if only we are willing to pay extra for that form of energy.  

Happy Birthday Janet

Good Morning: Thak you Iain for your thought this orning. Your writings should also be in a book of devotions. Have you published any yet?

Well in 3 weeks and 2 days I will be leaving this HOT desert for the col of the north country. Praise the Lord. It is overcast here today but stillto be  around 100 degrees F. I have been sleeping much better since I have been leaing the A/C on low at night adjusted down to the econo setting.

Going now to read the other forums here and I will be back later.

Thank you, Carol!

Oh, Marilyn!  I also meant to say how happy I am that you found that earring!  God is so good!  I pray very often fot His help in finding things I have lost or misplaced, and He never lets me down.  Praise His Name!

And He's never late, either!  You will be moving soon, so He showed you where that earring was before you go.

A few months ago the thought passed through  my mind that " what if John and Ann never see me wearing those earings, they would think I didn't like them. Praise the Lord, God is so good. Yes He showed me where it was before I am moving.

Janet - we celebrate the day you arrived on earth, and we are glad you are here!  You do NOT have to admit being older![/color]

Carol, I hadn't thought about denying a friend the opportunity to help and you make a good point.  I know I would feel that way if I could help someone else.  I was looking at it as a burden to be imposed on my friends and I think that is the wrong perspective.  Thanks for pointing that out.  

Marilyn, the days are counting down.  I wonder if you won't have to wear a sweater for awhile to adjust to the change in climate.  I well remember the first year we lived in Alaska and we about froze during the summer and always had to wear a jacket.  By the second year we had adjusted and didn't need the sweathers.

Janet, I know it must thrill your heart to see Beth and John developing such a fine friendship.  I am so happy this is working well for them.

Good morning, Mary Frances.

Pat, that is quite an array of smilies.  Some of them are very cute.  Etta Sue, I liked your idea of creating a source for those that would be fun to use in our postings.  Mieka, you sure have some cute smilies that you are using in your postings.  

JANET!!!!

What wonderful devotionals today.  They are sure a blessing from God.

Marilyn ~ I am sure glad that you will be leaving that hot desert for a cooler climate and near your son.  I pray that your move runs smoothly with no problems.  Glad you found that earring, too!

Karma ~ What do you mean...crzy ppl???

Larry ~ My thoughts are with you daily as you go for your treatments.  I think Carol's idea is great.  The older we get the more we realize that time spent with friends and family are precious.  One never knows when it may be the last time.  Sad, but true!

Mary Frances ~ Come back....we miss you.  So glad to see your post this morning.

Al ~ Good morning...how is Marbeth today?

Ruth Ann ~ Praise the Lord.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if CP had a hand in this praise also?

Carol ~ It is cloudy and overcast today here, also.  Yesterday was our first 90°+F day.  But today will be much cooler...

Pat ~ Hope your lessons goes well today.  Will Les be there today or is he too ill?

Iain ~ I love thinking of you on your island surrounded by water.  I would love to take my Bible and sit on the coast somewhere and spend quiet time with Him.

Jen ~ Glad you stopped in today.  How is the leg?

Ivalou and I are going to Anderson to see a friend in the hospital...I have a Prayer Request for him in the Have You Prayed About....thread.  'Course, that means eating out!!!  Yippee!  

?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`°º?ø,¸¸,ø?º°`°º?ø?º°`"The most efficient water power in the world is a child's tears."

Larry, I sure agree that you should not deny your friends the blessing of helping you out.  They will be blessed in the doing, and you will be a blessing to them as they spend time with you.  It is sometimes discouragining when you really want to help someone out, and they won't let you.  Is that called pride?

The Lord is dealing so strongly with me just now, I must get by myself and meet with Him.

Etta Sue, thanks for the birthday cake and greetings!

Al, I am 29 again this year!  I am about to wear that number out, though.  Actually, I'm celebrating the 34th anniversary of my 29th birthday!  And praise God, I feel as good as when I was 29.  God has been good to Janet!

I have posted a photo of the finished painting of the Holy Family over in Creations With a Brush, if any of you want to see how it turned out.  It is titled Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

H AP PY
B I R T H D A Y
               

Happy Birthday Janet! !

Well with all that is going on today I haven't had much time to come on line.  WE have had an unfortunate occurrence this week that wasn't caught.   I don't go down to the freezers often as I have a side by side frig/freezer.  We have to upright freezers in the basement.  The BOTH fuses for 2 freezers blew.  We have lost about $300 worth of meat as well as veggies.  John is working with me to clean up the smell and mess.  I am glad I picked up and extra bleech this week as it can be used to disinfect.    

Well I am back at it and will see y'all later.

Blessings
Judy