The Lord is My Shepherd

"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need."
Psalms 23:1 NLT  

If we have surrendered our lives to Christ and call him Lord, we are under his protection and care!  We have been grafted into God's family. You are a member of God's house. We can honestly say that we have all that we need because Jesus who is the ultimate shepherd is watching and caring for us.  So remember there is no want if you have everything that you need.  So why would you stray from the herd?  But, the cool part is this.  Jesus will leave that herd to go find you.  That's right.  You are valued that much by God.

I remember one time when I was just a kid, my mom took me to the grocery store and my "job" was to hold on to the grocery cart while she shopped.  In the Cereal section a certain box of Peanut Butter Crunch caught my eye and I let go of the cart and went over to gaze it it.  I looked up and the cart and my mom were nowhere to be found.  As I started panicking I was surprised when my name came over the P.A. system and I was told to come to meet my mom at the front of the store.  I was thankful to be reunited with her and I told her I was sorry that I left the cart.

Today, I don't want to stray from God, but I love having the knowledge that if I did, he'd be searching for me.  He'd be chasing after me until I was found.  If you have walked away from God, today is your day to listen to his voice and come to him.  He will welcome you back, with open arms.

Reflecting Christ

At my house we have a stove that has a glass door.  It's awesome because you can see the fire and it warms the heart.  My favorite thing to do is to sit in my chair and do my devos while watching the fire. After each fire a film gets on the glass and impedes my ability to see the fire fully.  I have to take a moment, get the cleaner and spray the glass.  When you look at the paper towel that I used to clean it you can see the black soot that came off the window.   I am learning more and more each day that I need to be careful not to let my life get so crazy busy that it disturbs my abiding in Him.  I need to constantly be watchful and continue to be a mirror that is clean. That only happens when I abide in Him.

I was reading Oswald Chambers this morning and he states, "When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors."  As a servant of the Most High God I want to mirror and reflect God.  We need to keep our lives open to God.  But there are times that the cares of the world like work, clothing, food and my general busyness gets in way of that position of  beholding Him.  Colossians 3:3 says, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."  I don't want anything to obscure someone from seeing Christ in me.  Go God!

-P. Andy