Psalm 23: The Shepherd Provides

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
—Psalm 23:1-2

Good pastureland may be found at higher elevations at one time of the year and in valleys at another time. The shepherd must take the initiative to find good pasture and then lead the sheep to that place. Without his guidance sheep will graze continually on the same land eating the grass down to the root. The sheep will then become malnourished and sickly. In addition, the land itself will suffer. So, locating good pasture is not only for the present good of the sheep, but by proper land management, it is for their future good.

The Psalmist writes that the shepherd makes me lie down in green pastures. The phrase, makes me, should not be understood in the same way that a parent might make a child clean his room. The Hebrew term indicates cause, not force. It draws attention to the role of the shepherd: The shepherd causes this to happen. He does so by first searching out the green pasture and then leading the sheep to that place. The shepherd brings about this good result, not the sheep.

The shepherd will also be busy searching out good, clean water sources. Without his careful attention, sheep might stop and drink from a mud puddle even when a clean water source is within view.

Because sheep are so easily frightened, the shepherd avoids a stream or river where the water is too swift. Quiet, or restful, waters will promote the well-being of the sheep.

Are you easily agitated or filled with anxiety over your basic needs in this life? Financial difficulties weigh heavily on many people in volatile economic times. There is the fear of a shrinking job pool, college education for the kids, saving for retirement, and care for aging parents. Stress also comes from day-to-day demands involving relationship challenges in the home and at work, sickness or injury, the car, the house, aging, unpredictable disasters, etc.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Later, in the same sermon, he taught that we should not worry about food and drink and clothing. Those are the worries of the people of the world who have only themselves to lean on. Difficult challenges are sure to visit the lives of each one of us. The question is whether we will remain steadfast in our faith in God. He will take care of us.

Like King David, we are helpless sheep who are easily agitated and frightened by the circumstances of life.

Have you wandered off into self-dependence yet find it impossible to maintain control your life. If so, it is time to refocus your eyes on the Good Shepherd. Give yourself over to Him and He will supply rich spiritual pastureland. Drink from the Living Water of Jesus Christ and find answers, find contentment, and find rest through the Holy Spirit of God.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 

—Matthew 6:33

How does this work!?

God has made you a promise without telling you exactly how he will keep it. You must trust that God will keep his promise.

Mark Stinnett

October 27, 2024

Psalm 23: A Shepherd's Shepherd

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

You undoubtedly recognize the first verse of the familiar 23rd Psalm, a psalm written by King David. Before he was a king, while still young, David was trained to take care of his father’s sheep. That training involved the sheep, of course, but also personal training with the rod and staff, the tools of the professional shepherd.

Artwork often depicts docile animals with a shepherd sitting under a shade tree by a calm stream, happily meditating on...whatever shepherds meditate on. While there would be times of tranquility, the job of the shepherd was not a bed of ease. When his sheep were secure and out of harm’s way, he would often be out searching for green pasture and fresh water. Along his journey he would be in constant thought about the path over which he would lead his sheep. He would be aware of obstacles and potential dangers, his mind always reflecting upon the good of the sheep.

When with his sheep he would watch for potential problems. He would take inventory frequently in case one wandered off. He would constantly scan his surroundings for potential predators. The shepherd would have long tiring days and his nightly sleep could be interrupted at any moment by predators or thieves or even a startled sheep.

The shepherd was provider and protector, leader and disciplinarian. He looked beyond the present moment and place, providing security and comfort even when the sheep could not see and understand his actions and thoughts. He knew his sheep, and the sheep knew the one who deeply cared for them.

Sheep are commonly depicted in artwork as soft, playful, clean, and calm creatures. In reality, they are dirty, stinking animals that are easily agitated. They can become nervous if other sheep are too close. They are easily frightened by an unfamiliar sound or quick movement, and especially the presence of a predator.

A sheep might find a comfortable place in a field and fiercely defend its position. It might also graze aimlessly, wandering off and becoming lost.

Sheep might drink from a muddy puddle with a clean water source within view. They are known to be easy prey for their adversaries. Sheep are dumb.

In one sense it is a marvel that David declared that he had a shepherd. In doing so, he declared himself to be a dumb, stinking, helpless sheep. Of all the animals he could have chosen, the sheep is among the least flattering. And yet, he was not writing about sheep, and he was not writing about himself. He knew his own helplessness, and he recognized the Lord as his Shepherd.

He did not declare ‘God’ to be his shepherd. He did not write ‘Master’ or the Hebrew word for ‘Lord.’ He wrote God’s name. He enjoyed a personal and intimate relationship with his God.

It is the nature of sheep to know their master’s voice to the exclusion of any other. The same is true with David. In declaring his God to be his shepherd, he excluded all other gods. Nothing else would be his master. He would hear only the voice of God.

The entire psalm is contained in the first line. David named his God as his shepherd and then declared his contentment. With God as his shepherd he would be nourished, protected, and disciplined. Even when he could not see or understand the way, he would have confidence in his Shepherd and his Shepherd’s leadership.

Reflecting on the first verse of Psalm 23, can you see yourself as the stinking, helpless sheep? 

Can you say...The Lord is my shepherd?

Mark Stinnett

October 20, 2024

The Cost of Forgiveness

Perhaps it was your spouse or one of your children; perhaps a coworker or boss; perhaps a fellow believer…
When was the last time you sincerely and humbly asked, “Will you forgive ME?”
Whenever you asked for forgiveness, what did you expect? Did you expect to be forgiven?
When? Did you expect forgiveness now? Later today? Tomorrow? Sometime in the future?
The last time you asked someone to forgive you, were you forgiven?

Forgiveness is costly to the one that you asked to forgive you!

——————

Asking, “will you forgive me,” is not the same as, “Pardon me.” (Sometimes, “pardon me” has become more of a trite “excuse me” when you do something socially unacceptable. *Burp* — “Pardon me….”)

A governing official, like a president or king, may offer a pardon. That simply means that the one who is guilty does not have to bear the consequences for his crime/offense. The official decides to suspend justice. When a person is pardoned, justice is not served.

——————

Forgiveness is also about justice. Pardon and forgiveness may look similar to the one who is guilty. In either case, he is freed from his debt. However, forgiveness is far different from pardon when it comes to the one who has been hurt by the crime/offense. When a crime is committed (or any offense or sin), an injustice has been done. Someone else bears the pain of the injustice. It might be a minor injustice with minimal consequences, but it is still an injustice.

Pardon suspends justice, while forgiveness deals with justice in a kind of opposite way. Forgiveness is a gift that the injured person gives to the one committing the injustice. The person who is injured willingly shoulders the pain of the injury and allows the offender to go free.

Justice demands an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Forgiveness is one’s choice to bear the pain of the injury saying, “You hurt my eye, but I will suspend justice and endure the injury without demanding that you be injured in your eye. You do not have to pay what you deserve.”

And yet forgiveness is even more than suspending justice and enduring the injury. Forgiveness is about relationship. Forgiveness reaches out saying, “I value our relationship more than I value justice for me. For that reason, I’ll not demand payment for the injustice. In fact, I’ll bear the cost myself.”

——————--

Perhaps it was your spouse or one of your children; perhaps a coworker or boss; perhaps a fellow believer…
When was the last time someone asked you, “Will YOU forgive me?”
How did you feel when YOU were asked to forgive another person?
Would justice be served? Would it be fair to YOU?
Were you able to forgive, truly forgive?
What would your forgiveness require of YOU?
What would your forgiveness cost YOU??

The last time someone asked YOU to forgive them...are they still your friend?


Mark Stinnett

October 13, 2024

Second Things First

To some extent, our society loves the second great command of Jesus.

There is a tremendous push in our society for tolerance. In one sense, that is admirable. We need to be tolerant of the preferences of others, the opinions of others, the weaknesses of others, and so on. Tolerance seems to embrace the idea of love.

And yet, tolerance in our society isn’t what it seems. All too often, tolerance is more accurately: “You need to be tolerant of me.”

When tolerance becomes “You, tolerate me,” then I am embracing me, not love. That is what happens when you put second things first.

When the second great command is placed ahead of the first…

• Man is glorified.
• Man is central.
• Man becomes like...man.
• Man is the motivation.

However, when we keep first things first, the first and greatest command is given priority:

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

When we put first things first…

• God is glorified.
• God is central.
• Man becomes like...God!
• God is the motivation for all that we do.

Do you remember the teaching of Jesus…?

Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 

—Matthew 5:41

This teaching, from the Sermon on the Mount, acknowledged that a Roman soldier could force a person to carry his load for a mile. Naturally, that was distasteful to a Jew. The Jewish teachers taught that a disciple of the law should not be pressed into service by the king’s soldiers. Jesus, however, taught people to have a different frame of mind. Voluntarily go another mile.

Now, thinking of that teaching, how absurd would it be for a person to volunteer to a Roman soldier, “Hey, I’d be happy to carry your things a second mile.” That kind of thinking is laughable. A person cannot possibly go the second mile until after going the first.

In a similar way, how absurd is it to think that there is benefit in following the second great command without first observing the first great command? In fact, it is impossible to truly love your neighbor as yourself if God is not first in your life.

“For God so loved the world…” is not about how much God loved, but about the way in which God loved. God’s love is sacrificial; He gave His only begotten Son.

When a person loves God first, they embrace that same kind of sacrificial love and extend it outward to others. Tolerance then becomes exactly what it sounds like, “I will be tolerant of you by sacrificing for your good.”

Tolerance must never sacrifice the holiness and purity of God. Tolerance must never embrace sin. God’s tolerance does not embrace every thought and every lifestyle because not every thought and lifestyle glorifies God.

God loved sacrificially, but He did not cease to be God. We are to love our neighbor, but not without first devoting ourselves to God in love.

Keep first things first! Then, and only then, will the second have relevance.

Mark Stinnett

October 6, 2024