The Lord Is My Shepherd

  In my morning devotions this day, I considered the truths of Psalm 23. In verse one, the psalmist writes, 'The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.' Sometimes I feel like I do want and that my needs are not met. However, I was reminded that since I belong to the Lord on the basis of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ that He is my Shepherd and I am His sheep. He is the Good Shepherd and the Great Shepherd who always honors his Word. If I look to my Shepherd in trust, I shall not want. Because He is the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep, He has pledged Himself to meet my needs. I was reminded that often the things I think are my needs really are not my true needs. My true needs are eternally oriented. That is, they are things, experiences, situations, people, circumstances and whatever else will build my character and transform me toward Christlikeness. I focus on the temporal. He focuses on the eternal so that during my temporal stay on earth, I can make eternal contributioms. His purpose for me is to point others to the eternal, to Him, to the reality of His gospel and its claims on their lives. He meets my needs in order to help meet their needs. 'The Lord is my sherpherd. I shall not want.' Psalm 23:1.

What Do You Say?

   There are often times in life when we do not know what to say. We desire to offer comfort and impart wisdom to those we care about. We feel deeply about their dilemnas, but cannot find words to express those feelings. Our sympathy, empathy, and emotions are too deep to draw from the word well. Friends lose a twenty-three year old son to a freak accident and their hearts are broken. A co-worker's daughter is faced with a life-threatening illness, has surgery to solve the problem, is told that the problem is solved, but she finds out a few weeks later that the problem is not solved. Her daughter is still facing blindness and death. A fellow teacher in my hall calls his wife as he does every day at lunch, but this time there is no answer. He rushes home to find her incapacitated by an excuriating headache. He offers her what aid he can and returns to school. He checks on her a short time later and receives no response. He flies home to find her unresponsive. An ambulance is called and his wife is rushed to the hospital.. She is airlifted by helicopter to Vanderbilt Medical Center to undergo emergency surgery and has continued to be unresponsive.
    Parents, co-worker and fellow teacher's worlds have been jolted with a cataclysmic shift. Nothing is the same as it was and never again will be. What do you say? I am not omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, nor adequate, but I know One who is. I may not know exactly what to say to those who need hope and comfort, but He does. He is the only one I know who has all the answers, all the strength, all the grace, and sufficiency needed for each situation. He knows how to meet each need and He alone can do what no one else can do.
   What do I say to each of them? I say I am sorry and I pray. I entrust each of them to God who hears and answers prayer. I trust God to do and say to their hearts and in their situations all that I cannot.

Writing

   I am the usual writer. I write because I have something to say. My books are meant to be entertaining and inspiring, but there is more, much more. I write with a fixed purpose.  It is my goal to cause my readers to hunger for a more authenticate Christian life. Heaven only knows if I have succeeded.
   Two young ladies who have recently read my newest book, The Witness, told me that they loved the book. One girl said that she liked the way it ended. The other said that she liked the character Sarah. I am glad for both things, but my hope is that they read the book and were touched by the God who is spoken about throughout the book.
   All who read this may think that I am taking too much upon myself. You may think that it is too grandiose an idea that I should expect God to use my feeble writing to touch lives and accomplish His purposes, but as a Christian that is what I must expect. God help me if all I do is write an engaging story. My writing and my life must be used by Him to advance His kingdom or both have missed their purposes.