Life Doesn't Get Easier

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” John 13:7

Fellow Believers in our Savior, Greetings in the Name above all names,

Lessons in obedience can hurt. Our Savior loves us just as we are and just as we were; but His love will not leave us in this state. As I surrender to Christ, on a daily basis, appropriating the growth truth that 'I am crucified with Christ', it seems almost easy and I experience rest and peace. By faith I am identified with Christ in his death and resurrection. When in this state I do not understand why I fail to follow His plan always. Why do I trust Him for one trial and then not trust Him for trial that knocks me down next? Truth dawns on me that my 'old sin nature' (OSN) resists, sidesteps, ignores and frequently refuses the Cross.... I have come to this conclusion: life doesn't get easier and dying to the flesh doesn't get easier! I am to stop expecting it to be so. There is no other way for self to be denied than God's way. The flesh will only yield to the Cross; this is our identification with Christ Jesus in His death and resurrection. Our spiritual growth requires surrender to His plan and it relies on a heart hunger to know our Lord Jesus intimately.

"The Divine way (via the cross) for spiritual emancipation is just as offensive to the child of God as the Divine way for salvation is to the lost." MJS

Once we have known forgiveness of sins, we make a new discovery- the discovery of sin, and we realize that we have the nature of a sinner. There is an inward inclination to sin. There is a power within that draws us to sin.... MJS

I know that power within drawing me to sin. At times I defend myself, insist on my rights, gossip, envy others, harbor hate and resentment and am easily selfish and peevish. I prefer to be served rather than to wash the stinky feet of a brother or sister. Then God holds up His mirror and the reflection I see is anything but Christ-like. My failure to live for Christ hurts deeply because living for Him is what I truly desire! I need be aware that my OSN is adaptable  and can be kind, generous, helpful, but this is a facade hiding the truth that the flesh is in control.

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:5-8

When my Father takes me through a trial, often He removes my understanding and my perspective. Processing the difficulty feels unfamiliar and harder than any I have been through previously. I "feel" powerless to surrender to Christ in the trial and find rest. Why does it feel so unfamiliar? Is it the fear which invades my mind and heart carrying on an endless defeating dialogue? Do I believe the Father knows exactly what to measure into my life and for how long? If He is choosing what to allow and He is working for good in my life (what good? what purpose? just this: that I may be conformed to the image of HIs Son) and He is all wise and loving, why is it so hard to trust Him? Has He ever failed? Is He weak and lacks knowledge? no, and no again! Can it be I do not recall past lessons learned or is it that I do not 'feel' like remembering the Holy One is present in me? It is my OSN refusing the Cross! Such is the struggle between the New nature and the OSN in daily warfare. I may not realize what God is doing but I know He is trustworthy and never fails. Our flesh cannot produce life, humility, love or selflessness. Press hard into the Father and find rest. In appropriating Christ's death there is truly resurrection Life. 

He will make every pain, every tear, every particle of our suffering work in us a death to sin and to the old man, and to all things on earth which will be for our highest development and for His glory. GW

Let us be living testimonies that our God is Almighty and good. He meets our needs and His grace is sufficient, His love abundant and satisfying. Loving Him is a good motive to live for Him but He calls us to go beyond the love motive to the life motive: "For me to live is Christ.." 

Lamb of God, crucified One, You who humbly entered life via a human birth canal and relied on air to live, are God Almighty, Eternal in the heavens. You are gentleness and humility the living personification of Love and Mercy and Peace. This alone is enough to conclude that I want to be like You. I who struggle with pride and think I am something in the grand scheme of things when I am nothing outside of You! Forgive me and cleanse me with Your precious blood. Fill my heart with faith to trust You each moment for what You allow to come into my life when I do not understand what You are doing in my life. God of wonder and grace, Blessed be Your name now (in me and through me) and forever, In this Your Holy Name I pray amen.

I am crucified with Christ,

az

He Holds my Hand

But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,              
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
“For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;  Isaiah 43:1-3




Dear Ones in like faith, Greetings in Jesus name,


What a blessing to have God's word. I am aware there are many brothers and sister in the world who do not have even one copy of God's word and many more without a Bible in their language. How bereft I would be without this great treasure. I love it when God brings a certain scripture to my attention from more than one source! So it was this week with Isaiah 43. This chapter holds gems of truth that embolden, comfort, encourage and strengthen our faith; underscoring the importance of committing God's word to memory! I encourage you to make it part of your disciplines.


Read and hear the above passage. God calls Himself our Creator! He formed us and thus He is intimately familiar with us inside and out. He knows our weaknesses and our sins which are many and in love He assures us we do not need to be afraid like Adam and Eve were when they sinned. He sees the fear that so easily assails, nibbling away at our courage. Ask yourself this, 'why should I not fear judgement for my sins? Though our sin wants to claim us, He lovingly states we do not have to be afraid. Why? Jesus said, "I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine." He has cleared us of all wrong doing by dying on the Cross in our place and satisfying God's wrath against our sin. Our debt is paid in full. Gratefulness wells up inside me and I must kneel and give Him praise.... 


I was hurrying through a crowded market place completing an errand when I heard my name called out. I turned to see an old friend I had not spoken to for a long time. The crowd moving around me didn't know me, didn't know my name. Even making eye contact made only a surface connection. But when I heard my name, I immediately stopped and looked around until I made eye contact and this was followed by a welcome hug. Jesus calls us by name and claims us as His own! He knows us. He arose defeating death and freeing us from the power of sin and the penalty of sin, and eventually from the presence of sin when at last we are with our Lord. I long for the day I kneel before the throne lost in Christ my Savior.


 Notice after this secure beginning God doesn't hesitate to move right into the truth that they will suffer. He does not say He delivers us from trial and suffering but that He is with us... when we pass through the waters. Now look at this scripture: Psalm 37:23-24


 The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
And He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. 


 Our Creator, He who is LORD of the whole earth and Master of billions of galaxies, holds our hand. Stop here. Listen with your mind and heart; 'who holds our hand? Who promises the rivers will not overflow us? The fire will not burn us? Like the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, we will not even smell like smoke! Just as Jesus was in the furnace with them, so too He is with us and holds our hand. The fire will only consume that which is temporary in our life. He goes on to say we are precious to Him and again states, "Do not fear, for I am with you (I hold your hand)" Do you believe His great love for you? Read these verses and add after each statement 'I hold your hand.' He holds our hand because He understands and loves us immeasurably!


There is a wonderful happiness in being loved, we all know it' but the further we go on, the more we know that what matters most is not to be loved but to love. 'Love through me Love of God."AC


He may not deliver us from trial on earths journey but how much greater it is to be delivered in trial. God does both. In the deliverance from trial there is relief, but deliverance in trial results in a deeper acquaintance with Christ which relief does not. It is a faith choice to trust Him. Yes, our trials want to drown us and scar our souls, but we will not be scorched,  because our blessed Savior holds our hand. I am like a small child who needs my heavenly Father to hold my hand and often to carry me. Are you not humbled to know Who loves you even though He knows everything about you? 


O God, reign over us in spite of our passions! How could we find anything to love outside of You? May the fire of your love extinguish any other fire! Give us the grace to love you more and we will love you and no other. And we will continue to love you throughout eternity. F.F.


Does He hold your heart? Have you knelt and confessed your sins and received Christ as Savior and Lord, and His blood (shed at Calvary) has cleansed your soul from sin? Follow the link below if this is your desire. You are loved and prayed for.


Holder of my hand, Purchaser of my heart, my Sacrifice, I bow and confess Jesus is Lord of all. Thank You for holding not only my hand but my heart. Blessed be Your name O Most High God, eternal Savior. I love you keeper of my heart and holder of each breath I breathe. Knower of my secrets, You who love me in spite of who I am, You alone accept me fully and forgive me completely, thank you. I do not understand such love as Yours and am thankful for Your indwelling and filling and provision. I pray in the Name of the Great God and Savior Jesus the Christ. amen
http://www.campuscrusade.com/fourlawseng.htm

My Daddy is holding my hand, leading, protecting, comforting, loving,

az

Powerless

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Romans 7:8 NIV


My dearest Brothers and Sisters,


"The Life of Christ is the holiness of Christ. The reason we so often fail in the pursuit of holiness is that the old life, the flesh, in its own strength seeks for holiness as a beautiful garment to wear and enter heaven with. It is the daily death to self out of which the life of Christ rises up." AWT


We are not told to pursue holiness, but to 'be holy, 
 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” I Peter 1:15-16


Did you say impossible?!  I second that with a resounding uh-huh! Just reading these verses, I am pierced to the heart with conviction that I do not and cannot measure up, ever. That is the bad news. The good news is Jesus does, did and will. I am to pursue Him, behold Him, and love Him with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. His holiness is mine. This is so amazing! Do you believe this? 


For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor 5:21


In receiving Christ we receive the divine-human life, which is death to the old sin nature, producing fruit of sin and self. We often try and live in both worlds simultaneously- in self and in God, in the flesh and in the Spirit. We try and live by faith but walk independently by feelings and our rights, by abiding and by self-effort! To have life in Christ is not enough; this very life demands death to the flesh if we are to grow in holiness and be fruitful. Reckoning on the finished work of the Cross is the only relief from the burden of self. We are not to crucify ourselves but to agree with what God has said and done! Self loves to usurp the place belonging to the Lord Jesus. Self is a criminal worthy of death. Begin to take God's truth in Romans 6, Galatians 2:20 and Luke 9:23 and let it become who you are, who God is creating you to be... a reflection of His Son. Then you cannot help but bring Him glory. 


"The hope of true faith is that we are truly powerless." Personal powerlessness is scriptural. "Scripture points to this condition through a variety of images. "Blind." Not just nearsighted. "Dead." Not merely comatose. "Broken." Not simply a little bit weak." s.s.


It is not until we realize this truth will we reach out for the strength of Christ! Christ died for the powerless and ungodly allowing Himself to be crucified in weakness and offering us this promise: I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Phil 4:13  What do you have to face today in your own strength? Not one thing! For all you face today, you have His strength. The strength to forgive. The strength to endure. The strength to love. The strength to obey. The strength to die. The strength to take the next step. All things, not some but... all! I am dancing. Hear me: Do not let familiar scriptures slide over your ears but grab them, hang on and let the Spirit apply them to you in ways which changes you!


The constant tendency is to try to improve the manner of one's life here below by adopting Christian principles, whereas you will never arrive at it unless you start from 'crucified with Christ.' Then it is not thinking of what I am, but of what He is, 'Christ liveth in me." JBS


Amen!


Father of all that is Holy and righteous and good, You who are strength, thank You for the amazing provision each second of each day. My flesh continually refuses the Cross and desires to be strong. It feels good to be able to stand on my own, I do not like feeling weak, being weak, being foolish. Is this why I fight the Cross daily with renewed vigor? My hostile flesh will never yield willingly to the Cross, so thank You for this Truth: I am crucified with Christ. By Your Spirit apply this Truth moment by moment, for only then am I free and content and fruitful. Hearer of my heart, of every unspoken word and desire, You know that I love You. To You who bear the earthly scars of my death, I surrender now and as many times this day as necessary. To surrender is to allow You to apply the Cross to me! I want to cry out, 'At any cost Abba,' and then remember how great the cost was. You made your Son the sacrifice Lamb, dying in my place. Teach me to focus continually on Him. I bow in praise and worship and cry, "thank You!"  praying in the Name of the Lamb of God, amen


Have a great week beholding Him moment by moment,
 az

We Are Sheep in need...

And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” John 8:29

My Brothers, my Sisters,

Sheep need the shepherd. So too, we need our Shepherd. A stubborn sheep who frequently goes off on his own, places himself in danger and is in need of discipline.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21

In a Turkish village of Gevas on July 8, 2005, one sheep walked off a cliff dropping to his death. Dazed onlookers watched more than 1,500 fellow sheep follow suit plunging to their death. Such is the foolishness of sheep. They have no regard for the fact they need a Shepherd's protection. Often they do not  want to please the Shepherd. How like us! 

Reading in John 8:29, Jesus said all that He spoke and did pleased his Father. These words called my heart to attention!! 'I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.' My immediate thought was, "I cannot speak those words!" My next thought was: Because I am a sheep! I began to ask questions. 'What is God saying?' Jesus  just told the Pharisees God was His Father and they themselves did not know God. He said they would die in their sins because they would not believe! He as much as said they did NOT please the Father. I could understand this, but I did not understand His purpose for mentioning that He always pleased the Father? I raced to this conclusion: 'Jesus always pleased God the Father being He is God the Son! Divinity. Perfect. Sovereign. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are united in a Holiness indescribable and eternally pleasing. An intimate, infinite Oneness unalterable, impenetrable and Omnipotent! How could He not 'always' be pleasing to the Father. The Holy Trinity cannot do anything unpleasing! Right? Truly a pleasant conundrum. 

I realized Jesus must be speaking of His manhood being lived in perfect obedience to His Father. He came to live the perfect life on earth to fulfill all things. No man lives a fully acceptable or perfect life because he is a sheep (a sinner). We all like sheep have gone astray each of us has turned to his own way. Jesus tasted every difficulty, trial, loss, rejection and disappointment, being tempted in all ways as we are tempted. (Yet without sin!) He carried every sin and sorrow and loss of ours as He hung on the Cross. He lived his life to be the perfect sacrifice. He lived perfectly, He died perfectly, He rose perfectly, and He ascended perfectly and will return perfectly (in His time) in great power. He will not come to be tortured and abused for He is no longer the sacrifice but He is LORD of all and He will rule and reign forever in holiness.

Just as sheep are prey for lions, God refers to our enemy as a roaring lion. Our Shepherd has sacrificed Himself to bring eternal Victory. We are distracted, directionless and defenseless sheep. Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy. Christ is our only defense against those attacks on our faith. Satan wants to replace our trust and joy with discouragement and deceit. We are never told to fight the devil, only resist him. Jesus Victory over satan was complete and we are to receive it from the Holy Spirit, not try and produce it.  As we drink from His word we are strengthened to stand strong in the LORD and in the power of His might, just as Daniel became prey when thrown in the lion pit to face a terrible hungry foe. 

This scripture fed me this week setting my feet to dance in delight, hands raised high! I could live for weeks just off the verbs and adjectives that describe our God, who is the same today as then. Let these words melt into your being, increasing your love for our amazing Shepherd who laid down His life for us.

For He is the living God and enduring forever,
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.  “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:26-27

Are you dancing?

God, You are everything to me. I have no other possession, O my eternal inheritance! What I long for is not earthly consolations, pleasant feelings inside, brilliant enlightenment, or even extraordinary  inner graces. I am not asking for any of those gifts that come from you but which are still not you yourself. I hunger and thirst for you and you alone. I want to forget myself, to lose sight of myself. nothing else matters. I love you. F.F.

The perfect Lamb of God and yet the Shepherd. The Lamb, yet the Lion on the Throne. Do you long to glorify our great God? Your responsibility is to stay near the Shepherd and to stay near you must stay humble. His responsibility is to work by His Spirit, His glory! That frees us from the hard part. Staying near requires dying to your self in a complete surrender of your will and feeding on His Word.

My Shepherd, my Savior, You who love me to distraction. Again, I am in awe of who You are! Your Word is sweeter than honey creating hunger to be near You. You know I want to love you perfectly and do not, yet You love me, You love my brothers and Sisters with abandon and ferocity. We do not understand such love, but surrender to Love that hears and holds and hides and keeps. I long to be nearer and nearer You. Work Your glory in me so it spills out on others. Change me and continue the slow process of creating the likeness of Christ in me. You who deliver and rescue and do wonders, there are many in my family who need to be rescued and delivered from deceit and pride and self-righteousness and unbelief. Send wonders to work such glory no man will be able to claim any credit, but all the glory will be Yours Lamb of God, my Good Shepherd. I love you my God-Shepherd and pray in Jesus Name. amen

Dancing in praise of Him who poured out His love at Calvary for you and me!

az

Name Above All Names

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable  in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 Dear Brothers and Sisters in our LORD Jesus, What is in a name? Moses, Obama, the Beatles? A 7yr old boy was playing with his small dog nearby a cave and decided to explore when the earth caved in on him. The dog ran barking frantically until he attracted attention and led the man back to help the boy. He was rescued none too soon. The boy's name? Abe Lincoln. What a great difference this name has meant to America. But the most life changing Name ever to be spoken is the Name of Jesus. The name of God was so reverenced that Jewish priests would not speak the name aloud. When they copied the scriptures and they came to the name of God they stopped. They went and washed themselves and changed clothes before they would even write the consonants: YWH. Two Hebrew words 'the Lord' (Yaweh) and saves, work together to create His name: Jesus. The Lord saves. Even His name carries richness of who He is and the gift we are given. How we think about God's name will determine how we live. How we use His name in thought, word and deed will affect the whole of our life. When I hear someone say carelessly, "Oh my God", it hurts me. I have determined to immediately turn and praise God in my heart. The commandment given was in relation to taking oaths, making promises and sealing it with God's name, though it also covers cursing but that was not the main issue. To break your word was to have taken His name in vain or using His name without reverence, carelessly. The commandment says we will give account of how we speak the name of God. Question: What attitude precipitates using God's name carelessly? Is it not our constant enemy pride. Also we are told we are to give account of every idol word we speak. Ouch! This causes me to pray Psalm 141:3, "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."  I am humbled and my heart quickened by the Truth God sets forth for me to live by. May I never get used to hearing the precious name of God and of His Son Jesus, used to curse or used casually. Lord show me if I am guilty of using your holy name without reverence and change me! I want to speak words of life.  Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You. Psalm 119:38 I know a woman married over 40 years who was never called by her first name, nor were there any affectionate substitutes to fill in the gap. Many years went by before she realized he was refusing to call her by name. This passive aggressive behavior was the apex of disrespect. Even remembering a person's name is showing Christ's love, for He knows each one. I was shopping at a local store which hires many who are not citizens of this country. One man had an unusual name. I asked him to say it for me. He helped me put the accent in the right place. Then he shared how co-workers mocked him by saying something similar in sound, but degrading. We talked about the meaning of his name and he smiled as I wished him a good day. I felt I had spoken words of life, touched him with Christ's love and left a door open for a further witness for he was not a Christian. I want to share something that has often helped me. It is referred to as the Three Sieves. I shake my head in wonder at how easy it is to sing praise and worship or quote God's word then in the next instance speak other words that are hurtful and negative!  I am sorry when I have not remembered to use these sieves. You may have heard this before but it is a good reminder that all of our words should pass this test! 1. Is it true?     2: Is it kind?  3. Is it necessary? When you feel yourself being drawn into a conversation that is negative or gossip, resist! Begin to thank Him for delivering you from what would not please Him because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. The humorist Will Rogers is quoted as saying: Never miss an opportunity to shut-up! Good advice. Only by God's grace will sieves keep us from grieving the Spirit of love and speaking hurtful words to those we love. We know the old sin nature, our flesh is always ready to speak its mind! Refuse it permission and reckon it dead. For it has been crucified with Christ. The three sieves are only useful for keeping wrong words from being spoken. They do not give us right words, Love can fill the cup so full of love, that nothing can come out but love. AC For when He lives through us in the power of His Spirit we will love, we cannot help but love, for He is love. Pure and Holy One, You who are to be reverenced because You are worthy and Your holiness is beyond our ability to imagine! I bow in awe of You. Keep me sensitive to what is right and good and pleasing to You. May I never be overcome with ears calloused by dullness, until I no longer hear with my ears or my heart. I lift Your name high for You are majestic and righteous. Your loving-kindness is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear You! Your Sovereignty rules over all. You are very great, clothed in splendor and majesty. You cover yourself with light as with a cloak! You stretch out the heavens like a tent. How could I comprehend You? Glory to God in the highest. Glory and amen in the sweetest Name of all, name above all names, Jesus. Hallelujah. I stand in awe of Him,

Shepherd King

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, He walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. John 10:4-5,11

Fellow Believers, fellow sheep,

Still in Psalm 23, I am being blessed as I meditate on my Shepherd. This Psalm is so rich with promise and provision for us, His sheep, provoking awe and wonder. His leading is mentioned twice in Psalm 23 and John 10. This resonates in my spirit for I need leading and am so grateful He goes ahead of me. Stinky, needy, stubborn, raggedy, I am a sheep with nothing to recommend myself to the Shepherd.

 Also, like a sheep I have no sense of direction and admit I am directionally challenged. Coming out of a rest stop to continue a road trip, I repeatedly head in the wrong direction. Wasting fuel and time while getting farther and farther from my destination. Sin in my life also keeps me from my Shepherds will. I have come to realize things in this life will not be easy and I must stop trying to make everything perfect in life while waiting for it to become easier!  

Every Christian needs to embrace that the Christian life doesn't get easier; it gets better. TD

Because God leads, He is out in front through every trial, every valley or mountain we are required to climb. In I Chronicles 14, David is attacked by Philistines. He inquires of the LORD whether he should 'go up' against them. God's hand gives victory but again they raid the valley and again David inquires of God and God goes before David! I love this.

David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. It shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” David did just as God had commanded him  I Chronicles 14:14-16

Our God is Almighty and Holy, living in unapproachable light. If suddenly we were in the Presence of His glory we would be flat out on our faces unable to look or speak or stand. Could our physical body withstand His glory? His love comforts us in His word by revealing Himself as Shepherd. Knowable. Loving! Jesus once said 'only God is good' and in John 10, He calls Himself the good Shepherd (God-Shepherd). How amazing and wondrous, our Shepherd is God Himself! The thought of how truly awesome this is and yet I thought how casually we embrace life-altering truth such as this, carried me to New Testament scripture. I began moving OT truth (from Psalm 23) and happily fitting it into New Testament verses. Wow! I saw it expand the familiar, revealing deeper truths of our precious Savior-Shepherd's character. Read the following paraphrase and consider the greatness of our God-Shepherd:

 'For the God-Shepherd so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in the God-Shepherd will not perish but have eternal life.' John 3:16

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love the God-Shepherd, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of the God-Shepherd... Romans 8:28-29

[Not in your own strength] for it is the God-Shepherd Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against the Shepherd] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves], Phil 2:13-14 amp

... we must not ask for easy things for each other. But rather pray that we shall be so gloriously energized by the mighty power of God, that we shall do all things that come to be done, without a single inward grumble, making them our pleasure because they are His good pleasure. There is no promise of ease for soldiers of the Cross. The New Testament makes it clear things are not going to be made easy. To be surprised and troubled when they are difficult is foolish and unreasonable... our trials are not worthy to be compared to what is coming.AC

Even though the Lord makes His sheep lie down, He does not force us to. Because we require direction, we need to follow the God-Shepherd closely and keep our eyes fixed on Him. He wants us close because He loves us relentlessly. He does not want our patronage, but our fellowship. Go to your Quiet with Him, to be with Him. (read the last four words once more) Do not have your Quiet just to check it off your 'to do' list, or to gain your Shepherd's acceptance and receive a gold star on God's cosmic chart. Let us seek our Shepherd King with praise, for He is God!

My Shepherd King I come. Daily I am hungry and thirsty and You alone are the Bread of Life and the Living Water. Thank You for leading me to pastures green and still waters; enable me to find rest in You. Thank You for walking slowly so I can keep up. You know I want to walk as close to You as possible. Your nearness is my good; for You know how desperately I need to have my soul restored daily. Thank You for Your Word that feeds and strengthens me and leads my spirit to the Throne where I find grace and mercy to help in time of need. I love you my God-Shepherd and pray this in Your holy Name. amen

My God-Shepherd calls me by name!

az

If you want to know how to receive Christ as Savior click on this link:  http://www.campuscrusade.com/fourlawseng.htm