[	Tags	|	shepard psalm23 psalms	]
[	mood	|	contemplative	]

This song, worded from Ps 23, is an inspiring picture of what happens when the Lord is our Shepherd.

In the first verse of the song (Ps 23.1-2 ) God puts us in anframework of peace, away from the frantic pace and fear of this life:

"1 The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. "

In the 2nd 3rd, and 4th verses of the song (Ps 23.3-5) we see us yeilding to God as He is restoring, ridding us of our imperfections, healing us:

"3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. "

In the 5th verse (Ps 23.6) We find the promise and hope that as His sheep, we will live with God, not against Him, in His house of true blessing and happiness:

"6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever. "

What a shepherd, to take us from our helpless, insecure, false pretenses, and shattered existence, and remakes us into His children!

He gave me a song (by Howard)

He took my burdens all away,… He gave me a song. God wants to take your worldly burden – it is not something you can handle without His guidance, His power, and His continual care. He gave His only Son so that you will trust Him to use the resources at His command to take care of your life’s burdens. You must understand you haven’t been able to manage those burdens yourself. If you don’t understand this you will not let Him take them. How does He do it? He remakes you into a new child with His spirit from above (not just with a spirit from this world below. He gives you a new start, His higher ways, His pure spirit, His power. If you hold on to your old self, you prevent Him from what He wants to do, continually making you new, making you pure, making you holy, making you loving, making you secure and confident, making you wise in heavenly ways – these come from Him and give you the power over the burdens of this earthly life – and instead you find yourself continuing to deal with all the burdens you will never have the power to deal with on your own. Life’s burdens build into feelings of failure and guilt. “Why can’t I do the things I know I should?” “Why can’t I make the choices I know I should?” “Why can’t I control my own destiny?” “Am I not good enough?” “Am I born to be messed up?” “Why don’t I love others the way I should?” Do you find yourself trying to stay ahead of your guilt, trying and trying again to keep it all under control, eventually ignoring your guilt and shame, and not even admitting it to yourself? You are hiding the truth from yourself, so it is hard to admit your powerlessness so you can let God take over! You must give God your burdens. He can and will handle them as no one else can!

The Hymn "His Grace Reaches Me" has several powerful messages in it. Near the end of the chorus we find the phrase “… and I’m happy in my soul,”. This phrase often is taken lightly. Even when our lives are full of anger, sorrow, hurt, and pain, we can still have joy. This is happiness in my soul, not a feeling or emotion of this world. Just because we are having a good time, we do not necessarily have the joy that transcends all understanding… Philippians chapter 4 verse 7. Am I happy in my soul? That is what the grace of God offers. Please surrender to the Jesus to accept this fathomless joy.

“…But He carried my sins with Him there.” While I agree with these precious words, I make it so impersonal and impotent unless I feel the truth that He carried me, my sinful self with Him there. Don’t forget:

• “All have sinned and fallen short…” Romans chapter 3 verse 23,
• “… the wages of sin is death.” Romans chapter 6 verse 23,
• Paul in Romans chapter 7 shares the impossibility of living without sin constantly in our lives.
• “If we claim we have no sin we are only fooling ourselves and not living in truth.” 1 John chapter 1 verse 8.

[	Tags	|	god, humanity, purity, sanctuary	]
[	mood	|	grateful	]

Sanctuary (by Thompson and Scruggs)

I realized recently that if you don’t feel the need for sanctuary in the Lord already, you probably are not in reality… you are probably finding sanctuary in something else, because we are all participating in the human condition and very limited on our own. If you are finding your sanctuary in something besides the Lord, you are finding it in something that is a mist or vapor, something that lasts only momentarily if at all. 

One way you can look at this need for sanctuary is the line in the song Sanctuary: “prepare me to be a sanctuary pure and true”… If there is any impurity or hidden deceit in you, you are only kidding yourself if you think you can handle these issues AT ALL. That is true for me. Only the One who is pure and holy can truly help you.