Since our books have still not arrived we will try to do some work from our computers. Thank you for your patience. I’m thinking the shippers of the books have taken a long holiday break :). See you on Thursday morning 9:30—January 7th
Where are Goodness and Mercy in Times of Trouble?
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…” Psalm 23:6a
Psalm 23 beautifully pictures for us what a truly good shepherd looks like. In particular this Psalm details the perfect care of the Good Shepherd, that being God Himself who with power, patience, and love takes care of everything in the lives of those who belong to Him. As we consider “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me,” take a look at what Philip Keller (an actually shepherd) says about this grand conclusion to Psalm 23.
“The sheep with such a shepherd knows of a surety that his is a privileged position. No matter what comes, at least and always he can be perfectly sure that goodness and mercy will be in the picture. He reassures himself that he is ever under sound, sympathetic, intelligent ownership. What more need he care about? Goodness and mercy will be the treatment he receives from his mater’s expert, loving hands.”
“How many Christians actually feel this way about Christ? How many of us are truly concerned that no matter what occurs in our lives we are being followed by goodness and mercy? Of course it is very simple to speak this way when things are going well. If my health is excellent; my income is flourishing; my family is well; and my friends are fond of me it is not hard to say “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
“But what about when one’s body breaks down? What do I say when I stand by helpless, as I have had to do, and watch a life partner die by degrees under appalling pain? What is my reaction when my job folds up and there is no money to meet bills? What happens if my children can’t make their grades in school or get caught running with the wrong gang? What do I say when suddenly without good grounds, friends prove false and turn against me?”
“…I realize that for the one who is truly in Christ’s care, no difficulty can arise, no dilemma emerge, no seeming disaster descend on the life without eventual good coming out of the chaos. This is to see the goodness and mercy of my Master in my life. It has become the great foundation of my faith and confidence in Him.” All quotes from A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller
Today the pandemic that has disrupted so many millions of lives gives us a great opportunity to look into God’s sure goodness and mercy; is it really following us during this quarantine? Thursday morning we will discuss this portion of Psalm 23 in relation to the difficulties in our lives. Please join me on Zoom at 9:30 by going to discoverybaptist.org and clicking on Ladies Bible Study. See you then!
If you would like to see the video for this week, follow these directions. If you already have been logged in and used the redemption code (at some other time) then log in again and go straight to My Account and then click on Digital media and choose Video 7.
Login to https://my.lifeway.com/redeem with an email address and password
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Blessings Overflowing
A very happy time occurred this past year when all eight of our children (and their families) came together with us to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.
“You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” Psalm 23:5b
With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend my thoughts concerning blessings go toward our wonderful eight children given to us by God in His great kindness to my husband and me. God led us beautifully through difficult, as well as, joyous events during the forty-one years children were in our home. Now, He blesses us even more with the happiness of wonderful grandchildren and great grandchildren; our “cup overflows with blessings.”
Perhaps the most important thing in my life during all my years of mothering (and even now) came down to spending real connected time with the Lord every day not only attentively reading His Word, but, also pouring my heart out to Him. I came across a beautiful quote from Samuel Burder (1773-1837)in his comments on Psalms 23:5b that pictures the blessings I sense in spending time alone with God. “In the East the people frequently anoint their visitors with some very fragrant perfume; and give them a cup or glass of some choice wine, which they are careful to fill till it runs over. The first was designed to show their love and respect; the latter to imply that while they remained there, they should have an abundance of everything.” I hope you daily experience such blessings.
This Thursday morning Zoom will bring us together at 9:30 to discuss this short passage of Scripture. I am looking forward to seeing you and encouraging you in staying close to the Lord.
If you would like to be part of this study, go to discoverybaptist.org and click on Ladies Bible Study.