The Good Shepherd of Psalm 23

                                 

What Would You Give?

 

                                               

 Aloha Dearest Family,

                 I love the Bible. And I have been blessed throughout the years to have been taught the Bible from the greatest teachers in the world. I have travelled long distances in order to hear God’s Word taught. I remember telling a co-worker that I was taking time off of work to go to Maryland in order to attend a Bible seminar. He was shocked that anyone would want to do this. Why would I do this? Because The Bible reveals God’s son, and His son reveals God. And I need to know God; He is my Father.   

                 Which leads me to the title of this sharing: What would you give to know him? To many Christians, Jesus is just one of the many things that they are into, like music, cooking or sports. But others have a different attitude in regards to their relationship with Jesus Christ. Some of us have left occupations, friends and even family in order to follow the Savior and be his disciple. And some have even faced death for his name, refusing to deny him. The decision to follow him brings with it certain challenges at times but also brings the greatest rewards.

 In Jesus’ sermon on the mount, Jesus says,

 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

 In this verse, the words “hunger” and “thirst” depict a great need for righteousness. This type of desire means the seeker would seek out the things of God above even their most basic needs. If we have this type of desire for the Savior, we will be filled. 

                 Let’s now look at the example of Zacchaeus.

                 “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19;1-5)

 To the Eastern mind, the sycamore-fig tree is a despised tree and no one would ever eat the fruit from this tree, much less climb into it. The fruit of this tree was considered only good enough to feed livestock.  But Zacchaeus went against common Eastern culture JUST TO SEE JESUS. Imagine a rich man like Zacchaeus running ahead of the crowd and climbing into the hated tree, ignoring what anyone else would think or say. You can see why Jesus would have wanted to stay at his house. Zacchaeus showed the lengths he would go to just to see him. He hungered for righteousness.

                 Jesus told two similar parables about finding something valuable.

                 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46)

 The two men, the one who bought the field and the one who bought the pearl, must have considered their prize so valuable that they would gladly sell everything just to have it. How much value would you place on the chance of knowing Jesus Christ and to spend time in his company? Would you give up everything for him?

                 Paul had everything a Jewish person could want. He had power, prestige and authority. He was perhaps the most respected among his peers. But all that changed when he met the Savior. His life would never be the same again. In Philippians, Paul tells of what he gave up to know Christ.

                 “But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ…” (Philippians 3:7 and 8a New American Standard Bible)

 To Paul, nothing else mattered except coming to know his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gladly gave up all to walk and talk with him. If we read the book of Acts and his epistles to the church, we see the lengths he went to and endured just to show others this same Jesus who could save them and give them eternal life. For in Christ alone is the way to the heart of the Father. 

                   Love Always, Ray

Changing Focus

                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                        Aloha Dearest Family,

        Once again, we are facing trying times. It seems that the troubles just keep getting worse month by month. We see crises upon crises, and if you watch the news, you will find every reason to have fear and uncertainty.

And once again we have to ask ourselves, “What does the Bible say?”

       First let’s ask ourselves, are we facing something “new”? Solomon wrote,

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.“ (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

I’ve had people ask me if what we are seeing is God’s punishment for our sins? If we look into God’s Word, we will find the answer. During the times we are living in, it is important to understand that the things we are seeing are NOT from God. They are the work of our adversary, the devil. HE is the ruler of this present world.

“We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.” (I John 5:19)

So is it any surprise then that we are witnessing disaster, confusion and chaos on a daily basis?  We know that these attributes are is Satan’s M.O. – not God’s. (See John 10:10)

Secondly, we must learn to change our focus. It is time to stop looking at the things we see in the world and start to focus on God and His son. Jesus himself said that there would be tribulation in the world. But he also us told us where to find peace.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Jesus said “I have overcome the world.” The biggest challenge that any of us will ever face is death. And Jesus OVERCAME DEATH. He died and rose out from among the dead and now lives forever. The great thing is – we look forward to the same future. We have been given eternal life because of our Savior’s work on the cross. And we can be assured that when he returns for us, we will enjoy an inheritance that he has won for us. This is something we should rejoice over.

With this is mind, we will be able to endure anything that the devil may throw at us. Satan’s goal is get us to turn our focus away from God and onto the situations we see around us. If we fall for this trick, he has won.

          

        And finally, we need to realize that we are at war with the powers of darkness.

          "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

We are in a spiritual fight, not a physical one. The only way to fight a spiritual battle is with spiritual armor.

           

         “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (verse 11)

If you keep reading this chapter you will find that much of this armor relates to the thoughts we put on in our minds. When we focus on what God has already done for us, we can defeat the enemy on a daily basis.    

So let’s change our focus from the events we are bombarded with on a daily basis, to looking to the Father and the victory He has won for us through His son.

        Love Always, Ray 

Renewing Our Strength

                                                                                              

Aloha Dearest Family,

        One of the great promises in the Bible is in Isaiah.

            “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

This verse always makes me think of David when he lived in Ziklag? What? You’ve never heard of Ziklag? Well just sit back fellow-believer and let me tell you the tale.

     Before David became king, he spent years running and hiding from King Saul, who wanted to kill him. David was convinced that one day the king would succeed, so he made the decision to hide and live among the Philistines (who were Israel’s sworn enemies). David befriended one of the kings of the Philistines who gave him the city of Ziklag for him and his men to live. (Are you with me so far)?

      One day the Philistines were going out to war with Israel, so David, who now lived amongst them, wanted to join the Philistines in battle. But the other Philistines did not trust David’s loyalty and sent him and his men home. But while they were away, the Amalekites came through and ransacked their city. They burned Ziklag with fire and took all their wives, sons and daughters captive. When David and his men returned and saw what had happened, they mourned and wept until they could weep no more. So distressed were the men that some even talked of stoning David to death. But in this desperate hour, David did what he had always done, and encouraged himself in the Lord.       

        “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” (I Samuel 30:6)

David then asked God if he should pursue this raiding party. God says “Pursue: for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all”. David wastes no time. He takes 600 men and sets out after the marauders. When they get to the river Besor, David finds that 200 of his men are too exhausted that they cannot even cross the river. So, David leaves them there to guard the equipment and sets out again with the remaining 400 men.

        By the time they finally find out where the Amalekites are camping, you can only imagine how tired and worn out these men were. Remember that 200 of the men were too exhausted to even cross the river. By this point David and his men must have expended as much strength as there were able to just to get here. The next verses tell of an incredible battle where David and his men are engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

        “David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.” (I Samuel 30:17-20)

Here we are told that they were fighting for about 24 hours straight. David and his men would never have been able to accomplish this astonishing victory if it had not been for God Renewing their Strength. Because of David’s reliance on God as his help, David was able to recover everything that was taken.

        Now that we are aware of this record of David and his men, we should go back to our verse from Isaiah and look at it in its context.   

        “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)  

        These verses can easily be taken to mean that God will increase our physical strength when we are tired and have exhausted all of our strength; and you would be correct. But I think there is a deeper meaning meant here. Many times, we try to accomplish things for God depending solely upon our own strength. After a while we get worn out, worn down by working so hard. What God is trying to tell us is that HE WILL HELP US when we rely upon Him and lean on HIS strength. God does not get tired; He doesn’t grow weary, and He is always, always present. When we grow tired of doing it all on our own, we can trust in the one who has Everlasing Strength. He can increase our strength because He is strong and He always works on our behalf.  

            Love Always, Ray  

Freedom From Fear

                                                                                              

Aloha Dearest Family,

I've heard it said, “Fear is the sand in the machinery of life”. Fear has ruined more lives than anything in the world. God's Word states that fear brings torment (I John 4:18). Another verse that comes to mind in in Proverbs.

           Proverbs 29:25 KJV — The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Fear brings a snare. A snare is a trap, a device used to capture. Fear keeps you in bondage so that you cannot the things you want to do. But when we put our trust in God, we will be safe. In this verse, the word “safe” means to “place you above the situation where nothing can touch you”. Fear is NOT from God. He does want us to live in bondage but desires that we be completely free; living in confidence and believing all of His promises to us.

One very important key is to realize that God with us, always.

        Isaiah 41:10 KJV — Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

If we know that God is with us and will help and strengthen us in what we do, then why should we be afraid. He wants us to succeed in all that we do but if we fear that we will not succeed, our efforts will be hindered. When we look to the Lord and seek His face, we can be assured that we WILL be free from fear in our lives.

          Psalm 34:4-5 RSV — I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.

“Ashamed” in this verse, means to “to not meet your expectations”. When we seek the Lord, we can be confidant that we will see what we are expecting. But when we let fear in, nothing is assured.

Most times fear is caused by thinking about what other people will say or do in response to your actions. The Apostle Paul had to deal with people's negative reactions numerous times throughout his ministry. He continually experienced persecution, alignment, beatings and once was stoned for preaching the good news of the gospel (something that God had called him to do). He could have let fear stop him in his mission, but the Lord was with him to help him. Once when he was in the city of Corinth, he received a vision.

         Acts 18:10-11 KJV — For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Because Paul knew that the Lord was with him and helping him in his work, he was all the more bold and fearless to go and teach God's Word.

And just as God told Jeremiah, we can also claim this promise for ourselves.

      Jeremiah 1:8 NIV — Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

 The last point in ridding fear from your life is to LOVE.

       1 John 4:18 RSV — There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear…and he who fears is not perfected in love.

The love written about in this verse is “agape”, this is Godly love. We are to love others the way God loves people. This is a love that is unmeritted. It's not given because you deserve it, but it is because God has chosen to love you. We choose to love people the way Jesus Christ loved. THIS is the kind of love that casts out all fear. Jesus had NO FEAR in his life because he loved people with Godly love, even to the point of giving his life for them. We should also give our lives in service to others. When we live this way fear can never sneak in and wreak havoc in our lives.

      Psalm 23:4 KJV — Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me….

Psalm 91:5-7 NIV — You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

Fear is a weapon of the enemy designed to keep God's people trapped. He uses it to paralyze believers into inaction. Whether the fear arises from real circumstances or an unreal belief of what COULD happen, God tells us that we can walk through any valley or any terror with peace. If we continually look to God and know that He is always with us to help us, we can break the chains of fear and walk in confidence all the days of our lives. 

                        Love Always, Ray

                 

Chosen Vessels

                                                             

         

Aloha Dearest Family,

                God does not make mistakes. When God calls someone, He does so for the greatest possible good and to bring His primary Will to pass. You see this all through scripture.

                Our first example is when God told Elijah to go and anoint Elisha to be a prophet to take his place.

                “..and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.” (I Kings 19:16)

God was choosing Elisha so that he would accomplish His Will for the nation of Israel. (To do this, God needs people. He can’t accomplish this without committed people who will obey Him and bring His Will to pass). In the Bible, when someone is anointed, it signifies that they have received God’s spirit so that God can communicate His Will to them. And God knows that Elisha would carry out His Will, and not his own will. This is vital in understanding God’s calling.

                This is also true when God instructs the prophet Samuel to anoint David to be king instead of Saul.

                “The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king…Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.” (I Samuel 16:1 and 13)

God could have chosen anyone, but God knew that David would perform His Will. When David was anointed, he received God’s spirit and this is how David was able to do what God had called him to do. Was David perfect? No. But David was a man after God’s own heart. David became the perfect man for this time in history.

                This theme is common throughout scripture.

     -       When an angel spoke to a young man named Gideon and told him that God had chosen him to deliver Israel out of the hand of their oppressors, the Midianites (Judges 6: 11-16). Gideon could only accomplish this with God’s help and with God’s spirit.

 Remember, God does not make mistakes. He needs people to work with to bring His Will to pass and He chose these men and women because He knew they would trust in Him and obey Him. Only if these men were partners with God would they be successful.

                In Acts 9, the Lord speaks to a man name named Ananias and tells him to go and heal a man named Saul -  the destroyer of the church. After some apprehension about this task, the Lord tells him,

                “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.” (Acts 9:15 and 16)  

Out of all of the people on earth that God could have chosen, no one would have guessed that God would choose this man. But God had a specific mission for this man from Tarsus. God also knew that he would obey Him and do His Will above his own. Paul later recounts the Lord’s calling to King Agrippa,

                “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:” (Acts 26:19)

Paul was chosen by the Lord and Paul obeyed this calling. Paul also mentions his calling in the book of Galatians.

                “For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…“ (Galatians 1:13-16a)

Because of Paul’s obedience to God, he received the greatest revelation to the church that the world has ever received.

                

            Why is this important? We have ALL been called by God (Romans 8:30) and He has important work for us to do. God needs us to hear and obey His voice so that His ultimate Will can come to pass. First, when we were born again, God filled us with His spirit so that He could work with us so that we would do HIS Will, not our own. Secondly, we are called to be ambassadors to the world.

                “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (II Corinthians 5:20)

God has called us by name and is sending us as His ambassadors to a world that does not know Him or His son. They NEED to know. This is the most important work we will ever do.

                Furthermore, we each have been given specific gifts and abilities that are unique to us. Not every gift is the same but each one is used for the building up of the church, the body of Christ.  When we use our gifts and talents, we will find joy and purpose in our lives (and this is why you are reading this sharing today). We are all God’s chosen vessels and it is He who has empowered us to accomplish our calling. In order for God’s ultimate Will to come to pass in people’s lives, He needs us to fulfil our calling.  

                No one comes to the faith by accident. God had the biggest hand in your life and He knew what He was doing. Because God does not make mistakes. By choosing God, you choose well.

                                        Love Always, Ray             

Your True Worth

                                                                                     

Aloha Dearest Family,

                One day as I was driving to work, I was listening to a Pastor on the radio. He was telling of his childhood; how he and his siblings endured horrendous physical abuse at the hands of their father. But he said that the greatest blow he ever received was when his father looked at him and said, “You are worthless”. The Pastor said that this affected him more than all the other beatings he had received.

                Maybe some of you can relate to this story. It’s sad that the experience of feeling worthless is far too common in our day and time. This is why so many young people (and old people too) are constantly looking for something or someone to give them a feeling of worth in their lives. This becomes even harder when you are looked down upon because of what social-class you were born into. Not that you are inferior, but because the “privileged” make you feel this way.

 Enter Israel

                Thousands of years ago, God chose to bless a man named Abraham, saying to him, “In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). His descendants became the nation of Israel and God gave to them His promises, laws and blessings. God wanted Israel to be His “shining city on a hill” for other nations to follow.

                But by the time of Jesus Christ, the Jewish people treated ANY group of people that was not Jewish, with enormous contempt. If you were not born of the bloodline of Abraham, you were considered a filthy, uncircumcised Gentile. And if you were a Gentile, you were considered by Jews as worthless. The cultural differences between Jew and Gentile were enormous and considered unchangeable.

 Enter Jesus Christ  

                Because of the work of Jesus Christ, EVERY cultural “wall of division” was broken down. ALL men, whether Jew or Gentile, could now be born into God’s family and claim legal status into God’s household – making us all EQUAL. In God’s kingdom, no one is above anyone else; Christ being the ONLY head over us all.

                This was the “mystery” (the sacred secret) that God revealed to the apostle Paul.

                 “..that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:6)

When this secret was revealed to the church, many of the Jewish- believers rebelled against this “new revelation.” This idea was abhorrent to them. They could never have conceived that God would choose those filthy, uncircumcised Gentiles as part of His church. They were so used to being “God’s chosen people” that it was very hard to accept Gentile-believers in. However, as some did accept the Gentiles into the Christian church, many did not and treated them as “second-class” believers.

 Enter Paul

                As Peter’s ministry was mainly to those of Jewish descent, Paul’s ministry was mainly to the believers who had once been Gentiles. (It must be noted that once a Jew or Gentile gets born-again, they are from then on neither Jew nor Gentile, but members of the Church of the one body of Christ). Most of Paul’s epistles to the churches, are addressed to “Gentile” cities: cities such as Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica, are predominately Gentile cities. Meaning that most of the believers in these cities were Gentile-believers. As many Jewish-believers still looked upon the Gentiles as “common and unclean”, Paul in his letters, encourages these believers by telling them their worth in God’s eyes.

                 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus..” (Romans 8:1)

                 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption (a sonship spirit) by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (verses 14 and 15)

                 “if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” (verse 17)

                 “whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Verse 30)

 Keep in mind that Paul is writing mainly to believers who were at one time hated Gentiles by the Jews. Now they no longer had to feel inferior to anything or anyone. For God had told them of their worth in HIS eyes. God had given His own son up for THEM. Showing them that if He could give up His own son, there is nothing that He would not give them.  

                 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Verse 32)  

 

                Our worth is not determined by what anyone may tell us – they are NOT GOD! God tells us that we are called, that we are justified and that we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with His son Jesus Christ. He also tells us that we are His child and He is our Abba – our Daddy. If God has said this about us, we should never feel unloved or worthless again. Furthermore, let us teach our children these truths and show them their true worth in God’s eyes.

                Not convinced yet? I will leave you with the following verses that will.

                 “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Verses 38 and 39)

                    

                        Love Always, Ray