PSALM 66

16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

THE CHRISTIAN’S CLARION CALL 

Salvation from sin and having a relationship with God is truly the most amazing thing that can happen to anyone. I know that becoming a child of God on 15^th, February, 1975 was the defining moment of my life, and I know that becoming a Christian is also the defining moment of many who are reading this devotion.

One of the reasons we are to tell (testify) what God has done for us among his people, is that it encourages them to press on. There is something about hearing how another person came to faith or how another believer is growing in grace. It is amazing to our souls to hear these (Testimonies)things. 

We should always seek to encourage our fellow believers, by telling them, what blessings God has given us. We must share how God has opened up his word to us and spoken to us directly.

When was the last time you encouraged people in your church or an individual brother or sister in faith, by telling them, what God has done for your soul?

God has done so much for you.. share what He Has done for you.

Whilst you are about it.. tell the world, what He has done for your soul. Let the world know that Jesus has changed your life.

Many cities in China such as Nanjing and Xian, have high walls. When the watchman saw or sensed danger, they warned the people by shouting or some kind of signal.

The great wall has watchtowers close together, to communicate with each other, they used smoke signals to do this.

We are in our spiritual watchtowers, we need to sound the clarion call of Come to Christ.

God bless you

Keith

PSALM 22

24 for he has not despised my cries of deep despair; he has not turned and walked away. When I cried to him, he heard and came.”

HE HEARS BECAUSE HE KNOWS OUR PAIN

This psalm is called the suffering servant psalm. It is probably the greatest prophecy about the death of our beloved Saviour.

Please read it and find all the prophecies about our Saviour.

What a verse we have in verse 24.

Jesus is our high priest.. he is the one who completely understands whatever trial, we are going through. In the book of Hebrews chapter 2 and 4 we have these words:

14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

What Jesus experienced throughout his life, He faced and overcame every single temptation that we will ever face, and through his death and resurrection, he defeated sin and death and its power forever.

Let us go back to our text in Psalm 22, when we cry out to Him, he hears. Believer cry out to God; he will hear you. Your high priest will not walk away, he will come to you.

He will do this, because he has been through everything you are going through.

What a wonderful assurance this is and should be to us.

Cry out believer.. Jesus hears and understands and he will come to you, you may be in total despair, but don’t despair.. CRY OUT TO HIM AS HE WILL HEAR YOU AND HE WILL COME TO YOU.

God bless you

Keith

PSALM 1

GOD SEES EVERYTHING 

Psalm 1

The first Psalm is wonderful and I wish to share some things about it.

Here is the way temptation can strike. It starts off slowly, but as we see in these verses it can spiral out of control and then we fall into sin.

Walking – Proverbs 1:15

It is not “walking” that is wrong, but it is a reference to who we walk with and what we listen to that matters. We need to be very careful with what we fill our minds with and who we have as our friends. We are to be in the world, but not of it: John 17:7-17. We must feed our minds with the right type of food to keep it healthy: Philippians

Standing

Once we start to stop and ponder sin, it will take control. How often do we (or I), look longingly at some temptation? The result of giving in to it leads to death in a spiritual sense: Romans 6:23, and even physical death at times. We become submissive and inactive as it says in the Psalm. We stand and look earnestly after this or that pleasure. Be careful, Christian, what you see and what you watch.

Sitting

Please note the lessening of activity here, when we are walking, we are actually doing something, but then we become dormant. There are thousands of Christians who have started off well, but are now back in the clutches of the world, because like Demas, they have loved this present world: 2 Timothy 4:10. You have been warned, believer.

In verses 2-3 we are given the answer. And that answer is to fill ourselves with God’s word! Not just to read it, but to meditate on it, and to do this on a continuous and regular basis. Remember that these writers did not have the New Testament to read, they had just the Law of the Lord, but it was so refreshing to them.

That means they were refreshed by reading the books of the Law, like Chronicles and Leviticus. Do you find the word of God lifeless or life giving?

In Verse 3, the man who does this is compared to a tree. Can I ask you a question? Have you ever tried to move an oak tree that is many years old? It is unmovable, the roots of that tree go down deep. Indeed, we are like trees and we are fed by the living waters or word of God, which is in Christ Jesus and His word.

This is why we are told to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord: 1 Corinthians 15:58. How rooted and grounded are you in the word of God? Are you still taking it in milk form: 1 Peter 2:2 or in meat: Hebrews 5:11-14 and 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.

In the New Testament, Paul says that we must feed on THE WORD in verses such as Colossians 3:16, and we must never fear temptation as Jesus has overcome the world and the devil: Hebrews 2:14-18 & 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Jesus has defeated the devil through his word: Matthew 4:1-12 and made a mockery of all of the devil’s power. He has given us the same authority, so let us use it and go forward to victory!

Verses 4-6 show what happens to those who choose to disobey God. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 6:23: For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through [in union with] Jesus Christ our Lord.  God knows the way of the righteous and He sees everything that happens to them.

Verse 6, for the believer, is wonderful. Your Father sees everything that has been said to you and about you, and any actions that people take against you have been seen by your heavenly Father. He takes note of all these and He will reward or punish the people responsible. You may look, believer, at people who are doing well because they are exploiting others and doing evil things: Psalm 73.

 Nothing is unseen, believer,. no one does anything in secret. ALL things will be exposed on judgment day. The Lord looks on these people and considers them chaff that the wind blows away.

Be grateful for His grace and study His word and beware of walking, standing, and sitting with sinners.

God bless you,

KEITH

PSALM 139

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts![c]24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting![d]

THE PRAYER OF THE TRUE CHRISTIAN

How should we pray?

Here is a good way?

All through the psalm, we have seen that God knows all about us, but still the psalmist prays like this:Search me.. look into every are of my life, all areas of my life are open to youTry me.. put all my motives to the test, and the tests are your holiness and your word.

We are to take into captivity every thought that is against the Lord.See if any grievous way in in me. Look at the whole direction of my lifeLead me.. a humble cry of the believer, he wants to be lead in the right wayThe true believer is completely open and honest with God, he leaves no area of his life closed, because he/she knows that nothing is hid from the Lord.Lord look into every area of my life, you know my sitting down, you know my rising up.

I thank you know all about me as you created me, you made me wonderfully in my mother’s womb.Again the last word is from Matthew Henry：(1.) The way of godliness is an everlasting way; it is everlastingly true and good, pleasing to God and profitable to us, and will end in everlasting life. It is the way of antiquity (so some), the good old way. (2.) All the saints desire to be kept and led in this way, that they may not miss it, turn out of it, nor tire in it.

GOD BLESS YOUkk

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!

    O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies take your name in vain.[b]
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

TRUE HATRED

Not all people will have the same attitude to God as we do. Indeed, there are many people who hate God, yes hate God.

Surely people don’t hate God, people are just not interested. When we share the gospel, the reaction from people is just to refuse, surely, they are just busy. No, they are against God, they hate him. 

Before we were saved, we were haters of God, we shook our fists at God in rebellion.

People fight against God, they speak against God with malicious intent, they curse God, they revile God.

Remember this, that anyone who is outside of Christ is God’s enemy, but this is the wonder of salvation, when salvation happens, we who were once enemies became his friends, and yes his sons and daughters.

These people are atheists, they don’t believe what the psalmist believes, they don’t believe that God has created them. They believe that we came from some process, they rage at God, people like Richard Dawkins rage at God, they say that God hates people, when they hate God.

These people are to be pitied, hell awaits these people.

What do we do with these people, we pray for them, we continue to share the gospel with them, even if they reject us.

Matthew Henry says this

He detests them (v. 21, 22): “Lord, thou knows the heart, and canst witness for me; do not I hate those that hate thee, and for that reason, because they hate thee? I hate them because I love thee, and hate to see such affronts and indignities put upon thy blessed name. Am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee, grieved to see their rebellion and to foresee their ruin, which it will certainly end in?” Note, Sin is hated, and sinners are lamented, by all that fear God. “I hate them” (that is, “I hate the work of them that turn aside,” as he explains himself, Ps 101 3) “with a sincere and perfect hatred; I count those that are enemies to God as enemies to me, and will not have any intimacy with them,” Ps 69 8

God bless you

KK.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

WALKING ON THE BEACH

My home town of Morecambe back in England is by by the sea, it has lots of sand.

The psalmist says here that the thoughts God has towards us are more than the sand of sea, Have you ever tried to count the grains of sand on the sea shore?. That’s how many thoughts God has towards you and me.

We cannot imagine this, but we are on God’s heart all the time, he is constantly caring and looking out for us, we are loved by Him. You imagine this, the creator of the universe is constantly thinking about you.

These things are precious to the believer, the words of Jeremiah come to mind in chapter 29 of his book:

 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope

Every thought God has is for our good, it is to bless us.

Verse 18 finishes with a note of thankfulness, I awake and am still with you, every morning, our first thought should be, the Lord has given me another day of life, another day to praise and to serve Him

Matthew Henry says:

He acknowledges, with wonder and thankfulness, the care God had taken of him all his days. 17, 18. God, who knew him, thought of him, and his thoughts towards him were thoughts of love, thoughts of good, and not of evil, Jer 29 11.

Constant at all times: “When I awake, every morning, I am still with Thee, under thy eye and care, safe and easy under thy protection.” This bespeaks also the continual devout sense David had of the eye of God upon him: When I awake I am with thee, in my thoughts; and it would help to keep us in the fear of the Lord all the day long if, when we awake in the morning, our first thoughts were of him and we did then set him before us.

GOD BLESS 

KEITH

PSALM 139

13 For you formed my inward parts;

    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]

Wonderful are your works;

    my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

    the days that were formed for me,

    when as yet there was none of them.

WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?

That’s a question millions of people are asking these days, many think we came from monkey’s, many think we evolved but still many more have no idea of their earthly parents.

They don’t know who their parents were, they might know one of their parents, but not the other.

You weren’t there at the moment of your conception, but God was.

All that time, you were in your mother’s womb, he was intricately weaving you into his image. You are fearfully and wonderfully made; you weren’t and aren’t a mistake.

These are very comforting words for everyone who feels unloved, who feels unwanted. Some of you maybe came from very unfortunate circumstances, maybe you came from the results of rape or were told, like me that one or more parents didn’t want them, well let me tell you this;

GOD WANTS YOU AND LOVES YOU

You are wanted, you are treasured and you were made gloriously as a unique human being. God saw all your days, he created you for a purpose and that purpose was for you to know HIM

God knew you even before you were born, to me that is amazing, it thrills my soul and gives me so much joy and hope.

God bless you

KK

PSALM 139

vs 7-12

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?

    Or where shall I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9 If I take the wings of the morning

    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall lead me,

    and your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

    and the light about me be night,”

12 even the darkness is not dark to you;

    the night is bright as the day,

    for darkness is as light with you.

NO PLACE TO HIDE

In the bible, there are many people who sought to hide from God, Adam and Eve come to mind.

But this passage reminds me, especially of Jonah, he tried and failed to run from God.

I wonder if Jonah was reciting this psalm as he was in the belly of the whale.

He was after all dwelling in the uttermost parts of the sea, he had literally taken the wings of the morning and surely the darkness was covering him.

I loved the play hide and seek, when I was young, I often thought the place I hid would never be found, but sure enough I was found.

Likewise with Jonah and with us, we cannot hide from God, in the earlier verses we saw, we can’t hide any of our thoughts from God, neither can we hide ourselves from God.

If you are hiding from God, don’t, he will find you. If you are trying to resist God by running from him.. don’t.

Don’t run from his call to service and especially don’t run from his call to salvation.

Amen

Keith 

PSALM 139

vs 6

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

ITS ABOVE MY HEAD

We think that we know everything, man thinks he has all the knowledge, when in fact, he knows nothing.

To a believer the verses 1-12, can be summed up in this verse.

All the facts about God, it is too much for me to comprehend, to understand. We can and will never get our head around it, but it is a reality, because we know the one, who knows us completely.

Even though it is beyond our understanding, we still trust God, even though we can’t see him or understand his ways, that is true faith.

The knowledge of God is above me, it is beyond my comprehension, but I know that I can trust him, although I can’t fully understand.

One day, we will see clearly, we will see him face to face, we will not be seeing through a glass darkly.

The knowledge and fear of God truly is the beginning of knowledge.. true knowledge.

God bless you

KK

Introduction

A PSALM FOR YOU AND ME

This psalm is awesome, I come to it, with a deep sense that what I am going to share, will benefit some people.

This is one of the psalms, that speak deeply to our hearts, I know it speaks deeply to me.

Let me explain why it speaks to me:

I had good parents and two older brothers, about 11 years older than me, I was a late arrival in many ways. My father was desperate for a girl after having two sons, but I came along.

I got the feeling that although I was loved, there was always a little disappointment, indeed in later years, my mother told me, she didn’t want another child. 

Although my earthly parents might have had a little disappointment over me, my birth was no mistake, this psalm sets out the comfort and love that God has for us.

So many people feel rejected, maybe you do, rejected by family, there are many people, who have been cold shouldered or called the black sheep of the family by other family members

You may not know where you were born, you may not know who one or more of your parents were, but God saw all that and the amazing fact is that he loves you, it is for those people that this psalm is written

Let me assure you, that you are not a mistake, God was there at your conception, he knew you before you were born, he knows everything about you and yes although he knows everything about us, and get this..

HE STILL LOVES US

If you have no family, if you are rejected by your family, God says that if you are his:

You are my son or daughter.. you are my child..

Amen

God bless you

Keith

HOW BIG IS GOD？                                      

vs 1-5

 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.

HOW BIG IS GOD？

Do you wonder how big God is?

He knows everything, he sees everything, he knows every word we speak

We are worried about data protection in our age, are all my details safe?

Recently I had a conversation, yes conversation with an AI software, yes amazing. I asked him all types of questions and he answered me quickly and with such clarity.

But AI pales in comparison to the knowledge of our all-powerful God, AI is a programme, it is not personal, but in our all-knowing God, we have one who knows everything about us. AI is good, but it cannot have a personal relationship with us, like our God has.

Doesn’t that just blow your mind, whatever AI does, it doesn’t even come close to the knowledge of our wonderful and great God.

Well, there is someone who knows all about you, it is God. To me this is a comfort, he knows all about me, he sees everything I do and hears everything I say. Every action of mine is seen by him.

It is also a challenge to me, as we know God is watching us, would we do all the things we do?

Would we see the things we, see?

Would we say the things we say/

The attributes of God are to be studied, because they show us what God is like, he is omnipresent, he is all seeing and he is all knowing.

That works itself out into our daily lives, if God is always watching us, we would live in a different way.

We live in the way we do, because we have no understanding of who GOD really is and his attributes. We think that God is like us and we can get away with it, but he is on a different level entirely. 

Be sure that nothing is hid from Him:

Ryle says this

Do nothing that you would not like God to see. Say nothing that you would not like God to hear. Write nothing that you would not like God to read.Go to no place where you would not like God to find you. Read no book of which you would not like God to say, “Show it to Me.” 
Never spend your time in such a way that you would not like to have God say, “What are you doing?

Adam and others thought they could hide their sin, remember that God sees, hears and knows everything.

That is a true antidote to sin.

Amen

KK

PSALM 23

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil

my cup overflows.

THE LORD OF HOSTS

This psalm becomes more beautiful as it goes along, Not only is the Lord our Shepherd and our guide, He is our provider.

He provides us with everything we need, I am reminded of the beautiful verses in Ephesians 1: 3-14, where every spiritual blessing that God has made available to us, is laid out like on a table.

God not only blesses and provides for us, He does it right in the middle of a doubting and disbelieving world. In the middle of persecution, in the middle of trial, right in front of the enemies’ eyes, God lays out His blessings to us.

He anoints our head, remember David being anointed by Samuel to be king, He anoints us because we are kings and priests in His kingdom, we are God’s children, His special possession.

Our cup overflows and so it should, we have the blessing of God on our lives, we have feasted at the Master’s table, this is to remind us that one day, we will sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Provision is for now. oh yes, but one day, there will be a time, when we feast WITH our Lord. He prepares the table for us, He knows exactly what we need, it’s glorious to know that our Shepherd, does this for us.

Let me again finish with words from Matthew Henry:

1.) That he had food convenient, a table spread, a cup filled, meat for his hunger, drink for his thirst.

 (2.) That He had it carefully and readily provided for him. His table was not spread with any thing that came next to hand, but prepared, and prepared before him.

(3.) That he was not stinted, was not straitened, but had abundance: “My cup runs over, enough for myself and my friends too.’’

GOD BLESS

KEITH

part 6

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord   forever.

THE LORD WELCOMES US HOME

We are His sheep, the sheep of His pasture, we have followed Him here on earth, we have seen the goodness and the mercy of God, throughout our daily lives, they have been new every morning Lam 3:22-23 .

We have this promise, but it is not just for heaven. Because we have the Lord as our Shepherd, His goodness and His mercy, will follow us, or chase after us, all the days of our earthly life. We will DWELL in God’s house, not just on earth, but also more gloriously in Heaven, this is the important and precious promise, for all those who can say the Lord is my Shepherd.

If you can say the first line of the psalm with confidence, then you can undoubtedly say the last line of the psalm with a powerful and unshakeable confidence. One day, we will see our Saviour, we will be with Him for eternity, we will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever and we will say:

Glory and honour and power belong to the Shepherd and Redeemer of our Souls.

Let me leave the last words, again with Matthew Henry:

 it shall be new every morning (Lam. 3:22,Lam. 3:23 ) like the manna that was given to the Israelites daily. (5.) The certainty of it: Surely it shall. It is as sure as the promise of the God of truth can make it; and we know Whom we have believed. (6.) Here is a prospect of the perfection of bliss in the future state. So, some take the latter clause: “Goodness and mercy having followed me all the days of my life on this earth, when that is ended, I shall remove to a better world, to dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, in our Father’s house above, where there are many mansions. With what I have I am pleased much; with what I hope for I am pleased more.’’ All this, and heaven too! Then we serve a good Master.

GOD BLESS YOU

KEITH

PSALM 23

VS 2-3 

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.[a]

 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
    for his name’s sake.

THE SHEPHERD’S LEADING

We have seen that the Lord is my shepherd and that he is our provider.. Now let’s look in more detail at what he provides and how he leads.

Please note the key word here, it is HE。 Not only is HE the Lord, but he is the leader.

A shepherd seeks to give his sheep certain things;

 Food; all of us need food to survive, sheep like grass, so the pasture that the shepherd finds for them, is called green pasture, it conjures up the image of a lush green pasture filled with lots of grass for the sheep. Likewise, the Lord leads us to a place that is filled with all good things for us, he is an expert at leading us to the right place.

Water; All of us get thirsty, we need water. The shepherd seeks a place where there is water, and not just any water. These are still waters and this speaks of a place of security. 

Rest; We all need to rest, sheep are always on the move, so the shepherd seeks a place of rest for his sheep, likewise the great shepherd of his sheep, seeks and finds a place, where his sheep can be revived and can rest.

 The Right Path;

The shepherd leads his sheep on the right path, he does not and will not lead them into danger and likewise, our shepherd, will not and cannot lead us into danger. He knows the best way to go and he leads his sheep on the right path.

Why can we trust him to lead us?

For his name’s sake, because God is who God is. He is faithful, true to his sheep.

We were sheep without a shepherd, but now we are in the care of the great shepherd.

Trust Him to lead you

He is willing and eager to lead you, HE will lead you safely and in security, he leads and wherever he leads, we need to follow.                           

God bless you

KK

Psalm 23

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil,

for You are with me;

    Your rod and Your staff,

they comfort me.

The Loving Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd is a truth that applies to God’s people in every situation. We face every enemy in the knowledge that God is with us and stands by our side. 

The greatest fear of anyone is death, fear of this fact grips millions of people, they seek remedies to prolong life, to avoid the fact that one day, they will die. Many will die alone, but not the believer, he/she does not fear this evil. 

Why because the One who is guiding him/her, is the very one who has conquered death and the grave, Jesus Himself.

Matthew Henry says this:

[1. ] It is but the shadow of death; there is no substantial evil in it; the shadow of a serpent will not sting nor the shadow of a sword kill.

[2. ] It is the valley of the shadow, deep indeed, and dark, and dirty; but the valleys are fruitful, and so is death itself fruitful of comforts to God’s people.

[3. ] It is but a walk in this valley, a gentle pleasant walk. The wicked are chased out of the world, and their souls are required; but the saints take a walk to another world as cheerfully as they take their leave of this.

[4. ] It is a walk through it; they shall not be lost in this valley, but get safely to the mountain of spices on the other side of it.

We know that our Saviour will guide us by His rod and His staff, He will guide us through many dark valleys, even the darkest one of death. We can fully trust our Shepherd; He has been through the valley before us

Again, Matthew Henry states:

The good Shepherd will not only conduct, but convoy (protect) His sheep through the valley, where they are in danger of being set upon by the beasts of prey, the ravening wolves; He will not only convoy (protect) them, but comfort them when they most need comfort.

His presence shall comfort them: Thou art with me. His word and Spirit shall comfort them—His rod and staff, alluding to (suggestion of) the shepherd’s crook, or the rod under which the sheep passed when they were counted (Lev. 27:32 ), or the staff with which the shepherds drove away the dogs that would scatter or worry the sheep. 

The rod was to fight wild animals and the staff to direct the flock, now we have the word of God, the sword of the Spirit to fight off wild animals Ephesians 6 and the inner guidance of the Holy Spirit to guide us at all times.. hallelujah.

The Precious word of God, which contains all the promises of God and the Blessed Holy Spirit, will be and is our comfort. They are our assurance, we are sealed by the Spirit, we are HIS.

Jesus assures us that none of His true sheep will be lost, Paul states that nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ.

Nothing will take you true believer from out of the Father’s hand, not death, not tribulation. Nothing can separate you from Jesus.

 God bless you

KK

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd.

MY SHEPHERD

This is probably the best-known psalm of all the wonderful 150, people can often quote this verse by verse.

We are going to see how the first words, play out in practice.

The author, well who better than a shepherd, David knew about being a shepherd and the Holy Spirit used his experience to write these inspired and blessed verses. 

He starts out with this statement, the Lord is my shepherd, he was an expert in shepherding sheep, but here he was acknowledging that it is the Lord who was His shepherd.

Everything flows from our relationship with the shepherd, he provides for us, he protects us and gives us all blessings.

But it starts, with this question; Is he your shepherd?

The whole thrust of this psalm, is the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep, it is an intimate and personal one. Have you an intimate and personal relationship with the Lord and are able to call him.. my shepherd.

Sheep are very disobedient creatures, they wander all over. I remember when I used to drive back to my home town of Bradford, I had to drive over the moors and  the roads got very narrow and sometimes sheep would run out into the road or refuse to move, you had to sound your horn to avoid them, so we are surely in need of shepherding.

We have the best shepherd, Jesus and I would encourage you to study the passage John 10:1-18in conjunction  with this psalm.

The reformation study bible says this:

 The image of God as shepherd is inexhaustibly rich. The shepherd stays with the flock (Is. 40:11; 63:9–12). His sheep are totally dependent upon him for food, water, and protection from wild animals. In the New Testament, Jesus is revealed as the shepherd of His people (John 10:11, 14), fulfilling the prophecy that God will come to shepherd His people (Ezek. 34:7–16, 23).

God bless you

Keith

1.The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want

NEEDING NOTHING BUT THE LORD

In the first devotion of this series, we saw how personal, the Lord was. He was my shepherd.

Being a shepherd was a lonely business sometimes, David had to look after the sheep on his own, there must have been times that he ran out of food for himself, but he like us, knows that the Lord and him alone is his provider.

When we know the Lord is our shepherd, we will never be in want, because our Father knows what we need, even before we ask Him.. amen.

When we ask him, he will give us the right thing at just the right time. I have seen God provide, so many times during my time in China. He brings students to the class, the right students, the right number at the right time.

We can trust God, because he is our shepherd, the sheep have complete trust of their shepherd, if we do the same, we will be able to say:

I shall not want or I shall never lack any good thing.

As we will see God provides:

ALWAYS AND ABUNDANTLY

Amen.

God alone is our Jehovah Jireh.. our provider, not the church or your friends, although he uses these two avenues.

God provides everything for his sheep. Praise his holy name.

God bless you

Keith

Thirsting for God



O God, you are my God; with deepest longing, I will seek You; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. So, I have gazed upon You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory…Psalm 63:1-2.”

What a way to start this psalm? I hope we can all echo this first statement—what an incredible thing to be able to say. Many people say O God, but there is a second part to the statement that isn’t there. “YOU ARE MY GOD.” A Christian is the only person who can genuinely make this remarkable statement; I pray and hope you can say the same YOU ARE MY GOD!

When you can say the above words, you want God in all His fullness because this is the true Christian’s longing. Nothing but God can satisfy the true Christian; to the true Christian, the world has lost every bit of its glamour. You see, there is no water in the land that can truly satisfy the child of God; he/she yearns for the real water only God can give.

What is your deep longing? Are you still longing for the things of the world, or are you longing after God himself? When we come to church, do we come to seek God and Him alone? We talk to our friends, sing a few hymns, listen to a sermon, and then go. Do we gaze into the eyes of our Savior?

When was the last time you went to God’s house and saw his power and glory? Indeed, do you long to see it? Are you craving for the water of life, like David was?

God bless you. Keith 

THE THREE R’S

“Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your anger toward us to cease [forever]. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger [and disfavour] and spread it out to all generations?  Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?  Show us Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation…Psalm 85:4-7.”

At school, we had the Three R’s: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.   Here in this Psalm, we have the heart cry of every believer concerning how we are to pray.   Well, here we have an example. We should pray to be restored, in our relationship with God.

Every time, we sin, we should come quickly to the throne of grace to receive mercy, because we do not want God to be distant for long.  Any Christian misses the unique fellowship, they have with the Father as the Psalmist says in the above passage. He/she prays so that the anger of God against the sin, is taken away.

The Christian prays to be revived.   He/she has a great need and that is to have a fresh and vibrant touch of the Lord. We long to be filled with the power and glory of God. Every Christian longs to be revived.   Do your prayers have a yearning for revival?

Third, the Christian wants to be restored and revived, so that He/she can rejoice. Who does the Christian rejoice in? Do you rejoice in the blessings God gives us…that is good?  But the main thing we need to do is rejoice in God himself.  How much time do you take rejoicing in God?   His glory, his attributes?   Ask for Restoration, ask for Revival, and then you can Rejoice in God.

God Bless You,

Keith

Let God be magnified 

PSALM 70

4 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. 

ARE YOU MAGNIFYING GOD?

What a wonderful verse. Amen.

This psalm of David is to bring to remembrance.  

What are we to remember?

We are to remember to seek the Lord

We are told to rejoice in the Lord

We are told to love thy salvation

We are to continually tell everyone about our wonderful God

Are you doing all of the above?

Why are we to do all these things?

Set forth in the last few words of the verse, is the reason.

Let God be magnified.

We are to take a magnifier to the name and the glory of the Lord and to magnify it, to a world that seeks to disregard God. The world seeks to make God smaller, but it is our role to magnify the name and glory of the Lord.

By your life, are you magnifying the Lord or making him smaller? Your life, will either draw people to God or drive them away from Him.

If we do the four things listed above, then we will surely magnify our God.

God bless

keith

Psalm 118

6The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can [mere] man do to me?

The majority of One

Christians in the world today are in the minority, it seems we are outnumbered, but one person with God is in the majority

Many people in the bible have been outnumbered Joshua, Gideon and Abraham were hopelessly outnumbered, but they succeeded because God was on their side.

Look at the odds that Gideon had, 300 against thousands and yet he won.

The reformation study bible says this about this verse

118:6 The Lord is on my side. This is the heart of the covenant of grace: God siding with His redeemed. The implication for the psalmist is that he has nothing to fear from anyone because God is in control. Victory is not guaranteed by superior forces or weapons; it is a gift from God.

This verse downplays the power of Man and extols the power of God and this is how we are to look at every situation, we are in a majority, because God is on our side

Thanks God 

KK

PSALM 32 VS 8-11 

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;    I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 

⁹ Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,    or it will not stay near you. 

¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the wicked,    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 

¹¹ Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! 

JOYLESS OR JOYFUL 

A person who is forgiven is the happiest man on the planet, pure joy fills his/her heart. 

Look at what they are able to do, they are able to instruct others, we are able to relate our experiences to others, we can share the joy of being forgiven with others, it is truly something we can share.. amen 

We who are forgiven and upright in heart, can be glad, we can shout for joy. We can praise the God who alone gives us forgiveness, this is the greatest feeling in the world to be forgiven, the psalmist just shouts it out. 

Are you glad you have forgiven? 

If you looked at many Christians, you wouldn’t realise it, they are so sad, not like the psalmist in verse 11, they are not glad in the Lord and shouting for joy. 

Are you glad in the Lord and shouting for joy because you have been forgiven? 

Are you instructing others, because you have been forgiven? 

Why do you think people are so sorrowful today? 

Because they have no forgiveness, people crave forgiveness, this is man’s greatest need, he has sin like a ball and chain round his foot. 

We have the words of eternal life, what are you doing with them? 

Believer, you have forgiveness, shout it out, be glad, tell the world that the steadfast love of the Lord surrounds those who trust in Him. 

The joy of forgiveness is amazing, if you know it, it’s time to SHOUT AND SHARE IT, to a needy and hurting world. 

 Matthew Henry says this, and it is a great confort to hear these words

Here is a word of comfort to saints, and a good reason is given for that too. (1.) They are assured that if they will but trust in the Lord, and keep closely to him, mercy shall compass them about on every side (Ps. 32:10), so that they shall not depart from God, for that mercy shall keep them in, nor shall any real evil break in upon them, for that mercy shall keep it out. (2.) They are therefore commanded to be glad in the Lord, and to rejoice in him, to such a degree as even to shout for joy, Ps. 32:11. Let them be so transported with this holy joy as not to be able to contain themselves; and let them affect others with it, that they also may see that a life of communion with God is the most pleasant and comfortable life we can live in this world. This is that present bliss which the upright in heart, and they are only, are entitled to and qualified for.

GOD BLESS YOU 

KK 

PSALM 32 VS 5-7

I acknowledged my sin to you,    and I did not cover my iniquity;I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;surely in the rush of great waters,    they shall not reach him. 

⁷ You are a hiding place for me;    you preserve me from trouble;    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah 

 COME, CONFESS- DON’T COVER

We saw in verses 3-4, the pain that unconfessed sin causes the believer, his whole body is in agony, his/her spiritual life is in a mess.

To be in fellowship with God, we need to do certain things, we need to remember that first of all, when we fall, we have an advocate with the father 1 John 2;1-2.

We need to remember that we need to yield our members to Christ, so that sin becomes less and less in us. Romans chs 6-8

To acknowledge our sin, means to have the same attitude to sin that God has, sin is absolutely disgusting to God, it is us saying, yes, I have failed and now I think of sin as disgusting, it becomes an affront to me.

Acknowledging our sin, means coming to terms with ourselves and humbling ourselves, it means getting rid of all our pride and arrogance.

In Chapter 1 of the Book of 1 John, we are given a great treatise of sin and how to deal with it, covering sin, means we are not living in the light, but acknowledgement and confession means we are living in the light. In chapter 1 verse 9, we are given a great promise, but also a great command.

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The reformation study bible commentary, puts it like this:

God’s forgiveness is given as soon as we admit our need of it, not on the basis of any acts we have done to earn it, but solely because of His grace. The free gift of forgiveness carries with it purification from unrighteousness. God accepts us as righteous because He imputes to us the righteousness of Christ. That is, the very righteousness of Christ our sin-bearer is reckoned to our account.

We need to come to the cross and confess, we don’t have to be afraid, look at Adam and Eve in the garden, they hid themselves, letting sin go unconfessed leads to further trouble, one little sin leads to bigger sins and soon it is out of control.

We can come and confess, because God is a hiding place for us, he is our Father .. amen.

The invitation is there, God is your hiding place, don’t hide your sin, go to the Father and make him your hiding place.

There is forgiveness, if you have fallen and let me tell you, you will.

Come and confess.. don’t cover your sin and iniquity.

God bless you

KK

PSALM 32 

3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

WHEN SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN

We saw in the last devotion on this Psalm, that there is real joy and blessedness in having sin forgiven, likewise there is deep pain in having unconfessed sin in our life, sin left unconfessed makes the true believer absolutely miserable and unhappy, not until it is truly confessed, can this misery be taken away.

There was a song many years ago, that was called Silence is golden, and indeed it is good that we keep quiet sometimes.

Being silent, when it comes to confessing sin is not golden though, for several reasons.

First of all, we can’t hide things from God, he sees absolutely everything. Sometimes I do something and then the next time I read my bible, here is a verse or passage that puts its finger right on the point of my sin and the holy spirit convicts me and then I confess it and can be restored to full happiness and relationship with God.

We need to realise that to live in sin is to live in complete misery, Christians who live in sin and are trapped in unforgiveness are probably the most miserable people on earth, look at the state of David in verses 3-4, he was an emotional and physical wreck, he was roaring, he was totally out of control and worst of all the hand of the lord was heavy upon him.

If I have unconfessed sin in my life, then I am almost impossible to be around, until I come in repentance to the foot of the cross and humble myself under Gods mighty hand and confess it. Please read 1 John 1;1-2;2

The joy of true communion with God is matchless, Christian, don’t throw it away because you are stubborn and refuse to come to the throne of grace and seek forgiveness, there is a place of plenteous mercy ready and waiting for you.

Please read the rest of the Psalm and also psalm 51, David did not confess his sin with Bathsheba for one whole year, for his court officers, they must of been treading on eggshells, but Nathan was brave enough to tell the truth, sometimes we also need someone to crack the eggshell and make us aware of the gravity of our sin.

Do you have unconfessed sin in your life? If you are anything like me, you will be like a bear with a sore head…pretty unbearable to live with.

COME TO THE CROSS

Be like the man in verses 1-2, who is blessed because his sin is forgiven, but remember to be forgiven,  you have to come and confess and then you can be clean.

God bless you

KK

PSALM 32

VERSES 1-2 

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit, there is no deceit.

WHO IS TRULY BLESSED?

We ask who is truly happy and blessed?

We have many motivational speakers who seek to make people happier, religions that seek to make people happy or blessed. but it is only in the bible and in the person of Jesus Christ, that men and women be truly blessed and find the deepest happiness.

Man has a deep and ongoing problem and that is sin, it taints him, taunts him and has torn him away from God. Sin is a disease that is worse than Covid, as everybody has this disease and the result of sin is death and separation from God. Through Jesus we can find forgiveness, through his precious blood and his sacrifice on the cross. Amen. The bible has three words here that mean doing wrong;  sin, transgression and iniquity, here they are dealt with one by one.

When God dealt with sin, he dealt with it completely, the cross of Christ, dealt with all three aspects detailed here.

Transgression is individual sin, each and every individual sin we have ever committed is forgiven, when God saves us, he forgives all of our sin, how glorious and wonderful is that.

Our sin, which means missing the mark has been covered, Paul quotes this in Romans 4;7. What is that covering? It is the precious blood of Christ. In the Old testament, the covering was the sacrificial system, but now there is a better covering and covenant Psalm 85;2. We now have the righteousness of Christ credited to our account 2 Cor 5;17-21

Iniquity means a sinful lifestyle, but God remembers that no more, our past to God is completely forgiven and forgotten. Look at Psalm 103, what God does is incredible. Please read this Psalm, it shows that God deals completely with Sin.. all of it.

So, we are forgiven, what happens? We live a life that is pleasing to God, a life that is empty of deceit.  His/her sin has been dealt with … amen.

Forgiveness given by God as a free gift,  frees us from the power of sin, it breaks the bonds of sin, and allows us to live in a way that is pleasing to God.

Although we are free the power of sin, we are not free from it’s presence, our flesh is still active, but now we have the power to overcome it, through God living in us through his Holy Spirit. One day, we will be completely free of sin, when we will be in heaven with Christ.

Have you been forgiven?, if you have, then you are truly blessed.

If you are reading this and haven’t been forgiven, then there is mercy and grace waiting for you. Come to the cross, the only place where sin can be washed away.

God bless you

kk

Pour out your heart before God


“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us… Psalm 62:8.”

Psalm 62 is such a wonderful psalm and this verse is one of my favorites. It has two wonderful commands. The first one is just awesome, you know brothers and sisters, we are commanded to trust God at all times. The second one is wonderful as well: pour out your heart before Him. Here is my question, How empty is your heart?

Have you poured out your heart before Him? We are often told that God knows everything and yes, he does, and therefore he doesn’t need to hear it from us. But the opposite is true. He wants to hear the deepest longings of your heart; he wants to hear from you personally. God doesn’t want you to run to other believers or even your pastor. Although that can be helpful, God wants you to run to Him first.

When was the last time, you spent time just sharing with the Lord on an intimate basis? And this doesn’t have to be you talking all the time, it means listening too. You know Jesus wants to take your burden. He says come unto me and I will give you rest.

God needs and loves to hear from you. His desire is the same as in the Garden of Eden; fellowship with men and women. Remember he knew Adam and Eve had sinned and yet GOD still wanted fellowship with them.

My deepest and blessed times of fellowship with God were when I just shared openly with Him. You know we can pour out every secret to him, because we can trust Him, he is not going to share it with anyone else. He is completely trustworthy. Empty your heart believer, come to throne of grace and give him all your troubles, all your pain and let Him deal with it. Have fellowship with Him and trust him with your heart.

God bless you

 KK