Wonderful Grace Of Jesus (Based on Psalm 23)

Bread From Heaven Christian Fellowship
Thoughts For the Day
November 16 to 22, 2009
Read Psalm 23
Except when otherwise indicated “Scripture is taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”
Wonderful Grace Of Jesus (1918)
(Words and Music by Haldor Lillenas)
Wonderful Grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin;
How shall my tongue describe it,
Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free;
O the Wonderful Grace of Jesus reaches me!

Unmistakably assuring, powerfully comforting, faith-building, mind-opening, heart-warming: All these describe Psalm 23, the chapter which is timeless in its power and relevance and one of the best presentation of the Grace of God in our lives. We will do something different this week. We will have a prayer-devotional. Read the passage and pray through the entire chapter using our suggested prayers.

Psalm 23:
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.


Monday: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. PRAISE THE LORD!
Ps 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Lord, I have people I call my friends. There are very special people in my life. But You are my Shepherd. I cannot reverse the truth and say that that You are among those who are special to me. I did no make You special to me. You made me special to You! You are my Shepherd; I am special to You! I belong to You. You are the Boss of my life, my Guide, Provider, Protector and blessing-giver. You own me; You have complete control of my life. Hallelujah, I belong to You.
Lord, I now know why David said: “ I shall not want.” One version I read translates this sentence as: “ I have everything I need.” “Everything I need”, I know, does not mean :I have already received all that I need.” I know Lord that it simply means that with You as my Shepherd and Provider, I do not have to worry about anything. You are my Shepherd and provider. The Lord is my shepherd. I will count my blessings and those that have not arrived and I am still waiting for, I will praise God for them. Your blessings to me are on the way for one reason: You are my Shepherd. Thank You Lord.

Tuesday: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD: HE FINDS FOR ME THE GREEN PASTURES!
Ps 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
Lord, when I did not understand this, sometimes, I wondered: what has this green pastures have to do with my daily fight to earn a living and provide for my needs and the needs of my loves ones? I now know that the green pasture is where the sheep will find sufficiency of food. It speaks of guaranteed and actually available provisions. I now understand that the Shepherd, not the sheep, locates the Green pastures. The sheep is unable but the Shepherd is able. The sheep is beset with limitations but the Shepherd is not. I am unable and beset with limitations, You are not.
There were times Lord when I was too tired to think about where to go for the answers to my questions in life. There were times when I became tired for one reason or the other. I may have been relying on my own knowledge, intelligence and strength to find the green pastures. So I got tired. Forgive Lord. Lord I want to put myself completely under your care. You are my shepherd. Guide me to the Green Pastures. Save me from the foolishness of trying to make it in life everyday on my own. I can’t but I have you so I will make it.

Wednesday: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD: He leads me beside quiet waters!
Ps 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
Lord, there are many things that I am worried about; things that I fear. I am spending too much time looking at the noisy waters. I listen too much to scary sounds. I easily miss the truth that I have You by my side GUIDING AND LEADING ME. Why do I spend so much time being afraid? I now know why. I keep on counting the reasons for my fear. I count all my worries, the problems that have not been solved and even the imaginary problems. I keep on listening to noisy waters. Please forgive me. I shall not be afraid. I have You and You do not only make me lie down in green pastures.; You also lead me beside quiet waters. How foolish of me to be afraid when I have You. Thank You Lord for being my Shepherd.

Thursday: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD: He Restores My Soul.
Ps 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.
Lord, I must confess that there were times when my soul had become very tired and the hurt was too deep to understand. I can’t buy anything from the drugstore to heal the pains in my soul. And, often Lord, the reason for my pain and tiredness is that I cannot walk in righteousness and so I judge myself, sometimes too harshly that I end up losing my strength.
Lord, thank you for reminding me that when I become too tired, sometimes too tired to even think of life, You are there, ready and able to lift me up, to restore my soul, to restore my joy, to restore confidence. I am grateful for the reminder that You do not only restore my soul but that You also lead me in the paths of righteousness. Since that is the path that You have chosen for me and You’re there to guide me, how can I go astray? Thank You Lord for being there, as MY SHEPHERD, my Provider, the Restorer of my soul and my Guide.

Friday: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD: I cannot fear anything!
Ps 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
Lord, in this life, I sometimes go through the valleys that I would rather not go through. Sometimes I encounter threatening shadows in the valley. Sometimes, I get a hint of death. Sometimes, I sense evil lurking around. When this happens, I find walking forward in life a bit difficult to do. Forgive me for being so foolish.
With you by my side, why do I even have to worry about or fear evil, threatening shadows, and all those things that normally inject fear in the hearts of people? I have You and Your rod and Your staff and these certainly comfort me for I have the assurance that I am under Your protection and You won’t even allow me to walk away from You. Oh Lord, renew my courage. I have You and in the end, I know that is the main issue. Thank You Lord.

Saturday: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD: I cannot miss the feasting table!
Ps 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. 5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.
Lord, I must confess. Some situations irritate me. Some people can bother me by their presence. Sometimes, I have enemies. I must also confess that there were times when I punished myself by entertaining worries, fear, discouragements and all those strength-sapping, heart-melting and fear-inducing thoughts. I’m so sorry Lord. Please forgive me.
Thank your for the reminder that even if my enemies come rushing forward to attack me, they really cannot disturb me because they will see you busy preparing the table for me; in our modern Language Lord, we call that setting the table. That is not easy to imagine but it is as glorious as anything can be. The enemy is halted in their tracks by the sight of the My Lord who is the Lord of the entire universe, My shepherd, provider, protector and guide, preparing the table for me. Forgive me Lord for focusing on the enemies and not on the prepared table and the goodies on the table that You have prepared for me.

Sunday: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD: I have a prepared table and the anointing with God’s oil.
Ps 23: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. 5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Lord, sometimes I wonder, why would you prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies? Now I know and I am overjoyed by this discovery. The table is a FEASTING table. I know I am supposed to sit at that table and enjoy the bounty of your goodness. It is also a FELLOWSHIP table. You will allow me to have a special place with you around that table because I belong to you. You have chosen me from eternity and my life in Your hand. It is a wonderful fellowship Lord and I am grateful. I know it is also a table of FEARLESSNESS for it is being prepared in the presence of my enemies and my enemies can only look with utter helplessness because they cannot do anything! I do not have to fear at all! Why do I keep on looking at the enemies? I must look at the table, Your table for me.
Lord, many times, I feel small, insignificant, so unimportant. And yet, I read that You are anointing my head with oil. When I did not understand that I was wondering what that was all about. Now, I know and I am overwhelmed and filled with joy. Anointing my head with is Your PUBLIC DECLARATION that I am important in your courts. What could be greater than to be publicly, (and in fact Lord, I know this to be true, it is also a universal declaration,) seen by both good angels and fallen angels as well, that I am Yours by reason of divine election. I am provided for and sustained through Divine Provisions described here as Good and mercy or goodness and lovingkindness. How foolish of me to feel small and insignificant when I have You as my Shepherd.