The Lord is my Shepherd

Psalm 23

^{(NIV 2011)}

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
 ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
 ³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
   for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
   through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.

 ⁵ You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever. 

I'm preaching on this passage really soon.  Meditating on the image of God as my Shepherd...and I as His lamb has put me in a fresh place of wonder and awe of Him.

It's kind of funny when I think of how many times I have seen the picture of Jesus holding a lamb, or heard about Him being "the Good Shepherd."  It certainly isn't that I didn't know what that meant conceptually, but at this season of my life I find that it just means so much more to me.  In fact, to be quite transparent...over the last day or so I have thought of that image of Jesus holding a lamb with appreciation where earlier I had some other emotion toward it.  I don't mean to be dramatic, but there was a little something inside of me that disliked those types of images, maybe because they were too wimpy, or Jesus almost looked giddy with a big smile on His face, etc.  Now I'm in awe that God allowed Himself to be so humble as to reach down and scoop up into His arms...a stupid, smelly little lamb like myself.  Wimpy?  No...incredible!  It's a perfect image of "meekness" ("power under control") - the amazing power of the Creator God who speaks this universe into existence...can also take on the form of a giddy shepherd holding His smelly lamb.  Why "giddy?"  Well that's another development lately in this season of my life...continually coming across the description and example of God's love for us.  He is overwhelmingly passionate about finding those whom are "lost" and scooping them up into His arms.  Read the 3 examples in Luke 15 and try to tell me that God isn't "giddy" - overwhelmingly excited about every lost person He gets to scoop up into His arms and call "son" and "daughter."

I have been scooped up into the arms of a Shepherd God who loves me more than I can understand.  Psalm 23 is an example of David trying to capture the height and depth and width of this love of God...he can't, but what a wonderful attempt!

Thick Buttons or Warm Beer

I heard a short war story the other day, and agreed with the story's teller that it was incredibly true about church ministry as well.  The story goes that an old army officer was talking to a buddy in an overseas crowded bar.  He told his friend "I can tell you how close to the action these men are simply by listening to them talk."  Intrigued by this his friend asked him "how?"  "By what they complain about," he replied.  "If they talk about how warm the beer is, you know they haven't seen much action, but the ones complaining about how high off the ground their buttons keep them...those men have seen the real war."

Warm beer or buttons.  It's a funny little story, and yet I think this helps capture the feeling so many have experienced in ministry.  It seems the case of so many, that they are having trouble with their buttons holding them off the ground too high, while at the same time getting phone calls, emails and nasty little jabs from people upset about their warm beer.  In other words, how many times are you trying to focus your attention on reaching this lost, broken world with the hope and truth of the gospel...but keep getting side-tracked (or worse) by those back-line (as opposed to "front-line") battles over personal preferences and opinions...and isn't it strange how much power there can be in that little word "just" ("if we would just..." or "I think they just...").

Now...after we come to the point where we acknowledge that this is truly a problem, it gets even more interesting when we humble ourselves enough to do an honest self-examination.  How many of us, honestly...are actually on the "front-lines" and not just watching from the side, or a safe few hundred yards back thinking "yeah, 'warm beer'...he's right, people really can be ridiculous."

So what's the answer?  Don't complain, or go to the front-lines?  Maybe both, but prayerfully so.  Let me challenge you, as I also challenge myself, to pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal to you where He wants you to boldly step forward...to get into the real battle - for people who desperately need the message we carry!  May we become people who don't just refuse to complain about our ministry preferences, but into those who understand the challenge of being shot at, and with understanding can help pray for the perspectives to be stretched of those complaining of 'warm beer.'

Removal of Youtube Links

I just noticed that the "Muskoka Come and See" video thumbnails I intended to be viewed on the right side of this page were quite often certainly not the ones I intended to be shown...nor do I want them to be linked to this page.
I apologize that it took me a week to realize that such offensive video thumbnails were being seen on this blog.
Please forgive...and feel free to email me about stuff like that in the future.
Shannon

"What is Love?"

"What is Love?"
This seemed like an easy enough question when I first considered it as our next topic of study for Wednesday night (tonight).  But then I started really digging, and I really started considering the brokenness in the lives of so many that I know...so many of those faces I'll be speaking to on a night like tonight.  It just isn't such an easy question to answer when we're starting from the culture and reality we have inherited from those who blazed a trail before us of such "freedom" on the topic of things that were at one time private and sacred.  For the sake of "education," "liberty" and "expression" perhaps we have lost something more valuable than I had ever truly considered before today.  Now...with one foot in the reality of what myself and others have experienced and known as "the norm," and the other foot exploring the reality of what God has so wonderfully designed for us to enjoy...I am more aware now than earlier of the difficulty in taking the right approach in teaching a society that has become so accustomed to looking for their romantic idea of "the one," through what we know of relationships, sex and how the two are supposed to work together.
I think it will take us a few weeks to properly handle the answering of this question.  I'm actually excited about sharing the plan of God for our experience and enjoyment of what He calls "Love," but I am also sensitive to the hurt that occurs when we realize how far we have gotten off track. 
This will be one of those hard topics, with wonderful promises and truth in it for those who are willing to consider that God's plan for our lives is probably better than our own.  Please pray for us on this journey.  The result should be that we have better, stronger, and more intimate relationships (especially marriages!) out of our discovery of what the Bible says about Love...or we will be better equipped to do an honest assessment of those relationships that simply are not healthy for us to continue.  Please pray that the devil won't ransack our study and distract those who could become offended rather than learn, change and grow.

Also:  I'll mostly likely be doing a simple introductory study on the topic tonight, but request that everyone listens/watches Matt Chandler's message entitled "Rhythm."  It will certainly give us a wonderful advantage as a group if there has already been some informed personal study done in preparation for our times together.  It doesn't have to be complicated...but please at least listen to what he has to say.  I've attached a link to the first part of Matt Chandler's message (found on Youtube) to help get you started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZvbAGTSJVI
Love yas,
Shannon

Pouring Pain

"When it rains, it pours."  It's amazing how many times I have heard that saying before, and yet have never found it to be a helpful analogy of the very real pain that can be experienced and endured in this life.  Rain doesn't hurt.  In fact, I love it when it rains.  I love it when my girls run excitedly outside with rubber boots on looking for the Biggest puddles they can to splash their daddy with the biggest stomps in the water their little bodies can create.  I strongly dislike pain...especially when its "pouring" pain.


I had a wonderful meeting with Eric Helliwell yesterday (worship Pastor of Harvest Muskoka).
Look at this passage we discussed together:

1 Peter 5:6-11 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

What an incredible passage!  I found this extremely helpful to be reminded again of the reality that there is an enemy stalking me like a lion; wanting to devour me.  The passage doesn't seem to give us much hope for escaping without some form of wounding.  In fact, it reminds us that as a part of the "brotherhood" (Christian Family) we should expect to be attacked just like the rest of our family around the world.  Ha...look at verse 10 "And after you have suffered a little while..."  Honestly, I have had a hard month.  Is it ever good for me to be mindful (reminded) that it is only for a "little while," because in the most difficult moments of pain, discouragement, loss, disappointment, etc. it is often hard to remember that in the perspective of eternity, or the existence of humanity, or even the span of our own life...this lion attack, if we "resist him, firm in [our] faith," it will only last for a "little while." 

Wait, there's more!  Vs 10: "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."  It is this same God who gave us His eternal Glory through Jesus Christ ("the anointed One") that will also pick us back up (restore), and speak life and true identity back into us (confirm).  He gives us the encouragement, perspective, teaching, etc. we need to stand firmly grounded (strength) to be who He has intended for us to be, and do what He has called us to do (establish).  Vs. 11: "To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

What an incredible God we serve!
In case you're wondering...my circumstances still haven't changed much.  If anything, things have actually become even more difficult, but I continue to put my hope and trust in "the God of all grace."  I know that He has not been taken off guard by my circumstances.  He has a purpose and a plan.  I don't know what it is, but as long as it is the same God "who has called [me] to his eternal glory in Christ;" I Love what He did through the Jesus plan, and I will trust Him with this one too.