HE LEADS AND GUIDES US

Psalms 23:2-3 (NKJV) He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

As we look at verses 2 and 3 today, we see the Great Provider again.  He leads us not to a field full of weeds, but to a lush green pasture.  Not to turbulent waters, but to still waters.  Our Shepherd makes sure that we get the very best.  Picture the scene: a beautiful green meadow and a beautiful stream of crystal clear water.  Picture yourself and Jesus walking there and enjoying the fruit trees, the sunshine, and the blue sky.

Picture the peace; not a single care, and all of our needs met.  This is the picture that our Heavenly Father wants us to see, because this is what He has done for us.  Jesus said in John 16:33 in the Amplified Bible, “In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]”

He restores our soul.   Oh thank you, Great Shepherd, that we do not have to think like this world does.  We are free to live at a much higher level.  Our minds and souls are renewed by the Word of God.  We think like God, because we have His Word. 

Our Great Shepherd leads us in the path of righteousness for His Name sake.  He does not kick us or drag us.  No!  He leads us and guides us throughout our lives.  He helps us when we are tired.  He guides us when the path is dark and we do not know where to turn.  He does all of this for His Name’s sake.

I want my children to be blessed, and I want my wife to have nice things.  When they are blessed, it is a representation of me.  It is the same with our Jesus.  He wants us to look good and to be of a peaceful mind, because it shows His blessings in our lives.  Rejoice today, because we have a Great Shepherd!

Confession: My Shepherd leads me to good things, and guides me in my course of life.  He gives me His peace and blessings each and every day of my life.  He is for me and not against me.

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THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

Psalms 23:1 (NKJV) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

For the next week, I want us to look at Psalm 23.  This Psalm has been spoken at many funerals and events.  It is what we would call a “Classic Psalm.”  Many people that are saved, and many that are not saved, know this Psalm.  But the question is, do we know it in our hearts?

Let us begin with verse 1.  “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  Think about that.  Our great King and Lord is a shepherd to us.  A shepherd takes care of His sheep.  One thing that I know about Jesus is that He takes care of us.  He leads us and guides us in our course of life.

Jesus tells us in John 10:11, “The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”  He said that the Good Shepherd goes out, no matter what the condition is, and looks for the one sheep that is lost.  He said that He will lead us, guide us, and provide for us in our lives.

Think of all the food that our shepherd has made for us, and the variety.  He could have given us bread and water and said that is enough, but not our Jesus.  He made so much that it is just amazing!  Have you ever watched the food network and been blown away with all the different foods of our world?

He could have made the earth like mars: barren and empty.  Again, Jesus did not do that.  He made a world so full of life and treasures that it amazes the mind!  Have you ever watched “Planet Earth,” and sat there with your mouth open at the beauty and wonder of all of His creation?

I could go on and on, but today, let us remember that the Lord is our shepherd.  We shall not want, because He takes such good care of all of our needs.  He is the God of the overflow, the God of wonder and might, and, most of all, He is our GOOD SHEPHERD!

Confession: The Lord Jesus is my Good Shepherd.  He always looks out for every need that I have, and meets those needs for me.  My Good Shepherd loves me, and always has my best in mind.

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TRUE PROSPERITY

3 John 2 (NKJV) Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

God wants us to prosper!  Many people get all bent out of shape because they think that prospering can bring problems into people’s lives.  But here we see the Apostle John praying that his beloved would prosper in all things and be in health, even as their soul prospers.

The key to keeping prosperity in line is to make sure that your soul (your mind) prospers first.  When your mind is renewed by the Word of God and you want to please your Heavenly Father in all things, you will always put God’s Kingdom first when He blesses you.

There is nothing wrong with having money.  The problem comes when money has you.  Too many people have let the almighty dollar take control of their life, and it has ruined them.  This is what is so wonderful about the tithe.  When we give God our first fruits, the first 10%, and learn to live on the remaining 90%, it teaches us to keep God as #1 in every part of our lives.

God wants us to prosper in all things, and God wants us to be healthy.  But again, why do we want to be healthy?  Is it so that we can live a sinful life without having any pain?  It should be so that we can serve the Lord with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength.

So today, go ahead and receive the blessing from this verse, but make sure that money, and other things, do not become a god in your life.  Let us make sure that Jesus is always #1, and that He receives the first fruits from our lives.  If we do this, life is going to be awesome!

Confession: I see through this word today what true prosperity is.  It is always giving God what belongs to Him.  I choose to do it God's way, and I know that as I do this, I will be blessed in all I do.

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ASK ACCORDING TO HIS WILL

James 4:2-3 (NKJV) You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

I want us to look at the second part of verse 2 today.  It says “you do not have because you do not ask.”  God has set a plan in place that works through asking.  Asking is what we call praying.  When we come to God, our Heavenly Father, and ask Him for something that lines up with His will, we can have the assurance within us that He will answer our prayer.

God is not withholding from us, but God is much wiser than us.  He knows that if we get outside His will for our lives, it will cause major problems.  I have found that the best type of praying is to make sure that the request lines up with His Word, which is His will.

Too many times, we do what verse 3 admonishes us not to do, and that is to ask with wrong intent.  We want to be blessed and have everything easy.  Unfortunately, that is not how this all works.  Some things in life do not come easy, but God loves us and wants the best for us.  I think of good parents.  They do not give their children everything that they want.  They give them what they know is best for them.

It is the same with God.  He has given us His Word and said, “Ok, this is what is best for you.  Look in this Book and anything that I have said you can have, is yours.”  Does that sound simple?  Well, it is!  Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”  But He also said unless we become like children, we will not see the Kingdom of God. 

So today, find out what God's will is for the prayer you want to pray.  When you do, ask!   

Confession: I am making a quality decision in my life to find out what God's Word says about the things that I am asking for.  When I find that out, I know that I will have the petitions that I desire of Him.

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LET THEM HAVE DOMINION

Genesis 1:26-27 (NKJV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

When God created Adam and Eve, He did not create them to be under the control of anything except Himself.  Man was created to have dominion; to be a ruler of the earth and all that was on the earth.  When man fell, he committed high treason, and at that point he gave the dominion to satan.

This act of man changed the way that God wanted His creation to live.  Now, instead of being the ruler of earth, they were controlled by the elements of this earth.  They now had to wear clothes to protect them from heat and cold, and from rain and snow.  They now had to work for their food, and childbearing would not be simple.  The curse had come to the earth, and mankind would pay quite a price.

But God, in His love for mankind, had a plan.  He sent Himself to redeem man.  He became like man; He took on the body of a man, and become the perfect sacrifice.  Man has been redeemed because of the Man, Christ Jesus.  God wants us to be the conqueror again.  God wants us to rule again, not over other people, but over ourselves.

Jesus has destroyed the works of the enemy.  He has given us the victory so that we can live a full and abundant life.  So, do not look to Adam and Eve.  Look to Jesus, and believe all that He has done for you.  Today, make Him your Lord.  He has defeated satan and given you the victory.

Confession:  Today, I am more than a conqueror, not because of me, but because of Christ in me, the hope of glory.  Today, I am all that the Bible says that I am.  As I look to His Word, I see what He has done for me, and I receive it by faith!

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HOLY SPIRIT PRAYERS (Part 3)

Colossians 1:9-11 (NKJV) For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy

This is another Holy Spirit prayer that can be prayed for yourself or someone else.  You can pray right through to verse 17 as praise to God, but I just wrote out these three verses for lack of space. 

Again, we see that the Apostle Paul is praying that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.  God wants us to know His will.  His will is His Word.  When we take time to read the Word of God, the Bible, and to read good books by strong men and women of God, we get an understanding of the mind of God.

Then, as we pray prayers like this, it opens us up to receive from the Word that we read.  There are some times when I read the Word and do not get much out of it.  Then there are times that I read the Bible and I say, “Wow! Was that always in there?”  Sometimes this also happens as I listen to teachings from men and women of God. 

God has set people in the church to help us learn and to help us get an understanding of the Word.  However, we cannot just lean on them.  We have to take time to read the Word for ourselves as well, and to ask Him to give us the understanding that we need.

So today, start praying these Holy Spirit prayers that we looked at the last three days, over yourself and others, and see what happens!  See yourself coming into a new place in God.  See yourself seeing things from the Word that you never saw before.  Remember, it all starts with a prayer, and the Holy Spirit has placed these powerful prayers in the scriptures for you and for me.

Confession: Today, I pray this Holy Spirit anointed prayer for _______________.   Father, thank you for opening their eyes as I pray this prayer.  Thank you that they will see what is available to them in the Kingdom of God.  

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HOLY SPIRIT PRAYERS (Part 2)

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NKJV) For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Here is the second of these Holy Spirit inspired prayers that the Apostle Paul gave us.  Again, this is one that we can pray for ourselves and for others.  As we pray this prayer, watch and see the Holy Spirit do a work within us and others.

In this prayer, Paul is praying for a strengthening with God's might in our spirit.  I do not know about you, but when my spirit man is strong, my entire being is full of strength.  Paul goes on to ask that Christ might dwell in our hearts by faith, and that we would get a full understanding of the love of Christ: that we would understand the very depths of it, and that we would understand how high it is and how deep it is.

If we, or anyone, would ever get a full understanding of the love and grace of God, it would make a total and radical change within us.  There is so much more in this prayer; these are just a couple thoughts.  Go ahead and pray this prayer each day for yourself, and for others.

Confession: Today, I pray for _______________, and I am going to pray this Holy Spirit anointed prayer over them.  Father, thank You for opening their eyes as I pray this prayer, that they will see what is available to them in the Kingdom of God. 

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