rod of a shepherd. pslam 23

http://yadbyad.messengers-of-messiah.org/Rod&Staff/godscomfort.htm

A Shepherd will always CARE for his sheep. He doesn’t chastise them for his good pleasure, but, rather, lovingly corrects them, if needed.
At night the shepherd would bring the flock home to the fold, counting them as they passed under the rod at the door to assure himself that none were missing. This is the TRUE description of a shepherd. Does this sound like the ROD is an item to be avoided? May it never be!! As you may have already realized, these same sheep could NOT enter in through the DOOR, unless they passed under the rod.

The Aramaic counterpart for the word "rod" [Heb, shebet] is sharbit [Sceptre]. This masculine noun is found only four times in the Old Covenant, and all instances are in the book of Esther (4:11; 5:2 twice; 8:4). Only the acknowledgement of this golden stick could save from certain death the one who entered the throne room of the Persian king unannounced. Does this scenario strike a chord in your heart? It should! Our King is the only one who has the authority to judge who may enter into His Throne Room!

just curious about the word "rod' and "staff". rod connotes discipline. staff? i have no time to find out yet. no matter what, jesus guides us all the way. no matter where we are now, he will guide us.

call unto him and he will reveal himself to us. amen.

good kings bad kings. both are mentioned in the bible. this chpt has a few kings who disregard god and well, god destroyed them.

hmm... what else have you ernest learnt from today's OT?

For who has known the mind of the Lord,or who has been his counselor?”35 “Or who has given a gift to himthat he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.

i think we should always have the attitude that all things are FROM him, THROUGH him and TO him. all GLORY goes to him. In this way our hearts are full of joy.

have set your heart to seek God.”
we must decide in our mind and heart to seek god!!

to be continued

way to go & more promises of God - Again!

He did not seek the Baals, 4 but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel. 5 Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand.

what is key to god blessing the work of our hands? to walk in his ways and follow his commandments. i think a love for god in our hearts is also key to it. like the way david loves god and always have god's interest in his mind.

of course god is more than a "prosperity" god. but it is impt for us to know the keys to leading our lives.

His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord.
What does this mean? ANy suggestions?

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!3 May he remember all your offeringsand regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4 May he grant you your heart's desireand fulfill all your plans!
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

It is amazing how god has been speaking to me about his promise of being with me in times of trouble and difficulty. thank god for assuring me that he will deliver me.

meanwhile i will continue to search and trust god to open the path for me step by step. while i struggle through, there is this deep belief in my heart that god is with me every step of the way and he will make my paths straight as he gives me strength and joy each step of the way.

thank you jesus that you are watching over me and interceding for me at the same time. i believe that you will cause all things to work out for the good of those who love you.

a men

more encoragement from god

Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because [10] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, [11] for those who are called according to his purpose

Thank god that he is interceding for me even as i struggle during this period of time. i am also encouraged that god works all things out for the good of those who love him. no matter how tough the situation is, lets yield to his sovereignty and he will cause all things to work for our good. praise god.

thank god too that he helps us in our weaknesses.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

god says that his love is with us all the way. nothing can separate us from this love. due to this fact, we can rest securely whereever we are, in whatever we do. we need only to walk beside and with him every step of the way. he will hold us securely in his hands.

o the love of god which gave jesus to us!!

amen

promise from god

For who is God, but the Lord?And who is a rock, except our God?—32 the God who equipped me with strengthand made my way blameless.33 He made my feet like the feet of a deerand set me secure on the heights.34 He trains my hands for war,so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,and your right hand supported me,and your gentleness made me great.36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,and my feet did not slip.
ps 18

thank god for the promise above. it is indeed encouraging for me. something for me to lean back on in times of stress and questioning in The Place. Well he has his purpose which i cannot see. by faith against faith i must believe and claim his promise.

pastor said yesterday we must remain faithful to our commitment like to the way god is faithful to his.

god help me and give me strength to do things right and best.

house of god

do we want our house to be a house of god? this is what we must do if we want:

verbally dedicate our house to god

invite god to reside here, realising that he can choose not to cos he is a god who is bigger than the heavens.

then god says: if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then i will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

we must be humble, pray and seek god! then god will delight to reside in our house!

but if we turn aside and forsak his word and commandments and serve other gods, he will cast our of his sight.

i will want to verbally consecrate our house with puay hong and josef to god jesus. i hope we as a family and individually, can pray more to god and obey his way too.

we must call upon the lord for help when we are in distress. do not run around like a headless hen trying to look for help in all the wrong places.

now i call upon god for help to find me a place where my priorities in life can be met. now i am upset cos the place cannot meet my priorities.

god lead me to the place where i can fulfill the plan you have for me. may your purpose take place in my life. amen.

"Keep me as the apple of your eye ' ( Ps 17:8)

I did not know that we can request that!! Yes i desire to be the apple of god's eye. jesus nurture me to be a woman after your own heart, that i may be the apple of your eye like david was.

"You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you hae tested me and you will find nothing. i have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. with regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips i have avoided the ways of the violent." ps 17:4

god tests our hearts like the way our schools tests our knowledge thru exams. what is in our hearts now? is there sin? will god be pleased with it? the way for us to be the apple of his eye is to have contents in our heart that please him -- faith in him, love, absence of unforgiveness etc.

18 july

In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations
Rom 4:18

I learn about believing in God in "hopeless" situation. Let's lift up our faith above circumstances and put it in our sovereign God.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

am i a person that the Lord will rest his eyes on? How much do i understand and seek after god in my daily life? how do i understand god? i have to read his word and to spend time in prayer with him.

as the deer pants for the water , does my soul pants after jesus?

dear lord, give me the thirst for you. let me seek after you, and be a woman after your own heart --- like the way david is. i want to love you with all my life lord jesus. amen.

Samuel 3

2And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place,

THe phrase "it came to pass" once again reinforces the idea that God is in charge and in control of everything that happens in the world. Many times we don't understand why something happened. That is when we put our faith in God's sovereignty.

7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.

And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

The above 2 verses show that the Lord did not have an intimate relationship with people at that time. Sam, who have been ministering before the Lord, still did not know the Lord.
We must not take God's easy access in our lives now for granted.

19And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

THis is my prayer for my family and children. May we grow in wisdom with time, and may the Lord always be with us... and His destiny for our lives be fulfilled. Amen.

Question:
20And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
21And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Why does the writer mention" even to Beersheba" knew Sam was meant to be a prophet?
What does it mean that "the Lord" revealed himself "by the word of the Lord"?

3Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

1 Sam 2:3

Hanah knew everything comes from God and her attitude is meek, acknowleding all glory goes to him.

I apply this to my work. Let me give all my aspirations to God. Do not boast about what I have done cos God sees everything. And as he weighs my actions, he rewards and honours us accordingly.

4The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

Do not trust in my own ability cos those who stumble are those who are strong in their own eyes.

19Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

This reminds me that Hanah always have Sam in her heart. She yearly made a little coat for Sam. This shows that she gives something really precious to her to God.

What precious thing have I given to GOd? I guess I must offer up my children, my family and my job and my future to Him. PUt them in his hands cos they are the most preicous to me.

21And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

God remembers all our actions. The same way he blesses Hanah, he has blessed Abraham too. and David too.

Hanah received more than she imagined.

Praise God.

36And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

"And it shall come to pass" reminds me that everything is in God's hands. I only need to rest in HIm, like a weaned child at the mother's breast.