Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd

-That's Relationship!

I shall not want

-That's Supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
-That's Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters
-That's Refreshment!

He restoreth my soul

-That's Healing!

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
-That's Guidance!

For His name sake

-That's Purpose!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death -
-That's Testing!

I will fear no evil -
-That's Protection!

For Thou art with me

-That's Faithfulness!

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me
-That's Discipline!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
- That's Hope!

Thou annointest my head with oil

- That's Consecration!

My cup runneth over

-That's Abundance!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
-That's Blessing!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
-That's Security!

Forever
-That's Eternity!



Face it, the Lord is crazy about you, may he shine his face upon you and yours!

Knowing Your Purpose

There’s an old joke about a preacher who was stranded on the roof of his church in a flood. As the waters rose higher around him he prayed fervently for God to rescue him. “The Lord will provide,” he told himself.

Soon a boat floated by. The occupants called to the preacher to swim to them. “Don’t worry about me,” he called back, “The Lord will provide”. Reluctantly the people on the boat went on.

The waters rose higher and soon were lapping around the knees of the man of God. Another boat appeared within a few yards of the church rooftop. The rescuers inside called to preacher, and again he replied, “The Lord will provide!” This boat went on, and the preacher prayed even more fervently.

Just as the waters reached the preacher’s chin, a helicopter appeared. It came flying right over the preacher’s head. The rescuers called down to the preacher, but then he clutched his steeple and cried, “Save someone else. The Lord will provide for me!” So the helicopter sat there a few minutes hovering over the preacher and than went off to save more people.

A few minutes after the helicopter left, the waters closed around the preacher’s head, and he drowned. Reaching the gates of heaven, he asked for an immediate audience with the Lord, which was granted. In the divine presence the preacher humbled himself and asked, “Heavenly Father, my work on earth was not yet finished. Why didn’t you save me?” “Good grief”, God replied. “I thought you wanted to come here. I sent you two boats and a helicopter, didn’t I?”

Moral of the Story

You better have your mind made up, so you don’t let any opportunities pass you by. If you don’t know what your purpose is than you better figure that out. You can start by writing down your major objective in life and what your plans are to achieving it. This is the first steps in self discipline. Self discipline is what makes you jump when your boat or helicopter comes by!

Persevere

Hello all, I wanted to share another friend of mine that I have made from Blog Catalog. Her name is Lori Laws, and she has a beautiful blog! This is how she describes it, "It is all about perseverance - running the race of faith in the midst of her daily struggles with a muscle disease. Everything here is totally centered around the saving grace of Jesus Christ." [Lori Laws "Persevere" http://persevere-lori.blogspot.com/]

She shares the Gospel truth and her thoughts which are both very touching! She talks about her daily struggles in life, but praises the Lord along the way. Here is a passage from her blog, "An anonymous letter...to renew your confidence".

"It boils down to this: God has all power and can do anything. Nothing is impossible to Him. He has promised to answer every prayer in Christ’s name. So we must ask in full assurance of faith, expecting an answer. But should God delay that answer, or choose another path for us, He must have a mighty good reason for it all. And we must believe that whatever God permits in our lives, it will one day all work to our good. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” [Romans 8:28]" [Lori Laws "Persevere" http://persevere-lori.blogspot.com/]

It is very inspirational, so if you got time please check out her blog!

"The Purpose Driven Life" Review

“The Purpose Driven Life”, is a book by Rick Warren, who is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, His church is one of the largest and well known churches in the United States. This book, “The Purpose Driven Life” has sold over 15 million copies worldwide!

Rick Warren has put together a 40 chapter book that in my opinion is very helpful explaining why we are here on earth. Most self-helping books tell the reader to try to find meaning and purpose of your life by looking deep inside yourself. Rick Warren suggests that is the incorrect place to start. He believes you have to start with God, the one who has created everything! The truth is, God created us for himself, and until you comprehend that, life will never make sense.

This book will help you understand the meaning of life and what we are supposed to do with it. It will help explain God’s amazing plan which has been set before you. Once you know the true reason behind life it will make life a lot easier. It will help make life less stressful, help you focus your time and energy, make easier choices, make your life have worth, and the most important goal of all eternal life!

“The Purpose Driven Life”, is the perfect game plan for any Christian living today. Rick Warren will help explain God’s purposes for you, not what the world’s cultures value. In this book there are over 1,200 Bible verses and references, which help explain what God’s definitions of worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism really are.

This book is a must read if you still don’t know why we are here on earth! Do yourself a favor and read this book, once you know the true meaning of life it will make it so much more enjoyable!