Devotionals & Poems

Posts in category Friendship with God

Psalm 23 (Part two, supply)

Psalm 23  (Part two, supply)

The role of the shepherd is to tend and care for the flock, therefore being one of His sheep David could say, “I shall not want”, or perhaps a better translation would be, “I shall not lack”, for so is the meaning of the Hebrew word. And justifiably we should add “any beneficial thing”, for […]

Psalm 23

Psalm 23

(Part one, Relationship) from a Facebook post we want to look at seventeen statements that are made in Psalm 23. The first being “The LORD is my shepherd”, which I see as key to the rest of the Psalm. Who better than David would know how to compare the sheep/shepherd relationship and make the comparison […]

“I am…the truth…”

“I am…the truth…”

Not only is Jesus the way to God (and heaven) as we saw last week in John 14:6, but He is also the Truth about God, of God, and from God; in verse 9 He said “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” If you really want to see and know God then […]

Our good Shepherd

Our good Shepherd

Sheep and shepherds were a big part of ancient Israel, the nation of whom God had said was “the flock of My pasture” Ezekiel 34:31, and His commitment to them through the prophet Isaiah was that He would “feed His flock like a shepherd” 40:11. Then in Psalm 100:3 they acknowledge that “we are His […]

What pleases God?

What pleases God?

In Isaiah 58 God lays out the details of a fast He has chosen, which entails a lot more than just abstaining from food or some other pleasure and luxury; the fast that meets God’s approval will be followed by deeds of His heart in service and ministry to others! What I see here is […]

The final word

The final word

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1. A refuge is a shelter, a place of protection, a fortress, and a place of hope. The message here in Psalm 46 1-7 is that even when the earth and all that is in it are in turmoil, in God there […]

The trespass offering

The trespass offering

Never give up (Parables of Jesus par...

Never give up  (Parables of Jesus part twenty six)

In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus “spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” In Luke’s account this is recorded on the heels of Jesus teaching about His return and the conditions on earth leading up to it, thus we can take encouragement to remain steadfast and not become disheartened […]

The wedding feast (Parables of Jesus...

The wedding feast  (Parables of Jesus part twenty two)

In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus in this story likens the kingdom of heaven to a king whose son was to be married and many were invited to the reception, but those invited took it lightly and refused to come putting their own interests ahead of the kings invitation, even treating the messengers who brought the invitation […]

The sheep that went astray (Parables...

The sheep that went astray  (Parables of Jesus part eight)

Our next stop in the parables of Jesus brings us to that of the lost sheep recorded both in Matthew 18:10-14 and Luke 15:1-7; I am using Luke’s account today. In Bible symbolism sheep often represent people, for example “The Lord is my shepherd” Psalm 23:1; “All we like sheep have gone astray” Isaiah 53:1; […]