I will fear no evil

I will fear no evil

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

I bet you’ve been in that valley, haven’t you? I think we all have at one time or other. I said a few days ago how I felt like I was in a tunnel, unable to see the light at either end, and I would imagine that the valley mentioned in today’s verse is much like that. The dark valley can be a scary place to be, and it can feel like threats are encroaching from either side. Sometimes you know what those threats are – perhaps difficulties at work or a troubled relationship – but at other times those threats might be unknown. Those are perhaps the most scary – we know that they’re there, but we can’t see them and don’t know what they are. We just have that instinctive feeling that at any moment something is going to jump out at us from the dark and knock us off track. The temptation is to cower in the valley, and hope that one day the end will come to us.

It seems at the time that hiding is the best solution to our difficulty; after all, if nothing can see us, surely we have nothing to fear? Yet that logic is flawed; how can you hide in an already dark valley? What we need to do instead is march on with confidence, battling through the troubles and difficulties, realising that sooner or later we will reach the light once more.

The Psalmist once again inspires us with hope and confidence. Even when we are in that deep, dark valley, God is still with us. He is walking alongside us, and what’s more, he is equiped to tackle any threats that come our way. No matter what circumstances jump out at us, no matter what baddies, God is equipped with a rod and a staff, and is well prepared to defend us. Indeed, there is absolutely nothing that can threaten us when we walk with God; he is, after all, the supreme power of the universe! We can draw comfort from God’s presence, and the understanding that he will protect us against any evil that might come our way.

I know that this verse has, in particular, been massively important to me over the last few months. I pray that you will gain comfort from it too.

Paths of righteousness

Paths of righteousness

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:3(b)

There are times in our lives where we feel as if we simply do not know which direction we should take. Sometimes that’s in a literal sense, when we are out walking or driving. At other times, it can be more of a metaphorical direction; where should we be heading with our lives? I’m in just such a spot at the moment, having resigned from my job, but not having another job to go to. The need to earn money to support myself is a pressing issue – I have to get a job to make money to survive – but this is even more true now since I am getting married this summer, and will have a wife to look after too. The temptation is to start panicking; I don’t know where I’m going! What should I do?!?

I’ve been trying not to panic, however, and this verse is just one of the verses that has encouraged me recently. We might feel uncertain of the direction our lives should be heading in, but God our Father does. He has a way marked out for us, a path that will be pleasing, and that will best serve his and our needs. When we feel lost, we just need to trust that God knows what he is doing, trust that he will lead us, and pray that he will guide us.

If we let God guide us, that worry that inhabits us about whether we are doing the right thing will diminish, because we can rely on God’s encouragement. We can also draw comfort from the fact that the paths that he leads us down are “paths of righteousness,” paths that will help us to shape our lives to be more like Jesus. By following the paths that God has marked out for us, we will be blessed. And, when the time comes, that path will lead us to God’s eternal kingdom.

If you’re feeling lost, pray today that God will guide you along those paths of righteousness. If you think you know the way, pray anyway that God will reassure you, and continue to lead you along his paths. And pray that, one day, when the time comes, those paths will lead us to heaven.

He restores my soul

He restores my soul

He restores my soul.

Psalm 23:3(a)

Have you ever felt so tired that you feel that you could sleep for a week? As a teacher, I often feel like that as the end of term approaches, particularly the long Christmas term. After weeks of working flat out, the end is tantalising close, but then, on top of all the usual preparation, teaching and marking, I suddenly find myself having to write several hundred reports, arranging Christmas parties, and sometimes even preparing for end-of-term trips.

It’s tiredness like that that is sometimes described as “soul-sapping.” Not only are you tired, but it actually feels like your very life force is ebbing away from you. It’s at times like this that basic things become neglected; perhaps you feel your home life suffering, and you find yourself isolating yourself from our friends. Maybe you even feel that spending time with the Lord in prayer and Bible study drops down your priorities list.

Today’s verse is a warning against this neglect. God can help us through these difficult and busy times. If we spend just a few minutes of our busy day in quiet reflection, reading our Bible and praying, then the promise in this verse is that God will restore our soul. Not only will he physically help us by sustaining us through our busy-ness, but spending time with him also puts what we are doing into context. Work suddenly is not the be all and end all in our lives, since as Christians we have an eternal perspective. We should not focus solely on work, because we also need to spend time with God, and we need to ensure that we are doing his work, living a life worthy of Christ’s salvation. We also understand the importance of maintaining a focus on Christ in all that we do, whether it is at work, at home, or with our friends. We can support our colleagues through their busyness too by maintaining our calm, and working as if for our Father in heaven. By doing so, we can be witnesses for God, even though we are busy.

The realisation that God can restore our souls can help us to put our daily life into perspective. Spending just a little time every day with him can really change our lives, and change our perspective on the world.

The next time you are tempted to neglect your daily time with God, just remember the promise of this verse, that God can restore your soul. Talk to him, and listen to him, even if just for a few minutes a day.

He leads me beside quiet waters

He leads me beside quiet waters

He leads me beside quiet waters.

Psalm 23:2(b)

There’s something almost magical about water. I used to teach on Saturday mornings which, at the end of a long and very busy week, was very tiring indeed. Sometimes I’d then catch a lunchtime flight to visit Claire, my fiancee, in Northern Ireland, who would then whisk me off to the shores of Belfast Lough for a relaxing walk from Crawfordsburn to Bangor. No matter how tired and stressed I felt, that coastal walk always managed to revive my soul. Claire knew the restorative properties of that walk, and would often drive me down to the lough.

If Claire knows me well, God knows me even better. He knows all of us better than we know ourselves. He loves and cares for us more than we will ever know. Since he created us, he also knows exactly what we need. Like a shepherd who cares for his flock, God leads us, and if we accept that lead, we will find that our lives are far better than they would otherwise be.

I am sure that in a flock of sheep there are some who try to run away from the shepherd, and we are just like that. We think that we know best, and try to escape God’s leading influence in our lives. This upsets God, because he realises that without his leadership, we will ultimately struggle and die, but he gives us the choice of whether to follow him or not.

If we follow his lead, he will help us to deal with the stresses and strains of everyday life. He will take us by the hand and lead us on that relaxing and restorative walk beside quiet waters.

Do you think that you know best, or are you happy to accept God’s leadership in your life? Will you let him take you by the hand and lead you to the quiet waters? Remember that he knows best, not you!

Image credit: Belfast Lough at Cultra by Philip McErlean on Flickr. Made available under the terms of this licence.

He makes me lie down in green pastures

He makes me lie down in green pastures

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

Psalm 23:2(a)

When I’m tired and stressed, I like to head up to the North Downs near where I live and sit in the sun on the amusingly named Saddle Knob. It’s a large expanse of grass at the top of Reigate Hill, and the views across the Weald to the South Downs are awesome. It makes me feel just a little less stressed and a little more normal just to sit there and relax.

When I’m really busy at work and feeling very stressed, however, it seems there’s no time to do anything but work. I’m sure you’ve been in a similar position and know for yourself that when you get in this position home life suffers and you find yourself being irritable with those who love you, and not making time for your friends. You even find yourself cutting yourself off from God, and not making time for Bible study and prayer.

God knows what is best for us, though, and if we let him, he will take care of us. He doesn’t just suggest politely that we stop work, he makes us. Sometimes this can be in rather alarming ways, and we feel as if a carpet is being pulled out from underneath us. There are times, though, when we think we know best, and God has to show us that actually, he does. We have to trust in him, and realise that, as our creator, he knows better than anyone what we need.

Shepherds in the middle east didn’t just lead their sheep to green pastures, they were instrumental in creating them. Green pastures are not all that common in the desert, and a great deal of irrigation is needed to create them. Since shepherds love their flocks, though, and recognise that with them they would die, they worked hard to ensure that these pastures were created.

Our God is the same. He creates green pastures for us, leads us to them, and makes us lie down. If we listen to him, this is a painless experience, but if we ignore us, he can be more forcible in making us stop.

Listen carefully to God today. Do you need to stop? Are you neglecting him, your family or your friends through working too hard? Stop and lie down in those green pastures now, otherwise you might find yourself being stopped, since God loves you and knows best!

Image credit: Along the North Downs from The Saddle Knob by Ian Capper, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Lord, my shepherd

The Lord, my shepherd

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

Psalm 23:1

We all go through periods in our lives when we feel like we’re struggling. Things get on top of us, and we wonder just how we’re going to make it to the end of the day. It feels like we’re walking through a long, dark tunnel, and are all on our own. We suspect that there is a light at the end of it, but we’re firmly in the middle of it, and cannot see even a pin prick of light from either end. Sometimes, although we know in our heart that God would never desert us, it feels in our head as if he has. I have been in just such a place recently, hence the absence of Daily Readings, but thankfully, with God’s help and the love of my friends and family, I can now see the light flooding into the tunnel, even though I haven’t reached the end yet.

Psalm 23 is one of the most famous bits of the Bible. Most of us know it so well that we become almost immune to what the words mean. I think I’ve been in this position myself, but time and time again over the last few months, I’ve been unable to get the verses out of my head. That’s the reason why over the next couple of weeks we’ll be exploring the Psalm in our Daily Readings.

The opening verse is one of such immense promise. The Lord is our shepherd, we read. Shepherds were interesting characters in the Old Testament. They were isolated from society, and focused entirely on the sheep in their flocks. They would live with them day and night. They would feed them and water them. They would lead them to the best fields. They would take interest in each and every one of their sheep. They would even lay down their lives to protect them. In the same way, the Lord, our God, will look after us and protect us. He loves us, he cares for us, and, through Jesus, he has laid down his life for us.

Since the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not be in want. Just as shepherds provide all that their sheep need, God will look after us and ensure that we want for nothing. He has given us everything we need to live, and will continue to do so.

Maybe you feel like you’re isolated and alone at the moment. You’re not. God loves you, is interested in you as a person, and will provide all that you need to escape this present darkness. Maybe you feel happy and joyous. Remember that it is through God’s provision for you that you are in that enviable position, and that God continues to bless and guide you.

You clothed me with joy

You clothed me with joy

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Psalm 30:11

Here in the UK, it looks like we’re finally beginning to reach the end of winter. It might still snow every now and again, but it is noticeable that the days are getting longer. It is no longer dark when I wake up in the mornings, and sometimes I even manage to leave work whilst it is still daylight. In the gardens, the first of the spring flowers are beginning to emerge from the soil. Things begin to look so much better when spring is in the air! The promise of new life is everywhere around us, and people begin to grow more hopeful for the future.

Of course, as Christians, we have a great deal to look forward to. The time will come when Jesus will return to earth, and when he does, all those who have humbly followed him will be raised to eternal life in heaven with God the Father. No matter how bad things get in our daily lives, we will always have that hope, that expectation of better things to come. The Psalmist conveys that very well in today’s verse. Since God has promised us salvation, we can dance, no matter how much we feel like wailing, for we have been clothed with joy. In the NIV version of this verse, the Psalm says that “my heart may sing to you,” but the ESV translates this as “my glory may sing your praise,” meaning every part of our being. The Psalmist is overcome with joy at what the Lord has done for him to the extent that his whole body is bursting with praise. He promises that he will give thanks forever.

As we begin to head towards spring, and our spirits are being lifted by the lightness, the sun, and the promise of new life, what better time to reflect on whether we share the Psalmist’s sense of joy. Do we constantly give thanks to the Lord for all his rich gifts? Maybe we should think about praising God more in the coming weeks!

Love Your Neighbour As Yourself

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

Matthew 22:39

When I was at university, I was determined to get involved in as many interesting activities as I possibly could. Having worked for two years in a job that I didn’t really enjoy before starting my degree, I wanted to make the most of every opportunity I had. Two of the activities I very quickly got involved with were the Christian Union, where I served on the committee, and in the Chaplaincy, where I helped to plan the services and other activities, as well as playing my flute in the morning service. Very quickly, though, I realised that I had very little time for myself, and that I was getting tired and stressed. I remember vividly the words of the wife of the chaplain, who quoted today’s verse at me, and told me that it was implicit within it that we should love ourselves, and ensure that we look after ourselves as well as loving those around us. It came as a bit of a revelation to me, and is something that I have continued to reflect on in the years since I left university.

We read yesterday that one of the fruits of the Spirit, which we demonstrate if we are committed to Christ, is love. Love is central to the character of God, and should be central to our character too. In John 3:16, one of the most well known verses in the Bible, Jesus tells us that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.” Jesus was sent to live amongst us, and died in our place on the cross. On the cross, he was cut off from his father, and experienced pain and loneliness in a way that we simply could not begin to comprehend. God sent Jesus willingly, though, and Jesus willingly died for us because of God’s vast love for us. If we are seeking to emulate Christ in our behaviour, then, we must first of all demonstrate love for everyone we meet, whether we like them or loath them. We might not be called to die for someone else, but there are plenty of practical ways that we can love people – helping them, caring for them, supporting them, listening to them, just being there for them. How often, though, do we find ourselves being unpleasant to people just because we are having a bad day. Similarly, just as the chaplain’s wife said to me, it is just as important that we love ourselves too, and make sure that we have time to relax and unwind, eat properly, exercise regularly, and sleep properly. If we do not love ourselves, it is very hard to love those around us.

Reflect today on whether you love your neighbour as much as you love yourself. Do you love yourself? Do you demonstrate God’s love to everyone you meet?

The Fruit of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

My bed, like that of many people, is against a wall. Well, actually, it’s against a window. That means that, short of jumping out of a first floor window (which would probably wake me up!), there is only one way to get out of bed. There are still days, though, when it does feel like I’ve got out of bed on the wrong side. Not because I’m battered a blue with broken legs, from jumping out of a window, but because I feel miserable and irritable. On those occasions, how the rest of the day progresses depends to a great extent on the behaviour of the class I am teaching during period one. If they are friendly and cheerful, and settle down to work hard, my spirits are lifted and the day gets better. If, however, they are loud and annoying, the day continues much in the same way that it started.

This, of course, is not a Biblical way of living, and I am trying hard to stop this from happening. In today’s verses, Paul tells the Galatians what the positive attributes of a godly character are, and says that this are gifts given to us by the Spirit. He tells us that love is important, since by loving those around us, we will reflect God’s character. Paul lists joy as his second fruit; if we take joy in God’s salvation, then we demonstrate that we are committed to serving him. Peace is next; we can have peace because Jesus has died for us, taking on our sin so that we can be at peace and approach God. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, since we need to be patient and follow God’s plans for our lives, in his time, rather than purely following our own agenda. A futher fruit that flows from the Spirit is kindness, which means being gernous and considerate to all those we encounter. A Christian will demonstate goodness, since we place others before ourselves, and seek to serve them more than ourselves. We should demonstrate faithfulness, namely keeping our word, and honouring our promises and commitments. Jesus himself demonstrated the next fruit very clearly – he was the personification of gentleness. Do we follow his example? Are we kind and supportive to those we know. The final fruit of the Spirit that Paul mentions is self-control. If we are in Christ, the Spirit will help us to resist those temptations that could pull us away from Christ.

Do you demonstrate all of these qualities on a daily basis? Or, like me, do you have days when you are grumpy and miserable? Let’s pray together that the Holy Spirit will help us to demonstrate these qualities, so that we may better serve Christ, and those around us.

The Bread of Life

The Bread of Life

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 6:35

This weekend I visited Debenhams with Claire, my fiancee, to start getting some ideas for our wedding list. One of the things we thought it might be quite nice to ask for was a bread machine. Debenhams had some pretty impressive examples! One had a special tray which you could put seeds of dried fruit into. At a given time during the bread making cycle, it would add the seeds or fruit into the bread. The one that impressed me the most, though, could make lots of different things including doughnuts and – get this – jam! I wondered if it could make bread and jam simultaneously, then slice the bread, and then make a jam sandwich. How brilliant would it be to tip a whole load of ingredients into the machine, and then end up with a round of freshly made jam sandwiches! I’d never go hungry again!

In today’s verse, Jesus declares himself to be the bread of life. Whoever goes to him, he says, will never be hungry or thirsty. Jesus is not some special bread maker, though, who provides bread on demand to his followers. The bread that Jesus refers to is “the bread of life,” the stuff that sustains life itself. It is said that all humans have a “god-shaped hole” in their souls, and that we can never find true peace until we fill that hole with the only thing that will fit it – namely God. Similarly, we can only fill the longing of our souls if we turn to Christ, because he is the only thing that will sustain us in this way. The only source of true spiritual nourishment is Christ. People may look to other religions or new age beliefs. They may try to find true nourishment through money or power, sex or drugs, potions or spells, but there is only one source of true spiritual nourishment. That is Jesus Christ. He knows what it is our souls cry out for, and he can provide it to us. He knows that it is the knowledge of God that we all seek, whether knowingly or not, and he is the only one who can lead us to him. Because of his death on the cross, we can once again approach God in the knowledge that our sin has been paid for.

Do you know Jesus? Do you listen to his words through reading scripture? Do you ask him to support and sustain you? Do you believe in him?