Luke 11:34 Live Wide-Eyed
“Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with life” (MSG).
Jesus spoke these words just after He had told the crowd that they had one wiser that Solomon in their presence, and they didn’t recognize it, or rather didn’t recognize Him. What a joyful picture this is—our whole body will be filled with life. His next sentence shows the opposite effect for those who live in greed and distrust: “If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a musty cellar.” Of course, the better choice is obvious. I want to live wide-eyed in wonder. They had the opportunity to be wide-eyed in wonder because the Messiah, the one sent from God, was in their midst and speaking to them daily, but they didn’t recognize Him. It’s easy for me to wonder how they could have missed Him, the very Son of God! But before I get too critical, I need to remember the times in my life when I was either too ignorant, or to willful, to recognize Him in my life—the times I ignored Him or said not now or no.
I know that my Lord speaks to me today, and I want to hear Him. To do that, I must be listening, to be on alert for the slightest nudging from the Holy Spirit—listening for my Lord. If I pay attention to Him every time He talks to me, I’m sure I will indeed by wide-eyed in wonder, strong in belief, and my whole being will be filled with life! Now that’s a goal worth pursuing. (Lord, I commit to listening for your voice every day, and I commit to believing that I will hear your voice every day.) I intend to live wide-eyed in wonder at His glory. Won’t you join me? Let’s see just how joyous and full of life we can become. When we do, we will make a great difference in our world.
Psalm 23:6 At Home with Him
“Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life” (MSG).
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (NKJV).
Every day, every day, every day God’s love and mercy are with me. I can’t get away from them. What a comfort that is. No matter how often I fail and how much I disappoint Him, He still loves me and shows me His mercy. It strengthens my heart to know that once I have chosen Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior, I am His forever. For the next 187,273,246 days (and more) I will have a personal relationship with my Lord.
Actually, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Not only will I live, but I will live in the beauty of His love, able to talk with Him every day for an unlimited number of centuries. Jesus said in John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (NKJV) I will get to live in a place prepared for me by the one who created the entire universe, and I will be able to talk with Him daily. I am eager to see that place and walk and talk with Him anytime I desire.
David spoke both to and for all of us when he wrote these memorable words. Whenever I have doubts, I can come to this precious Psalm and get my soul renewed. Thank you, David, for writing, and thank You, Lord, for inspiring these faith-affirming words.
Psalm 23:4.5 Safety and a Banquet
“Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping heart; my cup brims with blessings” (MSG).
“Yea, 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (NKJV).
I may have to walk through the “valley of the shadow of death,” but I will be fine because my Savior walks beside me. That’s right, the creator of the universe, the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent One, walks beside me. I like to think that He holds my hand as we walk, and those who look on with evil intent in their minds recognize Him and decide to walk away. They have faced Him before and lost. They see His rod and His staff in His hands, and they have no desire to be beaten by those two formidable weapons again. I know that I, by myself, could be overwhelmed by these evil ones, but I also know that I am never alone. He walks beside me. After all, He is omnipresent. When He walks with me, even the shadows of death fade.
Not only does He walk beside me, but He provides a banquet, both spiritual and physical, for my enjoyment and revelation. Every physical and spiritual need I have is satisfied to the full. The love of God flows down over my head, and when I drink from His cup, it never gets empty. Some folks speak of the nectar of the gods, but this is the very nectar of God—the presence of the Holy Spirit. He serves me His love and the blessing of the Holy Spirit, and He expects me to share them with anyone and everyone. And when I do share them, not only is my cup refilled, it is refilled to overflowing.
What a fantastic blessing I have, one that is renewed every morning.
Psalm 23:1-3 Green Pastures, Still Waters
“God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction” (MSG).
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (NKJV).
We are all familiar with Psalm 23, so much so that we sometimes take its words for granted. Let’s focus a little deeper. I am a sheep who has the Lord of all creation as my shepherd. If I can’t feel safe and safely led, then who in this universe can? The omniscient One, the omnipotent One, the omnipresent One is always watching over me. He knows more than anyone, He is stronger than anyone, and He is always there wherever I am.
He has placed me in a place with plenty of food—spiritual and physical. He doesn’t just sustain me, He provides more than enough so that I can grow into all that He has planned for me. He pours living water from the Holy Spirit into my soul, and He does it by providing a deep calm—a quiet place where I can learn to taste the wonders of His living water.
Each time that He has asked something of me, He provides opportunity for me to rest afterwards and regain my strength. During this time, I get the chance to feel satisfaction in the work I have just completed. Then, during this time of restoration, I can detect His teaching me and stretching me in preparation for my next assignment.
And when I am ready, he leads me out in the right direction for my next assignment. It’s important for me that He leads me out. He shows me the way to proceed, and once He’s done that, He sends me out, allowing me to do His work in whatever way I choose. He is always available for consultation or direction—even when I’m not doing it His way. He knows the best way for me to accomplish what He asks, but He has given me free will to make the choices. Sometimes I have to go through detours to get to the end of my task. But, thankfully, He is patient with me and forgiving of my errors, able to correct them.
Ephesians 2:10 Prepared by God
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (NKJV).
God has given us gifts, spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues. According to Romans 12:6-8, the Holy Spirit gives us gifts of prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, and showing mercy. These are all great gifts, important gifts, but I am not speaking of these gifts. I am speaking of the more ordinary gifts, like the ability to scrub floors, ability to dig a ditch, ability to build a cabinet, ability to change a flat tire, ability to cook meals, and ability to type accurately. These are ordinary gifts or abilities, and there is a myriad of other gifts of this kind that are necessary for the Church to accomplish its tasks on a daily basis. Without these gifts, nothing gets done.
You may have been given several or many of these gifts at one time or another. These can be compared to the “talents” given in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. We are to take whatever gift or talent that God has given us and use it. This is what God expects. If we use it with His guidance, we will be successful and will receive a reward at the “right time.” If we bury it—refuse to use it—we will be reprimanded, and there will be no reward. There is no standing still in the Kingdom of God. We are to use these unique gifts, as unimportant as they may seem, to forward His kingdom. God doesn’t make junk, and God doesn’t give useless gifts, so make use of whatever God gives you. If your reward is not immediate, you can expect it in the future, either here or in heaven.
