In concluding our series “The Word of God,” I want to share from W. Phillip Keller’s “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.” He starts with “Practical Tips” followed by his “Key Quotes” …
Practical Tips:
1. Embrace God’s Sovereign Care: Regularly reflect on God’s role as your Shepherd by meditating on His creation. This practice deepens trust in His care and reminds you of your value as ‘the cherished object of divine diligence.’
2. Develop a Habit of Daily Surrender: Actively allow God to direct your life by praying daily for His guidance and submitting your plans to His will. This habit aligns your actions with God’s principles and takes comfort in His constant presence.
3. Start Your Day Feeding on God’s Word: Carve out quiet time each morning to read Scripture, pray, and meditate on God’s truth. This spiritual discipline helps you begin the day refreshed and prepared to navigate life’s complexities.
4. Let Scripture Be Your Guide and Guardrail: Immerse yourself in God’s Word daily, letting it act as the Good Shepherd’s rod in your life. Use it for comfort and as a tool of correction, examining your heart for hidden issues and realigning your path in righteousness.
Key Quotes:
· He is the owner who delights in His flock. For Him, there is no greater reward… than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe, and flourishing under His care.
· Instead of trusting God’s care, we are often like fence-crawlers—always restless, discontent, and in search of something else, even if it is inferior to what the Shepherd provides.
· They have tried drinking deeply from the wells of the world only to turn away unsatisfied, unquenched in their soul’s thirst.
· Your staff comforts me! Your Spirit, O Christ, is my consolation!
· Just as with the sheep, there must be continuous and renewed application of oil to forestall the ‘flies’ in my life.
· Christ comes quietly as of old and invites us to come to Him… For He it is who best knows how we can be satisfied.
· The stubborn, self-willed, proud, self-sufficient sheep that persists in pursuing its old paths and grazing on its old polluted ground will end up a bag of bones on ruined land.
· It is no mere whim on God’s part to call us sheep. Our behavior patterns and life habits are so much like those of sheep, it is well-nigh embarrassing.
· The person who decides to do what God asks him has moved onto fresh ground, which will do both him and others a world of good.
· It is the Word of God that comes swiftly to our hearts, that comes with surprising suddenness to correct and reprove us when we go astray.
· It was always the distant sheep, the roamers, the wanderers that were picked off by the predators in an unsuspecting moment.
Blessings, Pastor Leonard
(Note: This was prepared before Pastor Leonard’s hospitalization.)
