Annotated 23rd Psalm for the workplace

Annotated 23rd Psalm for the workplace

The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want.

Boss – Person in charge; Want – needs, got to have

He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.

Peace – no worries about the past, present, or future.

He gently reminds me to pray and do all things without murmuring and complaining.

1 Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

He reminds me that he is my source and not my job.

Hebrews 5:9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation

He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions that I might honor him in all that I do.

Guide - One who, or that which, directs another in his conduct or course of life

Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mails, system crashes, unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors and an aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning, I still will not stop, for He is with me!

Psalm 118:6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through.

He is with us always!

He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me.

Psalm 145:14 The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

He claims me as His own, even when the company threatens to let me go.

We are His

His Faithfulness and love is better than any bonus check.

Psalm 119:90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.

His retirement plan beats every 401k there is!

Rev 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

When it's all said and done, I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer and for that, I bless His name.

Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

בְּרָכָה

ed

Rules of a Godly Life

Rules of a Godly Life

The Amish have a devotional called Rules of a Godly life. It contains  rules for living the Christian life. I would like to focus on one.
Concerning your thoughts: In the morning, awake with God and consider that this might be your final day. When you go to be at night, you do not know if you will ever rise again, except to appear before the Judgement. For this reason, it is all the more expedient for you to pray every day, falling upon your knees both mornings and evenings, confessing your sins to God and asking His forgiveness, and thanking Him for blessing received. (from The Amish Way, Kraybill, Nolt, and Weaver-Zercher)
This echos what Jesus said in Luke 12:16-20
16And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17“And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18“Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
You never know when you will draw your last breath; so live each day as if it were your last and live for God!


בְּרָכָה
ed

"I've got your back"

From our small group last night:

Jesus holds the door open to the unknown and motions you to go first, saying "Go ahead. I've got your back."


בְּרָכָה
ed 

troubles

My spirit is troubled. I feel distant from God. Something does not feel right. I am reading Reading the Bible for life by George Guthrie and chapter one recommends reading Psalm 25 in three different translations and to circle the two greatest needs in my life currently. So here goes...

verse 5 NIV:   Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
   and my hope is in you all day long. 

My faith needs to be in God. He is the only constant in this life. He will never leave me or disappoint me.

verse 17 and 18 ESV: 17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;bring me out of my distresses.18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. 

Not sure what is going on in my heart currently but I am standing by God's word to help me in this time of trouble.

בְּרָכָה

ed

 

 

The inverted life

Recently one of the pastors talked about what he called the inverted life, based on Phillipians 2:5-11. This where we as Christians go against the prevailing message of the world - significance is gained through power and prestige - and follow Jesus' lead into living a life of insignificance. He washed the disciples feet, which is something only a servant would do. He also told the disciples to be servants in Luke 22.
We need to strive toward insignificance by being humble and being a servant. Significance is measured by obtaining goals for others.

בְּרָכָה

ed

Chaos

Ever feel that life is chaotic. One big void; Out of control; not sure what is coming next; what surprises tomorrow will bring.

Chaos is defined as: a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order; any confused, disorderly mass. The meaning "utter confusion" (c.1600) is extended from theological use of chaos  for "the void at the beginning of creation" in Vulgate version of Genesis. {http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chaos}

There will be chaos in our lives if we follow Jesus. He did not promise riches, wealth, and happiness. He told the disciples they would suffer for following Him. He is more interested in our character than our comfort.

Mark 8:34-37 states:

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

As Wesley says,

Let him deny himself - His own will, in all things small and great, however pleasing, and that continually: And take up his cross - Embrace the will of God, however painful, daily, hourly, continually. Thus only can he follow me in holiness to glory.

Give up a little today for a lot eternally. 

בְּרָכָה

ed

Closer to God

James 4:8a Come near to God and he will come near to you. 

Here are some points I found on the internet, (don't remember where, sorry) along with some comments.

Prayer – help you listen to God and petition God with your praise, requests and problems. 

Prayer was God’s idea. He created it for people weakened by sin, fickle in their commitments, who are at times overwhelmed by doubt, discouraged, and nearly always fretting about life. (Dunn)

What defines prayer? John 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

Psalm 102:7 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.

1 Thess 5:17 pray without ceasing; (NASB)

Jesus’ secret weapon: John 5:19 "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.  Jesus was dependent on the father

J.C. Ryle  (1816-1900), a minister in the Anglican Church (Church of England), had this to say about prayer:

"I have looked carefully over the lives of God's saints in the Bible.  I cannot find one of whose history much is told us, from Genesis to Revelation, who was not a man of prayer.  I find it mentioned as a characteristic of the godly, that "they call on the Father," that "they call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."  I find it recorded as a characteristic of the wicked, that "they do not call upon the Lord." (1 Peter 1:17; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Psalm 14:4).

"I have read the lives of many great Christians who have been on earth since the Bible days.  Some of them, I see, were rich, and some poor.  Some were educated, and some uneducated.  They came from various denominations and some were Independents.  Some loved a very structured worship service, and some liked it rather informal.  But one thing, I see, they all had in common.  The have all been "men of prayer.

"But one striking thing I observe at all the missionary stations--the converted people "always pray."

Praise Him every morning, noon, and night – to help you to start your day by saying hi to God

 Psalm 5:3 in the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

You will have this promise to think about daily, knowing that God has heard your requests for this day.

Psalm 22:3 says, "God inhabits the praises of His people."

Psalm 95:6 says, "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.

Bible read daily – Learn about what God wants you to do and go

Joshua 1:8   Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Attend Church – help you to stay close to God

We are to share our experiences (Proverbs 27:17), our homes (1 Peter 4:9), and our problems (Galatians 6:2) with one another. Our faith moves us to action, to love and serve one another in words and in deeds (John 15:12-17, 1 Corinthians 12,13). Church is where faith is nurtured, sustained, and will be a basis for us sharing our faith with others outside the church.

God intends for you to be on the team—to be a member of his family. Each member belongs to all the others. The New Testament model is that all believers met together constantly, sharing everything with each other, learning from one another, and giving aid spiritually and in other ways as well. The local church is a devoted loving family with each member having a role to play.  http://www.faithfacts.org/search-for-truth/questions-of-christians/not-into-organized-religion

Acts 2:24 they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Romans 8:13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

International Standard Version (©2008)
Romans 8:6 To focus our minds on the human nature leads to death, but to focus our minds on the Spirit leads to life and peace.

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

KP Yohannan – The church, a group of believers, is God’s ordained place for discipleship.

Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and are equipped by the Holy Spirit, who resides in our hearts, to overcome the pressures and trials of this present life and become more and more Christlike.

God’s plan A is for the redemption of the world. There is no plan B.  Disciple - one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.

1 Timothy 3:14-15 (New International Version)

 ¹⁴Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, ¹⁵if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Separate yourself from the things of this world - It will help you to focus on God.

Romans 8:6-9 the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

 K.P. Yohannan bottom line – God is calling us to alter our lifestyles, to give up the non-essentials of our lives so we can better invest our wealth in the kingdom of God. 

1 Corinthians 10:31 (New International Version)

 ³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Summary Verse

Romans12:1,2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

בְּרָכָה

ed