Hello church family. Tomorrow morning we will be finishing up our look at the most famous Psalm in the world. As I was preparing, I was challenged by one paragraph in particular that I was reading. It is from a book is titled The Lord is My Shepherd and is written by Pastor Robert Morgan. I felt it was too good to keep to myself. 

“Dr. Robert McQuilkin, from whose little booklet on the 23rd Psalm I've taken the quotes for the chapter headings, once observed that the difference between victory and defeat is the position of the word but. We tend to say, "the Lord is my shepherd, but…"
I can't pay my bills.
I don't feel well.
I'm worried about this problem.
We should say, "I'm presently having trouble paying my bills, but the Lord is my shepherd. I may not feel well, but the Lord is my shepherd. His goodness follows me all the days of my life."
"The testimony of victory puts the but into the right place," wrote McQuilkin.”

Oh how many times I’ve lived my life speaking words of defeat. May God give each of us strength to live in the testimony of victory and help us put our minds in the right place. In this world we will have troubles, but praise God Almighty, our Good Shepherd has overcome the world!

​Ivan

Are you going through a tough time in life? As I was preparing for this Sunday and thinking about you and the others in our church family, I was hit by how many people are struggling and going through times that are very tough. It feels like a wilderness and I know because I am there too. It’s in times like these that it is hard to know how God will “work all things for our good.”
 
I was fully ready to talk about Psalm 23:6a, which speaks of the goodness and mercy of God following us everyday of our lives, but I truly believe that we need to hear something else. We need to hear how God wants to use these desert experiences in our lives to prove that He is with us. Bible teacher Ray Vanderlaan says that “As scary and difficult as these deserts may be, they provide the opportunity for us to learn to follow His voice and discover that we can trust and depend on Him completely.” We learn that God is faithful to provide “just enough” for each day.

​Ivan