Many of us have memorized the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…..” and we probably know it in the language of the King James (KJV), or Revised Standard (RSV) versions of the Bible.

In the RSV, verse 3 says, “He leads me in paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake.” Which is not completely clear in our modern language, however, reading this verse in the New Living Translation (NLT) says, “He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” This helps me understand a little more clearly.

If we follow Jesus, our shepherd, he will show us the right paths. We do not need to stress and worry about what to do. We trust Him and move forward, and He will lead us.

Dear Lord, many of us have concerns about decisions and questions in life. Help us remember that if we look to you for guidance, you will put us on the right path, and bring honor to You. In Jesus’ name we pray.

I think we are all familiar with the account of Jesus feeding the 5000 with five barley loaves and two fish, recorded in each of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In addition to the fact that Jesus performed this miracle, I think there is a message in how He went about it.

John 6:11, says, “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.”

I think one lesson, for us, is found in Jesus’ actions. He didn’t explain how He was going to feed all these people, He just thanked God for the things he had to work with, and then got started with belief for success.

So often we have trouble believing in God’s power to make things happen, because we cannot explain how it can be done. What we need to do is, accept that we don’t know how God will resolve things, just thank him for the resources we have, and move forward in belief that God will provide a solution.

I like the quote from Arthur Ashe, the Tennis Pro in the 1970’s, who said, “Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can.” I would add, “believe in God’s power.”

Dear Lord, You can do anything, we just need to believe, be thankful and move forward. Help us really trust your power to answer our prayers, especially when we don’t know how it can be done. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Three of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke write about Jesus telling us that we must have faith like a child.

In Matthew 18:4-6 Jesus says, “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

In Matthew’s account there is one interesting addition. In verse 10 Jesus says, “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.”

“Their angels” it says. As one of the Bible verses supporting the belief that people have guardian angels, this verse gives an awesome and comforting vision that there are angels standing in God’s presence responsible for helping individual believers.

Dear Lord, Thank you for the assurance provided in this passage that you care for us, and assign your angels to look out for us. Help this give us strength, confidence, and comfort in our lives each day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Recently we were able to watch as a spacecraft launched from earth landed on Mars and will be exploring the planet in coming months. I am sure it will send back amazing information about the planet and our solar system. I am amazed at the photos and discoveries that have been made by the Hubble space telescope launched in 1990. The magnitude and beauty the photos of the universe are awesome. More recently, scientists have been making amazing discoveries from other satellites sent deeper into our solar system taking years to reach Jupiter, Venus, and even landing on asteroids, and revealing more mysteries.

These discoveries are beautiful evidence of God’s creation and majesty. However, for centuries, people who do not believe God exists, have been trying to distract people into believing that these discoveries support theories (actually hypothesis) of some origin of the universe other than God. We must take care not to be lured into this false belief.

Psalm 19 beautifully describes, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship. Day and night they keep telling about God. Without a sound or word, silent in the skies, their message reaches out to all the world.” TLB

Thank you Lord for the beauty of your amazing creation, help us appreciate it and accept it as a gift that reinforces our belief in You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is an expression I have heard from some veteran public figures, which is, “Don’t read your own press clippings.” The reason is that they don’t give you an accurate picture. You are not as bad as your critics say, and you are not as good as your fans may say.

It is interesting that thousands of years ago Solomon wrote in Proverbs 27:21, “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.”

It is arguably more difficult to maintain one’s priorities and character when everything is going great and people think you are amazing, than it is when things are going terribly. When people praise us, it is easy to let it build up our egos, and make us begin to feel superior to others. Before this happens, we should think about where our ability to succeed originates. God gave us the talents and opportunities to allow our success. We should direct the glory toward him.

I have noticed this frequently with some Christian athletes, who make an obvious gesture to point toward the sky after a great play, giving God the credit and thanks for their successful performance.

There is a Latin phrase that I like to keep in mind when I do something “praiseworthy.” Soli Deo Gloria, which means to God Alone the Glory.

Dear Lord, You gave us the ability to achieve. Help us pass the test of being praised, and remember we are not better than others, we are blessed by you. In Jesus name. Amen.