Galatians 6:9  Never Grow Weary of Doing Good

As Christians, we try to live a life that brings glory to God but some days, that is really hard to do. Sometimes it feels like we aren’t getting anywhere with our work or our efforts--- In these moments it can be all too easy sometimes to cave in and quit. We get weary---Where can we find the strength and focus to keep going?  Where does motivation and inspiration come from?

Most of you may know that my background is in Exercise, physical training and particularly in coaching athletes in the sport of Track and Field.  With the Olympics just around the corner, and the US Olympic trials in full swing, it’s a great time of the summer. I love watching the stories, and the performances.  It reminds me of the days when my legs were a lot lighter, and I could run and jump and throw.  It also reminds me of many years of working with students as they trained and developed their own performances.  The ups and downs of training as an athlete are many--

I often used bible verses and spiritual concepts in my coaching and teaching.  One of those favorite passages I remember is Galatians 6. In this chapter, Paul is concluding his letter to the Galatian church. The book of Galatians is largely about justification by faith instead of works of the law, however, towards the end, it veers towards the results of a justification by faith, a life in the Spirit.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6:7-10 ESV

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Psalm 23:6  “Better Than I Deserve”

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I love a phrase Dave Ramsey uses on his radio programs--  He will greet a caller with a kind hello, and almost every time, the caller will say “Hi Dave, How are you?”--  This is actually pretty odd to me, as I actually have called into a radio program to ask a specific question-- Now as a podcast producer and host, I would want the caller to just get to the question, and skip the pleasantries-- Dave almost always says-  “Better than I deserve… what can I do for you?”

Jesus shows time and time again that He can and will provide for those who follow Him. Just as a shepherd provides for the sheep, so does Jesus provide for His followers. No better description of this exists than Psalm 23.  It’s been a wonderful journey these last few weeks.  If you happen to have missed an episode, I highly encourage you go back and listen to the entire set.  It’s been a great honor to produce these teachings, and a great reminder to all of us how much God loves and cares for us.

Scholar’s believe David is an older man when he wrote this Twenty-third Psalm. He had seen tragedies and disappointments, but he also had come to know God - The shepherd who gives to his children more than they deserve. Think about this great summary I found from another pastor:

David knew that God was with him in green pastures, beside him at the still waters, before him at the table, behind him pursing him with goodness and mercy, beyond him preparing a heavenly home, and with him all the while as the good shepherd. David had been given more than he deserved.

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“The Lord is my shepherd…  I shall not want”.

David writes these timeless words--the 23rd Psalm is quite possibly the most familiar passage of scripture-- (second only to John 3:16, or maybe the Lord’s prayer right?).

I sometimes feel like we’ve cluttered up the Christian life. In trying to conceptualize or describe “what” it means to walk with Jesus, we may have mistakenly created this outer-shell, (the do’s and don’ts) of our faith-- and we sometimes need a reminder of the heart of the matter-- the core value of our lives is to know God, to be known by Him, and to have relationship with Him.  That is made possible, by Jesus alone-- and he prepares a table for you. All we need to do is simply sit down-- and stay at the table.

Many thanks to the Dayspring Music Ministry, and Crystal Martin, Heather Curtis, Kent Miller and Jeff Bargerstock for their wonderful recording of "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" at the end of this episode.

Why did the Lord prepare the table in the presence of the enemies?

He seeks to destroy everything the Lord is doing-- and by us staying at the table, focusing on Jesus our Good Shepherd-- the enemy is constantly reminded of his failure and future demise.

This is a key factor in our understanding of WORSHIP!

Jesus, the Good Shepherd provides us with an ABUNDANCE Mindset-- not a scarcity mindset!  We are free to share what we have received.

Matthew 10:5-8   5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

This is a key factor in our understanding of WITNESS!

Be gone, Satan.  You’ve been lying to me, distracting me, undermining my Lord’s work.

James 4:7:  7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

This is a key factor in understanding of WARFARE!

Worship, Witness, and Warfare-- That’s a pretty good summary of three core parts of our lives, right?  But it all starts with sitting down, turning our eyes upon Jesus, and Staying at the Table.

Many thanks to the Dayspring Music Ministry, and Crystal Martin, Heather Curtis, Kent Miller and Jeff Bargerstock for their wonderful recording of "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" at the end of this episode.

Psalm 23:4

Can you remember those toughest times of your life-- when perhaps you knew that this was pretty dark, pretty bad.  I know I can think back to times when I thought it just couldn’t get any worse with a family issue, or stuff at church or work… even within my own heart and mind.  Confusion, darkness, uncertainty-- it’s all stuff we’ve walked through-- and sometimes its a slow go-- but Jesus was there, calling softly in those times-- Come on, I’ve got you.

Some people think that when you become a Christ-follower, all your troubles go away. They naively assume that once you are saved, everything in your life will fall neatly into place. In fact, they think if you have any problems, there must be something faulty with your faith.

But nothing could be farther from the truth. It is not only foolish to think we will never face difficulties in the Christian life, it is downright dangerous. If we think we will never encounter any trials, we will set ourselves up for a great fall and be sadly disappointed.

The reality is, we all need a shepherd—someone to guide us through our many adversities, someone to protect us from encroaching evil, someone to calm our troubled souls. That someone is the LORD Himself.

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Psalm 23:3   He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name sake.

This next verse in one of the most familiar passages in the bible speaks simply about how God provides correction and renewal when we find our souls depleted-- and also how God continues to give us guidance and love to move forward on the right path.

Jesus provides for your physical needs, he provides rest and peace in an anxious world, and thirdly, he provides correction and renewal when you fall. Psalm 23:3: “He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:3a) That word “restore” is a word that speaks of refreshing and renewal.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/a-shepherd-looks-at-psalm-23_w-phillip-keller/246759/item/24723921/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnueFBhChARIsAPu3YkQhfXbQ5SKXKtxg1cjBp0P84WxyaWKPoyV_1L7qVjZvgUSUhzAIFFQaAlqPEALw_wcB#idiq=24723921&edition=8984359

Phillip Keller in his book called “A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23”  he tells how as a shepherd one of the greatest dangers for his sheep was when a sheep became “cast” or “cast down.” This is an old English term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot not get back up again. If the shepherd does not find and restore the sheep, especially on a hot or sunny day, the cast sheep can die within a matter of hours.

We all fall at times – “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” We are cast down in our souls, and oh how we need the shepherd to come and restore us. Please know when you fall down, Jesus doesn’t abandon you. He doesn’t leave you alone. Rather he comes to you to restore you. If you have fallen in sin, he disciplines and corrects you as needed. If you are cast down by sadness in life, he looks to renew you.

Enjoy and share this episode with anyone you know that needs this encouragement today!

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Encourage Everybody is a paper goods & gifts brand that creates unforgettable products that allow you to be creative, have fun and encourage everybody! We believe in the energy and the warmth of the written word to change the world one letter at a time! From a simple sentence to a palace of paragraphs, pick up a card and encourage a loved one!

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“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters.”   Psalm 23:2   Many thanks to Pastor Jeff Bargerstock for his reading of Psalm 23, as part of the Dayspring Music Ministry project.  Jeff pastors at Longenecker Evangelical Anabaptist Fellowship (LEAF) in Dundee, OH.

In this psalm, David explains what God is doing in his life. He writes, "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters" (verse 2). This psalm is written in Hebrew poetry and uses a literary device known as “parallelism”. This is where the two lines or phrases of the verse are containing one idea of thought. It is where the second line builds on the first line. Each of these two lines reveals a key aspect of what God is presently doing in David’s life—and in likewise in ours.

Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback a few of you have given from last week-- if you didn’t catch my previous episode, last week I unpacked just one verse from the wonderful and popular Psalm 23.  Verse 1, read -- "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want".  I encourage you to go back and listen in on that soon- it will set the stage for the next few verses.  Moving on through to the next verse-- we get a window into the provision that Jesus, as our Good Shepherd, gives us-- the feeding, and the leading.

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Encourage Everybody is a paper goods & gifts brand that creates unforgettable products that allow you to be creative, have fun and encourage everybody! We believe in the energy and the warmth of the written word to change the world one letter at a time! From a simple sentence to a palace of paragraphs, pick up a card and encourage a loved one!

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Psalms 23

King David was raised as a shepherd, and is the best person to write these timeless words of comfort and assurance.

Let’s just consider just one verse from this powerful Psalm of David

V 1:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

It is a powerful metaphor used many times in scripture.  The relationship between shepherd and sheep.   A shepherd, as it’s often described in scripture, has a very unique and powerful role-- But there is such a thing as a “sheep-herder” also.  This would be a much different role.  We often think of the shepherd as out in front of the sheep- leading them.  A sheepherder simply cracks the whip or corrals the sheep, driving them from behind.  And notice here that David does NOT state:   The Lord is my sheepherder…  No-- he says SHEPHERD.

Are you discouraged, critical, negative and short tempered?  Are you dis-satisfied with life these days?  I think we all have felt it.  Since march of 2020, we’ve been facing a health pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. This pandemic has wrecked havoc with our lives.  But another, more subtle and hidden virus is raging alongside the Coronavirus.   Many are suffering through a pandemic of discontent.  Frustration, anger, bitterness, anxiety and all host of other negative emotions are wrecking havoc within our families.  The following is a rebroadcast of a sermon I was able to deliver recently, where I discuss Philippians 4, a letter the apostle Paul writes from prison.  There are three distinct keys to learning to be content-- no matter our circumstances.  We must find and concentrate on the positives, we must find a way to give sacrificially to others, and we must remember this secret-- that for those of us who are Christians, Christ lives in our hearts, and HE does give us the strength to do all things. I hope you are encouraged today, on the Encouragers United Podcast!

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God’s Shaping Hand  Jeremiah 18

Think about all the different types of containers in our world today.  All different shapes, sizes, they are made for different purposes, to hold almost anything… we seemingly have containers for everything!

Containers actually are quite useful, right, for preserving things-- separating things, organizing. A container helps us to transport things-- or save them for a later time.   With technology and our modern culture today, we basically take a lot of this activity for granted.  But not so much in the time of the Old Testament.  The primary container of that day was-- pottery.  Pottery was a very valuable commodity because of the advantage it gave it’s owner.  However, back then, and even today,  pottery is often seen as a piece of artwork also.  Each container was hand crafted by someone. A multitude of shapes, sizes, curves and unique colors, designs and markings.  We need to be reminded that we are being shaped by God for a specific and beautiful purpose.  Also, we are being used by God as a shaping force in the lives of others!

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Repentance or Regret

Two men, two betrayals, two dramatic scenes from the last days of Jesus’ life here on earth--  These two men are very similar in many ways, they had walked with Jesus, talked and listened, learned from him, they were key partners in his ministry and his closest friends- and the results of their actions during these critical last hours of Thursday and Friday of the Holy week were tragic in so many ways.  But the story doesn’t end with the disastrous decisions and actions that these men made… in fact the story actually becomes even worse for one of these men-- but ends in a glorious restoration for the other.

Judas and Peter were two of Jesus’ closest friends, two partners that traveled with Jesus with ten other men from various backgrounds, for three spectacular years.

Three major differences between the two stories:

-Peter rejoined his peers and fellowship was part of his healing.  Judas attempted to reconcile himself with the law, and was left alone and hopeless.

-Peter was willing to rush toward Jesus when he saw him.  Judas retreated and ended his own life in loneliness and despair.

-Peter probably came to a great understanding of Jesus' true mission, which was to seek and save the lost!

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Encourage Everybody is a paper goods & gifts brand that creates unforgettable products that allow you to be creative, have fun and encourage everybody! We believe in the energy and the warmth of the written word to change the world one letter at a time! From a simple sentence to a palace of paragraphs, pick up a card and encourage a loved one!

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You Are a Masterpiece

Intro story can be found here:

https://nypost.com/2021/04/02/couple-accidentally-paints-over-500000-work-of-art/

Today, friend, I would like to talk to you about a very important person.  A person that is unique and skillful, gifted and talented-- a person who is so special, that there isn’t anyone else in the entire universe just like them---They have the potential to change the world-- in small ways-- or even in big ways…  They are truly a masterpiece of a creation.  You know who that person is--  It’s you.      I’m here today to remind you (I think we often need to be reminded) that you are unique and extraordinarily valuable!  You are indeed this priceless piece of artwork.

Another great project that I’m working on:

Verse a Day podcast-- a daily scripture reading, brief devotional thought, and prayer-- its a free audio compliment to the verseoftheday.com website.  I’m working with another pastor named Phil Ware and his team to produce his writing in a daily dose of inspiration.  Please check it out and join me for this small, but powerful  reflection.

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