I was reading the story of Joseph this morning during my quiet time, and something jumped out at me. It's when Joseph is revealing his true identity to his brothers and forgiving them. His reasoning is captured in Genesis 45:7-8.
But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
When the brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites, they thought they were getting rid of Joseph once and for all. Their act was selfish and evil. However, they had no idea that God's sovereignty was at work. They had no idea that, years later, they would be begging at Joseph's feet in Egypt. They had no idea that their actions on that fateful day would turn out to be glorifying to God.
When Jesus entered into Jerusalem the last week of his life, the disciples shouted, "Glory in the highest!" The Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke his followers. Jesus' response was simple and to the point:
"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19:40)
Everything that has been created by God, including every single person alive - Christian or not - will bring glory to God either as an object of mercy or an object of wrath.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Self-Centeredness
Self-centeredness isn't resolved with more self-centeredness, but with other-centeredness.
Do you know anyone who realized his selfishness and then spent more time focusing on himself to resolve the problem? It seems like a natural reaction, but it also is contrary to the point of the problem!
The easiest way to get our focus off of ourselves is to get it on someone else. Instead of being self-centered, try being other-centered. I bet there are people you know who could use some help or encouragement from you today.
Do you know anyone who realized his selfishness and then spent more time focusing on himself to resolve the problem? It seems like a natural reaction, but it also is contrary to the point of the problem!
The easiest way to get our focus off of ourselves is to get it on someone else. Instead of being self-centered, try being other-centered. I bet there are people you know who could use some help or encouragement from you today.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Journey
Many of us have our "five-year plans." Some of us have our "next-week plans." Most of us smply want to reach our goals as quickly as we can. You know - the shortest distance between two points and all that...
I think that we're overlooking the journey for the destination, though. It's easy to get so focused on the endpoint that we miss what God wants to do during the process of getting there. It's during the journey that God will shape us, mold us and teach us valuable lessons about who He is and about what He wants for our lives. In almost every situation I can think of, the journey is more important than the destination!
I think that we're overlooking the journey for the destination, though. It's easy to get so focused on the endpoint that we miss what God wants to do during the process of getting there. It's during the journey that God will shape us, mold us and teach us valuable lessons about who He is and about what He wants for our lives. In almost every situation I can think of, the journey is more important than the destination!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
God-Lenses
Since my people are crushed, I am crushed. Jeremiah 8:21 NIV
I have a habit of people-watching. It's honestly one of my favorite pasttimes! Going to a mall can be quite entertaining on a busy Saturday afternoon. Lots of people - each with his or her own story.
It's easy to look around and pass judgment on each person as he walks by me. But what if I was to look at that person with God-lenses? In other words, look at that person as God looks at him. Of course, it's impossible to see into the heart as God does, but body language and facial expressions can sure give away a lot of information about what kind of day the person is having!
With people-watching comes a natural kind of self-righteous judgment:
"She sure doesn't look or sound like a Christian to me."
"Look at the clothes he's wearing!"
"Did you see how she reacted to her child?"
How does God react when He looks at these people? Empathizing with how God feels when He looks at His children is an important part of our lives. Reacting not with self-righteous judgment, but instead with heart-wrenching sadness when we see someone who obviously is in rebellion to the Lord. The people we watch are God's creation just like we are. He loves them just as much as He loves us. God doesn't have favorites!
So then shouldn't we have empathy? Shouldn't we look at people with God-lenses, celebrate with joy when we see Christians reflecting and glorifying Christ and mourn like the prophet Jeremiah: "Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people." (Jeremiah 9:1 NIV)
I have a habit of people-watching. It's honestly one of my favorite pasttimes! Going to a mall can be quite entertaining on a busy Saturday afternoon. Lots of people - each with his or her own story.
It's easy to look around and pass judgment on each person as he walks by me. But what if I was to look at that person with God-lenses? In other words, look at that person as God looks at him. Of course, it's impossible to see into the heart as God does, but body language and facial expressions can sure give away a lot of information about what kind of day the person is having!
With people-watching comes a natural kind of self-righteous judgment:
"She sure doesn't look or sound like a Christian to me."
"Look at the clothes he's wearing!"
"Did you see how she reacted to her child?"
How does God react when He looks at these people? Empathizing with how God feels when He looks at His children is an important part of our lives. Reacting not with self-righteous judgment, but instead with heart-wrenching sadness when we see someone who obviously is in rebellion to the Lord. The people we watch are God's creation just like we are. He loves them just as much as He loves us. God doesn't have favorites!
So then shouldn't we have empathy? Shouldn't we look at people with God-lenses, celebrate with joy when we see Christians reflecting and glorifying Christ and mourn like the prophet Jeremiah: "Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people." (Jeremiah 9:1 NIV)
Monday, August 3, 2009
Defining Reality
I'm currently going through John Maxwell's Leadership Gold curriculum. One of the lessons contained in this package states that a leader's first responsibility is to define reality. That's so important!
This concept is not just for leadership, but for all of us. When we produce goals and have a vision for our future, we are, in essence, creating an end point for ourselves or our objective. We're told that the quickest way from one point to another is a straight line. So, wouldn't it make sense to try and get from our starting point to our end point in a straight line? That means we must know what/where our starting point is. Defining our starting point is defining our reality!
I'm currently teaching a series at City on a Hill Church called "Climate Control". It's a 3-part series. The first message is called "Being a Thermometer". The last two messages are called "Being a Thermostat". You see, we first have to define reality before we have any chance of impacting the environment around us. In the context of this series, we must first identify the spiritual climate of our own lives and the environment around us before we can begin to influence the spiritual climate. We need to know what it is before we can change it!
Whether in relation to work, family or spiritual things, take some time and define reality. It will help you understand where you are and where you need to go!
This concept is not just for leadership, but for all of us. When we produce goals and have a vision for our future, we are, in essence, creating an end point for ourselves or our objective. We're told that the quickest way from one point to another is a straight line. So, wouldn't it make sense to try and get from our starting point to our end point in a straight line? That means we must know what/where our starting point is. Defining our starting point is defining our reality!
I'm currently teaching a series at City on a Hill Church called "Climate Control". It's a 3-part series. The first message is called "Being a Thermometer". The last two messages are called "Being a Thermostat". You see, we first have to define reality before we have any chance of impacting the environment around us. In the context of this series, we must first identify the spiritual climate of our own lives and the environment around us before we can begin to influence the spiritual climate. We need to know what it is before we can change it!
Whether in relation to work, family or spiritual things, take some time and define reality. It will help you understand where you are and where you need to go!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Organism and Organization
I read an interesting article this morning about the Church. We've seen and heard a lot in recent years about how people are more interested in Jesus and less interested in the Church. This article brings us all back to the point that Christianity is not what Jesus intended without the Church.The author interviewed Ted Kluck, a lay member of the University Reformed Church in East Lansing, MI and Ted's pastor. One might surmise that this opinion is held by more traditional churches. "The more contemporary emergent and non-denominational churches don't hold that belief," one may say.
I would disagree.
I think more and more Christian leaders (contemporary and traditional) are pointing out the essential role that the Church plays in our relationship with Christ. One simply can't be in stride with Jesus Christ and not with the Church. The two are intimately intertwined.
"Organized religion has too many problems!"
"The Church is full of hypocrisy!"
"There's too much judgment inside the Church!"
"It's so hard finding the right church."
Yes, I would agree with all of those statements. They still don't excuse us from participating in the Body of Christ, ministering to a local group of believers using the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us.
The author of the article describes the Church as an organism and an organization. It's living, changing and growing. We, as believers, help the Church maintain its fluidity. It also has a foundation and structure to it which is the Word of God.
Giving up the Church because it's not perfect is hypocritical in itself. No one's perfect - including you and me! So, why would anyone expect the Church to be perfect? It's never going to be, but God's Word still calls us to be connected with one another in a local church - and by connection, I don't mean just at Christmas and Easter. It essentially all boils down to a matter of obedience. Are we going to do what God wants us to do or are we going to walk in rebellion and still expect God's blessings?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Shipwrecked
I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT
Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 NLT
Paul's instructions in these passages remind us of the importance of discipline in our lives as Christians. So many of us can talk Christianese and share the marvels of God's Truth but aren't really living it day-in and day-out as God desires.
To the church at Corinth, Paul instructs them that training is important to avoid disqualification. Avoiding the "once-saved-always-saved" argument, I believe there is a disqualification that we can experience on earth as Christians. When we're not walking the walk, we become hypocrites. We lose our effectiveness in leading others. We get disqualified.
That's only the first step. Paul goes on to tell Timothy that there's a more dangerous second step that doesn't just affect those around us, but, more importantly, affects our own relationship with God. When we take that step off the deep end and violate our conscience, we shipwreck our faith.
In other words, if I become lazy about having my devotional time with God while promoting the importance of it to others, I'm disqualifying myself from being genuine and authentic in my walk. I've become a hypocrite. And if I walk away from having that time altogether, I'm making a statement whether I realize it or not: I don't need God's power in my life on a daily basis because I can do it all by myself. At that point, you have traveled into the treacherous waters. You will make a decision that is devastating to either yourself or others around you. You will encounter a moral failure. You will experience a shipwreck.
Discipline. Clinging to your faith as if it's a life raft in a dangerous whirlpool. These are the things that we, as Christians, can't forget in the midst of our busyness.
Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 NLT
Paul's instructions in these passages remind us of the importance of discipline in our lives as Christians. So many of us can talk Christianese and share the marvels of God's Truth but aren't really living it day-in and day-out as God desires.
To the church at Corinth, Paul instructs them that training is important to avoid disqualification. Avoiding the "once-saved-always-saved" argument, I believe there is a disqualification that we can experience on earth as Christians. When we're not walking the walk, we become hypocrites. We lose our effectiveness in leading others. We get disqualified.
That's only the first step. Paul goes on to tell Timothy that there's a more dangerous second step that doesn't just affect those around us, but, more importantly, affects our own relationship with God. When we take that step off the deep end and violate our conscience, we shipwreck our faith.
In other words, if I become lazy about having my devotional time with God while promoting the importance of it to others, I'm disqualifying myself from being genuine and authentic in my walk. I've become a hypocrite. And if I walk away from having that time altogether, I'm making a statement whether I realize it or not: I don't need God's power in my life on a daily basis because I can do it all by myself. At that point, you have traveled into the treacherous waters. You will make a decision that is devastating to either yourself or others around you. You will encounter a moral failure. You will experience a shipwreck.
Discipline. Clinging to your faith as if it's a life raft in a dangerous whirlpool. These are the things that we, as Christians, can't forget in the midst of our busyness.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
What If...
What if the Lord had not been on our side?
Psalm 124:1a NLT
What if...?
Have you ever asked yourself this question? I've found myself in a few predicaments when I've uttered these words.
Maybe we dismiss too much to coincidence. Maybe we find our help in too many places other than God. Do we assign blame to God and gratefulness to someone/something else too quickly?
When was the last time your prayers were nothing but praise for the calamity that God has prevented in your life? "I've experienced all kind of bad stuff, though!" Maybe that's true. But have you ever realized it could have been a lot worse? Regardless of what you've gone through in this life, someone has experienced much greater pain, sorrow, loss or hardship.
Let's remember that, ultimately, our greatest help doesn't come from friends, family, titles, money or material things. It comes from the Lord God Almighty.
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 124:8 NLT
Psalm 124:1a NLT
What if...?
Have you ever asked yourself this question? I've found myself in a few predicaments when I've uttered these words.
Maybe we dismiss too much to coincidence. Maybe we find our help in too many places other than God. Do we assign blame to God and gratefulness to someone/something else too quickly?
When was the last time your prayers were nothing but praise for the calamity that God has prevented in your life? "I've experienced all kind of bad stuff, though!" Maybe that's true. But have you ever realized it could have been a lot worse? Regardless of what you've gone through in this life, someone has experienced much greater pain, sorrow, loss or hardship.
Let's remember that, ultimately, our greatest help doesn't come from friends, family, titles, money or material things. It comes from the Lord God Almighty.
Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 124:8 NLT
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Twitterized
For over a year now, I've been hearing about Twitter. Frankly, I could not imagine thinking that there are people who really need to know exactly what I'm doing or thinking that much! I thought the concept was promoting self-absorption and over-inflating our egos.After many of my ministry colleagues and "pastoral/leadership heroes" had joined the Twitter ranks, I finally succumbed to the peer pressure. And guess what? I actually like it. It's not that I think I need to tweet every few minutes to let people know what I'm doing or thinking. I actually love "following" my colleagues and heroes to read what God is speaking to them about and doing in their lives. Their tweets inspire and motivate me in my own relationship with Christ and leadership of City on a Hill Church.
So, the question remains... Have you been Twitterized?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Foreclosure Support Group
Our friends at Hope Community Church here in Culpeper have created a support group for those who are (or have) (or perhaps will be) experiencing foreclosure. It's called Beauty for Ashes. Ray and Gay Hopkins lead this group that meets every third Tuesday evening from 7 to 9pm at 121 East Culpeper Street. You can contact them at Beauty4Ashes@hopecwc.org or 540 825-4607 ext. 7.I love promoting other Christian groups who are serving and helping the community in relevant ways. Way to go Hopkins and Hope Community Church!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Worship Culpeper
Come on out tonight and join Culpeper in a live, outdoor worship concert featuring three different worship teams.The event begins at 7pm and ends at 9pm. Bring some water to keep you refreshed on a warm Summer's eve, and don't forget your BUG SPRAY!!! If you'd like, feel free to bring some lawn chairs or blankets as well.
The event is hosted at City on a Hill Church, 405 Sperryville Pike in Culpeper. We share the blue AT&T Wireless building next to Yowell Meadow Park.
Let's praise God together under the evening sky and lift His name to the heavens!!!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Stone Monuments
This week in our Life Groups, we're discussing the portion of Scripture in Joshua 3-4 where God brings the Israelites into the promised land. When the cross the Jordan River, they are instructed to build a stone monument to memorialize the miraculous crossing of the water.What stone monuments do you have today to memorialize who God is in your life? When we're used by God in other people's lives, we're stacking eternal stones that have eternal impact on that person(s). The lasting impressions can be memorials to commemorate the power of God in our lives.
What stone monuments do you have to remind you of what God has done in your life? Do you take the time to regularly remember what God has done for you? What stones are you stacking in your life for your children and grandchildren to see?
I'm asking each person in our Life Group to take a polished river stone that I'm providing to them and use a sharpie pen to write one or two words that remind them of what God has done in a special circumstance in their life - a moment, a season or situation when we experienced God in a life-changing way. We're going to take those stones and place them at the altar on Sunday memorializing the wonder of the Lord God Almighty.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Hope's Birthday
Today is Hope's 3rd birthday. We're going to celebrate it in style with a lunch party at Chuck E Cheese's in Fredericksburg. She's so excited - it's all she's been talking about for the past two weeks. Isn't it great how kids can be so excited for the littlest things?!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
God Speaks
Have you ever considered how God speaks? In theological circles, it's called "revelation." There are all kinds of thoughts on this depending on who you ask. There's some interesting stories about revelation, though, captured in Genesis 40 and 41.
In Genesis 40, God speaks to two Egyptians who are not monotheists. In other words, they are typical Egyptians who are polytheists - they believe in many gods, not the single God of the Bible. Yet the Lord Almighty speaks to them both in separate dreams. These dreams are prophetic in that the dream reveals to each of them their destiny over the next few days.
In chapter 41, we have the Egyptian Pharoah being given a dream as well. Like in the previous chapter, the Lord has given this dream and Joseph is given the responsibility of interpretation. The Pharaoh was told by God through this dream of the coming famine on the land of Egypt. This is revelation!
So, does God really speak to people who are not believers?
Actually, He does it every second of every day! The Psalmist writes
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies declare the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1)
God's revelation through His creation (we call it nature) is one kind of revelation and definitely one way God speaks to believers and unbelievers alike.
God loves every person who has ever been conceived throughout the history of time. He wants all to be saved and spend eternity with Him. Consequently, He speaks to all of us. To all, He speaks through His creation. To some, He speaks in and through dreams. To others, He speaks through signs and miracles. He speaks through His Word as well. He is a creative, unique God who cannot be limited by our intellect or imagination. His means of communication to us is infinite because His love for us knows no bounds!
In Genesis 40, God speaks to two Egyptians who are not monotheists. In other words, they are typical Egyptians who are polytheists - they believe in many gods, not the single God of the Bible. Yet the Lord Almighty speaks to them both in separate dreams. These dreams are prophetic in that the dream reveals to each of them their destiny over the next few days.
In chapter 41, we have the Egyptian Pharoah being given a dream as well. Like in the previous chapter, the Lord has given this dream and Joseph is given the responsibility of interpretation. The Pharaoh was told by God through this dream of the coming famine on the land of Egypt. This is revelation!
So, does God really speak to people who are not believers?
Actually, He does it every second of every day! The Psalmist writes
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies declare the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1)
God's revelation through His creation (we call it nature) is one kind of revelation and definitely one way God speaks to believers and unbelievers alike.
God loves every person who has ever been conceived throughout the history of time. He wants all to be saved and spend eternity with Him. Consequently, He speaks to all of us. To all, He speaks through His creation. To some, He speaks in and through dreams. To others, He speaks through signs and miracles. He speaks through His Word as well. He is a creative, unique God who cannot be limited by our intellect or imagination. His means of communication to us is infinite because His love for us knows no bounds!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Momentum
Life Groups on Wednesday and Thursday, Worship Culpeper on Friday and Women's Ice Cream Social on Saturday - this is the line-up for this week @ City on a Hill Church. We're going to create some momentum for this mid-summer doledrum season in which we find ourselves.Physics tells us that momentum = mass x velocity. Well, from that definition one may conclude that a small church like COAHC's momentum may never be significant. Wrong! Momentum can lead to more momentum and its potential is infinite. It feeds on itself - and that's a good thing.
In our Church Business Meeting yesterday afternoon, I shared that our vision for this next year is to take the momentum we've created in our first year of existence and use it to take us to new heights in our second year. It's kind of like the momentum of a roller coaster going down hill that carries it up the next hill.
Personally, we all need momentum in our lives. When we don't have it, it's easy for us to become stagnant. We have to work harder at motivating ourselves to create motion. What momentum do you have in your walk with Christ right now? What caused that momentum in the first place?
If you don't have momentum, I suggest that you create some. You can create momentum by building healthy habits - daily devotional time with the Lord, prayer time with your spouse, taking advantage of teachable moments with your kids. When you have a little wind in your sails, it's a lot easier to go through life!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Power of Words
This weekend, we're kicking off a series on the power of words. Words have the power in our lives to construct a monumental confidence or have the power to destroy our the very foundation of who we are.
Watch this powerful video about the power of words and be aware of your emotional reaction and sensitivity to the negative words spoken and then the positive words spoken.
Watch this powerful video about the power of words and be aware of your emotional reaction and sensitivity to the negative words spoken and then the positive words spoken.
Source of Understanding
So often I hear Christians credit other people (mostly famous theologians or writers) for their deeper understanding of Scripture or more meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ."It was ________ who really opened my eyes to who I am in God's eyes."
"In his book __________, ________ showed me the extent of Jesus' sacrifice for me."
I love reading Lewis, Bonhoffer, Tozer, Spurgeon, Swindoll, McDowell, Strobel, Laubach and other great Christian writers as much as anyone else. They are people who have great understanding of Scripture and who can communicate effectively, otherwise they wouldn't be successful.
These people and many others, however, are merely instruments. They are neither the source nor the cause. They are but a medium by which we come to greater understanding of who God is in comparison to who we are. It is the Holy Spirit who is the source of this understanding, and His power which is the cause.
"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26 NIV
One of the most effective preachers in the Bible, said it plainly in 1 Corinthians 2:4 -
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Great theologians speak pearls of wisdom and write beautiful words that express the loveliness of Christ and what He did for us. But as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, this is a message of wisdom that only some understand. If it was truly up to man alone, then many more would understand, agree and comply. But it's not. The Holy Spirit is the source of this wisdom as well as the source of the understanding.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" - but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. (verse 8-10)
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (verse 14)
The next time the light bulb pops on over your head about something related to the truth of God's Word, don't give credit to the writer you're reading or the person to whom you're listening. Give credit where credit is due. Give thanks to the Holy Spirit!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
What's Your Cross?
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." Mark 8:34 NIV
Did you know you have a cross, or two or three? We all have at least one. It could be self-glory. It could be fear of ridicule. It could be the ambition to get rich.
Frank Laubach writes about this in his book, You Are My Friends. He writes, "The test of a soldier is not how well he can talk when there is no danger. He is a true soldier who faces peril and losses and defeat and pain without losing his nerve. This is also the test of a genuine follower of Christ."
Are you ready to deny yourself? Are you ready to identify which cross is yours, then take it up for carrying? And will you follow Jesus Christ no matter where He takes you?
These are all questions that we, the soldiers in God's army, need to be prepared to answer.
Did you know you have a cross, or two or three? We all have at least one. It could be self-glory. It could be fear of ridicule. It could be the ambition to get rich.
Frank Laubach writes about this in his book, You Are My Friends. He writes, "The test of a soldier is not how well he can talk when there is no danger. He is a true soldier who faces peril and losses and defeat and pain without losing his nerve. This is also the test of a genuine follower of Christ."
Are you ready to deny yourself? Are you ready to identify which cross is yours, then take it up for carrying? And will you follow Jesus Christ no matter where He takes you?
These are all questions that we, the soldiers in God's army, need to be prepared to answer.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Lord is My Shepherd
The...
A definite article. Not "a". God is the God. He's not one of many, but the one and only.
The Lord...
He is God. He is mighty, powerful and righteous. He is loving and kind. God is perfect in every way. He is everpresent and everlasting.
The Lord is...
God exists. He is not some made-up, imagined hallucination or fable. He existed for always and will live forevermore. The Lord was, is and shall be.
The Lord is my...
God is personal. He is relational. He meets me right where I am. He has no unreasonable expectations for me. He has designed me specifically for the task He has given me. He is not the redeemer just for mankind, but my redeemer. He is my Savior. He is my God.
The Lord is my shepherd.
God feeds me when I am hungry. He protects me from my enemies. God corrects me when needed. He leads me and guides me. I hear His voice and follow Him.
A definite article. Not "a". God is the God. He's not one of many, but the one and only.
The Lord...
He is God. He is mighty, powerful and righteous. He is loving and kind. God is perfect in every way. He is everpresent and everlasting.
The Lord is...
God exists. He is not some made-up, imagined hallucination or fable. He existed for always and will live forevermore. The Lord was, is and shall be.
The Lord is my...
God is personal. He is relational. He meets me right where I am. He has no unreasonable expectations for me. He has designed me specifically for the task He has given me. He is not the redeemer just for mankind, but my redeemer. He is my Savior. He is my God.
The Lord is my shepherd.
God feeds me when I am hungry. He protects me from my enemies. God corrects me when needed. He leads me and guides me. I hear His voice and follow Him.
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