PLEASE TELL ME AGAIN!

 

Saturday, September 5, 2026

 

PLEASE TELL ME AGAIN!

Ps 119:33-38

33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.

34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.

 

          We are emotionally forgetful! We constantly require reassurance regarding our relationships. A marriage soon falls into disrepair if either party fails to reassure the other of their love and devotion. So, it is with our relationship with God. We are always asking God to tell us again how much He loves us.

 

          We are functionally confused! We need constant instruction and practice to become proficient at doing the will of God. The text this morning is clear when it gives voice to our heart. “Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord.” God keeps Himself invisible and He is non-verbal, so we are constantly needing to be told over and over again by reading His Word. Moreover, modern circumstances do not always fit comfortably into Bible language.

 

          We are directionally challenged! We are like sheep who go astray and soon lose sight of the proper path. Without the Shepherd’s rod, staff and voice we become lost. We require constant contact and correction.

 

          We are stubborn and self-reliant! We need to be taught that the best plan is always His plan. We have some wonderful ideas and schemes, but they may not be His plans. We need to be reminded repeatedly.

 

Dear Lord, please tell me again how much you love me. Sometimes I forget. Please tell me that everything will be alright. My circumstances keep trying to make you a liar. Please show me the right way. All my ideas seem stale and doomed to failure. Please, Lord, tell me again. AMEN

 

LET’S BUILD A PASTOR!

 

Friday, September 4, 2026

 

LET’S BUILD A PASTOR!

 

John 10:1-3

10 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

 

          The Teddy Bear was invented in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt. While on a bear hunt near Onward, Mississippi, Roosevelt’s aid cornered a bear, but the President refused to shoot it. “Teddy’s Bear” was modeled after a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman on November 16, 1902. Now you can design your very own Teddy bear at a company called Build-A-Bear, but “Build-A-Preacher” has not been as successful.

 

          My shepherd friends and I dream of a huge flock of adoring and applauding sheep. We dream of huge facilities manned by an army of loyal hirelings who perform every function except the weekly public sermon. But it is all a dream and not the model for the New Testament church.

 

          The New Testament model is that of Jesus sitting on a well’s edge talking to a tainted and tortured woman who had come for water. It is Paul at the riverside talking to a lady who had come to dye fabric. It is a slow but exponential growth that requires patience and intimacy in shepherding.

 

          Jesus is the model for shepherding. He is the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. The shepherd knows his sheep by name because he has been with them in birthing, untangled them from the briars, or pulled them from the mouths of beasts. He wears the dew of morning and feels the heat of noonday. He smells like sheep.

 

 Jer 23:4

4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

 

Oh, great Shepherd of my soul, thank you for your leading, feeding and love. AMEN

 

BEFORE YOU RUSH OFF!

 

Thursday, September 3, 2026

 

BEFORE YOU RUSH OFF!

 

Eph 5:14-17

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

 

          I am imagining a scene in many homes around me this morning. Parents are still moist from the shower, kids with mismatched sox [which is now a fad], dogs so confused by the rush they don’t even bark! It is a school and workday. Breakfast is a toaster pastry – eaten cold and unblessed without a prayer. Hurry – worry – bury seems to be the plan of too many. Perhaps this is what the Bible means by “the days are evil.”

 

           Our pace is enough to ruffle the feathers of any guardian angel. Hopefully, at some point in the day, we will catch up with ourselves, and things will smooth out a bit. Evil days need divine appointments. When I was working, yes, pastoral ministry was work, I planned short 5-to-7-minute vacations throughout the day. I would quiet the room, close my eyes, and transport myself to some mountain stream or beach. I would list my concerns before the Lord and then thank Him for taking them away.

 

          Adam Clarke was born in 1762 and died in 1832. It took him 40 years to write his commentary on the whole Bible. Yet, in those austere days, he wrote this: “The present times are dangerous, they are full of trouble and temptations, and only the watchful and diligent have any reason to expect that they shall keep their garments unspotted.”

 

Lord, before I rush off in all directions, let me spend a minute or two with you. AMEN