2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today, the Lord prompts me to write about Him as Jehovah Raah, the Lord is my Shepherd. There is a reality in our lives as believers that we will often be brought to a confrontation between a man-centered and a God-centered belief system. I have often written before about being brought to a closed, but unlocked, door marked “faith.” At that point, we must each make the decision whether we will open that door and walk inside or whether we will reject that and walk the other way. There are two citations which come to mind that indicate that this metaphor of the door is surely not original with me. MT 7: 7-8, “Ask, and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to him who knocks.” Our Lord spoke these words here and in LK 11: 9-10. The other citation that comes to mind is REV 3: 20, which is included in the message to the church at Laodicea. “Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with him, and he will eat with Me.”
This confrontation we must have between a man-centered and a God-centered belief system only begins with our own decision about having faith. It is something believers must cope with throughout their lives on earth in many contexts of their lives. We are blessed in that God equips us to deal with them. This is nothing new. The Psalmist reveals this remarkable blessing in PS 138: 2-3, “I face your holy Temple, bow down, and praise Your name because of Your constant love and faithfulness, because You have shown that Your name and Your commands are supreme. You answered me when I called to You; with Your strength You strengthened me.” A more modern repetition of this idea is expressed by Paul in PHIL 4: 13, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” When we are faced with efforts to make discussion of any religion except Christianity okay in schools, or we see people in authority in our government who want to pass laws to make same sex marriages legal, we are dealing head-on with that confrontation. God has told us what He wants us to do; we must have the courage of faith to do it. In our own lives, this confrontation might make its way into our careers, our homes, even sadly, at times in our own marriages. It is there, and God, through the Scriptures, has made His will clear about where we should stand.
I have often cited JN 8: 31-32, “So Jesus said to those who believed in Him, ‘If you obey My teaching, you are really My disciples. You will know the truth, an the truth shall set you free.’” By giving us the truth, which He always does, God is revealing Himself as Jehovah Raah, the Lord is my Shepherd. God always tells the truth; mankind often lies. That is why it is so easy to be deceived by the humanists, new agers, and other groups that can make their messages sound so attractive. In times past, these belief systems were known as Gnosticism, the occult, witchcraft, Baalism, etc. They all have one source, the adversary. Today’s new age and humanism is cleverly cloaked in attractive sounding language so as to creep into the hearts of those in the confrontation with subtle effectiveness. Our only sure defense is the discernment that staying in the word of God daily gives us. JN 10: 14-15, “I am the Good Shepherd. As the Father knows Me and I know the Father, in the same way I know My sheep and they know Me. And I am willing to die for them.” Those gorgeous words were uttered by our Lord, Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, and they are the truth.
The conflict that goes on in a believer during the process of sanctification is another example of this confrontation that goes on between man-centered (fleshly) belief systems and God-centered (spiritual) ones. RO 7: 22-25, “My inner being delights in the law of God. But I see a different law at work in my body-a law that fights against the law which my mind approves of. It makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at work in my body. What an unhappy man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is taking me to death? Thanks be to God [Jehovah Raah], Who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ!” It was Jehovah Raah, Who made the decision to sacrifice His only Son on the cross, so that we would hear, understand, and believe the truth. It was also He that caused the Holy Spirit to be indwelt within us, so that two-way communication between Himself and us could be opened and maintained, so that His word would be something we could understand. JN 15: 5, “I am the Vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me, and I in him will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without Me,” Christ said. How much clearer can it be?
A deep understanding of what it means to “be in Him” is revealed by the Psalmist in PS 139: 13-18 even though this man never knew of Jesus Christ. “You created every part of me; You put me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because You are to be feared; all You do is strange and wonderful. I know it with all my heart. When my bones were being formed carefully put together in my mother’s womb, when I was growing there in secret, You knew I was there-You saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me had all been recorded in Your book. Before any of them ever began. O God, how difficult I find Your thoughts; how many of them there are! If I counted them, they would be more than grains of sand. When I awake I am still with you.” I am prompted to cite another verse from Isaiah which sheds light on this. IS 55: 8-9, “’My thoughts,’ says the Lord, ‘are not like yours and My ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are My ways and thoughts above yours.’” Yet, with all of our need to stretch to reach God’s perspective, Jehovah Raah loves us enough to equip us to do this. We each need to ask ourselves today: Do I recognize that Jehovah Raah is my own Shepherd in my life, and do I know that real strength can only come from Him?
PRAYER: O Lord, You know that we must at some point decide whether You or the adversary will have sway over our lives. Your love and compassion for us has made You open Your heart to us through the work of the cross, sending us the Holy Spirit, giving us the Scriptures, opening two-way communication with us through prayer, and placing us in nurturing congregations. You truly are Jehovah Raah, the Lord is our Shepherd, the Source of our strength. We are like “lost sheep going astray, each one going his own way” [IS 53: 6] without You. Without You, we have no faith, no talents to do the work of Your church, and no hope. But with You, we have all that we need to be victorious over second death and to live in joyful fellowship with You for eternity. Our faith is challenged often by the world in which we live. You call us to go to bastions of faithlessness to take Your message of redemption to them. It is hard for us, Dearest Jehovah Raah, but You have equipped us to carry out Your work. You bless us with success and peace when we accomplish the assignments You give us. We humbly acknowledge Your supreme sovereign power and Your loving protection. For that and so much more, we offer You our adoration, worship, trust, obedience, loyalty, praise, and thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at more beautiful citations that reveal God as Jehovah Raah, the Lord is my Shepherd. It is my sincerest hope that each of you feels the warmth of His love and protection as you face the confrontation between a man-centered and a God-centered belief system in your own life. I witness to these things in mine. Peter and I also send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn