I heard my cell phone start talking to me about 4:40 this morning.  When it is on the charger and there is a power interruption, it emits a series of quick beeps.

I’m an early riser anyway and once I’m awake I rarely go back to sleep.  I gathered my clothes and went to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee, and . . . that’s right—no electricity—no coffee.

As I sit in the dark and write I am in a state of forced solitude.  I have used my cell phone to read a devotional, and I have offered up a prayer.  I have also come to a conclusion:  I am ill-prepared for a life without my expected conveniences.

No electricity means no internet, no TV, and woe is me—NO COFFEE!  At least my laptop has a good charge.

The truth is, solitude is what is lacking in most of our lives.  This quiet environment should be the rule of life instead of the exception that is forced upon us by Mother Nature.

While driving through Wichita one day this week, I noticed several different businesses that were psychic in nature.  As I thought of their sham services, I thought about God’s offer to His children.  He has promised a lamp for our feet and a light for our path, but he has never promised a crystal ball to see our future (Psalm 119:105). 

The clear principle of Psalm 23 is that He leads and we are to follow.  He will always lead us in a path of righteousness, but never into a field of sin.   The direction He takes us will always be beneficial for our growth and spiritual development.

Another aspect of this principle is that we are to trust him for each day.  There are times, however, when we make the same mistake the Israelites made in their wilderness wanderings.  We want to stockpile the blessings of today, so we can smile our way through tomorrow.

God gave the Israelites the daily blessing of new manna.  Fearing this would not be sufficient to meet their needs, they wanted to gather more than their daily provision.  Wanting them to trust Him for each day and to live by faith, God caused the extra manna to spoil.

When we start to worry about our future needs, we need to remember the care of the Shepherd for His sheep.   God fully comprehends our needs for tomorrow, and He has a fresh blessing waiting for us.

When I read Psalm 23, I am reminded of some of the truths Jesus shared with His disciples:

• I am the good shepherd.
• I give my life for the sheep.
• I am the door and the sheep must enter in through me.

These are truths of a personal nature.  Jesus emphasized this by the use of the pronoun “I.”  The same emphasis is seen in Psalm 23:  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Look at the emphasis I have placed on the preceding words.  It is very evident that the work is being done by the shepherd for the benefit of the sheep.  This brings me to one of the key principles of this Psalm:  The shepherd is to lead and the sheep are to follow him into the green pastures.

When we follow the Shepherd, He nourishes our soul and spirit:  You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3).  If your life is more turmoil than it is peace, consider investigating the love of the Shepherd for His sheep.  You may find that He is the missing peace to your life’s puzzle.

Here’s a thought to keep you thinking:  Sheep have a tendency to wander, and get lost. As sheep of His pasture, we need to pause and wonder in His goodness and find his love (Psalm 100).

I have several passages of Scripture that I consider to be favorites.  Psalm 23 is one of these.  The first verse reads:  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (KJV).  Another version offers a different translation:  The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing (NIV).  The truth contained in the second half of both translations is contingent upon the Shepherd/sheep relationship in the first half of the verse.

When we embrace and nurture this relationship, true contentment is ours for the taking.  Contentment, however,  proves elusive when a person lives a merry-go-round existence of worldly endeavors.  This kind of life might be enjoyable for a while, but it offers nothing you can take with you.   Solomon confirms this in Ecclesiastes:  Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands (5:15).

Why is it that we spend too much energy on what can’t be captured and too little on what is ours to claim in Christ?  Jesus said:  Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions (Luke 12:15).

Pursuing the abundance of the world is like a drunk trying to satisfy his thirst.  He can drink from the rising to the setting of the sun and still not quench it.  He will still be wanting something else or something more.  He will never find contentment in the contents of a container.

True contentment is born out of a genuine relationship with the Lord who is our Shepherd.  Paul echoed this principle when he said:   Godliness with contentment is great gain (I Timothy 6:6).

If you find your life to be empty, hollow, and wanting, it may be time to let Jesus shepherd your life.

When I was a kid I raised pigeons, and I was always amazed at their ability to find their way home.  I would ask a friend or an uncle to take my pigeons and release them when they were a distance from El Dorado.  For the rest of the day, I would keep my eye on the coop to see when they returned.

The innate ability of a pigeon to find its way home has been researched at both Cornell and the University of Pittsburgh.   The researchers concluded that pigeons may use multiple facilities to help them determine the correct direction of home.  The sun is used as the primary orientation, but pigeons may be able to perceive the earth’s magnetic field and use it to guide them home.

I thought about my pigeons on a recent trip to Tennessee.  I had carefully plotted my route on Google Maps, and used the Sync-GPS in my vehicle.  I would have had better results if I could have released a pigeon and followed it.

The voice recognition feature of the Sync-GPS interpreted Jackson, Tennessee as Derby, Kansas and tried to send me back to Kansas.  As I reflected on this I thought of the words of Jesus:  My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

Regardless of where we are in this world, Jesus knows our location.  If you find yourself lost in a spiritual wilderness, you can find comfort in His promise:  I will never leave you or forsake you.

Last night, I listened to 17 year old Holly Cavanaugh sing on American Idol.  She sang a song called Perfect.  The judges told her that  her rendition of the song was not perfect.

Regardless of how hard we try, perfection is elusive.  The Bible declares “there is none righteous; no, not one (Romans 3:10).”

While there are times that I question the judges on American Idol, I never question the divine decrees of the righteous Judge who is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  There is something wonderful about His assessment of us:  We don’t have to be perfect!

The reason we don’t have to be perfect, is because Jesus was perfect for us.  We find Paul’s teaching on this in The Message:  When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross (Colossians 2).

The Perfect Christ died for imperfect man–He loves us warts and all!  Think about it!

By now the last Easter egg has been found and eaten, and the kids are coming down from their sugar high.  What remains?  I hope it is more than a few extra pounds that were added by way of the calorie-packed candy, and other Easter delights. 

One thing that always remains is God’s Word, and it is a unique book.  I say this for several reasons, and I will share a couple of these reasons with you. 

The uniqueness of the Bible is seen in its unity. This book is a collection of 66 ancient documents that were originally written in 3 languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Even though some 40 different authors, wrote over a span of 1,500 years the theme and message remained consistent. 

In my Easter sermon last sunday, I emphasized another unique feature of the Bible which is fulfilled prophecy.  Long before Jesus was born, the predicted that He would be flogged, die with the wicked, and buried like a rich man.  I also mentioned Pslam 22 which predicted that Jesus would be crucified, but none of His bones would be broken.

To support my view of the uniqueness of the bible, let me share a couple more prophecies that have been fulfilled:

• Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10)
• He would be from the line of King David (2 Samuel 7:12-13)
• He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
• 700 years before Jesus was born, the Prophet Isaiah predicted in graphic detail the manner in which Jesus would die (Is. 53).

The Bible has stood the test of time; and, when it comes time for you to be tested, it will stand with you.