Inner Peace
If you can start the day without caffeine, If you can get going without pep pills, If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time, If you can take criticism and blame without resentment, If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend, If you can conquer tension without medical help, If you can relax without liquor, If you can sleep without the aid of drugs, Then You Are Probably The Family Dog! And you thought I was going to get all spiritual with this, huh!
We need our souls restored because of the influence of the world on us daily.
PS 23:2.
Should any one that is in the Good Shepherd’s care, with all His benefits, ever be cast down. Should a soul be distressed in a way that it needs restoration? David faced defeat he became frustrated. After he fell in temptation he felt hopeless and without strength. Psalm 42:11 “Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God!” Do you know what a cast sheep is? A sheep that has rolled over on its back is called a "cast" sheep. It may not be able to get up. It happens mostly with short, stocky sheep with heavy fleeces on flat terrain. Cast sheep become distressed and can die within a short time if not rolled back into a normal position. When back on their feet they may need to be supported for a few minutes before release to ensure they are steady. A cast sheep is on its back and with out help it will die. The shepherd has to come to the rescue. In John 15, it talks about the care of God with His people 2-5 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word, which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit for without Me you can do nothing.” I have heard it said that if a Christian does not bear fruit he will loss his salvation according to this scripture. Why would God want to cut off those He has redeemed? Why would He be talking to His disciples at this time in such a way? I have found that the words used here in this Scripture is talking about a gardener who sees a branch that is not doing well and will take the time to lift up that branch so that it will do better.
I wonder if we who are children of God if we fail, think that God becomes upset and angry because of the blunder we have done. If He is, the Good Shepherd He is still watching and caring for His sheep. We get into trouble because we try to take our lives into our own hands and try to solve our problem by our own strength 1 Cor. 10:12 “Therefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” I want us to know that it is possible for us to be come like cast sheep in three ways. I give these that we might be careful not to have them happen to us and to make us aware that the Devil is out to try and destroy us through these. These three things are not pleasant because they are very personal and I would pray that God will use this to draw us closer to him and not just become mad at the preacher.
1. The sheep likes to find a soft hollow place in which to lie. When it gets into that place, it is easy for it to roll over on its back. This is likened to the Christian who wants to find the easy place. Is it not with most of us that we like to be in a life where there is no hardships, no need for endurance and no demand on self-discipline?
Inner Peace: If you can start the day without caffeine, If you can get going without pep pills, If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it, If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time, If you can take criticism and blame without resentment, If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend, If you can conquer tension without medical help, If you can relax without liquor, If you can sleep without the aid of drugs, Then You Are Probably The Family Dog! And you thought I was going to get all-spiritual with this.
The Good Shepherd needs to move us to a pasture where things are not so comfortable for our good and His use. I want to speak about one place that is easy for us to lie down in and that is being lazy. I know that many of us are tired and need rest. I am not speaking about the need for rest but when we just do not do what we should be doing for our spiritual life. The Bible has a great deal to say about laziness. The Proverbs especially are filled with wisdom concerning laziness and warnings to the lazy person. They tell us that a lazy person hates work. PR21:25 The desires of lazy people will be their ruin, for their hands refuse to work. 26:13-14 The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, "I can’t go outside because there might be a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!" As a door turns back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed. 26:16 Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors. 18:9 A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things. 12:24 Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave. 20:4 If you are too lazy to plow in the right season, you will have no food at the harvest. 13:4 Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper and be satisfied. Clearing Out the Clutter
My garage serves as “storage” for things that don’t have a place in our home, and, frankly, there are times when I am ashamed to open the door. I don’t want anyone to see the clutter. So, periodically, I set aside a workday to clean it up.
Our hearts and minds are a lot like that—they accumulate lots of clutter. As we rub shoulders with the world, inevitably, perhaps unknowingly, we pick up ungodly thoughts and attitudes. Thinking that life is all about “me.” Demanding our rights. Reacting bitterly toward those who have hurt us. Before long, our hearts and minds are no longer clean and orderly. And while we think we can hide the mess, eventually it will show. Paul pointedly asked, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” 1 Cor. 6:19, which makes me wonder if God often feels like He is living in our messy garage. Perhaps it’s time to set aside a spiritual workday and, with His help, get to work clearing out the clutter. Discard those thoughts of bitterness. Bag up and throw out the old patterns of sensual thoughts. Organize your attitudes. Fill your heart with the beauty of God’s Word. Make it clean to the core, and then leave the door open for all to see! Joe Stowell
2. The Sheep has too much wool. When the wool becomes dirty and matted down it becomes a weight to heavy for the sheep to carry. May be you already know that wool in the Bible speaks of the old self-life in the Christian. This includes self-pride and personal preferences over the good of others or even what is best for one’s self. The only way to overcome this is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to say that Being filled with the Spirit is your duty. 1. Because you have a promise of it. 2. Because God has commanded it. 3. It is significant to your own growth in grace that you should be filled with the Spirit.
4. It is as important as it is that you should be sanctified. 5. It is as necessary as it is that you should be useful and do good in the world. 6. If you do not have the Spirit of God in you, you will dishonor God, disgrace the church, and die and go to hell.
Why are there many who do not have the Spirit? There are some who will say, "I do not know any thing about this; I never had any such experience; either it is not true or I am all wrong." No doubt, you are all wrong, if you know nothing about the influence of the Spirit. Here are a few of the reasons that will prevent you from being filled with the Spirit. 1. It may be that you live a insincere life. Your prayers are not earnest and sincere. Not only is your religion a mere outside show, without any heart, but you are insincere in your interaction with others. There are many things in your heart that grieve the Spirit, so that He cannot dwell with you. 2. Others have so much laughing and joking in their lives that the Spirit will not dwell with them. The Spirit of God is so solemn, and serious that He will not dwell with those who give way to thoughtless laughing and joking. 3. Others are so proud that they cannot have the Spirit. They are so fond of their good looks, high life, fashion and life style that they are not filled with the Spirit. 4. Some are so worldly and love wealth so well that they do not desire to have the Spirit. Their thoughts are all on things of the world and all their powers so busy in gaining wealth? They hold on to things with a tight grip. They have no thought to do something for the transformation of the world. They just love themselves to much. 5. Others do not fully confess and forsake their sins, and so cannot enjoy the Spirit’s presence. God knows whether you have gone the full length of honest confession, and taken all the blame that belongs to you. Unless you come down, confess your sins honestly, you have no right to expect the Holy Spirit.
6. Others are neglecting some known duty, and that is the reason why they have not the Spirit. They know their duty, and refuse to do it. You will live and die in darkness, unless you are willing first to do your duty. 7. Perhaps you have resisted the Spirit of God. Perhaps you are in the habit of resisting the Spirit. You resist conviction. In preaching, when something has been said that reached your case, your heart has risen up against it and resisted. Many are willing to hear plain and searching preaching so long as they can apply it all to others; a spirit makes them take a satisfaction in hearing others searched and rebuked; but if the truth touches them, they directly cry out that it is personal and abusive. unless he will consent to dwell with you and let you live as you please. But that he never will do.
Are you feeling weighted down with wool as you have listened to this?
3. The sheep has become to fat because of lack of exercise. Rev. 3:17 You say, ’I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” This was written to the church and not a club or political party. Jesus addressed a wealthy farmer that was rich and wanted to build bigger barns to store up his wealth, “Tonight your soul shall be required of you. What will you do then?” Material wealth does not mean we are a success. It is not a measure of spiritual health. Are we like fat sheep that need help? Does God need to put us on diet or discipline us to help us spiritually? HB 12:1-15 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children." As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who was never disciplined? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all. Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever. For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong. Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you will miss the special favor of God.
What is your need today? Are you stuck in a hollow place where life is easy? Are you carrying about to much wool that needs to be sheared off? Are you fat spiritually and need some discipline of the Lord? I am glad to report God is here to Restore you.
