Upon this Rock...

 "One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus , Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas' (which means Peter)" - John 1:40-42

    When a child is named, the parents think long and hard on what to name the child. Sometimes, the events leading to the birth are cause for the name; Judah- now I will praise the Lord, Samuel- God has heard, Noah- rest, and so on. Sometimes, the child was given 2 names, not like names today that is a first and last name, but usually the same name in 2 different languages, typically Hebrew and Aramaic. Here we have a name that is very familiar to many Christians, Simon Peter, disciple of Jesus. What might be unfamiliar to many is when the name change happens in Peter's life. In many cases throughout scripture, God will change a name after they have gone through a battle, and come out on the other side victorious. But in this passage, at their first meeting, Jesus calls Peter by the name of the man he will become, not the man he is now. The name Peter (Cephas) translates to "Rock" and after much trial and growth, we see Jesus building his house, the church, on the rock, Peter. 

    The beautiful thing about God is that because he sees all of time all at once, he knows what we have the potential to become long before we believe we can achieve it. God knew that although Peter would have his share of disbelief and doubt before he could be used to establish the early church of believers, by calling him by what he will be lights the spark in Peter's heart and establishes a promise to be fulfilled in his life. 

    God has looked into the deepest parts of our hearts and souls and knows the great things that he wants to us to do mighty things for the kingdom. Sometimes, he rewards us at the end of the journey with a new name, one we will all receive when Jesus comes back to bring us home, but I want to believe that he still chooses to change a name as a promise that we are on this earth for a purpose and this new name will be the legacy we leave behind. Trust God that when he calls you, whether by your current name, or a new one he chooses to give you, it is full of purpose and he will lead you in the way to fulfill that purpose. God is in the name-changing business and he wants to reveal it to you. Be open to whatever he has for you, even if you don't quite believe it is true yet. 

Adam Semple- A Young Man discovering "What's in a Name?"

I Am that I Am.

 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” and he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”- Exodus 3;13-14

    Names are more than just sounds we make to call a person we know. They represent who we are and who we can be. God, himself, recognized the importance of a name and what it stands for. The book of Exodus opens with the oppression of the Israelite people in slavery under the nation of Egypt. After the family of Jacob(Israel) moves to the land of Goshen during the famine under the reign of Joseph, a son of Israel, they begin to multiply exponentially and the when the new Pharaoh comes into power, he determines they are becoming too large of a nation and decides to force them into hard slave labor. Now Jump about 400 years. God appears to a Hebrew exile by the name of Moses in a burning bush and tells him that he is going to use him to free the people of Israel. Moses, like any of us would, asks God, "by what name should I tell Pharaoh on who's authority to release the people?" "ehyeh asher ehyeh," God replies: I Am That I Am. This all encompassing name, Jehovah, begins to lay the groundwork for the all other aspects of God to begin taking on new and fresh meanings. All the way throughout scripture, anytime God does something for his people, a new name is added to this everlasting name of Jehovah, or YHWH, as is commonly referred as. Jehovah Shalom- God of Peace, Jehovah Raffa- God of Healing, Jehovah Nissi- The Lord is my Banner, just to list a few. 

    God knew from the beginning that as the world gets darker and further away from him, we, his children, would be able to call on these names in times when we need him to come in a do again what he has already established he can and will do for his people. For Moses and the Israelites, this name symbolized that God has all the power and authority to break the chains of bondage from the hands of Pharaoh. As we go through this journey called life, God will reveal himself to us personally with a name that is necessary for our current situation and when the time comes to call on this name, it will remind us what He did for us back then, and what he wants to do for us in the future. 

    God doesn't want to just put us on this earth to try and manage life on our own. Instead, by revealing the different character traits of himself, he has provided everything we will ever need to make it through this life and see him after this life is over seated on the throne waiting with open arms to receive us back to him.

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Names of God

Goodness and Mercy my Shadow

  "The Lord is my Shepherd,    

    I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures

    He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul, 

    He leads me in the paths of righteousness

    For his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley         

    Of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil for you are with me.

    Your Rod and Your Staff, they comfort me

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies

    You anoint my head with oil;     

    My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 

    All the days of my life and I shall dwell

    In the house of the Lord Forever.

                Psalm 23

    David had seen a lot of things in his time as both shepherd and King. He fought giants and armies, and had felt his share of heartache and loss and betrayal. As the youngest of his Father's children, he felt the hurt of being treated as less than or not enough from his brothers. As a young warrior, giant-slayer, he felt the hatred from his soon-to-be Father-in-Law Saul. Even though he had done a good thing for the nation of Israel by killing Goliath, Saul hated him, even to the point of multiple attempts to kill him, because David was getting all the praise for his victory and Saul was extremely jealous. Even after he became king, David felt the heartache come from losing some of his kids to anger and strife, as well as his newborn, a kid born out of direct sin with Bathsheba, his wife. Despite all of these hard times, David was still referred to later throughout the bible as a Man after God's own heart. How? How could David keep his eyes on the Lord when his life was full of trial and tribulation? Because he recognized that despite it all, God's Goodness and Mercy surely followed him all the days of his life. David had spent his life in prayer. Bored out of his mind watching dumb sheep, he prayed. Practicing his slingshot skills, he prayed. In the times on the run from Saul, or Absalom, or Joab, he prayed. Now, that is easy to do when life is hard, but David didn't stop there. After killing the giant with a rock, he prayed. After every victory, he prayed and thanked God. Upon surviving the murder attempts, and finally becoming King, he prayed and rejoiced. What can we gather from this life lesson? How does this help us when life gets hard? God's mercy and goodness followed David because in all circumstances, David kept God first above all else, no matter what was happening around him. 

    Throughout his life, David had been through it all, and lived through it all. God wanted to remind him that He had carried his servant all the way to his death as an old man who had accomplished everything he set out to do. When life comes upon us in hard, heavy-hitting waves, God's goodness and mercy are always right there behind us. These things don't stop the waves from hitting, but they support us and keep us on our feet so we can continue to press through the trial. 

                Mercy- compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.

                Goodness-the quality of being morally good or virtuous.

    Unfortunately, in life, a lot of our troubles in life are consequences of our own actions. A path we follow that takes us off of God's trail, a decision we make that contradicts God's plan. In these times, God, who is still a loving, good and just God, sweeps in and instead of knocking us down, he picks us up, places our feet on his solid, holy ground and brushes off the crud and filth we may have stumbled into. By his Goodness and Mercy, we can start everyday with a fresh anointing covered in God's love, with the mistakes of the past behind us, and a brand new day before us. Because of Christ, when we mess up, God no longer looks down on us with shame or despair. Instead, by the blood of the perfect sacrifice, we are now covered under the forgiving power of Jesus, and thereby have access to the fresh mercy that comes with every new day. 

               "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."-Lamentations 3:22-23

    Adam Semple- A Young Man on A Journey through the Psalms

Photo cred: hebrew4christians.com

My Cup Overflows

  "The Lord is my Shepherd,    

    I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures

    He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul, 

    He leads me in the paths of righteousness

    For his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley         

    Of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil for you are with me.

    Your Rod and Your Staff, they comfort me

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies

    You anoint my head with oil;     

    My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 

    All the days of my life and I shall dwell

    In the house of the Lord Forever.

                Psalm 23

    There is a lot going on in verse 5 of this psalm. We have already established that God is our guide and he is also our guard. Here we see that God is also a generous God. Not only does he guide us to calm pastures and still waters, and more than just a God who goes before us to be our guard, he pours out his love upon his children as a generous, providing Master of the House who enjoys showering his guests of honor with good things, and in abundance. Verse 5 really gives us the picture that David sees when he looks at his relationship with the Father. Back in bible times and even today, whenever there was a gathering or banquet, the seat right next to the host was reserved for the VIP, the guest of honor, the Big Cheese. The host would welcome him into his home and would immediately wash his feet and anoint his head with a soothing oil, all while the guest relaxes and enjoys the food and festivities. This is the love and grace that God shows to us who are called his children. Even when the battle for our soul rages all around us, God has already prepared the table for us, in the very presence of our enemies. What I believe this is illustrating is that when the attacks of the enemy come against us, there are times when we have to fight, but then there are other times when all God requires of us is to prop up our feet, and watch as he deals with the trouble. It is also a reminder that we are not getting the scraps that fall from the master's table. We are not getting what has been picked through and leftover. The Father has provided so much for us that our cup is more than just filled to satisfaction, but rather overflowing with the grace and mercy straight from the Father. 

    God has given us so much just because he loves us, yet there are times in life when we don't feel like we have enough. We worry over bills and finances and stresses at our places of work and business. We can get so bogged down with deadlines and appearances and the anxiety that comes into our lives sometimes on a daily basis. What David is trying to tell us here is that God has already seen the battle that is forming around us, and the expenses of life that come our way, but even among all the chaos, we already have a seat at his table waiting for us to come in and be at rest.  

    In moments of stress, I have found that, sometimes, I find it hard to sit still and wait. Its hard to pace the floor when you are sitting down. But God desires that when we are worried about a situation, we give that circumstance to Him and then simply just sit back and watch Him do what only He can do. Let Him work, and take your seat at his table. He will take care of you if you let Him. 

Adam Semple- A Young Man on Journey through the Psalms

Picture from: https://bible.art/p/uYGQTLkoWmMbGJz9jEjo/psalms-23:5-thou-preparest-a-table

Valley of the Shadow of Death.

 "The Lord is my Shepherd,    

    I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures

    He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul, 

    He leads me in the paths of righteousness

    For his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley         

    Of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil for you are with me.

    Your Rod and Your Staff, they comfort me

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies

    You anoint my head with oil;     

    My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 

    All the days of my life and I shall dwell

    In the house of the Lord Forever.

                Psalm 23

    The first half of this well known psalm describes how God the Father is our Good Shepherd and Guide. The second half, verses 4-6, show God as our Protector and Guard. 

    "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."- vs 4

    Before we saved and brought into the Kingdom of God, we are lead by our emotions and our flesh, and unfortunately for us, we are all on our own. We go where we want and do what we want with no regard for our own lives in terms of where we will spend eternity. This is fine, until we lead ourselves into areas that are harmful and full of sinful pleasures. Which, also unfortunately without the guiding of the Holy Spirit, happens far to easily and we find ourselves stuck in our own messes. But thanks be to God who not only rescues us from the dark valleys we have fallen into, he leads us through them by his guiding light and his rod and his staff. As sheep in God's flock, we come to recognize 2 very important tools in God's hands, the rod and the staff. As we are guiding out of dark places and into the light, God uses these tools to protect and defend us from the evil around us.

    With the Rod, he wards off the attacks coming from the enemy, both physical and spiritual. With the Staff, he uses the hook on its end to steer us away from the places or things that are not good for us. A sheep does not fear these tools of the Shepherd because they know that they are used to protect them, not to bring harm to them. Before we become fully mature in our faith and in our daily walk with Christ, these tools could incite fear where faith should be. At first, we don't always see what the Lord is protecting us from. When the Rod is lifted, we can sometimes feel like God doesn't want us to have fun or to do fun things. not realizing that the thing we think we want will be harmful to us down the road. There  may be moments when it feels like we became Christians and are now not allowed to do anything as we used to. But God, the creator of the world designed us to have Joy and to walk on this earth accordingly. Though our eyes see him taking things away or steering us away from them, we don't yet see that where he is guiding us instead has joy and life, and life more abundantly than anything we could ever hope or imagine. The staff could also feel like an attack when we are still new to the flock. When we go through life always afraid of God raining down judgement on us and our actions, the staff seems to always be raised to beat us down and show us we are not pleasing God. Yet we don't realize the amount of love God has for us, even before we choose him as Lord. The Rod and the Staff are used to guide and to guard our hearts into the Love that God wants to show us.

    As you go through this day and every day after, remember these truths. God loves you so much, he sent his son to die for us. He sees the plans and attacks of the enemy that we usually are blind to, and he  alone has the tools and the means to guard us from the things that will hurt us while at the same time guide us to the green pastures and the peaceful streams. Our life will never be free of conflict until we join our brothers and sisters in Heaven with the Father. But one thing is for certain, His rod and His staff will always be there to protect us along the journey. 

Adam Semple- A Young Sheep in the protecting hands of the Shepherd; A Young Man on a Journey through the Psalms. 

Photo credit: https://www.treadingwatertiljesuscomes.com/2016/09/22/the-rod-and-staff-comfort-me/

He Restores My Soul

 The Lord is my Shepherd,

    I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

    He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

    He leads me in paths of righteousness

    for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

    I will fear no evil, for you are with me,

    Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,

    You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

    and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

                        Psalm 23

    

    Verses 1-3 of the famous psalm of David, Psalm 23, paints for us a beautiful picture of how God chooses to restore and guide us as sheep are lead by a Good Shepherd. In the day to day journey of life, there are times when we just follow the Shepherd through well-worn, familiar paths to guide us to places of still waters and green pastures. Unfortunately, we still have free-will, which means when the fancies of life catch our eye, it is easy for us to get distracted and not stay on the right path. The "Fun things" of the world steal us away from the protected hand of the Father, and sometimes it leads us to unsafe places where we end up stuck in a crag or hole, stuck by our own sin. Then the father in all of his love and goodness, chooses to willingly leave the rest of the flock in the safety of the shepherds' crew and then he goes off in search of the sheep that is lost. 

    "He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake"

       After he searches far and wide listening for the bellow of help from his child, upon finding us, he risks his life to come down to where we are stuck and frees us from the vines or the thistles or the pits we have found ourselves in. He inspects us for any bruises or blemishes and watches over us as he takes care of our hurts and needs, staying by our side until we are restored to full health. Sometimes, He simply wraps our wounds and lets the healing be done naturally. Most of the time, the healing takes a little longer, but that is ok. God will never look down on us when our healing doesn't happen immediately. He won't be disappointed if the path to full restoration takes a more time then for other sheep in the herd. As a good shepherd, he is prepared to stay with every single one of his sheep until all have a chance to be the best that they have been designed to be. 

    Don't fret when it looks like the sheep who share a pasture with you are receiving their miracle before you do. God is in full control of the time-table, and he knows the path that every person needs to walk down. Just stay the course and trust that God, the good shepherd knows what you need and when you need to reach the fullness he desires for you to have. 

He makes me lie down

 The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

He leads me beside still waters, 

He restores my soul, 

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me, 

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies, 

you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. 

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

                                        Psalm 23

        In verse one of this Psalm, King David tells us that the Lord is not only our shepherd, but a Good Shepherd. A Protector who cares for his sheep. Verse 2 demonstrates to us that not only are we protected by God, but we have a soft, safe place to rest as the world around us seems to get crazier and rougher. "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters." What would it feel like to rest by still waters, despite our lives not always allowing us to do so? Think back to a story of Jesus and his disciples. Jesus had finished preaching, and after sending the crowd home, he got into a boat with his 12 disciples. By the time the boat was far from land, Jesus had settled in the bottom of the boat and was getting some holy zzz's. After a little while, the wind began to pick up, and a nasty storm began to rock to the boat. The disciples, many of who were former fisherman, began panicking and fearing they would be tossed overboard. They go into the bottom of the boat, and decide to wake up Jesus from his nap and beg him to save them. Jesus gets up, goes up to the front of the boat, and simply tells the storm to take a chill pill. The waters immediately become calm, and the crew arrives safely at their destination. Jesus was able to sleep, even among the storm, because his father, The Good Shepherd, is bigger than the storm and protects those he loves just as he does still today. 

        All throughout life, we will experience storms that shake our faith. In some cases, when we call out to the Father, he comes in a speaks to the storm and it disappears in an instant. I have found in my own life that in most cases, however, God still comes in during my time of need, but instead of calming the storm around me, he calms me. As the sheep of God's pasture, we can trust our shepherd to guide us and lead us away from the tumult areas of life, and let us rest beside the still waters. 

"for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak"- Jeremiah 31:25

"and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus"- Philippians 4:7

Trust the guiding of the father, and he will give you rest in a safe place that is full of life and peace.

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Psalms.