Echoes From Zion

Psalm 23:2b-4 , "He leads me beside the still waters . He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.. ." I sure like it when the Lord leads me beside quite waters. The whole, 'Be still and know that I am God' thing is quite nice. The, 'Come to me...and I will give you rest'? Very nice, indeed. I could park my little lamb rump in this green pasture forever, just lounging beside the stream. Truly, it is in the season of rest, of lying down in green pastures and being led by quiet waters, when our soul is restored. But what is the purpose of restoration? Once it is completed...then what? More green pastures? More quiet streams? According to this passage, it seems that after our restoration, our Shepherd leads us away from the quiet waters and onto a path. A path isn't a place you park your sheep seat; on the contrary, a path is made for a journey, for a ...

This is a journal entry that I am currently working on. I'm spending time pondering and listening to what God has to tell me about Jacob's Bethel experience. As I read it this week, I began to focus on Gen 28:22...which led me to Matthew 7:24-25 & 16:18. He really began to unfold some stuff to me as I presented it to him. I'll share other entries as the Lord gives them.         Here I am, Lord J . Take all of me this morning. Thank you for your word, for your peace, for your direction, oh God, my God! In reading this morning, you see my mind falls on Gen 28:22, "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house"…& Matthew 7:24-25, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock”…& Matthew 16:18, “And I also...

Today, I took some time to pray outside. Though it's a bit nippy, it's a beautiful day today. The sun was shining bright as I began to walk down a gravel road, talking with my God. As I walked and talked, my mind began to confess my many weaknesses. I have a lot of things on my mind right now - I'm seeking direction, His will for my life, His path and purpose for me - and as often is the case in these 'big moments' of life, I tend to put my focus on myself. Walking down that road, I began to fret, worrying that I am going to miss God's best. I mean, since I'm asking for Him to show me what step is next AND since I'm not hearing or seeing it, there must be something wrong with me, right?  Maybe I haven't sought him hard enough. Maybe I should be fasting everything. Maybe there is some hidden sin in me. Maybe Me. Me. Me. Me. It was in that moment I began to confess who the Lord is for me - my rock, my shield, the glory and the lifter of my head. I th...

He restores my soul... I don't think better words could ever be spoken. If there was a title to the biography of my life, I think this would be it: He restores my soul.  All throughout my life, the Lord has brought restoration to the deepest parts of me. He restores me time and time again, in various ways and in various forms...but at the core, it's always the same - he restores me with His Love. Some moments when His love restored me? On the swing set in my back yard . As a child, this was one of my favorite places to retreat. I would begin to sway back and forth to the rhythm of a melody in my heart. Songs of praise, adoration, and thanks to my God rose time and time again from that little swing set. Since I was surrounded by trees, I was usually singing about God as my Creator, the one who made all the nature I could see and still saw me swinging in the middle of the woods. Though I did not know it fully at the time, His love was filling my heart and restoring my s...

Here is a journal entry from 2011 that the Lord brought me back to recently. I asked the Lord to show me truth in his 23rd Psalm. He began to paint for me a picture that began with us in the pasture but it ended with me understanding so much more about our relationship. It was a revelation that my heart needed...and I still need to return to it often. I pray it blessed you this morning! January 24, 2011 Lord, what do you want to say to me this morning about the 23 rd Psalm? I see Jesus kneeling by a sheep...a wooly sheep. It has a collar and a bell and there is a leash on it. But, Jesus is bending down and taking the leash off from the collar.                           You are not led like this, child. I reach down, kneeling beside Jesus and pet the sheep. After a moment, it trots off with a baa and a jingle of its bell to the other sheep. We l...

He makes me lie down in green pastures... While reading this passage, I was struck by the words 'He MAKES me.' I'm sure the writer simply meant 'he causes me' to lie down but still, I had to laugh as I pondered the interpretation through a personal story my parents shared with me. My parents have often reminded me of a time when I was around 2 years old and, for what ever reason, I refused to sit down in my high chair one day at the table. No matter how many times they told me to sit down, I would not. They even resorted to swatting my chubby little legs and alas - I would not sit down. I was determined: I would not sit. Period. Now certainly I had a 'good' reason for standing, being the angelic 2 year old that I was (cough, cough, wink, wink). Of course, my parents were able to see the benefits of sitting in my chair that I could not. As parents and guides, they understood the danger of standing in a high chair. They understood how much easier it is to en...

I don't think that there is a Psalm more quoted than Psalm 23. Whispered by the bedside of the dying, confessed in the prayers of the seeking, it has brought comfort to many in times of need. I'm sure that David had no idea that his little song would be cherished by so many throughout the ages and yet, I'm sure that this Psalm held just as much meaning, if not more, for David. As a shepherd, he had insight into pasturing that most of us in the modern day world do not have short of Wikipedia and google. Still, this ancient song sweeps over our souls as we picture Jesus, our great Shepherd, leading the way. In the next few weeks, I'm going to share my thoughts on this Psalm, verse by verse, as well as journal entries that the Lord has spoken to me. I know that this Psalm is bringing me comfort in this season of life, just as it has many times before and as I'm certain it will many more times in the future. To anyone who reads this blog, I pray you will find comfort ...