"Green Pastures"

"To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:16)

  Not to change the subject or anything, but I hope some of you saw the couple of videos from the court case in Texas. Talk about grace; there were a couple of powerful 'Grace Cards' being handed out in that courtroom! So, you are probably wondering about this title and what this might have to do with God leading His people through the wilderness? Did you hear the story about their shoes? Talk about something not getting old; the things that God can do in our lives, they never get old; even if they might seem to be punishment for our actions, there is still a whole lot of mercy! Anyway you look at it, if you are in God's care, no matter where you are or what you are going through, you are being cared for by God! This is not about a wilderness journey that results in wasted time or being lost; this is about God raising sheep in His pasture; it just so happens that the pasture He choose to raise them in was considered a wilderness. Unfortunately, it was His children that mostly thought of it as a wilderness! What kind of idol are we looking at today? Want to try and give it a guess? There was something I tried to learn, some 37 years ago; but I think it requires a little more practice then I have time enough to waste on perfecting and making it work. I learned it from a brother, I am sure is currently been with the Lord, for almost seven years, who's name is Zig Ziglar. The general idea was about how we never really enjoy where we are at because we are always wanting to be somewhere else; a little thing he referred to as, "Stinkin-Thinkin." I remember him using and illustration about a neighbor named Mod, who's house he went to for "good cookin." She made a batch of her wonderful biscuits one day that turned out no higher than a silver dollar; and he asker her, "Mod, what happened to your biscuits?" She said, "They squatted to rise, but they got cooked in the squat!" You know where this is going; at least I hope you do! You obviously have heard the term, "The grass is always greener on the other side," well that is the point of where this is going: it's a little thing called, Want! We never enjoy what we have, because we always want more than we've got; we never enjoy where we are at, because we always want to be somewhere else; and we never do with God has given us, because we always want what someone else might have! That is what we call, Being cooked in the squat! I literally bought a whole bag of these things called, "Round-To-Its," and passed them all out. I always kept a pocket full of them, and as soon as I ran into someone that started to speak as though they were waiting for something else to happen in order to do something, I would hand them one of those "Round-To-Its" and say, here you go, here is a "Round-To It" so you can get started right away! Yes, it is all about want...

"The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along the right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalms 23) NLT