Scripture
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 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 and comfort 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. Psalm 23

Observation
What was David’s reaction when the wizened prophet Samuel chose him out of all his brothers to be anointed with oil to be king? I just realized as I read Psalm 23 that we know exactly how David felt, for he told us in this song. In verse 5 David sang, “You honor me by anointing my head with oil.” How many thousands of times have I read Psalm 23 and missed the reason why David wrote this Psalm? Surely he wrote these lyrics after Samuel’s visit as his heart response to God’s kindness to him. Samuel had anointed him with oil and David the shepherd boy was dumbfounded that it had happened to him.

With the motive for writing the Psalm revealed, the words take on new meaning. We now have a window into the soul of David as he walked back from the house into the fields to tend the sheep for another day. Months would pass before he would be sent on an errand that would lead him to Goliath to leave shepherding behind forever. During those days he reassessed his life, and his conclusion is astounding.

David, the crown prince of Israel, took on a new outlook on life. He saw himself as a sheep. If he said, “The Lord is my shepherd” then he must have by inference considered himself to be a lamb following the Lord. A dumb sheep is not a metaphor kings are likely to claim. A lion is more likely. But David’s heart is revealed in his choice. He would be a king, but he would follow.

Application
When God asks me to do great things, what is my heart response? Too often it is pride. I like the lion metaphor. But David’s humility rouses me to better desires. I am only a sheep following the shepherd. Though I may be asked to lead, it is the Lord who is my leader. There is a disarming humility in considering one’s self to be a bleating sheep. It’s not impressive, but it does touch the heart of the shepherd.

Prayer
Father, I see how you left David in the sheep pens a little while longer so he would not forget who he was, where he came from and just who you are. I see that in my life too and embrace it for all that it is worth. Thank you for being my shepherd. Thank you for the stream and meadow you give to me. And I take the hope that ahead is feasting. Today it is enough just to be with you, for you are the constant, whether I am in the field, the valley or at the feasting table. Amen.

Scripture
And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.” Acts 10:4-6

Observation
Why did Peter need a squad car to persuade him to preach at Cornelius’ house? The men that the commander sent that day to fetch Peter were very likely military and Roman. Their shadow in the doorway would have been foreboding. Peter would have felt the pressure.

Why did it take that much persuasion? Why did God use an angel to get Peter out of bed? It had worked for him when Peter was snoring in prison. Why didn’t God add a little more to the vision? A dream worked for Paul to go to Macedonia why not to get Peter to walk down the road to Caeserea?

Peter needed persuasion because God was about to do something that was out of his field of vision. Peter was a Jew pickled in the brine of pharisaism. He had never walked into the home of a non-Jew before. He had never touched bacon. He did everything his mother told him since he was a boy. God, however, was about to move the boundary markers of his life. What had been off limits was now going to become commonplace in his ministry. He would need persuasion to do something he had not done before.

Application
When God intends to do something new in our lives we should not be surprised when he does something to shake up our world view. If something comes to pass that is out of the ordinary that shakes up our perspective we should not be in a rush to return to normalcy. Surprising events could very well be an indication of fresh footsteps of the Lord.

Prayer
Father, when the unexpected comes knocking at my door, let me be discerning but not suspicious. Help me to follow without reluctance. Amen.

Scripture
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:13-14

Observation
My dad was a university professor with tons of experience watching students. He told me before my first college class, “Don’t sit in the back row where the students talk. Sit at the front so you can listen.” He was right. Front rows have been a life habit of mine. But Jesus tells me something different today. There are times it pleases God to sit in the back.

The tax collector “stood at a distance” and was closest to God. He, and not the preacher on the front row, was the example to follow.

Application
I wonder how often I walk into church with a sense that I belong there. I grew up in the church. My dad was a pastor. I’m a pastor. It’s all very familiar, maybe too familiar. What would happen if I stopped at the back and pondered my inadequacy.

In the Parliaments of the British Commonwealth there is at the entry doors a bar placed across the open doorway. In the Queensland State Parliament, where I lived in Brisbane, there is a golden bar across the doorway. Visitors are called “strangers” and if a non-member of parliament is invited to speak he maybe asked to stand behind the bar and address parliament at a distance.

Maybe we need to put a bar across the doorway, not of church, but across the threshold of every life entry. When we walk into the office, or the boardroom, or the classroom, or the restaurant or even our own homes, it would be good if we paused and reflected on our unworthiness and Christ’s full sufficiency. Everything is better than we deserve. That is the nature of mercy. That hesitation to pause to acknowledge our sinfulness and need of a Saviour could make all of the difference.

Prayer
Father, the only ticket of entrance I have into heaven or your presence is my confession that I am a sinful person. Have mercy on me. And let me seek that mercy at every entry point of life, for I am unworthy of it all. Everything is better than I deserve. Amen.

Amaze yourself with these Nathan Sawaya’s Lego sculptures on CNN and his blog.

Scripture

For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’ Acts 4:11

Observation

Back in April of ’79 I was a senior in high school saving for college. My summer job was working construction. The boss had just finished laying rows of cinder blocks 27 feet tall. My job was to pull down the scaffolding. I ate my McDonalds lunch from that sky perch and did two historic things. First I made a time capsule of junk food as I put the McDonalds packaging into the holes in the wall. And then I did what no one can resist: I wrote my name and the date in the wet concrete in the top course of blocks.

No one can resist making their mark in stone. There is graffiti etched in sandstone along the Oregon Trail from the 1850′s. There are tags in Roman catacombs and even the Egyptian tombs. I once asked a graffiti artist what it was that drove him to spray paint his tag on blank walls around town. He said, “It’s the desire to be noticed.”

Every human longs for significance and wants to make their mark. Deep down, somehow, in some way, for some moment of time no matter how brief we want to be important. Otherwise Gold Class, First Class, Platinum would not exist. We want to end up on top of the heap of humanity and be treated special.

We are each special to God, but he has designed it such that none of us can claim to be superior. That’s why this little phrase is repeated over and over in the Bible:

The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.

The “cornerstone” is not a shinny granite block at the bottom of the wall, it is a huge monolith at the top of all the courses of stone. The cornerstone in the temple was the largest building stone on earth. It was a rectangular block of rock nearly the size of a house. The walls of the Temple were built with man-sized blocks of granite. The rows and rows of huge stones were held in place by the top capstone. It was pure genius as it withstood earthquakes for centuries.

Application

Here’s the point for us: we are definitely not the capstone, that’s Jesus. Nor are we dirt because the stones were built without mortar. Instead each of us is a living stone with a part to play in the wall, high or low, visible or invisible wherever the Stone Mason wants it to rest. Once each of us is in position, Jesus takes his place on the highest level and holds us in place.

It is a secure feeling being locked into Christ submission. Like a row of Lego blocks, he puts me where I belong and holds me secure. And submitting to his Lordship is a joy because he did not take this exalted position for himself. The stone was rejected and God the Father himself hoisted him into the highest place. Jesus’ authority over me is submission and that is a joy.

All comes together when Jesus is in the right place over our lives. Jesus will only be in the right place when I confess that Jesus is the cornerstone, I am not.

Prayer

Father today I want to stumble on Jesus so I find just the place I am to be. Amen.