Dear Friends,
Psalm 23 is my favorite psalm and I memorized it when I was young, this is my guiding psalm in all the aspects of my life, so I would like to share my personal understanding of this psalm now. I understood that our Lord Jesus Christ is our shepherd then I have to be His sheep. In my childhood, I have seen people taking care of sheep and goats, I felt that goats are at least smart, sheep’s are beyond question. The most stupid animals on the face of the earth, they are dumb, timid and defenseless and helpless exactly like me. To be honest, I know that I lack wisdom and strength; sometimes I know that I am going my own way and doing my own thing. That is me. I think I NEED SHEPHERD, a good and humble, gentle and kind Shepherd.
Isiah 53:6 says that “ we are all like sheep who have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way”. How many times we have gone away from HIS will in our Christian life? I think, it is time for us to have a good Shepherd, Jesus Christ in our life.
Why do we need Shepherd? I think there are 3 reasons to have good Shepherd in our life. The first reason to have good shepherd in our life is to meet of the inner man, the basis needs that we have for nourishment within. It is our God who restores the inner man through His word. It is the word of God which brings us first to Christ. If we see verses 1 & 2, we see that Shepherd leads the sheep in the green pastures and the quiet waters, because sheep don’t drink in the disturbed water due to its physical features. In Psalm 34, we see that, “ .. those who seek the Lord will lack no good things”, Yes, he is our Jehovah who provides our needs. In Joel 2: 26, we see that, “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed”. Lets cling to our good shepherd for our basic needs in our physical and spiritual life.
The second reason we need good shepherd in our life is to give direction . Verse 3 says, He leads me in the paths of righteousness which means well defined paths. This indicates again how stupid sheep are, because even when the path is right, they still need a Shepherd. They are still inclined to wander away, no matter how obvious the inclined path may be. This again confirms that I am His sheep, because I need Him in all the situations, confirming His presence in all narrow and crooked paths or even in righteous path to follow Him continually. In Psalm 37: 24 we see that “... For the Lord uphold him with his hand”. Yes, we have assurance that He holds us with His own hands when we have him as a shepherd in our life.
The third reason to have good shepherd is to have protection. “Your staff and rod comfort me.” Understanding how the shepherd tends his sheep is helping me understand the character of God, when we go wandering away, our Lord doesn’t say, there goes stupid sheep, NO, His attitude is, How can I help him/ her? How can I bring them back in to the line, how can I comfort you and supply what you need for? The rod and staff are used against 2 greatest enemies we have to face. The rod is for the enemy Satan, so our Shepherd uses club on him. But the other enemy us is, the enemy within us. The shepherd’s staff is used to chasten and subdue the enemy within us. Our Shepherd gives confidence not to fear either from the enemy without or from the enemy within.
What is our response to our good shepherd who feeds us and leads us and protects us? Our response ought to be worship. A word of thanks for what He has done for us on the cross. David found God, the good shepherd as a gracious host, was preparing a table before him in the presence of enemies. Lets invite our good shepherd and assure that we are His sheep available for His guidance.
May the dear Lord Jesus Christ bless everyone in this fellowship?
Love and Prayers,
DP Vathani
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
The teacher is here
Dear Friends,
“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
I see, Mary of Bethany appears in 3 places in the gospels and at each time, she was at the feet of JESUS. First time, she listens to His word, second place, she speaks to Jesus and Jesus listens to her and in a third place, she worship Jesus by washing his feet with fragrance. If we see closely, there is some one or something is trying to keep Mary away from the feet of Jesus. Disciples would sit at the feet of their Rabbis, Paul says that he was educated at the feet of the a Rabbi, there is nothing unusual about this because Rabbi have male disciples, but unusual here is that one seated at his feet is a woman (Luke 10:39). Like everyone else, Martha also thought woman’s place is in the kitchen not at the feet of a rabbi. But Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen a good part. It shows that Jesus , the great Rabbi invites you and me to be one of his disciples and to take Mary position at His feet irrespective of the sex, race, age etc.
For our meditation lets focus on the second place, where Mary was at the feet of Jesus from John 11: 28- 35. Jesus had opened a new world for Mary by becoming her rabbi, when Mary’s brother Lazarus became sick, she and Martha sent word for Jesus to come and help. John 11:3 “The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, "Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick." But after receiving this urgent message, Jesus stayed there another 2 days. Lets imagine Mary’s attitude. Mary’s world might have been rocked, not only she lost her brother, but the only one who might have been able to save her brother took his own time for responding. She must be thinking, “Is this how Jesus responds to those he loves? Is this how he responds to what I really care about? Am I a fool to ever think that great Rabbi would make me one of His disciples? Does he really care about me?”
Grief, questions and doubts rumble through out Mary, her heart was opened then it was broken. Jesus stayed where he was, now Mary stays where she is. So she has determined that it is the best to keep a safe distance between herself and Jesus. Like Mary, how many of us lost our hope? Are you questioning that, “where was Jesus when I was suffering?, Does he really care about me? Are you keeping distances from Jesus, the spirit of living water? Lets see the answer for our questions in John 11:28 “When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, "The Teacher is here, and is calling you." At this point Mary was raised literally. The message raised her from all doubts and disbelief. She gets up quickly and goes to Jesus. Earlier, she stayed away from Jesus, now she moves toward him quickly. There are greater titles for Jesus, but for Mary, “teacher” is the most meaningful. In John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him, "Rhabbouni!" which is to say, "Teacher!", We see that Mary saw the resurrected Jesus as a teacher.
It seems that Mary, even in her doubt, is waiting for a small indication that Jesus cares for her. Jesus said that, “ if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink”. Now he calls for Mary, whose thirst is intense and she comes to him and falls at his feet again. Earlier when she was at the feet of Jesus, He spoke and she listened, now once again, at the feet of Jesus, she speaks and He listens. All she needed to hear was that Jesus came for her. All she needed to see was a tear in his eyes. May be we are like Mary, waiting for a small indication that Jesus cares for us. The message is that He is coming for us. He wants us to come to Him, He enjoys the pleasure of our company. Get up, quickely, go out to him, fall at his feet, pour out your heart to him, he will listen to us. There is a time for listening to the heart of Jesus, and there is a time for pouring out your heart to him. He speaks and he listens and he knows the right time for each one of us.
When Mary was at his feet, each time, some one or something is trying to keep her away from Jesus. In the first place, Martha appears second place, Mary’s own disappointments and in third place, Judas appears. Let’s learn to overcome all the hurdles which are drawing away from His feet and learn to open our heart so he will listen to us. Like Mary of Bethany, the love of Jesus fills us beyond capacity and spills out of us. Amen and Amen.
Love and Prayers
Vathani
“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
I see, Mary of Bethany appears in 3 places in the gospels and at each time, she was at the feet of JESUS. First time, she listens to His word, second place, she speaks to Jesus and Jesus listens to her and in a third place, she worship Jesus by washing his feet with fragrance. If we see closely, there is some one or something is trying to keep Mary away from the feet of Jesus. Disciples would sit at the feet of their Rabbis, Paul says that he was educated at the feet of the a Rabbi, there is nothing unusual about this because Rabbi have male disciples, but unusual here is that one seated at his feet is a woman (Luke 10:39). Like everyone else, Martha also thought woman’s place is in the kitchen not at the feet of a rabbi. But Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen a good part. It shows that Jesus , the great Rabbi invites you and me to be one of his disciples and to take Mary position at His feet irrespective of the sex, race, age etc.
For our meditation lets focus on the second place, where Mary was at the feet of Jesus from John 11: 28- 35. Jesus had opened a new world for Mary by becoming her rabbi, when Mary’s brother Lazarus became sick, she and Martha sent word for Jesus to come and help. John 11:3 “The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, "Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick." But after receiving this urgent message, Jesus stayed there another 2 days. Lets imagine Mary’s attitude. Mary’s world might have been rocked, not only she lost her brother, but the only one who might have been able to save her brother took his own time for responding. She must be thinking, “Is this how Jesus responds to those he loves? Is this how he responds to what I really care about? Am I a fool to ever think that great Rabbi would make me one of His disciples? Does he really care about me?”
Grief, questions and doubts rumble through out Mary, her heart was opened then it was broken. Jesus stayed where he was, now Mary stays where she is. So she has determined that it is the best to keep a safe distance between herself and Jesus. Like Mary, how many of us lost our hope? Are you questioning that, “where was Jesus when I was suffering?, Does he really care about me? Are you keeping distances from Jesus, the spirit of living water? Lets see the answer for our questions in John 11:28 “When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, "The Teacher is here, and is calling you." At this point Mary was raised literally. The message raised her from all doubts and disbelief. She gets up quickly and goes to Jesus. Earlier, she stayed away from Jesus, now she moves toward him quickly. There are greater titles for Jesus, but for Mary, “teacher” is the most meaningful. In John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him, "Rhabbouni!" which is to say, "Teacher!", We see that Mary saw the resurrected Jesus as a teacher.
It seems that Mary, even in her doubt, is waiting for a small indication that Jesus cares for her. Jesus said that, “ if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink”. Now he calls for Mary, whose thirst is intense and she comes to him and falls at his feet again. Earlier when she was at the feet of Jesus, He spoke and she listened, now once again, at the feet of Jesus, she speaks and He listens. All she needed to hear was that Jesus came for her. All she needed to see was a tear in his eyes. May be we are like Mary, waiting for a small indication that Jesus cares for us. The message is that He is coming for us. He wants us to come to Him, He enjoys the pleasure of our company. Get up, quickely, go out to him, fall at his feet, pour out your heart to him, he will listen to us. There is a time for listening to the heart of Jesus, and there is a time for pouring out your heart to him. He speaks and he listens and he knows the right time for each one of us.
When Mary was at his feet, each time, some one or something is trying to keep her away from Jesus. In the first place, Martha appears second place, Mary’s own disappointments and in third place, Judas appears. Let’s learn to overcome all the hurdles which are drawing away from His feet and learn to open our heart so he will listen to us. Like Mary of Bethany, the love of Jesus fills us beyond capacity and spills out of us. Amen and Amen.
Love and Prayers
Vathani
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