Daily Devotions
September 25th, 2013 by Pastor SolleyPs 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Goodness and mercy, two things a dumb sheep never deserves from its shepherd or a born again believer never deserves from God. Yet both are given to His flock by the good shepherd. We find in Galatians 5 and Ephesians 5 that goodness part of the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of God’s children. That because of Jesus Christ we can be filled with the goodness of God. That is an awesome thought that one born apart from God, one born in sin, one born without Christ can be filled with the goodness of God. All we need to do is look at the wickedness of this world today to be thankful for the goodness of God imparted to us through Jesus Christ. A Christian does not have to live like the world, he or she can live a good life because of the goodness of God within. The verses I think of concerning God’s mercies are Lev 3:22-23. (Lam 3:22-23 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.) Even as I sit at my desk this morning I know that God has something new for me today, new mercies for me today. How I thank God for this, that I will not live today on yesterday’s blessings, not on yesterday’s grace, not on yesterday’s mercy, they are brand new for me today, something brand new in Jesus Christ. Goodness and mercy, they follow the sheep of His flock.