Day 28

It has been 4 weeks. Almost a month! Wow! I am feeling so great. Last night, whenever I was deciding what time I needed to get up, I really almost considering not getting up before I gave a campus tour at 10 and just reading my Bible afterwards. But, I know how great I feel when I get the Word into my system before I start my day, so I did it! I got up earlier, got ready, and now I'm doing my routine of drinking coffee and studying God's word!

So, Psalm 23--probably one of the most famous psalms in the history of the Bible, but as I read the NLT today, I realized how much more I like the KJV better.

"¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
 ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
 ³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
 ⁴Yea, 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.
 ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
 ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."

I did UIL One Act Play my sophomore year of high school, and we went to state! Our first year! It was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I played about six different characters, and one of the characters said this exact Psalm at the end of the play, during the most climactic and dramatic part. I will never forget that because it's truly the first Bible verse I ever memorized. And it's dear to my heart because whenever I had gone through rough times after that, I would literally just say that psalm over and over because it was the only Bible verse I had memorized verbatim. Yes, I know how to summarize other verses, and knew that there was this one verse that said something like this, but I knew this one. And the Lord's prayer of course :)

So I like the KJV because it think that it gets the point across. There are many verses that are difficult to understand and apply because of the language and the diction, that's why versions such as the NLT and NIV are so great. These translations take the meaning of KJV and translate it to modern-day, understandable text. But this verse, these words, this meaning, comes across better in the language of old.

Everyday, we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death-" life. All around us our world is dying. All around us people's souls are fighting for life, but the light never seems to penetrate the darkness. All the time, the enemy draws nearer and God is trying to fight for us. God is trying to let his rod and staff give us joy and peace. He is trying to anoint our heads with oil and let us drink from his cup of everlasting life. But there is one catch, we have the make him our shepherd that is with us always.

Yesterday's and today's Matthew reading coincide with that point. The Lord is literally a shepherd that tends to his flock. He gives us water to drink, food to eat, care, love, affection, and most of all guidance.

Have you ever seen the movie Babe? It's basically a story about a "sheep pig" who rounds up sheep for a competition and avoids being bacon (among other things, it's a really great movie!). But one of the parts I remember most, it really just popped into my head, was when sheep were being taken by thieves who wanted to have their wool for themselves. They had their own sheepdogs that would take these sheep in the night and attack them, leaving them nearly dead and their wool gone.

The enemy is trying to steal our "wool" per se. He sends his own army in to attack us, to leave our souls nearly dead. But God will go and get that one lost sheep and leave the 99 who weren't attacked, who didn't stray, who didn't let themselves get tempted. God will risk everything to save one. That's why it's so important for us to recognize the enemy's sheep dog versus our master's. Because when we avoid our wool being taken, we can truly be lead "in the paths of righteousness for his name sake."

God Bless,
Lauren