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Basketball and Psalm 23

Lately, I have been captivated by Psalm 23.  


Also, I have to admit to being captivated by my hometown Murray State Racer basketball team.  GO RACERS!


 I have just sat here tonight and watched them win their 22nd game in a row.  They are the only unbeaten team in college basketball and are the ninth ranked team in the country!   Yes, Murray State!


The one thing that really jumped out at me tonight is how fearlessly these guys play.  They don't get rattled and nothing seems to scare them (even to be down by 11 points).   The commentators even talked about this very thing as the game was winding down to the end.  


They said that people will have to start believing in this team because they play with no fear.   


That got me to thinking about what David says in verse 4 of Psalm 23 "I fear no evil..."  How could David say he feared nothing? 


Because "You are with me..."   See, David could say that because of what he said in verse 1...


"The LORD is My Shepherd" and for that reason he did not fear.    Do we live fearless lives? 


Satan wants to keep us in fear and most people live their lives ... how else can I say it, but just plain scared.  But if the Shepherd is truly our Lord, what do we have to fear?


I believe if we start living fearless lives, then others will start to believe in the God of the universe.  


Right now we just look like the rest of the world as we let fear control our lives.  When was the last time people were blown away by your boldness and your example of fearlessness?


"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me".  (Psalm 23:4)


I am so thankful that God uses the simple things in life and makes them profound, like a group of young men led by a coach with tremendous character that have won 22 games in a row, to teach me that others will start to believe if I will live a fearless life.


"The LORD is My Shepherd"

The Sheep and the Shepherd Part 2

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want".

The beginning of one of the most recognized Psalm of our Bible. Even someone not raised in a church or a believer in Christ may recognize those words as something to do with God because of their popularity in the world today.

"I shall not want"

Are you truly satisfied?   

What is satisfaction?   

Mick Jagger is famous for singing "I can't get no satisfaction" and that's what the world teaches us today, that we cannot ever be satisfied and we should always seek out more and more and more and then even more.

Several years ago I was with a client about the same age as my dad.   Over the course of a couple of weeks we got to have some in-depth discussions about studying and reading the Bible, about different parts of faith, and just life in general.   

This man was a very, very successful man in the world's eyes.   He had the big house, the new cars, multiple positions of authority and power, country club membership, prosperous business, bank accounts with large balances, a wife, kids, grandkids, and health.   In the eyes of the world, what more could he want?   

This man had it all.   

This man was a success.  

This man should be satisfied.   

This man should not want.

This man was miserable.

I held this grown man in my arms while he sobbed.  Not just a single tear sliding down his cheek - this man sobbed.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want".

This man did not have the one and only thing that would satisfy his soul, the Lord was not his shepherd.  That's really what our heart truly yearns for---that's what you were made for---for HIM!!!  We will never be truly satisfied apart from HIM.  

Satan has convinced us that "things" are where we get our satisfaction but David makes it clear in this Psalm that true peace and satisfaction can only come from one place...The Lord!  Are we teaching the next generations this truth?  Do they see us living our lives this way?

"My sheep hear my voice,and I know them, and they follow me."  (John 10:27)

Are we so focused on pursuing things to bring us satisfaction that we can't even hear our Shepherd's voice?  

What if our families, our churches, our communities, and workplaces saw us living our lives with:

Peace(Ps 23:2-3)?

Fearlessness(Ps.23:4)?

Security(Ps.23:5-6)?

All because "The Lord is My Shepherd".

I think things would be different.  I think folks would be attracted to what they would see in our lives and would start to believe in this GOD that we say we worship.

Is the Lord your Shepherd?

Better yet ...

Is the Shepherd truly your Lord?