The Good Shepherd Came Down

Meditations on Psalm 23:1

On Christmas morning I’m going to lead Church of the Open Door through meditations of the wonder of Psalm 23 in light if the Incarnation. Because of Christmas, King David’s words describe the reality of our lives as Christians. The Lord is my Shepherd.

I’m journaling through a verse every morning this week, meditating on the actuality of Christ being my Good Shepherd who showed up in a manger in Bethlehem so that all that David says and feels about his Good Shepherd is true of me.

Here’s Day One, Verse 1. You may want to subscribe to edunderwood.com to make sure you can keep up with the series daily.

Day One: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing (Psalm 23:1, NET Bible).

But I feel like I lack, Lord. I feel like I lack a lot. The world tells me I lack. When I compare my life to others, it seems like it lacks a lot. And Christmas doesn’t help. That’s when I seem most aware of my lack.

I have to admit that if I’m not careful, I’ll spend most of my time focusing on what I lack.

• I lack an entire sense! Because of this lymphoma, I can’t smell, Lord. I haven’t smelled the ocean or a Ponderosa pine or coffee since 2003. I lack!
• I lack a book contract! You seem to let others publish books that just heap shame and guilt on your people. All I want to do is write about your grace and goodness. It’s not really fair. I lack!
• I lack the opportunities I want to pursue at Church of the Open Door. There’s so much we as staff and elders want to do for you, but we don’t even know if we’re going to be able to fund the ministries we already have because of this economy. I lack!
• I lack opportunities to see my children and my grandchildren. Other people get to spend buckets of time with their extended family. But Judy and I have one family in New York and another in Oregon. We’re not going to be with them this Christmas and it hurts. I lack!

And I’m just getting started. I could go on and on and you know I could Lord. There are heartaches that won’t go away, prayers for marriages and sick people that you don’t seem to hear. I have to go to the doctor too much and don’t get me started talking about the fact that I’m 61 and have no retirement plan! I lack!!!!

But when I read these words, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing,” I know that it’s simply not true that I lack these things. How could it be that I lack anything in life if you are my Shepherd, the One who came to earth so that I could have your life and you could lead me?

Please forgive me for these false conclusions I have drawn from the circumstances of my life that deny my Christmas reality. Please forgive me for listening to this world rather than your Word and my redeemed heart.

I agree with David: The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.

Question: Do you need to make a list like mine, an “I thought I lacked this list,” and confess your denial of your Christmas reality? 

A Song About Christmas

I don’t know what young King David was picturing in his mind when God promised him that one of his descendents would reign forever in a Kingdom that God Himself would establish (2 Samuel 7). I suspect David’s pictures were pretty earthy and everyday.

But I do know what an older, more seasoned King David was picturing in his mind about forty years later, because after God had given him an oracle, a clearer understanding of what he had been promised, David was so overwhelmed that he wrote a song describing the majestic, supernatural coming of his Heir, the Priest-King, Psalm 110. The song has three parts:

• Conversation between YHWH and Adonai telling Adonai to sit it YHWH’s right hand until YHWH sends Adonai to establish His Kingdom (1-2).
• Description of the Coming Kingdom of Adonai (3-4).
• Warning that Adonai’s Coming to establish His Kingdom will involve judgment of the wicked (5-7).

Heresy or Hope?

Jews of Jesus’ time knew that Messiah would be a physical descendent of David, but they were not expecting this physical descendent of David to also be the Son of God. Jesus proved this simply by pointing out to them who was writing verses 1 and 2 of Psalm 110: David. You can read about it in Mark 12:35-37.

And that is our simple Christmas Truth—the baby born at Bethlehem was God.

They would not receive it because to them this was a scandalous idea, a shocking declaration, a shameful proposition. They didn’t want a God who came down to be one of them.

Another Hebrew, the author of the book of Hebrews, put this Incarnation into it’s most practical application: Hebrews 4:14-16. There he speaks of the wonder of the Son of God experiencing life as a human so that He could sympathize with our every temptation, our every trial!

We receive it because to us it’s not a scandalous idea but a cherished truth, not a shocking declaration but a comforting hope, not a shameful proposition but a glorious reason to worship Him and commemorate His birth. We want a God who came down to be one of us.

That’s our Christmas Truth—the baby born at Bethlehem was God.

Whatever pain you’re facing this Christmas, know that there is One who sits at the Right Hand of the Father who knows exactly how you feel. You’re not alone in your pain; Jesus is watching with a sympathetic heart.

The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14).

The Holy Spirit in Salvation

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you forever” (John 14:16-17).

These words from the Lord Jesus raised the expectations of His discouraged disciples. Something new and wonderful was about to happen. In just a few days, when the Spirit would come, He would live inside them. Unlike their Master who was about to leave them, the Spirit’s presence would be permanent. This had never happened before. Note even with the greatest leaders of the Old Testament.

Sadly, today many believers are confused by the ministry of the Spirit in their lives. The religious lingo seems so unfamiliar—indwelling, sealing, baptism, gifting, filling. How do you know if any of these have happened? When should I expect it? How will I know.

We ended the far at Church of the Open Door with a 3-week mini-series on the Holy Spirit. Dividing the ministries of the Holy Spirit into three primary categories helps us appreciate their importance in our Christian experience:

¨      The Holy Spirit and eternal life—indwelling and sealing.

¨      The Holy Spirit and body life—baptizing and gifting.

¨      The Holy Spirit and everyday life—filling and walking.

At the heart of these ministries lies the work of the Spirit in the divine transaction which initiates and guarantees eternal life to all who believe in the Lord Jesus.

Here’s the link to the sermon, study notes, and discussion notes from my exposition of the Holy Spirit and Eternal Life:

The Holy Spirit Indwelling and Sealing

Galatians 6:11-18

Galatians is the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. It’s a powerful little book. We’re studying it this year at Church of the Open Door. In Chapters 5 and 6 Paul applies the messages of justification and sanctification by faith.

In the first section of the epistle proper, 1:11-2:21, Paul defended his apostleship. In 3:1-4:31 the Apostle clarifies the implications of justification and sanctification by faith and why it’s true. His final section (5:1-6:10) demonstrates how this grace works in life. Grace works through liberty. Christ set us free to demonstrate His righteousness in ways that transcend any enslaving set of rules or moral codes (5:1-12). This liberty isn’t so that we can indulge the self-centered desires of our flesh as we did before we trusted in Christ. Using our freedom in that way will cause us to lose our inheritance in the coming kingdom (5:13-21). We’ve been set free to walk in the Spirit (5:16-18) so that we can display Christ’s righteousness through the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-26). But even this transformation isn’t about us; it’s about Christ and others. What we’ve really been set free to do is to love and serve others (6:1-10).

Paul closes his epistle with bold letters from his own hand to highlight the urgency of its message to his beloved Galatians (6:11-18). He unmasks the true motives of the legalists and reminds them of his pure motive to release new life by preaching the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Here’s the link to the sermon, study notes, and discussion notes from my exposition of Galatians 6:11-18:

Paul’s Heartfelt Plea

You, the Holy Spirit, and Life Eternal—

The Spirit indwelling and sealing.

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you forever” (John 14:16-17).

These words from the Lord Jesus raised the expectations of His discouraged disciples. Something new and wonderful was about to happen. In just a few days, when the Spirit would come, He would live inside them. Unlike their Master who was about to leave them, the Spirit’s presence would be permanent. This had never happened before. Note even with the greatest leaders of the Old Testament.

Sadly, today many believers are confused by the ministry of the Spirit in their lives. The religious lingo seems so unfamiliar—indwelling, sealing, baptism, gifting, filling. How do you know if any of these have happened? When should I expect it? How will I know.

Dividing the ministries of the Holy Spirit into three primary categories helps us appreciate their importance in our Christian experience:

¨      The Holy Spirit and eternal life—indwelling and sealing.

¨      The Holy Spirit and body life—baptizing and gifting.

¨      The Holy Spirit and everyday life—filling and walking.

At the heart of these ministries lies the work of the Spirit in the divine transaction which initiates and guarantees eternal life to all who believe in the Lord Jesus.

(more…)

Looking for a friend?

If you’re looking for that friendship that is totally fulfilling, you need to know that you won’t find it this side of heaven.

On the other side of that barrier is the only One who will not disappoint you, the only One who is always thinking about you and never of Himself, the only One who doesn’t need you.

His name is Jesus.

Friendship:

Since no one thinks about you much,

Unless they need you.

Relate deeply to Jesus;

Expect Him alone to meet your deepest needs.

Question: How do you sometimes put pressure on your friends to “be Jesus” for you?

Galatians 6:6-10

Galatians is the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. It’s a powerful little book. We’re studying it this year at Church of the Open Door. In Chapters 5 and 6 Paul applies the messages of justification and sanctification by faith.

In the first section of the epistle proper, 1:11-2:21, Paul defended his apostleship. In 3:1-4:31 the Apostle clarifies the implications of justification and sanctification by faith and why it’s true. His final section (5:1-6:10) demonstrates how this grace works in life. Grace works through liberty. Christ set us free to demonstrate His righteousness in ways that transcend any enslaving set of rules or moral codes (5:1-12). This liberty isn’t so that we can indulge the self-centered desires of our flesh as we did before we trusted in Christ. Using our freedom in that way will cause us to lose our inheritance in the coming kingdom (5:13-21). We’ve been set free to walk in the Spirit (5:16-18) so that we can display Christ’s righteousness through the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-26). But even this transformation isn’t about us; it’s about Christ and others. What we’ve really been set free to do is to love and serve others (6:1-10).

Those who walk in the Spirit glorify God in their liberty. Freedom from the Mosaic Law does not mean freedom from responsibility. Truly spiritual Christians will fulfill the “law of Christ” by bearing the burdens of one another’s sins (1-5), bearing the financial burden of teachers of the Word (6-9), and taking every opportunity to do good, beginning with the family of God:

Here’s the link to the sermon, study notes, and discussion notes from my exposition of Galatians 6:6-10:

Sharing By Grace Through Faith

Galatians 6:1-5; Matthew 18:15-20

Galatians is the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. It’s a powerful little book. We’re studying it this year at Church of the Open Door. In Chapters 5 and 6 Paul applies the messages of justification and sanctification by faith.

In the first section of the epistle proper, 1:11-2:21, Paul defended his apostleship. In 3:1-4:31 the Apostle clarifies the implications of justification and sanctification by faith and why it’s true. His final section (5:1-6:10) demonstrates how this grace works in life. Grace works through liberty. Christ set us free to demonstrate His righteousness in ways that transcend any enslaving set of rules or moral codes (5:1-12). This liberty isn’t so that we can indulge the self-centered desires of our flesh as we did before we trusted in Christ. Using our freedom in that way will cause us to lose our inheritance in the coming kingdom (5:13-21). We’ve been set free to walk in the Spirit (5:16-18) so that we can display Christ’s righteousness through the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-26). But even this transformation isn’t about us; it’s about Christ and others. What we’ve really been set free to do is to love and serve others (6:1-10).

Those who walk in the Spirit glorify God in their liberty. Freedom from the Mosaic Law does not mean freedom from responsibility. Truly spiritual Christians will fulfill the “law of Christ” by gently restoring those within the community of faith who have lapsed into sin:

Here’s the link to the sermon, study notes, and discussion notes from my exposition of the role of community in restoration:

Restoration Through Community