Bible Study Verses
Psalm 23:1-3
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. (KJV)
Thoughts
Anyone who knows anything about the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep realizes what great spiritual lessons the Lord portrays in the 23rd Psalm.
D.L. Moody told of one such lesson he learned from a pastor in the highlands of Scotland. Sheep are such foolish animals that they will jump off a cliff if they see green grass down below. Then the sheep will eat the grass on that ledge until it is all gone and he is hungry again. When the shepherd finds the sheep, he will leave it there until it is faint from hunger and then he rescues it from its plight. When asked why he waited so long to rescue the sheep, the shepherd replied, "If I had rescued it earlier, the foolish sheep would quickly find a similar tempting spot and be stranded in the same way again!"
(SK)
Action Point
Isn't it a shame that our Shepherd sometimes has to leave us to consider our sin for awhile before He rescues us? If He always rescued us from the consequences of our sin, then we might not learn from our sin and be at risk to repeat it.
And think about this, even though the Lord forgives our sin when we ask Him to, sometimes the physical consequences of our sin remain with us forever. The sheep that jumped over the cliff seeking the lush grass below is saved from starving to death when the shepherd finally finds him and carries him back to the flock. But the limp from his healed broken leg will be with him forever.
How many healed broken legs do we have to experience before we realize that the pleasure of sin for a season is not worth the price we had to pay for it? The old saying, "Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, makes you stay longer than you wanted to stay, and makes you pay far more than you wanted to pay," is certainly true.
Only by constant fellowship with the Lord through the daily renewing of our minds can we know and do the will of God. (Romans 12:2).
Sportsmen's Tip of the Day
Though it's summer and the Fall hunt is still a good while away, you need to be preparing for it now. Start by instituting an exercise plan that includes walking, flexibility exercises (stretching) and strength training. For beginners, starting now, two or three times a week for thirty-to forty-five minutes and slowly increasing will have you fit enough to carry you through a strenuous Fall hunt. As always, check with your physician before beginning any exercise program.
