Pastor Stephen Dedman

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His Goodness And Mercy Follow

Encouragement, Trust

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23:6‬

Psalm 23 is a very popular chapter as a whole but today we will focus on just one verse. There are two things that follow every child of God: goodness and mercy. The word used here for follow means to pursue or chase after.

God pursued you with the call to salvation and He continues to pursue you. His goodness and mercy follows you wherever you go. God can only give good gifts. Please let that sink down deep into your heart. God loves you and only desires to see good things happen in your life. God’s goodness and mercy are gifts of protection to allow you to live with full confidence.

Not that we should boast, but we should walk around with a sense of confidence. A confidence that assures us that we have God on our side. If God be with us, who can be against us, right? God wants us to know without a doubt that He offers goodness and mercy that will never leave us and is always surrounding us.

Is there anything that has you upset or frustrated today? Let this verse be an attitude changer. If you let the things of this world get you down you are not enjoying the gifts of God. Too many Christians are moping around like they just left the dentist. We should be making a difference in our families, our workplace, our communities, and even in our church. God’s goodness and mercy is closely following us. Let your confidence of God’s goodness and mercy make someone else wonder what you’re up to. Let your smile be so compelling that people can only smile back in return.

Pray

Lord, thank you for giving me good gifts. Help me to know that you only want good things to happen today. Let my attitude reflect the blessings You have given to me.

Living Extraordinary

Faith

‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’
II Timothy 1:7

Satan uses tools of fear and doubt to keep us from doing and witnessing extraordinary things.  Satan does not want us experiencing God’s power and love. Instead, he will try to paralyze our faith.

God gives us power, love and a sound mind to do things that glorify Him.  We are capable of doing powerful things through Jesus when we put our faith to the test. Without Him we are nothing.

In Matthew 17:14-21 a man came to Jesus and begged for his son to be healed from demonic convulsions associated with epilepsy. Previously the man brought his son before the disciples but they couldn’t heal him. Immediately Jesus cast the demon out and the boy was healed.

The disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast it out and He replied, “Because of your unbelief.”  He said if they had mustard seed-sized faith they could move mountains and nothing would be impossible for them. The problem wasn’t with their faith.  They had faith.  The problem was with their unbelief or doubt.  He gave them a solution: “this kind (of unbelief) does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” 

The devil plants seeds of doubt into our minds subconsciously and sometimes we’re not even aware of it.  We must protect our minds and be sure that what we are hearing and seeing is full of truth and not the lies of the devil. Jesus said to fast and pray.  Fasting and praying starves the flesh of self desires and feeds our souls with the Spirit of God.

Is there any unbelief that is keeping you from living an extraordinary life? Is your unbelief keeping you from witnessing God’s great things? Remove your unbelief.

Prayer

Lord, I pray in the Name of Jesus to have all fear, unbelief and doubt removed from my mind and replaced with God’s power, love and truth. Give me the knowledge of what I can do through Jesus.

Is God’s Word Revealed In Your Life?

Trust

‘Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes!’
Psalms 119:5

Does this verse reflect your heart? Do your actions reflect God’s standards? As we mature in our walk with the Lord we should consistently reflect God’s will and ways in all our actions.

However, we are human and we fall short of the target of perfection. The psalmist goes on to give us some helpful insights to overcome our daily temptations. In verse 9 he says,”How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” There is supernatural power in the Word of God.

If we are to reflect God’s ways, we must know and keep God’s Word close to our heart. In verse 11 he says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” When we treasure God’s Word we hide it in our hearts and it provides for us a weapon against the temptation to sin. Thus the power of God’s Word!

If you desire to reflect God’s statues in your actions, you must know them and treasure them deep in your heart. The enemy wants to keep you in the dark but God brings all things to light. Verse 105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Again, it’s the power of God’s Word.

Can we live pure in an impure world? Absolutely. Can we overcome the temptation to sin? Of course. The power of God’s Word gives us victory!

Pray

Lord, I need to trust in Your Word and meditate on it day and night. Give me the desire to study it and the wisdom to understand it. Thank You for giving me Your Word.