Fw: the shepherd and the sheep

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2017 7:26 AM
Subject: the shepherd and the sheep

Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

    He makes me lie down in green pastures.
According to Phillip Keller, who wrote "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23", sheep are very reluctant to lie down.  He said that four requirements must be met before they will lie down:1) They are very timid and must be free of all fear first.2) They must not feel intimidated by sheep around them.3) They must be free of torment from flies or parasites.4) They will not lie down unless totally free of hunger.-I spotted sheep in Colonial Williamsburg Friday evening.  They were all 'standing up' and busy eating the grass at their feet.  Some of the sheep, like the one pictured, were sorely in need of shearing.  They were the picture of harmlessness, and I suppose, vulnerability.  As we consider how "The Lord is our shepherd" we realize that we, also, are vulnerable.  And like the sheep that Phillip Keller described we cannot find complete contentment unless we are free from fear, intimidation, torment or hunger.  In both a natural, survival, sense and a spiritual...heart-peace sense we need a Shepherd's assistance.  Keller discussed how, as a shepherd, his very presence would bring calm, settle disputes and reassure the sheep of protection and provision.-Ezekiel repeats the picture of God as our shepherd in chapter 34.  Here is a passage that restates the thoughts we've just discussed:-Ezekiel 34:15 "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice."-May the Lord be your shepherd and may you find peace and comfort to also lie down,Rob Smith

Fw: a gift received; not an argument won

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 7:25 AM
Subject: a gift received; not an argument won

Colossians 2:2 " 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments."

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"Plausible arguments" are arguments that appear to be true...may be convincing...but are not necessarily true and may be deceptive.  It occurs that Christ is not an argument won but a Savior received...a gift unwrapped within individual hearts.

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Paul goes on to say: "6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."

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Men may be convinced that they have it all figured out in their own minds and need no other input (or want no other input).  This is where philosophy reaches its limit.

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Consider Paul's next words: "8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority."

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When we receive Christ we are filled with the one who transcends man's thoughts and arguments and we are transformed.  One final quote from Colossians 2: "19 ...holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God."

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True life becomes possible when we have received the One who is the author of life.  He is a gift that answers arguments with truth, wrapped in mystery.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: thrown a curve

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2017 7:31 AM
Subject: thrown a curve

The straight line of my life turned a corner the day I was thrown a curve.

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Where did this creature come from...who walked into my life?

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Why did I sense that what I missed I'd find with her beside?

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In my way life seemed straight and moving on a line...

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But the curves moved past, my heart just flipped...

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my path was re-defined!

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I'd been to school with only guys and worked aboard a ship.

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Men were all I'd hung around and tasks were linear...binary...

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Everything about this girl was circular and scary!

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From the softness of her skin to the music of her voice to the way her walk was dancing...

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But especially those curves!  Her everything en-trancing...

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My life was moving down the line, in arithmetic sequence,

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Until the curve came cross my path and turned me round (thank goodness!)

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Genesis 2: 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man."

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To Shirley...the curve that straightened me out!

Rob

Fw: the good competition

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2017 7:30 AM
Subject: the good competition

Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

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We were built to love each other.  The twelfth chapter of Romans discusses the design God used to give each of us different gifts so that we could give them to others...spiritual gifts and gifts of service.  When we get outside of ourselves and help others we are putting His design into motion.  Paul exhorts the reader to "not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord" and puts that command inside lots of direction about helping others.  Here are some of the ways he lists to help  others:

"Contribute to the needs of the saints"

"seek to show hospitality"

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them"

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep"

"Live in harmony with one another"

"Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly"

"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all"

"so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all"

"never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God"

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head"

"Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good"

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The Lord has loved us with an unusual love that goes out of its way and calls us to the same.  This is the competition worth giving ourselves to.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: Plans fulfilled

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 7:39 AM
Subject: Plans fulfilled

Jeremiah 33:14 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness.'

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Jeremiah was known as the "weeping prophet".  He prophesied over a period of fifty years and five kings in Judah.  It was a time when Israel was far from the Lord and they had given their hearts to worshiping false gods.  The Lord answered by conquering them and taking them into captivity.  But through Jeremiah He also gave the promise quoted above, that a "righteous Branch" from the house of David would eventually come to "execute justice and righteousness".  A commentary I read said that this is referring to the second coming of Jesus, when He will rule as conquering king.  When Jeremiah prophesied he wasn't believed widely.  In fact people got tired of his words, which often predicted judgement and the coming conquest of the Babylonians.  At one point he was even thrown down a deep pit...but survived.  Jeremiah lived about 600 years before Christ.  His words are still being fulfilled.

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There are some today who scoff at the reality of God and who demean those who tell of His coming and of His coming again.  But, like Jeremiah, the plan of God is not dependent on the opinion of scoffers.  And many who weep today will rejoice in the many tomorrows of eternity.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: peaceful morning

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2017 7:20 AM
Subject: Fw: peaceful morning

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2017 7:20 AM
Subject: peaceful morning

Peaceful morning greets first light,

We have come through sleep and night.

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Knowing not what lies ahead...

Shall we cope with fear and dread?

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Or deny our deep concerns?

Run from trouble?...Take blind turns?

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But peaceful morning reminds us true,

God in Heaven yet sees you too!

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The light that breaks on nature's rest

proves He's here to bring His best.

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And as He watched you while you slept,

Even so He'll guide your steps!

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Peace will come despite the storms.

They rage outside His sheltering arms.

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Peaceful morning will become,

His new day...

Eternal sun.

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Psalm 90:14

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Fw: empty or risen

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2017 8:06 AM
Subject: empty or risen

The tomb was empty.  [Jesus' tomb, that is.]  That much is accepted by all.  When Mary Magdalene went to visit the tomb early in the morning the stone had been rolled away and she saw that Jesus' body was gone.  Clearly the tomb was empty.  But she thought the body had been taken away by someone.  She ran and told Peter and John about this and they ran to the tomb and found the linen cloths that had wrapped around his body and head folded neatly.  John believed at that point that Jesus had raised from the dead but Mary was still troubled that the body had been moved by others and as she sat weeping angels tried to address the situation.  They sat in the tomb at the place where Jesus' head and feet had been and asked Mary why she was weeping.  Despite the fact that she was talking with angels she had not grasped the reality of the resurrection.  So then Jesus, himself, appeared and also asked Mary why she was weeping.  But, at first, Mary thought this was a gardener working around the tombs.  She asked the "gardener" to tell her if he'd moved the body and then Jesus called her by name and Mary recognized Jesus.

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Mary had to move from "empty" to "risen" in her concept of the tomb.  When that took place her life moved also from empty to risen.

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In a sense our lives are empty until we grasp that One has risen from the dead to fill us with life...eternal life.  When we realize, on a personal level...one at a time...that Jesus was resurrected from death and that He who had been buried was now alive...then we also leave a "tomb" of an incomplete life and are also raised to eternal life.

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It all turns on our view of the tomb.  Was it only "empty" or was He "risen"?

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John 20:

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, "Mary!"

She turned and said to Him,^[a] "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).

¹⁷ Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"

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Believe and be risen...let the empty tomb become the place of resurrection for you as well!

Rob Smith

Fw: overflow

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2017 7:21 AM
Subject: overflow

Recent heavy and sustained rains caused the local pond to overflow the spillway.  The excess water rushed out to feed the creek that leads to the York River and find its way to the Chesapeake Bay.  The overflow was powerful and loud and you realized that water can be transformed from the calm of a pond's surface to the appearance of a herd of wild mustangs when channeled to a narrow passage. 

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We experience the overflow of the Spirit of the living God as we walk with Him.  He rains into our lives and causes the overflow that can impact people, cultures and the world beyond.  He can bring peace, like the surface of the pond, and also channel great energy to those who thirst for life from above.

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Habakkuk 3:10

The mountains saw You and trembled;
The overflowing of the water passed by.
The deep uttered its voice,
And lifted its hands on high.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: road to life

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 13, 2017 8:55 AM
Subject: road to life

I found the road to life this morning!  Down at the pond a concrete barrier prevents traffic from crossing a washed out bridge.  Someone has added graffiti to the barrier.  I noticed that the last word was "life".  It occurred to me that each of us needs to find the road to life and we may be surprised when we discover  that road in an unexpected place and time.  Like the road in my picture, your road...your well traveled life...may be a bit rough, overgrown and unsightly.  But Jesus stands at the head of that road.  He stands in the middle of that road.  He says, "If you want to continue and find life then you must deal with this barrier I have put in your path.  It is not so much a barrier as an intersection.  But before you complete your journey I want you to face me and either accept me or climb over me.  For I have come to meet you on your road."

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Isaiah 43:19

Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: this very moment

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2017 7:17 AM
Subject: this very moment

How are you "this very moment"?  I was struck by this passage from Paul's letter to the Ephesians (chapter 2, verse 13 in the Amplified Version):

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"But now [at this very moment] in Christ Jesus you who once were [so very] far away [from God] have been brought near by the blood of Christ."

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I realized that my picture of God is too often distant even though I have put my trust in Him and even though He has been faithful to me.  I allow too much distance into the relationship when He desires intimacy.  He has brought me near and through a great price.  And now I can view my life as an endless series of "moments" ...each one is "this very moment"...when I experience this nearness.  And if He has brought me near, who am I to draw away or withdraw into myself?

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We get a sense of what God is doing in this chapter as He is breaking down barriers between people and between people and God.  The chapter concludes with a statement of God's plan in verse 22: "²² In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

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This very moment you are very near to God and He is very near to you...so near that God has chosen to live within you and within the fellowship of believers together.

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May this day be a succession of moments where we remember His nearness,

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: faith

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2017 7:26 AM
Subject: faith

We all have faith. 

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The question is: What is our faith in?  Faith is belief in something we cannot see.  I have faith in the electricity that lights up my home and powers my smart phone.  I can't see it and I really don't understand it but electricity works!  I have faith in God.  I haven't seen Him and He's way beyond my understanding but I have experienced the result of faith in God.  There is an invisible part of me that needs the touch of God.  Just as I can't see my personality...or my emotions...or my conscience...or the workings of my mind...so I need the help of the invisible God who can see all of me and is able to reach and touch every aspect of me.

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And faith in God leads to greater faith in God as this belief becomes a steel cable and over this cable travel my innermost concerns and questions and over this cable come answers and peace.  And so we walk by faith, having found this cable to be true.

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Faith both connects us with God and provides the highway through which God speaks to us, leads us and causes us to grow.  Jesus is the doorway to faith.  He has been on both sides of the door...here on earth and also in Heaven...and He paved the way for that door to open also to us...who have begun here and need to move through that door.

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When your innermost person longs for the deepest truth and all of this is past your understanding turn your faith toward the one who formed you, understands you and defines truth.  He will complete the bridge of faith.

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Romans 1:¹⁷ For in it [the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

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blessings,

Rob Smith

Fw: soldier of the mist

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 7:17 AM
Subject: soldier of the mist

There are times when you may feel like "a soldier in the mist".  I spotted this heron before he spotted me this  morning.  He seemed to be standing guard as the morning mist, rising from the pond, surrounded him.  He quickly left his post, however, as my presence startled him.  As the new day begins there is a certain mist of uncertainty that accompanies it.  We may have some idea of the challenges and pleasures that await us as the day unfolds but we cannot know the specific details and there is much that is totally unknown.  Each day turns open as a page...but do we turn the page?  The Lord turns the page and the Lord knows how the day will unfold, as a writer knows his story.  And just as we are assured that a book will have plot and meaning because it is held within the limits of its covers, we are reassured that the story of our days will have meaning and structure as we are held within the arms of the divine author.  And the mist will be chased from our mornings and the true guard of our day will not be flushed from His post.

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Psalm 90:14

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

-

blessings,

Rob Smith