For Reading and Meditation:      Isaiah 3:1-11Now we pause to ask ourselves how this fifth Beatitude, when practised, engenders within us good mental and spiritual health. Psychologists have shown that those who lack the qualities of mercy and compassion are more likely to develop physical problems. Harsh, judgmental attitudes may bring a sense of satisfaction to the person who does not know the meaning of mercy, but it is a false sense of satisfaction. A verse that, strictly speaking, does not apply to what I am saying here, but nevertheless has some application is this: "It did taste sweet, like honey, but when I had eaten it, it was bitter to digest" (Revelation 10:10, Moffatt). That is what happens whenever we adopt any attitude that is not in harmony with Jesus Christ. At first it does "taste sweet, like honey" - its beginnings are apparently sweet, but it is "bitter to digest" - it cannot be assimilated. Our human constitution is not made to function effectively on any attitude that is foreign to the spirit of Jesus Christ. A Christian doctor says: "We are allergic to wrong attitudes just as some people are allergic to shrimps." I am physically allergic to red and green peppers. I have tried them scores of times, but the result has always been the same - I get sick. I am just as allergic to harsh, judgmental attitudes. I can't assimilate them. They disrupt me - body, soul and spirit. And what goes for me goes also for you. When we fail to practise the principles which our Lord outlined for us in the Beatitudes, then our sense of well-being is lowered, depleted and poisoned. Goodness is good for us - spiritually, mentally and physically.Father, something is being burned into my consciousness: there is only one healthy way to live - Your Way. When I break with You, I break with life. Help me always to maintain a close connection with You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Psalm 23:1-6</li><li>Psalm 31:9</li><li>Exodus 34:6</li><li>Galatians 5:22</li><li>Ephesians 5:9</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Of what is goodness a characteristic?</li><li>Can you make the same declaration as the psalmist?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves." (v. 9:) 

THEN David was one of the Lord's sheep. All His sheep know Him, love Him, and follow Him. They possess His disposition; He was meek, and lowly in heart. Are you a sheep of Christ? Are you looking to, following of, and rejoicing in, your Shepherd? If so, it is His province to lead you, feed you, protect you, and heal you. Your person, life, health, comforts, and safety, are committed to His care. He is the good Shepherd, He laid down His life for His sheep; He searches and seeks out His sheep wherever they have been scattered; He feeds His flock; He gathereth the lambs with His arm, and carrieth them in His bosom. He loved His sheep more than His own life; He cares for His sheep more than for all the world beside. He feeds them in the most suitable pasture, and leads them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. O view Jesus as your Shepherd! expect Him to lead you, feed you, fold you, and present you to His Father with exceeding joy. Cleave to Him; let nothing tempt you to leave His feet, His flock, or His fold. He will never leave you, nor forsake you.Jehovah is my Shepherd's name! Then what have I, though weak, to fear? My sin and folly I proclaim, If I despond, while He is near: In every danger He is nigh. And will my every want supply.

Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.

The Believer's Daily Remembrancer

"The Lord is my Shepherd." Psalms 23:1

THIS was David's conclusion, from the belief that the Lord was his Shepherd. If we are the sheep of Christ, He will supply us. He has all things in His possession, the silver and the gold are His, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. His private mark is upon all. All spiritual blessings are in His possession also; and He has a kind, tender, and liberal heart. He will give. He has engaged to supply, conduct, protect, and present His flock upon Mount Zion. He has promised to be to us, do for us, and bestow upon us, all that our circumstances require. His conduct towards His flock in old times is a sufficient guarantee. Whenever were the righteous forsaken, or His sheep left neglected and unheeded? Did David ever want? Few passed through greater changes, or severer trials; yet upon his dying bed he tells us, he had all his desire. If you belong to Christ, you may safely conclude, "I SHALL NOT WANT." Your fears are follies; your anxieties are groundless; your forebodings are sinful; you have a God to provide for you, and you ought to rejoice. "My God," says the apostle, "shall supply all your needs, according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."What want shall not our God supply From His redundant stores? What streams of mercy from on high All arm almighty pours!

"I shall not want." Psalms 23:1

In the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled [Jacob], He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him. § Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. § For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death. § Who teaches like Him?

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 He led them forth by the right way. 

O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. § Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. § You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. § Our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. § The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.

 For this is God, our God forever and ever;  He will be our guide even to death. 

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all… things shall be added to you. § He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? § All things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. § As having nothing, and yet possessing all things. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. § The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. §  The living God… gives us richly all things to enjoy. § God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

 My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

The Chief Shepherd. § I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own… My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. § I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. § I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick. § You were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

 Our Lord Jesus . . . that great Shepherd of the sheep. 

My times are in Your hand. § He will choose our inheritance for us. § Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness … make Your way straight before my face. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. § In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. § Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. § As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. § Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. § [Cast] all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

 The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them . . . to search out a resting place for them. 

I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners. “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” § “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, for You are the Lord our God.” § I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. § He restores my soul. § O Lord, I will praise You; though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Hold me up, and I shall be safe. I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.

Evening Daily Light

 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation. 

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. § There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands… They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable. You were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. §  I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. . . . I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. • What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

 All we like sheep have gone astray. 

The Helper, the Holy Spirit. § Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? § It is God who works in you. We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. § A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

 The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. 

There remains … a rest for the people of God. § My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. § There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. § They … rest from their labors. The forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. § In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

 Shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 

Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. § Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Jesus … , that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. [Jesus] said … , “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” § The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

 I will allure her, will bring her into thewilderness, and speak comfort to her. 

The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest … “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. § Rest in the Lord. § He who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace. § We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ. I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

 He makes me to lie down in green pastures. 

A bruised reed He will not break. § He restores my soul. Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. § No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. § After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me … He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.

 There is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. 

<h3>Psalm 23</h3><h3>A psalm of David.</h3>23 <poetry>The <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> is my shepherd, I lack nothing. </poetry> 2 <poetry>    He makes me lie down in green pastures,</indent> he leads me beside quiet waters, </poetry> 3 <poetry>    he refreshes my soul. </indent> He guides me along the right paths <indent>for his name’s sake. </indent> </poetry>

Psalm 23:1

The <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> is my shepherd,<cr>1</cr> I lack nothing.<cr>2</cr>

He makes me lie down in green pastures,</indent> he leads me beside quiet waters,<cr>1</cr>

Psalm 23:2

he refreshes my soul.<cr>1</cr> </indent> He guides me<cr>2</cr> along the right paths<cr>3</cr> <indent>for his name’s sake.<cr>4</cr> </indent>

Psalm 23:3

 1 The Lord is my shepherd,   I lack nothing.    2     He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,    3     he refreshes my soul.   He guides me   along the right paths   for his name’s sake.   

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

Psalm 23:1-3

<poetry>The <smallCap>Lord</smallCap> is my shepherd, I lack nothing. </poetry> <poetry>    He makes me lie down in green pastures,</indent> he leads me beside quiet waters, </poetry> <poetry>    he refreshes my soul. </indent> He guides me along the right paths <indent>for his name’s sake. </indent> </poetry>

 The Lord is my shepherd,   I lack nothing.        He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,        he refreshes my soul.   He guides me   along the right paths   for his name’s sake.   

Bible Verse of the Day

January 5, 2022

Psalm 23:1-3 NIV

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