The Warrior Poet: The Shepherd's Watch

For those of you that have been asking when its going to start, today is that day. Today I am starting a blog series entitled "The Warrior Poet". I am going to take some time to look at the life of David. David is one of my most favorite bible heroes. He was a great man of God who had victories and defeats. David was very open and honest about how he felt as he wrote each Psalm, but despite where he was at & what was going on he would come back around to how great God is! My plan is to study the psalms of David in chronological order - the order that David wrote them according to the various events occurring in his life.

Join me as I travel through these excerpts from David's life & feel free to leave your thoughts & comments as well.

The Shepherd's Watch - Ps. 23

Psalm 23 is most likely written after David was anointed to be king while he was still tending to his father's flock. David is next in line to be king & instead of being "groomed" for the job by another king in the palace he was out in the wilderness with no one else around, just a bunch of sheep. He may not have realized it at the time but he sure did realize later that he was being groomed for the job by the King of Kings! As David was sitting there watching over the flock he began to write down a metaphor about his life, his God, and God's love.

David writes that the Lord gives us all we need (vs.1); so long as we have Him we will never be found lacking! The lord gives us peace (vs.2) - in good & bad times. The Lord gives us strength and guidance (vs.3) - so we can get through anything. The Lord gives us protection and comfort (v.4) - so we can see the light through the darkest of times. The Lord gives us blessings, love and security (vs. 5-6); God pursues us & he never stops!

David knew about being a shepherd, its what he did, and he knew how much the sheep need the shepherd. David wrote about what God meant to him, but what about you? Maybe you know nothing of being a shepherd so what would you say God is to you? Is he your dad, your friend, your boss, your teacher, your coach? Whatever he is to you, the very things that David said the Lord gives us still apply today. God's love, peace, strength, comfort, blessing, ect, transcend all the way to where you are today. With him we have all we need and we will never be found lacking!

The Lord is my coach...

This morning I spent some time thinking about the way that I talk. As I was thinking of that I read a verse that really put me in check...

Ps. 34:1 - I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

Is it God's praises that are continually coming out of my mouth? Do my words please God? After asking myself these questions I then asked myself, am I the man that God wants me to be? I want to honor God at all times.

I've still got a lot of work to do but it begins with today; it begins with now.

Leadership Thought...

"Any good leader can give orders, but a great leader lives the orders." - Unknown

WOW

Have you ever had one of those "Wow, God..." moments? I had one today. God has been doing some really great things here in Taylor & today I was again amazed at God. Despite me - the mistakes I've made & failures I've suffered God still chooses to use me; its truly amazing. Tonight God did some cool things in the hearts and lives of the students here in Taylor; I'm excited for what's to come!

A Tribute To Granddad

Today I did my first funeral - it was my grandfather's. Here are a few thoughts about him...

My grandpa was a man of God! His love for God was seen in his life - in the way that he served & blessed others. He loved to give - whether it was his time, resources, finances, etc. he would give. The greatest thing that he ever gave was giving the Great News of Jesus to others. I got to meet people these last couple of days who told us of how they came to know Christ as Lord and Savior because of my granddad's life. It was hard to see him go but I believe that if he were able to share one last thing with us today he would echo the words of Paul.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

I believe he would have recited those verses & then gone on to tell us, "Its okay to cry. Goodbye's are never easy, bust rest assured that this isn't 'goodbye', its just a 'see you later.' We will see each other again one day, but until that day, you have a race to run, a race to win. I have finished mine & I now go into the grandstands to cheer you on in your race. Run hard, don't give up & don't look back & when you are finished with that race I'll be there at the finish line to celebrate with you."

I have a race to win!

In it to win it,

Coach Luis

Don't Just Say It, Mean It.

Have you ever said something before but you didn't really mean it? I think we're probably all guilty of that. How about when someone asks us how we are doing, the typical response is, "Good." We answer back without really thinking of the question & without really meaning the answer; its an automatic response that we give. I must admit, I've been guilty of that before, not just with people, but with God too. Have you ever had a time that you prayed but didn't really mean it? What happens sometimes is we pray out of habit or routine & not out of desire & then wonder why our prayer isn't answered. God isn't looking for us to just punch a time card, he wants to spend time with us; he wants for us to meet with him! When we truly go to God he's there to meet with us...

Ps. 145:18 (The Message) - God is there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.

Don't just go to prayer on auto pilot, pray & really mean it.

Coach Luis

Amazing!

God moved in a mighty way tonight! He changed the order of how we were going to do things & it was great. Salvations, rededications, & breakthroughs, it was a fantastic night!

What did you do tonight?