Today I Preached to Myself

For a little over a year I've been preaching through James (with the help of my pastor), and here's a link to where we post mp3s and notes. Today's topic of patience and how to deal with others who mistreat us turned out to be very timely for me. Just this afternoon I discovered that there was a problem with a counteroffer I submitted to a potential buyer of my house that leaves me very vulnerable to being taken advantage of. It's a perfect opportunity to practice what I'm preaching. Do pray for the situation if you think of it.

The Master of our Pasture

Psalm 100:3 "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."

We are not his sheep in another's pasture, as we are so prone to think. We are in HIS pasture, and he has complete authority and control over his own property. No one gets into it without his wise counsel, and nothing happens there that he does not carefully consider and approve. We should not feel uneasy, worried, or unhappy about the events in the Lord's pasture, but rather we should be happy and content, and, as this Psalm commands, we should be joyful and make that joy known to others! Our joy doesn't come from the circumstances we're in, but it comes from our confidence in the power and authority of our pasture's master (100:3) and from our confidence in his goodness (100:5).