New Bible Study!

Lately, I find myself reaching for comfort foods. I haven’t made cinnamon rolls in a long time. But last week I scavenged around town until I finally tracked down yeast and flour on the shelves of a grocery store. Then I found my Pioneer Woman recipe for sticky buns. I know I don’t need to eat all that sugar and butter, but I just wanted them!! The smell of the yeast dough brought back memories of days gone by when my mom made her famous cinnamon rolls and I realized that I wasn’t longing to eat sticky buns as much as I ached to feel the comfort of the familiar. 

Sometimes, I find that familiar scriptures bring me comfort as well. They are like landmarks that remind me of God’s grace and provision in my life. With that in mind, I want to offer a daily devotional study of scripture that we all know and love. I hope you will join me as we unpack the beauty of each verse. I know these words will offer comfort, peace, and hope in a troubled time. I’d love for you to print out the lessons from our Downloads page. And, please leave a comment if you have questions or if you would like to leave an encouraging word.  

Today is the introduction to The 23rd Psalm for Today’s Woman.  The devotional study lessons will begin tomorrow as we look at verse one.

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

At first glance, the story of David might seem to be the stuff of which fairy tales are made. After all, it is the story of the lowly shepherd boy who, one day, became the King of Israel. It sounds like an updated version of the Cinderella story to me. But as we read the story more closely we realize that David’s story was not a feel-good fairy tale at all. As we look deeper into the life of David, we realize that the journey from the sheep pasture to the royal palace was quite long and even treacherous at times.

We don’t know for sure the exact time or place where David wrote the twenty-third Psalm. Was it one lonely night when he was guarding his father’s sheep? Could it have been written from a cold, dark cave when he and his men were running from the crazed King Saul? Or was it written from the palace as his heart is broken after learning of the death of his renegade son, Absalom?

We do not know for sure, but this one thing we do know. The words written in this Psalm have brought comfort to many. The words of David are simple, yet so profound. They reassure us and cause us to look heavenward.

During these next few weeks, I hope that we are comforted, but also challenged, as we look into this chapter. My prayer is that we will not just read the words on the page. I pray that we will also, with the help of the Holy Spirit, learn to read the very heart of our Shepherd. I long for us to truly fall in love with Him, and in doing so, find that we are more committed than ever to the task of truly living for Him.

Our Shepherd has a divine purpose for each of our lives. As we get to know Him more we will also get to know the plan that He has designed for us. I have decided to follow Him…wherever He leads me. With His help, I am resolved to fulfill the divine purpose and plan He has designed for me.

 By the time we have completed these lessons, I hope that you will have made that same decision. Would you commit to joining us for the next few weeks? You can find a printable version of each lesson on our downloads page. Please print and share each lesson with a friend.  Let’s do this together! – Love, g