By Bill Gaultiere © 2012

I’d like to share with you the benediction I wrote to go with my sermon on Matthew 6:25-34, “Be God’s Wildflower — Be Worry Free.” A benediction is a blessing from God that is pronounced by one person over another.

This benediction is inspired by Jesus’ words: “Why do you worry about how you look? See how the wildflowers grow. They do not strive or strain to impress. They bloom where they are planted because God has clothed them in his splendor. If that is how God clothes the grass will he not much more clothe you?” (Matthew 6:28-30, PAR).

As Jesus spoke these words he was probably pointing out bright red poppies on the hills of Galilee (like those pictured above). What a beautiful scene! The Lord shines his glory on us when we take our place in his kingdom of the heavens.

Receive God’s Blessing

May this benediction help you to smile a prayer of thanks to the Prince of Peace.

Hear the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ:

“Do not worry. You are God’s precious wildflower.”

May you receive God’s words like rain

And sink your roots into the the Father’s love.

May you soak up the sunshine of Jesus’ smile

As you dance with joy in Spirit breezes.

“Do not worry. You are God’s precious wildflower.”

So bloom where you are planted for the glory of the Lord.

More Soul Shepherding

“Be a Wildflower for God (You’re Not Inadequate)” tells the story of a time I was feeling inadequate until God showed me a single wildflower, seeming lost in a field of color. I experienced a little bit of heaven in the words he whispered to my heart. I appreciated anew that my sufficiency is not in my achievements but in the beholding the Lord’s smile.

“Soul Shepherding is for you and your ministry.” Contact us if we can help you.

Bill Gaultiere, Ph.D. & Kristi Gaultiere, Psy.D. ~ SoulShepherding.org

By Bill Gaultiere © 2012

We say, “I love God.” But do we say this with endearment? Delight? Affection?

Maybe we’re embarrassed to show affection for God, to let our heart hang out for him. Or maybe it’s that as we go about our day we forget him — we get distracted. If we’re not careful the presence of the Lord in our midst becomes like the wallpaper that we don’t notice anymore.

Today I’ve been praying Psalm 2. I’m using a little prayer I wrote to keep offering up expressions of my love for God because he deserves my best. The Lord deserves my whole heart!

My love falls so far short of what is fitting for our glorious God, but at least I can keep stoking the embers and rekindling a flame of love for him. My abiding prayer helps. (Hint: it helps to engage your heart if you pray this with a smile!)

Blessed Refuge

We adore you, O Abba!

We kiss you, O Christ!

We savor you, O Spirit!

We trust you, O Trinity!

Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord.

(Inspired by Psalm 2:2b, 7, 12a)

More Soul Shepherding

“Kiss the Son of God” is one of my favorite prayers of devotion, also from Psalm 2. This is truly a heart-warming prayer. Let it melt your heart. Let affection for Jesus inflame you.

“Abiding in Prayer” introduces this way of prayer with teaching from the Bible.

“Soul Shepherding is for you and your ministry” ~ Contact Bill or Kristi Gaultiere

By Bill Gaultiere © 2012

My heart goes out to people who get overcome by worry. It’s a temptation we all face. It used to be a way of life for me till I was renewed spiritually and deepened by trust in God’s Word.

As a Psychologist I help people with worry in therapy. I also provide spiritual care and mentoring for groups of people in homes, churches, and retreat centers. For instance, last night I was blessed to lead a group of friends in a time of Lectio Divina (an ancient way of praying Scripture) on Jesus’ beautiful words Matthew 6:25-34: “Do not worry… Look at the birds… See how the lilies grow… Seek first the kingdom of God…” Everyone drew closer to Jesus. Each person shared their heart with the Lord and their friends and each heard Jesus’ words of peace applied to their personal life.

God Will Clothe You

I’d like to give you a taste of our “Intimacy with Jesus” group by sharing my experience. For the first reading of the Bible passage the phrase that God drew my attention to was, “He will clothe you.” After the second reading I prayed in silence and then with a cluster of friends concerning my temptation to worry about the sermon I’ll be giving this Sunday, my first at Voyagers’ Bible Church, our new home church.

Our third and final reading of the Bible passage was focused on listening for a personal invitation from the Lord. We listened in silence and then each of us shared in our cluster a prayer of thanks for what we sensed God was saying to us. Here’s how I heard the Lord speak to my heart:

Do not worry. As you preach concern yourself with one thing: me in the midst of the congregation. I am present. I am Fathering the people as you speak. Just as I care for the birds so I care for my people. Trust me as the one who is sowing and reaping, the one who stores away treasure in the heavens. Then for you and the congregation your sowing and reaping will be an easy yoke and you’ll enjoy a treasure store in my kingdom.

I am growing the flowers as you speak, clothing them in my sunshine. I am the one who clothes you. Be clothed in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Be clothed in the words of Jesus — embody them. I will speak through you, not just your words, but your spirit clothed in my Spirit. I will glorify Jesus through you and he will minister peace to the congregation.

Just as I sing over the birds and they sing back to me so it is with my people. Imagine yourself preaching in a field of wildflowers with the sun shining and birds singing. Imagine yourself standing with Jesus in the kingdom of the heavens and all eyes are on him. Make this your prayer then you and the congregation will be at peace as the sunshine and music of my glory spreads in them and through them to the people they touch in their daily lives.

Feed off the Fruit of My Meditation

What challenge are you facing in your life? What stress is troubling you? Re-read my invitation from Jesus, receiving it for you in your situation. The ancient masters of devotion to Jesus call this “Feeding off the fruit of another’s meditation”…

More Soul Shepherding

The best way to hear God speak into your own life is to take the time to do your own meditation on Scripture. I invite you to listen to God speak from Matthew 6:25-34. Here’s the Lectio Divina handout on “Do Not Worry: Matthew 6:25-34” that we used last night.

My article on Lectio Divina introduces the history, Biblical background, rhythms, and steps to practice of this ancient discipline.

If you live in Southern California I invite you to come to one of our upcoming Soul Shepherding events, including this Sunday when I preach on “Be God’s Wildflower — Be Worry Free!” Or perhaps we can do an event for you and your friends at your home or church.

“Soul Shepherding is for you and your ministry” ~ Bill Gaultiere, Ph.D. & Kristi Gaultiere, Psy.D.

Bill & Kristi Gaultiere

“You brought me out into a spacious place” the Psalmist marveled with thanks to the Lord (Psalm 18:19, 31:8). We want to help you step into the spaciousness that the Good Shepherd has for you and your ministry. We do that by facilitating your intimacy with Jesus.

Soul Shepherding from the Lord Jesus Christ is what enables you to enjoy lasting spiritual renewal and fruitful ministry to others.

But there are obstacles that get in the way. Hurts and worries may burden you. Conflicts can cripple. Ministry stress may overwhelm. More church attendance, Bible study, and hard work are not enough for you to experience the healing and growth you need to be joyful and effective in God’s kingdom. So we are trained to provide psychotherapy and spiritual direction, along with showing you how to use the particular spiritual disciplines you need to be free to be who God has designed you to be.

Contact us if we can help you or someone you’re concerned about.

Bill & Kristi

Jesus' hand of mercy is open to you now!

A Soul Shepherding Moment

By Bill Gaultiere © 2012

I often talk with pastors and other servants of the Lord who judge themselves harshly. I tell them, “Don’t feel bad. Feel sad.”

God never wants you to linger with bad feelings about yourself — even if you sin. This may be a new thought for you. It may sound like I’m contradicting the teaching of the Bible. If so then you to take to heart the Apostle Paul’s teaching in 2 Corinthians 7:8-13 where he contrasts “worldly sorrow” and “godly sorrow.” The Apostle Paul was the greatest of all psychologists, second only to Jesus Christ himself.

Why it’s Bad to Feel Bad

Nothing good comes from shame. When we condemn ourselves for our sins, failings, or struggles it pulls us down, down, down into depression and isolation, further and further away from the mercy of Christ and the care of people. Shame sucks the joy of the Lord out of our lives, suffocating us and rendering us incapable of loving God or other people. Shame is worldly sorrow.

It’s necessary that we feel convicted by our sin, realizing that we’ve separated ourselves from God and been unloving to him or another person (including our own self). But how do we respond to the awareness of our shortcomings?

Don’t slide down into guilt, judgment, condemnation, shame, and self-hatred! God doesn’t want that for you. Instead, God would have us respond to our awareness of sin with sadness. ”I’m disappointed that I didn’t express love for God… I wish I would’ve willed good for that person and been kind… I am sad that I reacted with such anger… I missed out on appreciating the blessing of Christ with me and sharing that…”

Why it’s Good to Feel Sad

It’s helpful when conviction of sin leads us to feel sad because godly sorrow inspires us to reach out for Christ’s hand of mercy that will pull us back up to our feet. Godly sorrow produces a longing for the righteousness that comes from God. Godly sorrow leads to salvation, being reconciled to Christ and helped to become more like him. Godly sorrow  becomes empathy for God and the people we’ve hurt and when we understand others we are in position to love them.

“There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Believe it.  Take it to heart. Be sad about the sinful part of you that hurts God, others, and yourself. Plan now that the next time you fail you will not wallow in self-recrimination, but will immediately cry out, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:13, 38).

More Soul Shepherding

In “The Curb of Shame” I explain the wisdom in Martin Luther’s controversial exhortation to “Sin boldly!”

Check out our article archive “Overcoming Problems” and find the articles under the categories “Depression” and “Low Self-Esteem.”

Soul Shepherding is for you and your ministry. We’re always happy for you to share our resources with the people you minister to. If you have a question or concern or if you’d like us to speak to your small group or church community contact us anytime. Soul Shepherding is a 501c3 nonprofit ministry supported by tax-deductible donations.

Bill Gaultiere, Ph.D. & Kristi Gaultiere, Psy.D. ~ SoulShepherding.org

Jesus wants to embrace you!

A Soul Shepherding Moment

By Bill Gaultiere © 2012

This morning I opened up my Psalms prayerbook and read, “May the Lord answer you when you are in distress… May he send you help from the sanctuary” (Psalm 20:1-2).

3,000 years ago with the help of the Holy Spirit the Psalmist was interceding for our comfort. Believing that inspires me to pray. Instead of trying to make prayer happen with my words and energies I let the Scripture and the Spirit carry me to the throne of grace. “We don’t know what we ought to pray for but the Spirit himself intercedes for us…” (Romans 8:26).

What comfort do you need today? Is someone in your circle hurting?

In our family we are very sad and in need of comfort. We lost Kristi’s dad to a heart attack yesterday. Our loss is heaven’s gain as he’s in glory with Jesus. We’re happy for him, but we will so miss having him part of the family.

There’s been a lot of tears and more to come. Also lots of hugs, listening, memories, and prayers. How do you let go of husband? Father? Grandpa? Friend? Yesterday he had so much life. Today he’s gone, but actually more alive than ever. So many hopes that can’t be fulfilled, yet he has realized the greatest hope of all in the arms of Jesus.

In the Arms of Jesus

In the arms of Jesus. That’s the ultimate source of comfort. That’s the only way to let go of a loved one — embrace the Loved One. The Lord Jesus Christ who conquered sin and death embraces us now here on earth even as he is embracing Kristi’s dad in heaven.

In the arms of Jesus. That’s the ultimate source of hope. Really we’re all just pilgrims passing through this earth. We try not to think about how brief our lives are. We forget that “the life that is truly life” is not only in heaven waiting for us, but it is in increasing measure available for us to “take hold” of right now with Jesus in his kingdom of the heavens (1 Timothy 6:19).

In the arms of Jesus. That’s where we are as we embrace one another. We are the body of Christ. We are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20).

In the arms of Jesus. That’s where the Psalmist led me this morning. I hope it’s where you are now. Who do you know who needs to find comfort and hope in the arms of Jesus? It’s by being in the arms of Jesus yourself that you can offer the help to others that is needed. (He has BIG arms to hold lots of people!)

O Jesus, there is no better place to be than in your arms — we rest in your embrace. We release our loved ones into your arms — they rest in your embrace. Yes, Lord, in your arms heaven and earth aren’t so far apart. Amen.

More Soul Shepherding

“Trusting God in Sadness” tells the story of how God helped me at a time when I was depressed.

Soul Shepherding is for you and your ministry. If we can help you find God’s comfort contact us. We want to help you live in such a way that God’s peace and grace live in you and overflow from you to others in need.

Dr’s Bill & Kristi Gaultiere ~ SoulShepherding.org

By Bill Gaultiere © 2012

We all want 2012 to be better than 2011 — even if last year was a great year. How does that happen?

Not by having better circumstances. (They always go up and down.)

Not by keeping a typical New Years’ Resolution. (They don’t deal with personal character and besides they fizzle out by February.)

Not by making no resolutions. (It’s a good and necessary thing for all of us to resolve to be and do better, as long we’re inspired by God’s wisdom and relying on his strength.)

Not by following the typical Christian advice: “Three Steps to a Blessed Life” or “Five Biblical Principles to Help You Succeed.” (True life in Christ is so much larger than using God to make our life turn out more like we want it to.)

The Way to a Better Year

“I am devoted to you,” David proclaimed to the Lord (Psalm 86:2). That is the one and only way to enjoy a better year this year than last.

Imagine waking up each day and stepping into the kingdom of the heavens. (It’s not just a far off and way later — it’s wherever Christ is King.) That is the life of beauty, goodness, and adventure that God has for you and I!

I have found that beginning my day with a prayer of dedication to the Lord is the right start to remind me that I am not living from the visible world, but God’s kingdom, invisible and yet more real and glorious than anything I’ve ever seen with my eyes. Then continually, as often as I can remember, I offer up prayers inspired by a fragment from a Psalm or other Scripture.

A Prayer for a Better You

Try this morning prayer of dedication with me:

Good morning Father! Thank you for this day of life you’ve given me. Jesus, be my Lord and Teacher today in all things. You mean everything to me — what a blessing that I am the disciple you love!

O God, whatever happens today, however people treat me, whether or not I succeed in the things I do I will rejoice because I am with you being formed by the Holy Spirit to be more like Jesus, more at peace and more loving to the people near me.

Father, Son, and Spirit I am in you and you are in me! Think with my thoughts. Stir in my heart. Look with my eyes. Speak with my mouth. Love with my hands.

All I want today is to glorify and serve you, my Lord. So I abandon to you the outcomes of this day, trusting that you are good and you are working good in my life — even when it doesn’t feel like it. In Jesus’ name I pray and live. Amen.

This is a prayer to offer from our hearts. It’s an attitude to live by. Why? To exalt the Lord Jesus Christ! To be devoted to God! When we abandon ourselves to God we find that we couldn’t be happier, we couldn’t have a better life  – not matter what our circumstances are at the moment.

More Soul Shepherding

“Devoted to You” is one of my favorite prayers of devotion. It’s inspired by Psalm 86, a special, but little known prayer by the man after God’s heart.

“The Apprentice Prayer” is a prayer of devotion that I wrote during my spiritual renewal that began in 2002.

Is your life devoted to Christ? I think it is or you wouldn’t be reading this! How can we help you to better follow the Good Shepherd in the New Year? Let us know. Soul Shepherding is for you and your ministry. 

Bill & Kristi Gaultiere ~ SoulShepherding.org

By Bill Gaultiere © 2011

Mary offered a little prayer of faith to receive the birth of Christ and the world has never been the same! How might the world around you change if you offer her prayer from your heart?

These days in the Christmas season can be hectic. Many people find their calendars too full with holiday actives and they are hurried and stressed. For some there are family conflicts or financial problems to deal with. Others are lonely. These things — whether happy or unhappy — may distract us from appreciating the Christ of Christmas.

All of us, whether we realize it or not, long to participate in a close friendship and dynamic partnership with Jesus, whose birth we celebrate.

Try Mary’s Prayer

Mary’s prayer that birthed the first Christmas can birth Christmas in your heart:

“Let it be to me… According to your Word” (Luke 1:38, NKJV).

You might find it helpful to meditate on these words of Scripture by breathing them in and out this way:

Breathe in to appreciate the life of Christ flowing into you: “Let it be to me…”

Breathe out to submit to God: “According to your Word.”

Soul Training

After you spend a little time meditating on the Breath Prayer from the Bible try focusing your prayer on a particular stress or opportunity in your life that needs to be submitted to God. To do this simply pray, “Lord as I __________, let it be to me… According to your Word.”

Then see if you can remember to repeat this prayer with a breath now and again as you do what you’re doing throughout the day. In the way you can devote  to the Lord each activity and each interaction with another person.

Try it this for a day or a few days. You’ll be amazed at how you begin to experience more of the flow of God’s love, joy, and peace into your life and through you to those around you.

Mary’s little prayer of the heart can facilitate the miracle of Christmas for you today!

More Soul Shepherding

“Advent Breath Prayers” features prayers of the heart inspired by the Bible characters in the nativity.

Soul Shepherding is for you and your ministry. We are dedicated to developing pastors and all kinds of leaders and caregivers through counseling, spiritual direction, and spiritual formation resources. Soul Shepherding is a 501c3 nonprofit ministry. Donations are tax deductible.

Bill Gaultiere, PhD & Kristi Gaultiere, PsyD ~ SoulShepherding.org

By Bill Gaultiere © 2011

This Christmas season maybe you need to appreciate that God bestows his favor on you personally? Maybe you’ve been feeling discouraged or insignificant and need to lift up your head to Christ? I did. So God led me to meditate on the shepherd’s place in the Christmas story as it’s recorded in the Bible (Luke 2:8-20).

In Jesus’ day shepherds were poor and disregarded. In public they hung their heads or stood off to the side. Isolated from the rest of society, they lived out in the fields caring for sheep day and night, rain or shine, heat or cold. They had to be constantly on the lookout for predators and thieves. They took turns staying awake through the night.

Imagine being a shepherd on a cold winter night. It’s so cold your bones ache and your teeth are chattering. It’s dark and you’re struggling to stay awake and keep watch over the sheep. You never know when a lion might pounce out from the bushes to attack a sheep. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a blinding light shines in your face and something appears!

You scream in fright. Trembling and squinting in the bright light, you scurry to pick up your rod to protect yourself and the sheep. There’s panic in the camp as the other shepherds are awakened and the sheep are bleating loudly.

The Shepherds Lifted Up their Heads

“Do not be afraid,” a heavenly voice reassures. Its an angel! “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people,” the angel proclaims. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12).

Then the angel is joined by a whole company of angels. You lift up and your head as they praise God and proclaim his favor upon you! The angel says that you’ll find the Christ child wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Wow! It’s all so incredible. You try to take it in: The Messiah has come and he’s come for me! He’s the Savior of the world and he’s lying in an animal feeding trough?! If God would humble himself that much maybe he does love a lowly shepherd like me.

You hurry off to Bethlehem to see the newborn Savior. Sure enough, just as the angels said, there is the baby lying in a manger with his mother Mary and Joseph in a cave full of animals. Overjoyed, you spread the glorious news of what the angels told you about the Christ child, first to Mary and Joseph, then to the people of Bethlehem and whoever would listen.

Let’s Treasure Jesus!

Luke concludes this part of the Christmas story by saying: “All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:18-19).

Are you amazed by Jesus like the people of Bethlehem were? It’s easy to be amazed by Jesus — his birth, his holiness, the miracles he performed, all his words of wisdom, his resurrection — until something else catches our fancy and Jesus fades back into the background of our lives.

We need to be more than amazed by Jesus. Our real opportunity is to treasure him in our hearts as Mary did, to lift up our heads in God’s presence and hurry to behold Christ in our hearts as the shepherds did.

A Prayer

Precious Jesus, yes, we hold you in our hearts. We lift our heads with pride because you have come to us. We ponder your birth, your holy life, your sacrifice of love, your resurrection, and your presence with us now. We delight in knowing you. We rejoice to serve you in all that we do. Amen.

More Soul Shepherding

“Advent Breath Prayers” features prayers of the heart themed on different Bible characters from the first Christmas.

Donations to Soul Shepherding provide counseling and spiritual direction for pastors, missionaries, and their wives. They also support SoulShepherding.org which receives over 600 pages views per day. Thank you!

Bill Gaultiere, Ph.D. & Kristi Gaultiere, Psy.D. ~ SoulShepherding.org

By Bill Gaultiere © 2011

Of all the virtues gratitude is queen. Giving thanks to God is the most lovely virtue and it’s the mother of all that is good. That’s because “Every good and perfect give is from above” (James 1:17) and appreciating this is the way we participate in God’s blessings for us and others.

Research shows that grateful people are healthier, happier, and have more friends. Most of us know this but are prone to allow our thankfulness to be overtaken by things like worry, boredom with the mundane, time pressure, negative people, or pain.

How to Grow in Gratitude

The great apostle urges us, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). How do we do this? By keeping our mind on the goodness and beauty of God. How do we do that? By cultivating a heart habit of thankfulness. How do we do that? By getting the word of God imbedded into our body.

One way I’ve done this is by praying a little gratitude prayer with my body over and over so many times that it became unconscious. I did this with the prayer, “Thank you Lord.”

I put my body into it by using a simple Breath Prayer rhythm of breathing in, “Thank you,” and breathing out,”Lord.” I taught myself to use my breathing in and out as a prayer: breathing in to receive from God and breathing out to submit to my Lord. Thankfulness to God and submission to his will are the first two prayers of the Lord’s Prayer.

Then I repeated this prayer countless times for intensive periods over many months. (We have to train ourselves to grow in godliness, 1 Timothy 4:7.) In particular I did this while jogging long distances when I was tired. Eventually, it happened that even when I had not consciously intended to do so I’d often find myself pausing to breathe, “Thank you… Lord.”

What a blessing this has been! It’s just three syllables. Just a breath. Just a smile to God. But it’s given a lift to my attitude! Try it and see for yourself.

Thank you Lord Jesus Christ. You are wonderful to us. You are faithful and your love endures forever. Your Spirit lifts us up like the eagle is lifted by the wind currents. Teach us Lord to be grateful all the time, not just on Thanksgiving day, not just when times are good, but even in difficult times. Amen.

More Soul Shepherding

“Turkey and Prayer” will inspire you with a simple way of elevating the conversation at your Thanksgiving meal (or any meal).

“Old Words, New Thanksgivings” offers some uncommon ancient wisdom on the virtue of gratitude.

Live in Orange County, CA? Come to Thirst!, a monthly gathering for people who long for more of Jesus.

Breath Prayers are one of the Soul Shepherding disciplines that we teach to pastors and others to help them renew their minds in God’s Word. We do this in spiritual direction, soul care groups, and retreats. Soul Shepherding is a nonprofit ministry. Donations are tax-deductible.

Bill Gaultiere, Ph.D. & Kristi Gaultiere, Psy.D. ~ SoulShepherding.org