Soul Care Articles We have hundreds of articles to help you connect with Jesus Christ, the Soul Shepherd.
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 By Bill Gaultiere © 2011
It’s ironic that the more we long for Jesus—to know him intimately and love him fully—the more we are deeply satisfied. Most things in life don’t work that way. If you cultivate a craving for chocolate you’re likely to keep eating it and gain weight or get sick to your stomach!
Craving becomes a big problem if you’re longing is for acceptance or self-worth and you keep striving to achieve it. You can never accomplish enough. Never be attractive enough. Never keep people happy with you. Many addictions and much unhappiness come out of craving for things other than Jesus.
Is the Lord your Portion?
Many [...]
Continue reading The Lord is my Portion
What are you missing out on?
By Bill Gaultiere © 2011
I was restless and discouraged so I turned to some words by Ray Ortlund, my spiritual father. O how they blessed my soul! I believe they’ll give you a lift too. But first, let me explain.
Every day has much of the mundane it. If we’re not careful the chores and maintenance of life can suck us into a void of meaninglessness.
Every day also brings forth desires for things that would make us feel good and worries about what might make us feel bad. If we’re not careful our emotions lead us into unhealthy [...]
Continue reading Living Supernaturally
 By Bill Gaultiere © 2011
What wonderful life transformation begins to take place in us when we pray from our heart: “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” (Psalm 16:2).
Worries fade. Irritations dissipate. Busyness ceases. Spirits are lifted. Time becomes holy.
We are right where we need to be when our hearts cry out to God: “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
Let David’s Prayer Live in You
Do you know this prayer of David? Have you spent some time letting it live in you until your heart is warmed and devotion to the Lord starts to burn [...]
Continue reading My All in All: Abba, Jesus, Parakletos
 By Bill Gaultiere © 2008, 2012
“Serve the Lord with fear,” says the second Psalm (verse 11). Some people wrongly think that to fear the Lord means to cower because he’s mean.
Certainly, to fear the Lord is to reverence our Creator and Judge. It’s to tremble before him as the One with the power of life and death. It’s to fall down before him rubbing our eyes because his glory is brighter than the sun!
The Messiah in Psalm 2
Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm that hints of God’s Trinitarian nature. What a glorious thing to meet the Father, Son, and Spirit as One Lord!
In this [...]
Continue reading Kiss the Son of God
 By Bill Gaultiere © 2010
Some people say, “You are what you eat.” I think it’s more true to say, “You are what you read.”
What do you spend your time reading? The Sports section? Novels? Fashion magazines? News or stock reports? These are okay. Certainly they are much better than gossipy or trashy options that are available. In fact, you could even read these things with Jesus!
But sadly a lot of Christians find more joy (or relaxation) in entertainment reading than they do in reading the Bible. It’s much easier to read the Bible with Jesus than anything else!
And second to [...]
Continue reading You are What you Read
 By Bill Gaultiere © 2010
We think our heart is our feelings. So we contrast our head and heart to differentiate thinking and feeling.
But in the Biblical understanding our heart is our will, our capacity for choice, the center of our being that is our orientation for life. Our heart is our spirit that animates our personality; it is the source of our initiative and vitality. (In Psalm 51 “heart”, “will,” and “spirit” are used to refer to essentially the same aspect of our person.)
If emotions are the center of our being and the orientation of our life, rather than our will centered on God, [...]
Continue reading A Sinful Heart’s Cry for Mercy
 By Bill Gaultiere © 2008, 2010
Longing for God is the breath of our souls! It is yearning for God with our heart that opens our souls to breathe in the Spirit of Christ and live for him alone.
There’s nothing more important to our lives than longing for Jesus Christ. And the beauty of it is that when we seek God we discover that he was already seeking us! That’s the Gospel! As soon as we focus our heart’s intention on Christ we enter into his presence and step onto the path of life with him.
I’ll never forget the first time I read A.W. Tozer’s [...]
Continue reading Yearning for God
 By Bill Gaultiere © 2010
What refreshment awaits you! What joy! All we have to do is to pause and appreciate Christ in our midst as we do whatever we’re doing – like right now!
Psalm 73 is a great help along these lines. This prayer of Asaph is a deep well that offers us Living Water for our thirsty souls. His heart for God is infectious. By praying his words we can grow in our devotion to the Lord. And when we submit our whole selves to God heaven opens up to us! Whole-hearted dedication to love God in all things is the key to the [...]
Continue reading Drink from a Deep Well of Devotion
 By Bill Gaultiere © 2010
Answered prayer. Success. Victory. We all want to be blessed, to achieve great things, and to overcome our challenges. But when we reach for these desires we can never quite grasp them. The pursuit of happiness never makes anyone happy.
That’s why years ago my spiritual father, Ray Ortlund, encouraged me to “Be all and only for Jesus!” He wanted the best for me. And so he liked to pray Psalm 20 for me. Recently, Psalm 20 inspired me to write a “Benediction of Devotion.”
I’d like to share this short prayer of blessing with you. It’s meant so much to me and [...]
Continue reading The One Benediction You (and Others!) Need
By Bill Gaultiere © 2010
 One day I got up before sunrise to walk and pray in the quiet. I prayed Psalm 119:103 over and over:
“How sweet are your words to my taste, [O Lord Jesus,] sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103).
The Holy Spirit brought to my mind paraphrases of some of the sweet words of Jesus. I tasted them and found them delicious! I meditated on them and received nourishment for my soul. I prayed them and was strengthened to love my neighbor as the Lord loves me.
Taste and See
I invite you to take a moment now to taste the honey sweet [...]
Continue reading Sweet Words of Jesus
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By Bill Gaultiere © 2011
