We can live in fullness of life in the presence of the risen Christ today — that’s the invitation of the Shepherd Psalm. But it begins with an audacious claim: “The Lord is my shepherd, he gives me life without lack.” Life without lack? You might question that. My life is full of lack —…
How audacious to claim, “I have life without lack because the Lord is my shepherd.” That’s the point of Psalm 23 according to Dallas Willard in his new book Life Without Lack. But I feel many examples of lack in my life and so do you. Is the poet and singer of Psalm 23 living…
You can experience life without lack right now. Remember Christ is here with you. That’s what I told myself a few minutes ago when I was buried under a stack of stress on my desk. Emails. Admin. Unfinished projects. Decisions and more decisions. My body was tense, my breathing was shallow, and my soul was…
Kristi and I are leading a five-day long TLC (“To Love Christ”) retreat/training this week for a group of pastors and wives. (I wrote and scheduled this devotional ahead so I can keep a technology fast.) Often when people go on Christian “retreats” what that means to them is great speakers, dynamic worship bands, and…
Recently at our TLC retreat for pastors, leaders, and caregivers Kristi and led the group through one of our most popular Soul Shepherding experiences: “Psalm 23 Pictures to Pray.” To set up this “Visio Divina” exercise Kristi led us in a verse-by-verse meditation on Psalm 23. For many of us our attention was drawn to…
Psalm 23 is for people in recovery. It’s not just alcoholics who need to get in recovery — we’re all sinners in need of recovery. We’ve all been damaged by sin — our own and other people’s — and we need God to restore us to himself and his life. We’re all learning not to…
Psalm 23 is the most loved chapter in the Bible. It is probably the most famous poem ever composed. The only prayer that surpasses it is the Lord’s prayer. Untold millions of people over the millennia have found comfort, healing, wisdom, and guidance from praying Psalm 23. How could David, a shepherd boy, put together…
I lead a retreat called “A Walk with Good Shepherd.” I developed this in 2004 and have used it many times since then, most recently with a group at the Prince of Peace Abbey. You can use this handout to guide you in a time of Scripture meditation and prayer for a personal retreat or…
When our son David was a little boy of about a year-and-a-half old he was trying to be like his daddy. For instance, he saw that everyday when I went to work I carried a bag with me (it was my lunch bag) and he decided that he needed a bag too! So he got…
