****The Prayer of Psalm 23****

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.6
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

I never understood why this Psalm is related with death and funerals for the most part. It is about steadfastness, faith, love, God's Promise to want an abundant life for His children, and how no matter what we will face in this world, He will remain by our side and that we will be with Him forever.

It is so vital that we remember our loving Father wanted to make things simple and plain, so that a child or an adult knew how He felt about something, what He expected from us, what He wanted for us, He had it all written down, so that we could get to know Him, and how much He loves us.

That is why I find in the King James Version (verse 4) "though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death," is used, so that many Christians tend to believe this prayer is about our crossing over into our new life, and not about God being present with us while we are here.

This version, NIV uses
verse 4; " As walk through the darkest Valley," which is why I chose this, as the Father said to us since Adam, we will all die in this body, but He wanted to remind us through David, that yes, this body will die, but He will be with us on this earth until we go home wearing our eternal bodies, but until than, we have no reason to fear. Fear is not of God, when you are an obedient child.

This Psalm is NOT a somber but joyful Psalm, filled with hope, faith, promises, support, and Eternity with the Father. I pray we remember this week, when we face difficult decisions, that if God wills it, He works it, and therefore there is no room for fear, that is a deception of the enemy.

May we all have a week full of God's light , love, and wisdom. Remembering He said we are the "Salt and the Light" as we are taught in:

 Matthew 5:13-16 New International Version (NIV) Salt and Light
¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

May we feel our Fathers loving embrace, and find strength in our prayers, and the prayers of all His Saints, in Jesus Blood and name we lift this and all petitions up, amen.

I hope the below poem from my upcoming devotional "Poems of the Eternal Heart a Daily Devotional" inspires our week..... <3

Plain and Simple

God wants us all to understand
that it's love He wants and gives, not fear,
for the Grace He gave, and the price He paid
should make that crystal clear,

For to be a Father and a friend
it's important we share all of our heart,
with a basis of truth our foundation is strong
and than goodness can play it's part.

it's not about works, or mistakes we've made
but believing our debts paid in full,
that the fear, deception, and lies we're fed,
are absolutely the deceivers bull.

because Jesus arose and won the war
and the devil's out of time,
before he knows it the day will come
when  he'll pay eternally for his crimes.

So let us go out my siblings
with our salt and light on hand,
 that those who are lost
will see His light take their final stand...
Patricia VanDenburg
7/13/14