“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” —Psalm 23:6 “Can I keep this puppy?  He followed me home,” said kids onscreen to parents in days gone by. Everywhere that Pigpen went in the classic…

“Surely….” —Psalm 23:6 Our Psalm’s last verse opens like a case of fireworks exploding in the back seat of your car. In place of uncertainty and doubt, Psalm 23:6 gives us the unequivicable. Many of us memorized this as the…

You shower me with so many blessings that I slosh over!—Psalm 23:5, RDSV Two friends were coming into our church building. I was hurrying out to preside and preach at a funeral. “Look at this!” one of them said to me,…

You anoint my head with oil —Psalm 23:5 Anointing of someone’s head happened in a variety of situations back then and there. For example… …sometimes it was a way to show honor and welcome to a guest. …sometimes it was…

“…in the presence of my enemies.” —Psalm 23:5 Yesterday we thought together about a banquet. The rest of that sentence, Psalm 23:5, tells where that banquet takes place  and who else is there: “in the presence of my enemies.” I love the…

You set a banquet table before me —Psalm 23:5 It was my freshman year of high school.  The room was packed.  The crowd was loud. We were being honored at a sports banquet.  We had made it through our first…

This comes from a friend of mine named Tom Allen —   There was this really smart sheep down in Mexico who knew how to make butter and buttermilk. One night she sneaked across the border and got a job…

Your rod and your staff, they protect me. — Psalm 23:4 A shepherd’s daily tools were used for both offense and defense. The shepherd’s staff was used to nudge sheep along, pull a stray back, or even rescue one from a…

Even when I walk through a valley filled with shadows of death, I don’t need to be afraid because You are with me. —Psalm 23:4 Valleys and life-threatening shadows are inevitably ahead of us. Equally certain is God’s presence. Sometimes…

I fear no evil, for thou art with me.—Psalm 23:4 Our Psalm does not deny the reality of problems and struggles. It even addresses the reality of evil. But greater still is the reality that God is with us. Even during…