I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 23-31.

    Psalm 23 is well known and as a result is often discussed. So, I am only going to make a few comments about it, mostly in context with the rest of today’s Psalms. God will provide us with all of our needs and we need never fear, not even death itself, because God is with us. God is able to provide our needs because, not only is the earth and everything in it His, but He made everything that is in the first place.

    If we seek the Lord He will show us the path to follow and the decisions we should make. If we trust God enough to do the things He directs us to do we will never be disgraced. If we turn to God for knowledge He will teach us all that we need to know. The psalmist even tells us how to recognize where God is directing us: He will never direct us to lie or to do that which is not pure. If the path we are travelling calls for deceiving others, it is not the one to which God has directed us. God will not direct us to accompany liars, defend hypocrites, or join in with those who do evil. No, God directs us to live with integrity and according to His truth, which is the only truth that there is. I want to emphasize the importance of not lying, of not being deceitful. I had a discussion with someone who said that any religion which does not allow for lying to avoid persecution is irrational. Unfortunately, I was distracted by other issues in the discussion and failed to point out that neither Judaism nor Christianity do so. There are passages in the Bible which can be interpreted as supporting lying in order to protect others from harm, but none that support lying for your own protection.

    I have a few final points I would like to make today, but I am not sure I will be able to tie them together. The antidote to fear is meditating on God’s words and instructions. Meditating on His commands and instructions should lead us to act in accordance with those instructions. If we do so, we will know that we are under His protection and that no true harm may come to us. God is calling us to come to Him to talk with Him. I pray that you are willing to have a conversation with Him. I pray that I am willing to converse with Him when He calls to me. Sin will drain our strength, when we find this happening we can either let it drain us completely or we can allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse the sin from us. I will praise the Lord for He has stored up goodness for those whose fear of Him leads them to follow His instruction.