The Lord IS My Shepherd

April 9, 2024

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me …” (Psalm 23:4)

The most important relationship we have is our relationship with God. David gives a great description of the relationship we have with God in his Shepherd Psalm. After explaining how this relationship is established, David tells us how it works as God leads us through the deep dark valleys of our lives.

David tells us that God is with him, goes before him, and prepares a table of provision for him in the presence of his enemies. He tells us that God is like a cup running over within him and God is like oil being poured upon him.

He ends his psalm by telling us the goodness and mercy of God will follow him all the days of his life. This Hebrew word for follow can be translated as “pursue.” David is actually telling us that God not only goes before him, but also pursues behind him with God’s mercy (unconditional love) and goodness all the days of his life.

By application, this means that when you are going through deep dark valleys you can believe that God is with you, goes before you, pursues behind you, will provide for you in the presence of your enemies and problems, He is within you, and His anointing is upon you as long as you say with authentic faith, “The Lord IS My Shepherd.”

Dick Woodward, 03 April 2009

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A New Commandment: LOVE!

April 5, 2024

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”  (John 13:1)

Jesus was celebrating the Passover with His apostles. Luke writes that on the way to the upper room the apostles argued about which of them would be greatest in the kingdom Jesus promised. What a shock it must have been when Jesus assumed the attire of a slave and washed their feet!

Having washed their feet Jesus asked them the question “Do you know what I have done to you?” His question is answered in the words quoted above. The most dynamic characteristic of Jesus is love. He had loved these men for three years in ways they had never been loved before in their entire lives.

Jesus also answered His question by telling them that He had given them an example. If He as their Lord and Teacher had washed their feet, they should wash each other’s feet. Then He made the connection between foot washing and love by giving them a New Commandment:  they were to love one another in the same ways He loved them. This is the absolute credential that they are His disciples.

A New Commandment directed them to a New Commitment. Each of them had made a commitment to Jesus, but now they were to make a commitment to each other. This new commitment established a New Community. We call it the church. Secular people said of the early church, “Behold how they love one another!” If they made that charge today about our churches, would there be enough evidence to convict us?

Oh Lord, make it so!

Dick Woodward, 05 April 2012

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The Gospel in Reverse

April 2, 2024

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

This past weekend many heard the Good News that Jesus died and rose again for our sins that we might live forever in resurrection power with Him. Have you ever heard of the Gospel in reverse? The verse I quoted above sounds like a funeral dirge because it begins with Paul’s announcement that he is crucified with Christ.

But, in this verse Paul exclaims three times that he lives! He lives by faith in the Son of God. He lives because Christ lives in him, and he lives because he is crucified with Christ. To summarize and paraphrase, Paul is declaring the Good News that Christ died so he might live and now it’s his turn. Paul must die so Christ might live His life through Paul.

If you want to have a perpetual Easter, realize that what was true of the Apostle Paul can be true for you and me. Jesus consistently challenged His followers to take up their cross daily and follow Him. (Luke 9: 23) In addition to the literal meaning this could have had in that culture, by application to take up your cross daily means to “crucify” all the personal hopes, ambitions and plans you had for your life asking Him to have His will for your life.

Christ died that you might live. Now it’s your turn.

Dick Woodward, 02 April 2013

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The Importance of Holy Week

March 26, 2024

The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” (John 12:23)

Approximately half the chapters in the Gospel of John record the first thirty-three years of the life of Jesus and the other half record the last week of His life. The solemn words quoted above announce that His time had come. This is where the Apostle John divides his writings and begins to tell us about the last week of Jesus’ life.

If you add the number of chapters in all four of the Gospels you come up with the eighty-nine. Four of those chapters cover the birth and the first thirty years Jesus lived on earth.  Eighty-five cover the three years of His public ministry and twenty-eight cover that last week of His life. This means His last week is seven times more important than His birth and the first thirty years He lived according to those who wrote the Gospels.

The authors of the Gospels tell us by the way they have prioritized the last week in the life of Jesus that what we call “Holy Week” is the most important week in His life.  Why? During that week that Jesus suffered, died, and was raised from the dead for our salvation. Traditionally we make much ado over Christmas, but the four Gospel writers make much of Easter. As committed followers of Christ should not this week that was so important to Jesus be the most important week of our Church year?

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”  (John 13:1)

Dick Woodward, 31 March 2010

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What Does God Ask of Us?

March 22, 2024

“…And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

The prophet Micah asked an important question. In effect his question is: what are the divine requirements of God? What does God expect, require, demand, and command from me? Micah gives us three answers to this question.

His first answer is that we should do justly. In other words, we should be a conduit of justice. We should stand up against injustice anytime and anywhere we see injustice. Since we live in a world that is filled with injustice this could be dangerous. Jesus Christ did this and it got Him crucified.

Micah’s second answer is that we should love mercy. Mercy is unconditional love. This is the chief characteristic of the love of God. David believed that the mercy and unconditional love of God would pursue him all the days of his life.

Micah’s final answer to his question is that we are to walk humbly with our God. Humility has consistently been a characteristic of the great old souls we have known in this life. C.S. Lewis wrote that pride is the mother of all sins and we read in the Proverbs that God hates pride. We can see why God would hate pride because God hates sin.

Are you willing to be the person Micah profiled? There is a sense in which we cannot become a just, merciful and humble person through our own efforts. But these three answers give us a profile of the person God wants us to be. 

Are you willing to let God give you the grace to be that person?

Dick Woodward, 20 March 2011

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Don’t Panic!

March 19, 2024

“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, ‘There is no help for him in God.’”  (Psalm 3:1-2)

As David writes this third Psalm he is facing the greatest crisis of his life. His son, Absalom, has turned the entire nation against him and has driven him out of Jerusalem into the wilderness where David hid from King Saul when he was a young fugitive. His situation is so desperate many people said even God cannot help him. But in this psalm David explains how he knows God is there for him; he is not having a panic attack, so he gives us this prescription to prevent us from having one.

Observe the way David uses three tenses as he lays out his prescription that kept him from panicking. He recalls that in the past there were many times when he cried out to God and the Lord heard him. When he lay down to sleep not knowing if the enemy would slit his throat while he slept, he awoke alive because the Lord sustained him. He then declared in the future tense that he will not be afraid of the thousands of people who want to see him dead. He then declares in the present tense that God is with him and His present blessing is upon him.

When you are in a crisis think back to times in the past when God met you and brought you through a crisis. Then let those past answered prayers inspire you to trust God for the present and the future crises in your life. Look back. With faith, look forward. Then look around at your present circumstances, not with panic but with faith and peace.

Dick Woodward, 18 March 2012

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Access to Grace

March 15, 2024

“…rejoice in your sufferings knowing…” (Romans 5:3 NIV)

Rejoice in your sufferings, knowing what? In the fifth chapter of his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul begins by writing that God has given us access, by faith, into grace that makes it possible for us to stand for Christ in this world and live a life that glorifies God.

Imagine how it must make God feel when He has given us access to all the grace we need to live for Christ in this world and we never access that grace. According to Paul, because God loves us He permits suffering to enter our lives that we cannot bear without drawing on this grace we can access by faith.

Paul writes that as we receive the grace to endure our suffering God produces mature Christ-like character in our lives such as perseverance. When you ask the question, “How does an orange get to be an orange?” The answer is “By hanging in there.” That is the essence of the meaning of this character trait of perseverance.

When some followers of Christ find themselves suffering, their immediate response is “Lord, deliver me from this, immediately!” He can and sometimes He does. But He often does not. When He does not it may be because it is His will to grow spiritual character in the life of His follower. When that is what God is doing Paul is telling us we should rejoice in our sufferings, access grace by faith, and then grow spiritually.

Dick Woodward, 19 March 2009

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Calamities & God’s Help

March 12, 2024

Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

These familiar words of consolation and exhortation are found in the context of a great calamity described by the psalmist. By application these words, and other words of consolation in this psalm, can be related to any calamity we experience as the people of God. The hymn writer declares this calamity to be total devastation. Amidst this devastation he exclaims, “God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in times of trouble.”

Since Hebrew is not as precise as Greek, the New American Standard Bible offers helpful alternate readings throughout this psalm. The alternate reading offered here consoles us with the thought that God can be a very present help to us in our “tight places.” The helpful alternate reading presented alongside verse 10 is “Relax, let go and prove that God is – and what God’s will is. He is God and He wills to be exalted among the nations and in the earth.”

When you find yourself experiencing calamity be still long enough to experience these realities: that God is God, that He is there for you, and that He can help you in the tight places of your calamity. So, relax, let go, and prove Him. Then ask yourself how your response to your calamity might align with what He wills; that He might be exalted among the nations and in the earth through the way you live your life here on earth for His Glory.

Dick Woodward, 13 March 2009

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Dick Woodward: Standing Tall!

March 8, 2024

Today marks the 10-year memorial of Dick Woodward’s passing on March 8, 2014. The blog posting elf would like to share a poem her sister wrote for one of Papa’s birthdays and later shared at his Memorial Celebration. Although it’s been 10 years, Papa’s bible teaching continues exponentially through ICM’s global ministry. As Papa would say, “I didn’t, but God did …” & is still doing!

DAD

How do we tell the story of your extraordinary life?

Your background conditions would have predicted only strife.

Growing up in the Depression with barely enough to eat,

Your father working day and night just to make ends meet.

Overshadowed by your siblings—the seventh child of eleven,

But at the age of nineteen sought out by the God of heaven.

Such a change in direction,

Indescribable new affection!

ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE, ANYTIME,

Was your commitment to your Savior divine.

A gift for speaking and engaging wayward souls,

Making the Word simple in order to make men whole.

Many years spent preaching to empty pews,

When suddenly the wind of the Spirit blew.

Then came along the Mildred Alexander show,

And a TV audience with a hunger to know.

Many folks tuned in to discover

The Mini-Bible College from cover to cover.

So much spiritual success,

But one day really put to the test,

A crippling illness took away your mobility,

Yet grace was greater than your disability.

Immeasurable fruit on seven continents,

Broadcasts, booklets, “God-pods” and Internet.

“Unexplained happiness” for all to see,

“I can’t, but He can”—your secret remedy.

So how do we tell your story, Dad?

By telling of the Savior you’ve had.

Jesus Christ is your all in all,

And by His grace you’re STANDING TALL!

* * * * *

Cindy Woodward Kranich (25 October 2007)

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God’s Strength in Our Weakness

March 5, 2024

“And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

I shall never forget an afternoon in the late 1970s when I tried to mow my lawn and realized I was too weak to cut the grass. When I tried to replace the license plates on my car, I learned to my horror that I was too weak to do even that.

Although it was two years before I could accept the awful reality that I would never feel full strength again, my weakness made it possible to resonate with Paul in a deeper way when he described the way his weakness drove him to access the strength and power of the living risen Christ.

I have had times of such great weakness, especially while ministering from my wheelchair, when I’ve thought: There is absolutely nothing coming from me; everything is coming from God! As God used Paul in mighty ways, he put into words what I have felt many times: “Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God!” (2 Corinthians 3:5. italics added)

These were merely familiar Scripture verses until I had no strength of my own. There is a dimension of the power and strength of Christ I did not discover until I was powerless. My experience of weakness forced me to discover that the strength of the risen living Christ outweighs my weakness.

Dick Woodward, from Happiness That Doesn’t Make Good Sense

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