May 12, 2026
“Yea, though 1 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. One of the greatest descriptions of a relationship we can have with God is given by David in his Shepherd Psalm. After explaining how this relationship is established, David tells us how it works as God leads us through the dark valleys of our lives.
David tells us that God is with him, God goes before him and prepares a table of provision for him in the presence of all 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 that God’s goodness and mercy will follow him all the days of his life. This Hebrew word for follow here could be translated as the word “pursue.” So, David is actually telling us that God not only goes before him but pursues him with divine 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, God goes before you, God pursues behind you, God will provide for you in the presence of your enemies, or problems. God is within you, and God’s anointing is upon you as long as you say with authentic faith, “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”
Dick Woodward, 14 May 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 8, 2026
“Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” (Isaiah 40:3)
In ancient times, if a king wanted to travel to a faraway province in his kingdom a highway would be built for him. As people worked on that project they called it “The Kings Highway.” Isaiah is using this metaphor to say that God will travel into this world on a highway, and that Highway is the life of the Messiah.
Building a highway you need to do four things: level mountains, fill valleys, straighten crooked places, and smooth out rough places. Through the life of God’s Son, the Messiah, mountains of pride will be leveled, empty valleys will be filled with the Holy Spirit, crooked ways of sin will be straightened, and He will respond to rough places in a way that brings glory to His Father and salvation to the world.
After spending three years 24/7 with a dozen disciples, Jesus challenged them that as His Father sent Him into the world, He was sending them out in the same way. (John 20:21) One of many practical applications of that challenge for them, and for us, is that our lives must be highways for God.
I challenge you, in fact I dare you to pray this prayer: “God, make my life a highway for You!”
If you do this, don’t be surprised when God’s spiritual bulldozers show up in your life leveling mountains of pride, filling your emptiness with the Holy Spirit, making straight your crooked places, and smoothing out your rough places.
Dick Woodward, 15 May 2011
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Posted by Dick Woodward
May 1, 2026
“When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” (Luke 19:5)
When Jesus came face to face with the greatest sinner in Jericho, He knew him and called him by name. He then invited Himself to spend the entire day in the house of His sinner friend. The chapter tells us elsewhere that Jesus was only passing through Jericho.
Extremely popular at this time, His walk through Jericho was like a parade amidst crowds of people who wanted to get a glimpse of the famous Rabbi from Galilee. We might imagine that religious leaders would like to have entertained Him for lunch. To everyone’s shocked amazement Jesus declares He will spend His one day in Jericho with the greatness sinner there. Publicans were hated in that day because they collected taxes for the Romans from their fellow Jews. And Zacchaeus was the chief of the publicans who had become very wealthy in that position.
We are told nothing of what Jesus and the publican discussed that day, but at the end of the day as they came out of the house Zacchaeus announces he will give half of his money to the poor. And with the other half he will restore 400% of everything he has taken from people unjustly.
One scholar put an interesting spin on this story when he suggested that Zacchaeus was the publican in the previous chapter of Luke who prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
Do you know many sinners by name? Are you their friend?
Dick Woodward, 01 May 2011
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 14, 2026
“…and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life...” (Psalm 23:6)
Mercy is the unconditional love of God. This word is found 366 times in the Bible. Perhaps God wants us to know we need mercy and unconditional love every day of the year – and leap year! Many people think we don’t hear about God’s mercy until the Sermon on the Mount; however, we find 280 mercy references in the Old Testament.
King David concludes Psalm 100 with the observation that God’s mercy is everlasting. My favorite Old Testament reference to God’s mercy is found at the end of Psalm 23. David’s Psalm ends with the declaration that he is certain the mercy of God will follow him always.
The Hebrew word he uses for ‘follow’ can also be translated as ‘pursue.’ David brings his profound description of the relationship between God and man to a conclusion by declaring the unconditional love of God will pursue him all the days of his life. By application this is true for all who confess “the Lord is my Shepherd.”
There are many ways to fail. When we understand the meaning of God’s mercy, we should realize that we cannot possibly out-fail God’s mercy. No matter what our failures have been, God has sent us a message wrapped in this five-letter word mercy.
The amazing message is that we did not win God’s love by a positive performance, and we do not lose God’s love by a negative performance. God’s love and acceptance of each one of us is unconditional. According to David, the mercy of God is there like a rock for us as God relentlessly pursues us with unconditional love and forgiveness.
Dick Woodward, from Happiness that Doesn’t Make Good Sense
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 10, 2026
“…Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the pure in heart …” (Matthew5:7&8)
Jesus begins His greatest discourse with a “checkup from the neck up.” He teaches eight beattitudes that can make His disciples salt and light and His answer to what is wrong with this crazy world. These eight attitudes come in pairs. The third pair is to be merciful with a pure heart.
One scholar writes that these blessed attitudes are like climbing a mountain. The first pair takes us halfway up the mountain, and the second pair takes us to the top of the mountain. The third pair takes us halfway down the other side of the mountain.
The profound simplicity of Jesus is asking the questions “When people are filled with righteousness that takes them to the top of the mountain, what kind of people are they? Are they Bible experts who throw the book at people?” No! They are filled with mercy (which is unconditional love) and while they love in this way, they are pure in heart.
To be pure in heart is only understood when we research the Greek word used here for pure. It is the word from which we get our word to be catheterized. It means that as disciples are merciful, they have a catharsis through which everything that is not the unconditional love of Christ is removed from their hearts.
If you want to be one of the solutions of Jesus in this world hunger and thirst for what is right and you will find that love is right and right is love. Be a conduit of God’s love and you will become the salt and light of Jesus.
Dick Woodward, 13 April 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 7, 2026
“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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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 3, 2026
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
If you want to know what is good about Good Friday, this verse from Isaiah will tell you. This verse describes with great clarity the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross when it begins and ends with the same word. That word is “all.”
The verse begins with what we may call “the bad news.” Isaiah tells us that all of us are like sheep and have gone astray. We have turned every single one of us to our own way. If you want to know the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, agree that you are included in that first ‘all.’
The ‘all’ with which this verse concludes is what we can call “the good news.” Isaiah tells us that the penalty for all the things we have done after turning to our own ways has been laid on Him (meaning Jesus.)
I don’t know about you, but for me that is very, very good news! If you and I confess we are included in the first and the last ‘all’ in this great verse, then we know what we need to know and we have done what we need to do to turn our bad news into good news. And we know what is good about Good Friday.
If you want to make this Friday of Holy Week a Good Friday, believe what Isaiah has written: “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Dick Woodward, 02 April 2010
The Blog Posting elf wishes everyone a blessed Easter!
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Posted by Dick Woodward
March 31, 2026
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 shouldn’t 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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Posted by Dick Woodward
March 27, 2026
“He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness…” (Psalm 23:3)
Failure is one of the most feared and dreaded experiences in life. The fear of failure drives millions of people all day long. There are many ways to fail. We can fail in our work, in our marriage, or as parents. We can fail personally by feeling we’re not living up to our expectations or our potential. We can fail morally.
When we fail what do we do about it?
The third verse of Psalm 23 gives us a prescription for failure. David knew what it was to fail. When he needed restoration, he tells us how his Shepherd God restored him when he wrote: “He leads me in the paths of righteousness.” David had already written that his Shepherd leads him to still waters. When David uses the word “lead” for the second time he uses a Hebrew word that means God “drives” us into the paths of righteousness.
What David is telling us here is that when we need restoration, we should not seek a cheap or an easy one. Rehabilitation means “to invest again with dignity.” He was implying that his restoration was a matter of being driven into the paths of righteousness for some time – perhaps even for years. God used those paths of righteousness to restore David’s soul and give him an opportunity to invest again with dignity.
By application, when you fail and need restoration let our great Shepherd-God lead you into the paths of righteousness that will truly restore your soul.
Dick Woodward, 28 March 2009
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Posted by Dick Woodward
March 24, 2026
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…” Matthew 6:12
In Matthew 18, Jesus told the story of a man who owed a great debt. In those days, if you owed a large debt you couldn’t pay, you were sent to prison. Your wife and children were sold into slavery until your debt was paid in full. Since you couldn’t generate any income from prison, you likely would die in prison and your family would be slaves the rest of their lives.
Relative to our currency, in this story Jesus described a multi-million-dollar debt. Summoned to court, the man who owed this great debt begged for mercy. Miraculously, out of compassion the one to whom he was indebted completely forgave his debt.
On the way home from this extraordinary day in court, this man met a man who owed him twenty dollars and could not pay. He grabbed this poor man by the throat and shouted, “You pay me every cent you owe or I will slam you in prison and sell your family into slavery.”
People who observed both these happenings reported what they witnessed to the man who had forgiven the multi-million-dollar debt. When he heard, he summoned the ungrateful, forgiven man to another court hearing and reversed his compassionate decision.
Having told that story, Jesus pronounced, “Even so my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (Matthew 18:35)
The essential truth Jesus teaches here is that if we see our salvation as the cancellation of a multi-million-dollar debt, we will be forgiving because we have been forgiven so much. If we are not forgiving, we do not really believe we have been forgiven.
Dick Woodward, from A Prescription for Prayer
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Posted by Dick Woodward
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