KEEP
TO THE PATH
BREAD
11 You
have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your
presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalms 16:11 (NIV)
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in
want. 2 He
makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides
me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your
rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalms 23:1-4 (NIV)
7 The
path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the
righteous smooth. 8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Isaiah 26:7-8 (NIV)
8 Good
and upright is the Lord; therefore
he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them
his way. 10 All
the ways of the Lord are loving
and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. Psalms 25:8-10 (NIV)
11 Teach
me your way, O Lord; lead me in a
straight path because of my oppressors. Psalms 27:11 (NIV)
5 Trust
in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make
your paths straight. 7 Do not
be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord
and shun evil. Proverbs 3:5-7 (NIV)
24 The
path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the
grave. Proverbs 15:24 (NIV)
16 This
is what the Lord says: “Stand at
the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is,
and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will
not walk in it.’” Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
1 In the
last days the mountain of the Lord's
temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised
above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many
nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go
out from Zion, the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. Micah 4:1-2 (NIV)
76 “And
you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on
before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the
knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of
our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of
peace.” Luke 1:76-79 (NIV)
12 Therefore,
strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your
feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Hebrews 12:12-13 (NIV)
BUTTER
“We must remember that God will never drag
us along the path of true-hearted discipleship. This would greatly lack the
moral excellency which characterizes all the ways of God. He does not drag, but
draws us along the path which leads to ineffable blessedness in Himself; and if
we do see that it is for our real advantage to break through all the barriers
of nature, in order to respond to Gods’ call, we forsake our own mercies. But
alas! Our hearts little enter into this. We begin to calculate about the
sacrifices, the hindrances, and the difficulties, instead of bounding along the
path, in eagerness of soul, as knowing and loving the One whose call has
sounded in our ears.” C H Macintosh
“We as
Christians know that faith is taking God at His Word. And we realize that faith does not get us
around our problems, but it gets us through them. Such a promise is found in Psalm 48:14, ‘For
this is God, our God forever and ever.
He will be our guide even to death.’
His promise then is no matter how difficult we may find life to be, He
will guide us all the way home. Isaiah
42:16 ‘And I will bring the blind by a way they know not. I will lead them in paths that they have not
known.’ This is the way God leads His
own. You and I are blind to the future,
but He is not, and He has promised to lead all who will put their trust in
Him. Sometimes, because our
circumstances are totally out of our control, we not only have to believe these
promises, but we must put them to the test.” Wales
Goebel
“God promises us
redemption, but His sacred path leads us away from safety, predictability, and
comfort. Any attempt to fly over the
dangerous terrain or make a detour to safer ground is doomed because it will
not take us to God. Instead, it leads to
a host of other idols that can’t provide us with the confidence of faith, the
dynamic of hope or the passion of love we so deeply crave. Each day we either live for God or for other
gods. In each moment of hardship we fear
either God or man. When we choose to
worship gods and fear men our lives will suffer an emptiness and turmoil that
is not much different than trying to fill our bellies with dirt. At first we may feel full, but in short order
our violation of God’s plan will lead to torment.” Dan
Allender
“God always has something for you that is greater than what you
presently know, what you presently do, and what you presently experience. For
now, you walk the pathway of a pilgrim, but one day you will actually arrive at
your glorious destination. For now, you live a life of faith and believe in
many things that you do not yet see, but one day you will enter faith’s full
reward. For now, you are learning how to face difficulties and walk through
hard times, but one day you will wear a victor’s crown. For now, you experience
sorrows and shed many tears, but one day every tear will be wiped away. For
now, you are living by faith, but one day you will see Him face to face.”
Roy
Lessin
“The conviction of
the Holy Spirit is always precise: He
identifies root causes of sin, and He moves the heart to specific acts of
repentance and obedience. All those who
trust God sufficiently to desire to obey Him, and who are patient in waiting
upon Him, will find unfailingly that HE gives clear guidance. ‘In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will
direct your paths’, promises Proverbs 3:6.
For those who love God everything is aboveboard. To know Him is to know what He requires and
more than that, it is to have the power to carry it out. In fact these two—enlightenment and empowering—go
hand in hand, and where they do not, then the Lord is not in it.” Mike
Mason
“We
should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because the paths in which He
leads us all end in glory and immortality.
It is true they may not be smooth paths – they may be covered with sharp
flinty trials, but they lead to the ‘city with foundations, whose architect and
builder is God.’ ‘All the ways of the
Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His
covenant.’ Let’s put full trust in our
Leader, since we know that, come prosperity or adversity, sickness or health,
popularity or contempt, His purpose shall be worked out, and that purpose shall
be pure, unmingled good to every heir of mercy…..His dear love will make us far
more blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world’s
fire.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Thy way, not
mine, O Lord, however dark it be! Lead
me by Thine own hand, choose out the path for me.” Horatius
Bonar
HEART SAVOR
· The best place in the world to be is in the center of
God’s perfect and pleasing will – standing mature and fully assured.
· He guides His children along paths of righteousness.
· In Christ and only in Christ is life in
abundance. I do myself a great
disservice in following any path that does not lead directly to Him.
