A Life Centered In Christ | Ps.23 | "Like A Child At Home”

The Center

For someone's life to be centered in Christ means all decisions revolve around pleasing God and using every opportunity to invite God to lead that person or guard them in the right way.

Like A Child At Home

One of the attitudes we must prayerfully develop as a church and individual Christians is the "Like A Child At Home" posture. What do I mean by that?

A child does not worry all day long whether their house will be there when they get home from school or whether their parents will have a meal for them that evening. Children do not worry about such things because they trust their parents. In the same way, a life centered in Christ must emulate children's faith and trust their heavenly Father, who knows exactly what they need even before they ask him! to supply what is best for them. (Matt.6:8) we should take God at His Word

The Posture of Faith

Do you know that faith has a posture?

Straighten Up

Stand up tall. You'll feel better and look better -- slimmer, even. Hold your head straight and tuck in your chin. Your ears should be over the middle of your shoulders. Straighten up so you feel like your head stretches toward the sky. This is faith in God's posture. Standing tall

The Sin of Worry (Beware)

We must admit that we all fall short of the sin of worry. In Matthew 6:31, Jesus instructs his disciples and everyone thereafter to be different from unbelievers by what dominates their thought process. The necessities of life, such as: What will they eat? What will we drink? What will they wear? A life centered In Christ must center on things above this world and their personal needs but to Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Someone defines "Worry" as a small trickle of fear that meanders through the mind until it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained. 1497

Worry is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do but won't get you anywhere.1500

Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 406–407.

Psalm 23 (A psalm of David)

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I have what I need. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

I want to draw your attention to one of the most familiar scripture passages in the entire Bible. This Psalm is always read and heard in the midst of death and dying and at funeral services. But Psalm 23 is not about death but about living.

The Psalmist provides a road map for "Living a Life Centered In Christ." based on two fundamental characteristics of God.

GOODNESS AND MERCY

Listen to the psalmist's confidence in God's goodness and mercy in his testimony:

-I have what I need.

-I fear no danger.

-I will dwell in the house of the LORD

Finally, some characteristics of a childlike faith that Jesus promoted are humility and an honest faith in God. David, the writer of Psalm 23, attributes everything about his life to God's name sake (Goodness and mercy)

That's what it means to live a life "Centered In Christ."

Next Week, We Will discover the Names of God hidden in Psalm 23

Thompson Chain Reference Bible Companion: A Handbook for the Classic Chain-Reference Bible Ps. 23:1

God’s special relationships to his people are expressed in the many divine names and titles recorded in the OT. The LORD (Jehovah) is the predominant divine name used in the book of Psalms. An instructive study can be made of the combination of the name Jehovah or LORD with a characteristic of God (see chart at Ex. 3:14).

Christ Shepherd: 3264–3267

LORD-rohi means “The LORD is my shepherd” and this example in Ps. 23 is the most outstanding one in Scripture. This title probably has brought more comfort to people’s hearts than any other. It is in the name of the LORD-rohi that this relationship finds its highest and tenderest expression, for the LORD is the Shepherd of his people. No other name of the LORD has the tender intimate touch of this one name.

Some scholars recognize seven titles of the LORD, in principle, in the twenty-third Psalm. These titles are outlined in the table below.

Chart: Names of God in Psalm 23

Lord-jireh

“Lord our provider”

Ps. 23:5

Lord-rophe

“Lord our healer”

Ps. 23:5

Lord-mʾkaddesh

“Lord our sanctifier”

Ps. 23:6

Lord-shalom

“Lord our peace”

Ps. 23:6

Lord-tsidkenu

“Lord our righteousness”

Ps. 23:3

Lord-rohi

“Lord our shepherd”

Ps. 23:1

Lord-shamma

“the Lord is there”

Ps. 23:4

Names of God: 3633

Jehovah Names: 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872