My brother Glenn is the cattleman in our family. When I look at a cow or steer I see only various cuts of meat. He sees conformation, genetics, feed conversion, birth weights, reproductive capacity, herd health, and marketability. He also sees an opportunity to involve the cattle industry in spreading the love and good news of Jesus Christ to “the least of these” especially among the poor and unreached people around the world. At the time of writing this in August for publication in October, Glenn and a group of cowmen, missionaries and students from Berry College are in Peru teaching AI, ET and other technical practices to leaders of the Peruvian cattle industry, and doing children’s ministry and outreach all in the name of Jesus Christ. By the time you read this article the Cattle for Christ, “Moving ‘Em Out for Missions” dispersal sale will have taken place on September 5. On behalf of Glenn and Cattle for Christ International I want to thank every one of you who have shared in this ministry. I invite you to continue to be part of this ministry as they seek to rebuild their herd over the next few years. The ministry belongs to the Lord. The cows belong to the Lord. The money belongs to the Lord. The people belong to the Lord. The glory belongs to the Lord. It is a blessing to serve Him together by serving others in His name. The greatest blessing of all is to know Him and to live in Him and to have Him live in us as we follow Jesus Christ by faith.
Today I want to share with you one of my favorite Psalms. Psalm 63 is known as the morning hymn of the early church. You may know that the Psalms were written as hymns of worship and set to music. The early church continued to use these hymns as they worshipped Jesus Christ the Messiah and Savior, the Son of God. You may recognize this Psalm as the source of a praise song popular today.
O God, Thou art my God; I will seek Thee early; My soul thirsts for Thee, My flesh longs for Thee, in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, to see Thy power and Thy glory. Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee. So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches, for Thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of Thy wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to Thee; Thy right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth. They will be delivered over to the power of the sword; they will be a prey for foxes. But the king will rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him will glory, for the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.
I have often wondered how David emphasized the words of the first phrase of this psalm as he spoke and sang them. “O God, Thou art my God.” You, and You alone, The Creator of all, The Ruler and Owner of all, God Most High, The One and Only True God, not the gods of the nations, not the idols and false gods of men, You are my God!
“O God, Thou art my God.” You are not just the God of my fathers or of my people but my God. You are not just the God that I have heard about but you are the God I know through faith and personal experience. You are my God!
“O God, Thou art my God. You are my Lord. You are the One that I worship, love, serve, follow and obey. You are my highest priority and greatest love. You are my hope and my joy, my refuge and my strength. You are the one who gives me life and the one for whom I live. You are my God!
The statement is equally true and precious wherever we place the emphasis. And we will benefit from each way of understanding it. When God is my God I will seek Him early and earnestly the way a thirsty man seeks water, the way a starving man seeks food. The sad thing is that we can have all we want of God but that so often we want so little of Him and therefore we do not have Him at all. In Jeremiah 29:13 God says, “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” God says in Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” In Hebrews 11:6 the Bible says But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Jesus promised, ”Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” God reveals Himself to those who want to know Him enough to seek after Him and find Him through repentance and faith in Jesus His Son who died for our sin and whom He raised from the dead to be our Savior and Lord. In a dry thirsty world where no water is, only He can satisfy. And He does satisfy. Completely. Forever.
Steve Crumpler
London, KY