–Matthew 25:6 (NKJV)
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Quiet!  Listen.  Do you hear that?  Nothing.  That’s right, nothing.  Silence.  The hammer of the heavenly Carpenter is no longer driving nails.  Perhaps, do you suppose that the last mansion is completed?  The time is drawing nearer and nearer.  Maybe the saints of the ages past are gathered round to watch the unveiling of the last one.  Abraham is there with a smile, Moses leaning against his staff nodding his head.  Nehemiah is going around checking the project.  The last one.  Remember the words of Jesus prior to His going to the cross.

          “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
                    –John 14:1-4 (NKJV)

     The Carpenter–Jesus, went back to glory and has prepared a place for each of His followers.  But when, where is His coming?  How much longer shall His bride have to wait?  If the last nail has been driven, when will the Lord return?  When the last name has been placed on the last address in heaven.  It is soon, the homes are prepared and only wait for their unveiling.  

          “The Lord does not delay His promise as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”
                    –2 Peter 3:9 (HCSB)

His promise is true; it will happen!  
     Knowing that He is ready to return we should then be all the more ready for it as well.  He does not tell us when it will happen, only that we are to be ready.  “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night…” (2 Peter 3:10, NKJV)  It will be sudden, it will be timely, it will be when the last person is ready for His appearing.  

          “Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found in peace without spot or blemish before Him…  Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of the immoral and fall from your own stability.  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.  Amen.”
                    –2 Peter 3:14,17-18 (HCSB)

There are several things that Peter tells us to do while waiting for the return of Jesus.  1) make every effort to be found in peace; 2) make every effort to be without spot or blemish; 3) be on guard; 4) don’t be led away; 5) don’t fall from your stability; 6) grow in grace; 7) grow in knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
       The day is coming.  Be on guard, be ready, don’t become a slacker in these last days; don’t become lackadaisical in your standards and doctrine.  Continue in steadfastness for He is coming!

                    –Philippians 4:19(Phillips)
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I want to draw your attention to one of the most familiar verses of all Scripture–Psalm 23:1. We live in a day when we want, we want, and we want some more.  Either that or we live in wishful thinking and Amazon and other places help us by providing a place for wish lists.  However…we do not have to want or wish, we have the certainty that God will supply.  I have memorized most of my verses from the King James so I want to use that as it does give a different perspective.

          “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (KJV)
          “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in need.” (NASB)
          “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” (NIV)
          “The LORD is my shepherd, there is nothing I lack.” (HCSB)
          “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” (ESV)

Notice that the KJV and ESV are the same.  The second phrase of the verse places the emphasis on “I shall not.”  It is up to me, my choice, my prerogative with what I do.  It has to do with attitude and perspective.  Because He is my shepherd, I do not lack anything.  He satisfies my needs.  There is a difference between “needs,” “wants,” and “wishes.”
       This verse is so familiar that we often do not take the time to see what it really means.  Far too many Christians read and quote this verse, yet they continually “want.”  If the Lord is my shepherd, then I shall not want; but if I am in want, then it is obvious that the Lord is not my shepherd.  Stop and ponder!
       What or who is shepherding you?  If we find frustration, anxiety, despair, and emptiness in our lives then the Lord surely is not our shepherd.  If someone else, or things, or desires guide us, we will never be satisfied and, therefore, the Lord is not our shepherd.  Whenever someone or something else guides us we will constantly be looking and wanting more and better.
       One problem we have is that we are seldom satisfied with just our needs being met.  If we are provided with beans for the table, we want cornbread to go with it.  If we have cornbread, then we want a hunk of ham, and on it goes.  There is a scene from “Northwest Passage” in which the men are starving.  One of the younger recruits, upon having only a few kernels of corn to eat, asked an old grizzled veteran if he doesn’t want ham, roast beef, and sausages to which he replies, “No.  Now if I was promised ham, roast beef, and sausages then I would not be satisfied with these bits of corn.
       “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” my needs are satisfied, there is nothing that I need that I lack.  If our career is our shepherd, then we will always be striving for a higher position, more money, more benefits, and the result will be stress, anxiety, restlessness, and frustration.  Go, do more, faster, better, and then there might even be the temptation of taking shortcuts, and breaking the rules of the game.  If anything or anyone besides the Lord is our shepherd, we will be disappointed, disillusioned and left wanting.
       Check yourself whenever you think, “I want that.”  Why?  Do you need it?  Will it help or hinder you?  Are you not satisfied with what you have and if not, why?  If wanting more than the Lord not enough?   Am I being too self-centered, self-absorbed, and self-seeking?  Hmmm, ponder our attitudes, our wants, and our choices.  See if the Lord is not good.  Know that He gives us all that we need for eternity.  George Wood put it this way, “I live in a universe where God is.  But He is not the remote regent, the unmoved mover, or a disinterested deity.  He personally interfaces with my life in the occupational role of a shepherd:  provider, guider, protector, healer, keeper, shearer, searcher, nurturer, and defender.”

               “The king of love my Shepherd is,
               Whose goodness faileth never;
               I lack nothing if I am his
               And he is mine forever.”
                        –Henry W. Baker

                   –Isaiah 37:35 (NKJV)
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This next part of Psalm 105 reminds us of God’s covenant with Israel, but it goes much deeper than that.  It assures us that God is faithful to fulfill His promises to all His children.  Peter tells us that “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness…” (2 Peter 3:9)  The Amplified puts it this way, “The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness…”  We may wonder, but we look at things as a man; we do not have the eyes of the Almighty.

          11 — Saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance,’
          12 — When they were few in number, indeed very few, and strangers in it.
          13 — When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people,
          14 — He permitted no one to do them wrong; yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,
          15 — Saying, ‘Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.’
          16 — Moreover He called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the provision of bread.
          17 — He sent a man before them–Joseph–who was sold as a slave.
          18 — They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons.
          19 — Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.
          20 — The king sent and released him, the ruler of the people let him go free.
          21 — He made him lord of his house, and ruler of his possessions,
          22 — To bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his elders wisdom.   (NKJV)

       Israel is still around.  That is one of the great proofs that there is a God.  He is the covenant God of Israel; if not so, they would have disappeared from history like the Hittites, Philistines, and a host of other peoples.  Surely they have gone through turmoil, trials, and tribulations, and it will continue until they finally accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah.  It is important to remember that all that is taking place in the world is the setting up of the Lord’s return for His Church, then the Tribulation which will bring acknowledgement of the Messiah.  He will come, after much destruction on earth, to redeem His covenant people and set up His kingdom.
       Take time to read the story of Joseph again.  Read his trials, his imprisonments, and the final faithfulness of God to him.  Joseph, despite all that happened, all that took place to destroy him was “redeemed” by the Lord and brought into the second highest position in Egypt so that he would be there when his people were suffering from a famine back in Canaan.  Perhaps some symbolism there for our current day(?)
       But one more thought.  I would say that all of us, at one time or another, have been in some sort of prison.  We may not have been incarcerated behind bars, but I would imagine that some have been betrayed like Joseph.  I imagine that some have been in some sort of slavery (i.e., drugs, alcohol, etc.)  I imagine that some have been in the prisons of their minds, not knowing where to turn or what to do.  God will keep His word–God is faithful.  Like Joseph, you may have to wait a bit, but God will open the doors of your prison.

               “Yes, come!  then tried as in the fire,
               From every lie set free,
               Thy perfect truth shall dwell in us,
               And we shall live in thee.”
                      –Thomas Hughs

                    –2 Peter 1:3 (NKJV)
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This will be the last Echo for the week.  We have a newly purchased steel mount in our possession and are planning on taking a short trip the rest of this week and through the weekend.  The plan is to be back on task Monday morning.
       In the meantime, let’s look at a few things from 1 John.  I was recently asked what my favorite New Testament book was.  That’s not an easy answer for they all supply and take care of many needs.  I would say, however, that in the last decade it has become 1 John.  If you recall from our study of “How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World” that it what was the foundation for that study.
       I want to draw your attention to the word, “know.”  It is used thirty-three times in the Epistle of 1 John, with the word “known” used four times (NKJV).  I want to focus on the things that “we know” as believers.
          2:2, …we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
          2:5, But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.  By this we know that we are in Him.
          2:18, …we know that it is the last hour.
          3:2, …we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him…
          3:14, We know that we have passed from death to life…
          3:16, …we know love, because He laid down His life for us….
          3:19, …we know that we are of the truth….
          3:24, …we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
          4:6, …we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
          4:13, …we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has give us of His Spirit.
          5:2, …we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
          5:15, …we know that He hears us…
          5:15, …we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
          5:18, We know that whoever is born of God does not sin…
          5:19, We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
          5:20, …we know that the Son of God has come…

The Oxford dictionary defines “know” — Be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information.
The Merriam-Webster defines it as the following:
     1) to perceive directly: have direct cognition of
     2) to have understanding of
     3) to recognize the nature of (discern)
     4) to be aware of the truth or factuality of:  be convinced or certain of.
     
It a fact!  It’s truth!  Read the above Scriptures again in their entirety.  It is certain!  No doubts about it–we know!  So when the enemy brings doubt, when discouragement comes, when there is spiritual conflict, when fear rises its ugly head, when the great enemy of our souls tries to deceive — KNOW!
       We can know for certain that we are of God; that He abides in us and we in Him.  My, what a wonderful truth–we are of God!