God's Relentless Pursuit
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalms 23:6, ESV).
What an inappropriate translation for Psalm 23!
The word for follow is the same word used when Pharaoh's heart was hardened after he had let the Israelites leave. Did Pharaoh "follow" them? No, he PURSUED them; he wanted them back!
The same word is used when Saul was looking for David. Was Saul 'following' David? No, he hunted him down! This word is used many times when a person or group is chasing another, and is not, in context, translated as "follow."
Several "literal" translations express it this way:
Literal Standard Version
Surely goodness and kindness pursue me All the days of my life, And my dwelling [is] in the house of YHWH, For [the] length of [my] days!
Young's Literal Translation
Only -- goodness and kindness pursue me, All the days of my life, And my dwelling is in the house of Jehovah, For a length of days!
Smith's Literal Translation
Surely goodness and mercy, shall pursue me all the days of my life: and I dwelt in the house of Jehovah to the length of days.
Make no mistake: the goodness of God is not following you like a puppy waiting to be noticed, it is pursuing you, chasing you down, hunting you, urging you to notice it. The passion with which a man will hunt his enemy, the seething desire one has to see his foe destroyed is the same zeal, vigor and perseverance God uses to love, care for and bless us. Turn around and acknowledge the One who has chased you for so long and thank Him for His relentless pursuit and the excessive devotion that allows your cup to be overflowing!
Of Sea Otters and God's Safe Keeping
Weighing between 40 and 100 pounds, the sea otter is the world's smallest (and maybe most adorable) species of marine mammal, while at the same time being the heaviest member of the weasel family.
Sea otters have voracious appetites and relish eating abalone, clams, and other marine species. With their high metabolism, they consume about 25 percent of their weight in food every day.
While there were once around a million sea otters in the North Pacific, aggressive fur-trade hunting in the early 1900s decimated their numbers to just over a thousand worldwide.
Today, after laws were passed to protect them, it is estimated that there are about 106,000 sea otters. However, they are still categorized as endangered.
What made the pelts of sea otters so valuable that these creatures were nearly hunted to extinction? Unlike other marine mammals, sea otters don't have a layer of blubber to keep them warm. Instead, they have the densest fur in the animal kingdom, ranging from 250,000 to a million hairs per square inch. By comparison, the average human head contains 100,000 hair follicles.
Whether you're as bald as a baby or you have 250,000 hairs per square inch of scalp, God is lovingly concerned with every detail of your life and that every hair of your head is numbered. Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matthew 10:29-30, NIV).
In Psalm 139:14 David said, "I praise You becuase I am fearfully and wonderfully made"
Under the Shade of the Tree of Life
The alien-looking baobab tree of Africa, Australia, and Madagascar is sometimes referred to as "the tree of life" because it provides shelter, clothing, food, and water for both man and animal. The bloated trunk of the tree can store thousands of gallons of water in its spongy, fibrous wood during the rainy season, which it then uses during the subsequent dry period.
The tree produces a fruit called "monkey bread," which contains more vitamin C than four oranges. Other parts of the tree are useful as well. For example, the pollen can be used as glue, and the oily, protein-packed seeds can be roasted and eaten. Young leaves can be used like spinach and have lots of calcium, while the fibrous trunk can be woven into rope, cloth, mats, and paper. Even the bark can be used to make tea. Older trees are often hollow, providing living space for animals and humans.
Many baobab trees appear to be ancient, dated many thousands of years old. One aged tree in South Africa measures 72 feet high and 155 feet in circumference.
Did you know the Bible mentions that about six thousand years ago, there was a real tree of life here on earth?
Out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden (Genesis 2:9).
What's more, we're also told we will eat from that tree in heaven!
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7, NIV).