Make It Personal
by Gemma Gardner
What comforting words these are! God spoke these words to the children of Israel. And Jesus spoke similar words to us, His sheep: “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3).
As a young Christian, I used to sing a chorus with these words: ‘Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity.’ Yes, the Lord sees us as individuals and calls each of us by name. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that I belong to Jesus.
Recently, I have found it a real blessing to personalise my worship and my Bible readings. For instance, my version of Psalm 23 is, “You, Lord, are my shepherd. Therefore, I shall not want. You make me lie down in green pastures and lead me beside still waters.”
Many hymns and songs that we sing are about the Lord, encouraging us to praise and worship Him. But when I sing them directly to the Lord, and address Him as, “You”, instead of, “He, Him, or the Lord”, the songs become personal to me, and my joy in Jesus and all He has done for me grows stronger. The Lord created us to have a close personal relationship with Him. What a joy it is to come into His presence and worship Him in person, face to face, and in spirit and truth!
If you are struggling in your prayer and Bible reading times, I encourage you to make them personal. Here is the rest of my rendition of Psalm 23, mainly taken from the NLT version:
“You renew my strength. You guide me along right paths, bringing honour to Your name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live with You in Your house forever.”
Gemma Gardner lives in Norfolk with her husband, Dean, who until recently worked at Ellel Grange. They are both part of the Associate Ministry team which Gemma joined after completing the Modular school. Gemma has experienced the Lord`s healing and restoration over many years and longs to see Him healing other broken people. Gemma loves listening to music, cooking, knitting and crochet as well as outdoor exercise. She enjoys playing guitar and singing worship songs.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
