A pastor’s heart,

Psalm 116:10-19

“I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”; I said in my alarm,
 “All mankind are liars.”  What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.  Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.  O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.  I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.  I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.  Praise the Lord!”

J

James Moss will not be remembered in our history books as a King David, nor will you or me.  James was a man after God’s heart, he was the pastor of Spring Baptist Church, Pastor Caton had the title but James had a pastor’s heart.  I loved both men, Pastor Caton was a great teacher but James Moss would cry over and pray with us over our sins.  The day James Moss went to be with his Lord, we had been talking about heaven, and he had told a man to ask me about the trees that will be in heaven because the man wanted to know.  I recall as if it were today what I said; don’t ask me, brother Moss knows the answer.  As we stood in line for breakfast, James fell to the ground and left us for eternity.  

One of brother Moss’s favorite things to share with men was to not put your trust in anyone, for only God can be trusted, or as the Psalmist states,  “All mankind are liars.”   I believe the Psalmist had a pastor’s heart, he understood the benefits God had blessed him with, and he wanted to share them with others.  He had a understand of the meaning of being faithful to the Lord and that was the desire of his heart.  We know that King David wrote many of the Psalms and that at times he messed up, yet when God confronted him, he always was broken over his sins, and confessed them in a repentant way.  We also know that God said this is a man after my own heart.  

Verses 17-19 are not common today, we listen to a preacher deliver a message, we sing songs of praise, but we do not have time for what is being referred to in verses 17-19. Think about these verses; I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.  I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem.  Praise the Lord!”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice