There is a story about a college professor who went around in the last century and appeared in a lot of county fairs and a lot of exhibitions, because he was a great speaker. He could recite from memory all the great works of literature. He had a deep, melodious, mesmerizing voice and when he spoke, the people hung on every word. His enunciation was flawless. After he recited these great pieces of literature, crowds stood to their feet with a loud boisterous applaud. As he finished one exhibition the professor said to the audience, “Are there any requests tonight?” An old preacher on the back row stood up and said, “Sir, Would you quote the 23rd Psalm?” The professor said, “I will, sir if after I quote it, you will quote it.” The preacher said, “Yes, sir. I will.” So the speaker began, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want…” He went all the way through and it was beautiful. People hung on to every word. When he came to the last verse, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I’ll dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” the crowd gave him a spontaneous ovation. Then he said, “Now, sir. It’s your time.” With that, the old preacher came to the podium with a raspy voice from years and years of preaching without any kind of PA system. He didn’t have exactly the right articulation and he didn’t always even have the right pronunciation, but he stood up and spoke from his heart. The old preacher said, “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters He restores my soul.” When he came to the end of it, his voice was just above a whisper and he said, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” When he finished, there was no standing ovation. There was absolute silence! And as the old man shuffled back to his seat, the speaker stood to his feet and with a great deal more wisdom than most people gave the old preacher credit and said, “Do you understand the difference? I know the Psalm but this dear brother knows the Shepherd!” It takes more than just speaking the truth to really communicate truth. Friends, love is from the heart and is very noticeable to those around us! As you love the Shepherd this week, will you allow His love to shine through you?

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” 1 John 4:20