September 27, 2015 THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Psalms 23:1-2: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quite waters.”
John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
Isaiah 40:11: “Like a shepherd, He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
To our own hurt, we may at times forget that Jesus is our good Shepherd. Psalms 23 is a beautiful picture of what kind of shepherd we have and as we read it, we find rest for our soul. We must not let our familiarity of the 23rd psalm cause us to not to be impacted by the truth of the psalm. David knew, and David declared that the Lord was his shepherd. We may believe that God is real and that He is sovereign, but we also must believe and know that He is our shepherd and that His shepherding is to affect every area of our life. Most agree that we live a face pace, hurried-up culture, with a lot of pressure-perhaps more than any time in history. In our generation, many may find the idea of not wanting, being made to lie down in green pastures, and being led beside still waters, a concept difficult to grasp. “I shall not want” is indeed a rather shocking statement and it certainly sounds counter-culture, and it has a way of cutting right to the root of how we live our life. The idea of Jesus being our personal shepherd becomes a reality to us only when come to know Him is such a way that yielding our life to Him and trusting Him is the natural thing to do. Knowing that God is our Father and knowing that Jesus calls us brothers and sisters, and knowing just how good God is and how much He loves us, opens the door to experiencing Him being the shepherd of our lives. It is clear that Jesus loves the “sheep” so much that He came to earth to bear our sin and to lay His life down for the sheep. Jesus is not just an ordinary shepherd; He is the Son of God who has been given all power and authority, making Him the perfect shepherd guaranteeing that not one of His sheep will be neglected or loss, or attacked by the predator. Not only is our Shepherd all powerful, He is also gentle in His shepherding the sheep. Should one of His sheep stray from the flock, or not listen to the voice of the Shepherd, the good Shepherd will do whatever is necessary to train the sheep to hear and obey-He loves the sheep that much. Our good Shepherd knows what we need more than we know what we need, and He is faithful in caring for His flock. Our Shepherd never sleeps, never takes a break, never goes on vacation and never hires someone else to do what only He can do. As we listen closely to the voice of our Shepherd, we will be totally nourished and cared for and we will find needed rest for our souls. We can be assured that there is no one, or anything that can separate us from the love and the care our good Shepherd-“He will tend His flock.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Psalms 23:1-2: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quite waters.”
John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
Isaiah 40:11: “Like a shepherd, He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
To our own hurt, we may at times forget that Jesus is our good Shepherd. Psalms 23 is a beautiful picture of what kind of shepherd we have and as we read it, we find rest for our soul. We must not let our familiarity of the 23rd psalm cause us to not to be impacted by the truth of the psalm. David knew, and David declared that the Lord was his shepherd. We may believe that God is real and that He is sovereign, but we also must believe and know that He is our shepherd and that His shepherding is to affect every area of our life. Most agree that we live a face pace, hurried-up culture, with a lot of pressure-perhaps more than any time in history. In our generation, many may find the idea of not wanting, being made to lie down in green pastures, and being led beside still waters, a concept difficult to grasp. “I shall not want” is indeed a rather shocking statement and it certainly sounds counter-culture, and it has a way of cutting right to the root of how we live our life. The idea of Jesus being our personal shepherd becomes a reality to us only when come to know Him is such a way that yielding our life to Him and trusting Him is the natural thing to do. Knowing that God is our Father and knowing that Jesus calls us brothers and sisters, and knowing just how good God is and how much He loves us, opens the door to experiencing Him being the shepherd of our lives. It is clear that Jesus loves the “sheep” so much that He came to earth to bear our sin and to lay His life down for the sheep. Jesus is not just an ordinary shepherd; He is the Son of God who has been given all power and authority, making Him the perfect shepherd guaranteeing that not one of His sheep will be neglected or loss, or attacked by the predator. Not only is our Shepherd all powerful, He is also gentle in His shepherding the sheep. Should one of His sheep stray from the flock, or not listen to the voice of the Shepherd, the good Shepherd will do whatever is necessary to train the sheep to hear and obey-He loves the sheep that much. Our good Shepherd knows what we need more than we know what we need, and He is faithful in caring for His flock. Our Shepherd never sleeps, never takes a break, never goes on vacation and never hires someone else to do what only He can do. As we listen closely to the voice of our Shepherd, we will be totally nourished and cared for and we will find needed rest for our souls. We can be assured that there is no one, or anything that can separate us from the love and the care our good Shepherd-“He will tend His flock.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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