The Good Shepherd

Have you ever been lost? Were you truly lost, somewhere you had never been before and not sure how to get to a safe place? Were you hoping someone would come find you? Are you in a place like that now?

I’m sure most of us have been lost at some point in our lives. We were in unfamiliar territory and not sure how to get back to the interstate. We had gotten off the main road for one reason or another and gotten turned around.

Perhaps you were moving to a new city for a new job. You were trying to find your place of work. Maybe you were trying to map out a route from your new residence to your new workplace. This was much more challenging before we had GPSs on our smart phones.

Being lost can cause a host of mixed feelings. We may feel scared, anxious, unsafe, and helpless. We can quickly spiral downward to the point of inaction, being frozen in place not knowing what to do. The fear of the unknown can be paralyzing.

We all experience being lost, even in small instances, throughout our lives. For example, we may be looking for a specific office in a building, not knowing exactly where it is. We may be following directions to a family farm, going down unfamiliar roads. We may stop to ask for clarification of directions.

Here is some good news for our spiritual walk—God is searching for us. He is like a shepherd looking for his lost sheep. He is gathering us together so He can protect us. He will continue to gather us, not only in this short life, but for eternity. He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14).

Notice God had long ago determined to gather those who follow Him from around the world. Ezekiel lived 500-600 years before Jesus was born. His prophecy of bringing God’s children together may appear to be for the Jews. Yet, that would be a narrow-sighted view, much the same the Jews would have had more than two-thousand years ago. God isn’t limited by time. His prophecy can span thousands of years.

I pray we all understand God is searching for us. I pray we turn to Him to be found. I pray each one of us trust God to gather us into His arms to keep us safe for eternity. God is calling out to you. Hear His voice. Turn to Him. He is the Good Shepherd. God will protect you. Trust Him.

Ezekiel 34:11-13a “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.’”

Noble Character

What would you say your reputation is? How is your temperament? How do you believe others view your ethos? What traits of yours do you believe others admire? In other words, what is your character?

We all have a variety of traits that make up our character. Our temperament, attitude, ethos, habits, disposition, and aptitude are just a few others observe about us. When we add all of them up, we identify the character of someone.

But how do we hone these character traits? They don’t simply come about on their own. Oh, there are some we are predisposed to based on our genetics. Yet we can build on those we deem to be good character traits and grow new character traits we believe will aid us in life. Despite popular belief, a person can change quite a lot about themselves, if they truly desire it.

We admire people of stately or noble character. Many times, we want to be like that person. Unfortunately, far too often we don’t desire it enough to work toward building a better character. We prefer to take the easy road rather than the road less traveled. We go with the flow rather than cutting our own pathway. We hang out with the same group rather than searching for a better one.

Making a change is hard. I know from personal experience. Leaving behind your old ways, pursuing new ways takes a concerted effort, discipline, and a strong desire. There are struggles and challenges that come with it. There will be missteps along the way. We likely will face ridicule from those we leave behind. Yet, in the end, building a noble character is worth it.

Building our character on God’s promises, knowledge, and wisdom is noble. As we build that character, our faith is strengthened, our hope becomes more confident, and our lives improve dramatically. We begin living the abundant life Jesus promised (John 10:10).

Being of noble character also provides us opportunities to lead others into God’s kingdom. We become a living, breathing example for others to follow. We become the stately person others want to be like. We become the image of Jesus for others to see.

I pray we all pursue a noble character. I pray we desire to live the abundant life Jesus promised. I pray each one of us seeks to be the image of Jesus to the degree possible. Be of noble character. Pursue God’s wisdom. Be a positive example for others. Strengthen your faith. Increase confidence in your hope.

Acts 17:11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Lack Nothing

Have you had to persevere through challenges? Have you had to gut it out, grind your teeth, hold on for dear life, and pray fervently for relief? How was that experience? Would you ever want to go through it again?

As we go through life, we experience various types of trials and challenges. Some of them are small, while others are absolutely gut-wrenching. We can see the end of the challenge for some, while the end is nowhere in sight for others.

A current challenge all of us are going through is the pandemic. It appeared the end was in sight a couple months ago. Now, we see it exploding once again. No one can predict when it will be over. Did you know the Spanish flu pandemic lasted nearly seven years? I’m sure none of us want this one to last that long.

Many people look at trials and challenges with an angry attitude. They continuously ask “why” with the mindset of discarding it or wishing the trial would be done. Those who look for wisdom also ask “why”, but with the mindset of “what can I learn from this? What is the purpose of this trial?”

If we look at trials and challenges as an opportunity to learn, we will see our faith and hope grow. As we persevere through those trials, we gain wisdom, insight, knowledge, and we see God at work in them. We will see God pulling us through. We will see Him shedding His grace and mercy on us. We will see God blessing us, even when we don’t ask for it.

Going through trials will either break us or we will grow stronger. The difference is who we turn to as we go through them. By turning to God, asking for His wisdom, learning from them, we mature as human beings and as Christians. James tells us our maturity will grow so that we lack nothing, meaning knowledge and wisdom that comes from God.

I pray we all persevere through the trials we face. I pray we turn to God, not only during trials, but at all times in every situation. I pray we become mature and complete. Lean on God. Learn from God. Persevere in His grace and mercy. Become mature. Become complete. Lack nothing. Grow in wisdom.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Helmet of Hope

How do you protect yourself? What measures do you take to protect your family? What are you protecting yourself and your family against? Are there specific dangers you worry about more than others?

Most all of us will take measures to protect ourselves and our families against the dangers of this world. We put young children in car seats. We put protective equipment on our kids to play sports to reduce the possibility of injury. We put coats on to protect ourselves from frostbite when it is cold outside.

There are other protective measures we should consider. Specifically, we should look to outfit ourselves with the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). By putting on the armor provided by God, we protect ourselves from the devil’s attacks, from the various schemes he uses to mislead, confuse, separate, and harm us.

It has become an automatic action for most of us to put a seatbelt on when we get into a vehicle. So much so that we don’t even think about it. Personally, I’ve gotten in a vehicle, put my seatbelt on, and later noticed it was on and not even remember putting it on. Putting on the full armor of God needs to become just as automatic as putting on a seatbelt.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica to put God’s armor on, since they belonged to the day. What does he mean by belonging to the day? It means we live after Christ had been crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. It means we live in the new covenant.

He goes on to tell them to be sober of mind. In other words, understand you are being attacked by the devil and prepare yourself for those attacks. He provides the short list of God’s armor to protect the vital body parts.

The breastplate protects our heart. The helmet protects our head. Our hope of salvation helps keep our minds focused on the promise of eternity with God. With the protection provided by hope, we can ward off thoughts of failure, anxiety, worry, anger, and hate. Maintaining our hope in Christ protects us from being led astray by temptations.

Paul wraps up his message by stating God did not put us in this world to suffer wrath, His wrath. Rather, God desires us to accept the salvation He has offered through His Son. Salvation through Christ is our ultimate hope.

I pray we all decide to put on the armor of God. I pray we hold on to our hope in Christ. I pray each one of us understand we live in the new covenant implemented by Christ. Put on the armor of God. Protect yourself from the devil’s attacks. Hold on to your faith and hope.

1 Thessalonians 5:8-9 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A New Beginning

How would you like to have an inheritance you could never expend? Would you like to have confidence it would last forever? Do you desire a restart, a do over, a new beginning? Do you know it is available to you?

Most of us think of an inheritance as money, land, or possessions. Some are granted an inheritance of the family farm. Others may covet and receive family photos a hundred years old. Still others may inherit money or life insurance.

Unfortunately, all those things will be spent or fade or require a lot of work to maintain. Rare is the individual who inherits enough money they never have to work again. Cherished photos slowly fade over time. Those who inherit a family farm or business must continue to work diligently to maintain them, so they are productive and relevant.

There is an inheritance we can receive that lasts forever. It comes through our new birth, new beginning due to God’s mercy. He gifts us with it and a living hope, a hope that grows in confidence. Our hope that comes from knowing Jesus was resurrected and lives today. A hope that becomes stronger as we experience God working in our lives.

Our experiences with God are many. We simply need to open our eyes and ears to see and hear them. It is easy to say it is simple, yet we struggle with seeing Him at work as we worry about our day-to-day lives. With our focus on the moment, we fail to see the larger work of God going on all around us, which is why we need quiet time with God. A time to step out of the moment, reflect, and see how God has worked in our lives. As we see Him at work, our hope increases.

I pray we all take time to reflect and see God working in our lives. I pray we have confidence in the resurrection of Jesus. I pray each of us live in our hope and new beginning. Accept God’s mercy. Enjoy your new beginning. Experience God. Know Christ lives. Grow your hope. Look forward to your eternal inheritance.

1 Peter 1:3-4a Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

Eternal Hope

Have you ever thought about what happens next? Ever wonder what comes after death in this life? Are you unsure? Do you want to have confidence in what is next? Are you looking for comforting words?

Whether we think about it or not, death comes for us all. It isn’t something we like to think about. Our thoughts go to our loved ones. We think about all we will miss. Some of us worry about what comes after death, if anything comes after.

Many people in this world fear death. They imagine horrific pain and suffering as death draws near. They fear being in a dark place. The idea of nothing occurring after death, of it being the ultimate end, is petrifying. Death is unthinkable for many. They desire to live forever.

Here’s the good news—we do live forever. The question is not if we live forever, but where we live forever. We were created with an eternal spirit. God planned for us to live forever. However, we will not live forever in our present state.

As John states, we do not know how we will be transformed to live eternally. Yet we do know that we will live eternally. For those of us in Christ, we know we will live eternally with Him. We know He promised to prepare a place for us to live (John 14:2-3). We know the place where we will live is beyond human words to describe. This is our hope.

John goes on to tell us, our hope in Christ, in His promises, purifies us just as He is pure. Can you imagine that? Being as pure as Christ may be unthinkable. It may be beyond our imagination. We may think there is no way we can be pure after all the things we have done. Yet, we will be.

I pray we all maintain our hope. I pray we realize we will live for eternity. I pray each of us believe we will be as pure as Christ. Hope in Christ. Believe in His promises. Believe you will be pure. Know you are a child of God. 

1 John 3:2-3 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Confident In Hope

Do you seek glory? Are you holding firm to that dream? Do you have confidence you will achieve it? Is your hope in the One who can provide it? Do you fully understand He is faithful in His promises to you?

Many seek personal glory in this life. They chase after trophies, recognition, and wealth. They spend time and effort to strengthen, train, and educate themselves. All in preparation for the goal they have set.

For some, they strive for glory in sports. Others choose music. Still others continually climb the corporate ladder, working toward the top. All of them looking up, keeping their eye on the prize they seek. Many will fail—and be disappointed. Some will achieve their goal—and find the prize is not what they thought it would be, also being disappointed.

There is a prize that will not disappoint. There is glory we can all enjoy. However, the glory we gain is not something we can work toward, it is given to us as we continue in our faith, holding firmly to our belief in Jesus Christ. Our faith in Him reveals the hope He provides us.

Our hope is spending eternity with God. We do not know exactly what that entails, other than we know we will be filled with joy, awe, and love that never ends. God will be in our midst, and we will see Him face-to-face. The hope we have in Jesus will be fulfilled in a most extraordinary way.

We are given glory by God as we continue in our faith, putting our confidence in His promises. Our hope becomes reality because of what God will do for us. Our confidence grows as we experience God. We experience God more as we grow closer to Him. We see God at work when we open our eyes to see His works.

I pray we all open our eyes to see God at work. I pray we experience God, increasing our confidence in Him. I pray each of us holds on to our faith in Jesus. Put your faith in Jesus. Accept the glory He will give you. Increase your confidence in Him. Be confident in hope of spending eternity with God.

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Blessed Persecution

How well do you take it when someone insults you? How do you react when you are falsely accused? Have you been persecuted for your faith? Have you considered being insulted and falsely accused as persecution?

I dare say most of us do not want to be insulted or falsely accused. Being insulted stings. It can be like a lightning bolt running through our system. Being falsely accused can hurt just as much, but in different way. It makes us feel as though we are not trusted.

When an insult or false accusation is attributed to our being a Christian, we are being persecuted. It doesn’t have to be directly related. It can happen in the work environment. It may happen at school. Perhaps it happens as we participate on a team. If it happens because the offending party knows we are Christian and they don’t like that about us, we are being persecuted.

We typically think of persecution as those Christians who are being beaten, ostracized, or even killed. We also think that only happens in other countries. Yet, it can happen in our own neighborhood. It can happen in our community. It can happen in our country.

Though it doesn’t necessarily make it feel any better when we are going through persecution, we have a reward awaiting us in the end. On the other hand, knowing there is a reward as we persevere through the persecution can be what helps us get through and remind us to continue to lean on Jesus.

Just before our passage today is what we call the Beatitudes. Jesus goes through a litany of blessings. Many of those blessings come from what we may call less than fortunate circumstances. He wraps up the list of blessings by stating there is a reward when we persevere.

He tells us to rejoice and be glad. We are to rejoice that we are going through the persecution because of Jesus. We also must lean on Jesus in order to be able to rejoice. This is a demonstration of our close connection with Him. We can only rejoice because of our relationship with Jesus.

I pray we all persevere through any persecution we may experience. I pray we accept the insults and false accusations along with the blessings. I pray each one of us grow closer to Jesus in preparation for persecution. Bear the persecution. Lean on Jesus. Grow closer to Jesus. Seek your reward.

Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

What Do You Say?

How do you determine what you believe about someone? How do you describe someone you know well? When someone asks you who someone you know is, how do you answer them? Who do you say Jesus is?

We know many, many people. We know some better than we know others. We have gotten to know them over time through discussions and joint experiences. When we are asked who they are, we have an answer to give.

In today’s passage, Jesus asks who people say He is. When He does so, He is talking about the general population. After hearing the answers His disciples give, He asks who they say He is. Peter gives the right answer.

We might think it would be easy to give the answer Peter gave if we had been with Him, saw the miracles performed, and heard the lessons He taught. We might be right thinking this. But we are two-thousand-years removed. How do we answer the question?

We might believe it is harder to answer, since we haven’t seen Jesus face-to-face. Yet, we are given the Scriptures, which have recorded His teaching and miracles. For some of us, His miracles may seem more far-fetched than science fiction. For others, they are accepted as fact and readily believed.

If we are willing to conduct a little research, we have access to reams of data based on archeological digs, ancient copies of Scripture texts, and historical records from non-Biblical sources. We have the ability to research and discover the truth—Scripture is true.

This brings us back to how we answer the question Jesus posed to His disciples. We have no good reason to not know who He is. There is no good reason for not answering the same way Peter did. If we are ready and willing to give the same answer, what do we do after that?

If we believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, we must decide if we will be a disciple of His or not. If we decide to be a disciple, Jesus has expectations. There is a cost to being a disciple. Jesus requires us to follow His commands. He requires us to give up our personal preferences. He desires us to show love for Him by loving our fellow Christians and all humans.

I pray we all answer the question as Peter did. I pray we believe Jesus is the Messiah. I pray each one of us will decide to be a disciple of Jesus. Choose to be a disciple. Answer the question correctly. Believe He is who He says He is. Give up personal preferences. Obey His commands.

Luke 9:18-20 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Hear

How well do you hear? How well do you listen? How well do you understand? How well do you pay attention? Are you wondering why all these questions? We’ll get to that shortly.

Our current interpretation of what it means to hear is simply to perceive the sound of something. We don’t put as much emphasis on hearing as we do listening. If we are asked if we heard someone speak, we generally interpret the question as someone asking if we perceived the words spoken.

In other cultures, and in our own history, the word meant much more. We need to understand the deeper meaning as we read Scripture. The Greek word used in this passage and throughout the New Testament means each of the questions asked above—hear, listen, understand, and pay attention.

In the passage below, we should look at the first occurrence to mean perceive someone is speaking. The second occurrence should be interpreted as understand or pay attention. In other words, if you can hear, you should pay attention so you can understand.

We see Jesus use this term on multiple occasions in the Gospels. We also see this phrase used several times in Revelation. It always follows a very important lesson Jesus or God is trying to get people to understand. In some instances, it follows a parable. In other instances, it follows a very direct, and sometimes stern, message to His listeners.

When I see Jesus say this phrase, I look at what He said right before it and do my best to understand what His point was. Sometimes, His point is not one I would prefer to hear. Yet, I have come to understand that those are the ones I need to pay closer attention to and figure out how I can apply it to my life.

My suggestion to each of you is to pay particular attention to the lessons Jesus is pointing out when you run across this phrase. I will forewarn you; they aren’t always pleasant lessons. They may mean giving up something you prefer not to give up. They may mean you need to do something you prefer not to do. Yet, these lessons are very important to Jesus, or He would not use this phrase. Therefore, they should be very important to each of us.

I pray we all pay special attention to the lessons Jesus deems important. I pray we look for this phrase when reading Scripture. I pray each one of us will make Jesus’ lessons important in our lives. Hear. Listen. Understand. Pay attention. Learn Jesus’ lessons. Understand His lessons. Make His lessons important to you.

Mark 4:9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”