The Voice of A Shepherd

"And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers."  Jesus speaking, John 10:4-5

I remember as a little girl, I could be in a room full of other kids and their mom's but when my mom called out to me, (and she didn't even have to call me out by name) I always knew that the voice I heard belonged to my mom.  When she called out to get my attention, for whatever reason, I heard her voice and I knew who she was, and I knew who she was speaking to; me.

During World War 1, some soldiers tried to steal a flock of sheep from a hillside near Jerusalem. The sleeping shepherd awoke to find his flock being driven off.  He couldn't recapture them by force, so he called out to his flock with his distinctive call.  The sheep listened, and returned to their rightful owner.  The soldiers couldn't stop the sheep from returning to their shepherd's voice.  

There is also a story of a Scotch traveler who changed clothes with a Jerusalem shepherd and tried to lead the sheep: but the sheep followed the shepherds voice and not his clothes.  (Dods)

Sheep do not follow after the voice of a stranger.  Why?  Because they only listen for the voice of their shepherd.  A shepherd whose voice they do not recognize, they ignore. 

Only their own personal shepherd has authority over their care, and they know him by his voice.

Do you know the voice of The Good Shepherd?

If so, He will lead you, guide you and protect you...

    But if you know not His voice, you will be led to danger and destruction...

        But that's just me!

The Search

 "But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Philippians 4:11

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5

There is a tale of a king who suffered from a painful ailment. His counselors advised him of the only cure: to find a contented man, get his shirt, and wear it night and day. So, the king sent messengers to find such a man, with orders to bring back his shirt. After months of searching the kingdom, they returned empty-handed.
“Did you find a contented man in all my realm?” asked the king.
“Yes, O king, we found only one in all thy realm,” they replied.
“Then why did you not bring back his shirt?” the king demanded.
“Master, the man had no shirt.”
(Condensed from Tan, P. L., Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Bible Communications, Inc., 1996, pp. 272–273).

My friend, Cindy Burns, shared this story with me while we were doing a bible study about contentment.  When I read it, I cried.  

The world is seeking and searching diligently for contentment and happiness; but they are seeking and searching after the wrong things.  After the wrong people.

Why does it seem like those with the most possessions are the ones with such dissatisfaction in life?

And why does it seem like those who have nothing are the ones who have it all?

The answer, my friend, is Jesus.

Jesus is all we need.  Jesus is enough.

If you are searching for contentment...

    Turn to Christ...

        Your search will finally be over...

            But that's just me!

"Contentment is a sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit that delights in God's will in all situations."  Jeremiah Burroughs

 

Dehydrated

 Every year in the month of July, our small community takes a week to celebrate its town.  It's a week full of parades, picnics, food trucks and venders selling their wares on the Museum Lawn.  Alumni who graduated from our High School return and reconnect with old friends, and it's a time when families can come out and play family games and enjoy the benefits of small town living.

Our church kicks this week off by serving a free meal to those in our community to show them that we love and care for them.  We want to be a blessing to them and have the opportunity to tell them about our Lord Jesus Christ.

It was 100 degrees yesterday when we began to serve the meal, and in the heat, I lasted for about two hours.  I began to see black dots in front of my face.  I became overheated, dizzy and thought I was going to faint.  

Heat exhaustion.

I had never experienced anything like it before.  My husband ended up having to bring me home so that I could cool down and rest.  As I began to rehydrate myself, I remembered Psalm 42:1

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." 

Albert Barnes explains that "in the hot and dry regions of the Middle East, deer would often experience an intense physical thirst when pursued by hunters or suffering from drought.  These deer would desperately seek out water brooks to survive.  And just as deer pants for physical water, the psalmist's soul is driven by an all-consuming, desperate need for the presence and comfort of God."  In context, Albert Barnes notes, "This craving often peaks during deep affliction or when a person is separated from God's sanctuary. The psalmist-cut off from public worship and surrounded by enemies mocking his faith-finds that only God can satisfy his soul's profound thirst."  

"Ease he did not seek, honour he did not covet, but the enjoyment of communion with God was an urgent need of his soul; he viewed it not merely as the sweetest of all luxuries, but as an absolute necessity, like water to a stag." Spurgeon

Then I thought about Psalm 19:7

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." I love this verse.  According to David Guzik, God's law lacks no essential ingredient to guide, correct and instruct us.  The word converting is actually a Hebrew word that means to restore, revive or bring back.  God's Word doesn't just improve us; it completely revives our innermost being.  God's Word is completely reliable and unchanging. God's Word provides the ultimate foundation of practical wisdom and discernment to protect the vulnerable.  Literally, God's Word is like a cool spring bringing life to a weary soul.

Just as water refreshes our physical bodies, the Word of God refreshes our soul.  

Isn't that beautiful?

When we neglect the refreshing Word of God, we can become dizzy, disoriented, and dehydrated by the stresses of the world...

        But when we daily replenish ourselves in God's Word, we can be refreshed...

            But that's just me!

On a side note: I found two examples of actual heat exhaustion in the bible and I will let you check them out for yourselves.  

2 Kings 4:18-20

Jonah 4:8

There is also two comforting verses that promise God's physical and spiritual protection in Psalm 121:5-6: "The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night."

        

A Beam or A Whisker?

There are two types of people:

Male and Female-"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Genesis 1:27

Saved and Lost-"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

Those who walk in the Flesh and those who walk in the Spirit- "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

Those who Forgive, and those who hold Grudges- "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:18

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21-22

The other day while I was putting on my make-up, I made a horrifying discovery!  I saw a very dark whisker protruding from my chin that had grown long enough to have a little curl to it.  I was mortified!  Quickly reaching for my tweezers, and not very gently, I plucked the invading hair from off my face.  While I was doing such meticulous work, I thought to myself, 'Why didn't my husband tell me I had an alien growing on my chin!!??'  I would soon find out and in doing so, I discovered that...

There are three types of Observers:

Those who notice motes in other people's lives while living with a beam in their own eye-"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" Matthew 7:3

Those who will carry the burdens of others and restore them-"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Galatians 6:1-2

After taking care of my foreign whisker, I went in search of my husband.  "I just plucked the most disturbing growth from my chin while putting on my make-up this morning.  There was a whisker there about a mile long!  Why didn't you tell me it was there????"

My husband looked up at me and said, "Sweetheart, I didn't see it because I don't look for things like that."

The third Observer are those who do not look for the imperfections in others, why?  "Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins." Proverbs 10:12 "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

How do you observe others?  Do you focus on faults and imperfections, or do you relieve the burdens others carry and restore them back to their Heavenly Father?  Are you looking for something to critique?  Or are you looking at them in Love?

"Dear Lord, remove my critical spirit towards other's imperfections...

    and give me a love that will restore those back to you..."

            But that's just me!

"Where love abounds in a fellowship of Christians, many small offences, and even some large ones, are readily overlooked and forgotten. But where love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion, every action is liable to misunderstanding, and conflicts abound-to Satan's perverse delight." Grudem

From Anguish to Thankfulness

I began my morning with a hymn called, Thanks to God.  

As I began to read the words and hum the tune, I realized this hymn seemed to cover every single thing I should be thanking God for on a daily basis.

And it reminded me of David's anguished prayer that had turned to praise!

"Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.  The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him." Psalm 28:7-8

Has something ever happened in your life when you felt like your heart turned to stone when you heard the startling news?  Has there ever been a time when sudden fear took over and it was so overwhelming that you didn't really know what to do?

David experienced such things.  He hid in caves from his enemies.  Those who he was most loyal to, sought to take his life.  In Psalm 28, David expressed such confidence, trust and praise in the LORD.  He knew that God would rescue him from the wicked and preserve him in his distress.  He prayed to the Good Shepherd to guide his way.  Psalm 28 is a companion to Psalm 26, but here the danger David faced was eminent.

According to Albert Barnes, David transitions from an anxious plea for deliverance into a confident song of praise, thanking God for hearing his prayer and interceding for the nation of Israel.  In a moment of anxiety, David's prayer brought a calm, settled, assurance. 

"And suddenly, the prayer becomes a song of praise, an act of adoration."  Morgan

David was overwhelmed by sudden fear, and so he began to pray, and as he began to pray, God's calm assurances rained down upon him and his fear turned into complete trust, which then turned into pure praise.

Praise will remove all fear.

I love that because I've been there.

There have been times in my life when I was down on my knees at the foot of my bed praying for God to help me to just get through the day, and although my prayer began in such anguish, the longer I prayed, my words turned to thankfulness that God was hearing my prayer. 

My fear began to wane, and I had the assurance that no matter the outcome of my situation, everything was going to be ok.

It will be for you to.  Just start praying.

God hears you and He is listening...

    Pray, and soon your prayer will turn to praise...

         But that's just me!

"My dear friend, if you can say, 'The LORD is my strength,' you can bear anything and everything."

Charles Spurgeon

Thanks To God

From the Swedish and translated by C.E. Backstrom

'Thanks to God for my Redeemer, Thanks for all Thou dost provide!

Thanks for times now but a mem'ry, Thanks for Jesus by my Side!

Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime, Thanks for dark and dreary fall!

Thanks for tears by now forgotten, Thanks for peace within my soul!

Thanks for prayers that Thou has answered, Thanks for what Thou dost deny!

Thanks for storms that I have weathered, Thanks for all Thou Dost supply!

Thanks for pain, and thanks for pleasure, Thanks for comfort in despair!

Thanks for grace that none can measure, Thanks for love beyond compare!

Thanks for roses by the wayside, Thanks for thorns their stems contain!

Thanks for home and thanks for fireside, Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!

Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow, Thanks for heav'n'ly peace with Thee!

Thanks for hope in the tomorrow, Thanks through all eternity!

The Absence Of, For the Presence Of

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for ever more." Psalm 16:11

I had a CT scan this past week and the results revealed some concerns.  Enough to repeat another scan in four months.  But a wonderful thing happened when I heard the results from my doctor:  I had no fear.  In times past, my health has caused me great anxiety, worry, and fear.  In times past, I would meditate on my health concern most of the day and well into the night.  But not this time.

What changed?

I exchanged my fear for the presence of my Saviour.

My pastor, Josh Fryman, said something recently in one of his messages, that I have played over and over again in my mind.  He said, "You have heard that the absence from worry brings contentment, and that's true, but to have the absence of something, you must have the Presence of Someone, and that Someone is Christ."

It's true.

The absence of fear in my life is a result of having the presence of God in my life.

The absence of worry, anxiety, stress, and you fill-in-the-blank, is a result of having the presence of God in our lives.

I've wasted too many years worrying about things that I cannot change.  I refuse to do so this time around.

I'm choosing the absence of fear...

    And seeking comfort in the presence of my Saviour...

        But that's just me!

"I Know It's Hard"

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." Psalm 119:71

As a parent, we have all had to allow our children to go through hardships that would build their character; to mold them, shape them and to teach them.  To train them 'in the way that they should go.'  Proverbs 22:6 It wasn't always easy, but it was for what was best for them.

As adult children, there comes a time when we have to do hard things for our elderly parents.  I have a friend right now who is currently moving her mom into a Nursing Home.  It's breaking her heart, and yet at the same time, she is aware that her mom needs round -the- clock care and that her mom will be safe in her new environment.  In her email to me this morning, my friend wrote, "I honestly don't like this!  I know this is not easy for her, but she puts on a brave face.  I keep reminding myself she is in God's loving hands, and He is her Good Shepherd."

In my reply, I wrote, "I know it's hard placing your mom into a Nursing Home, but deep down it's the right thing to do and it's at the right time.  She needs care."

But then I began to wonder something.

I wonder if our Heavenly Father thinks that way at times?  Perhaps He is thinking, "I'm allowing something in your life right now that you don't understand but just know that I'm allowing it because it's what is best for you and it's because I love you.  It's going to be hard, but remember, I will be with you every step of the way."

There are going to be hard times in this life...

    But as children of God, we can be assured that it is what is best for us...

        And we can know that God is with us...!

            But that's just me!

"Hard times are purposeful tools for spiritual refinement rather than random suffering.  Whenever God means to make a man great, he always breaks them to pieces first.  Hardship is seen as the soil where strength, humility and faith grow."  Charles Spurgeon