December 23, 2024

The Shepherd and His Sheep

August 4, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Psalm 100:3

Have you ever noticed that you are put in other people’s lives for a reason?  My mother always believed that God put her with my father because she has vision problems and he can see (and now I that I am married can see her point).  My father was put with her because he has hearing loss, and she can hear.  In September they will have been married for 36 years.  Now that is a long time by today’s standards!   As for me and my husband, he lays something down, and I can usually tell him right where it is.  The same goes when I lay something down. My husband knows my moods, and I know his.  We have only been married for a few years, but we are still learning about each other.

I am the good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me,
just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
John 10:14-15

The Lord is our Shepherd.  He created us.  God knew who we were and where we were going before we were even born.  He knows us better than we do ourselves. That is why our prayers are answered the way that they are when we pray.  We may pray for something, but God may not think that an affirmative answer would be beneficial to us.  God then tells us ‘No.’ for our own good because He knows us.

When we accept Christ into our hearts, we begin to know our heavenly Father.  He knew us before we even turned from our sin and returned to Him.  When Christ went to the Cross, He already knew who He was dying for that day.  He knew us before we were even twinkles in our parents’ eyes. God knows who His sheep are even before they walk this Earth.  God had plans for all of eternity even before He created Adam and Eve.  He already knew who we would be.  It is part of our responsibility to know Him better.

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Dear Heavenly Father, You knew us before You wove us together in our mothers’ wombs.  We are Your children, and You know us like parents know their children. Thank You for giving us the gift of eternal life through the gift of Your Holy Son.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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God’s People

August 3, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Know that the Lord is God
It is He who made us and we are His,
we are His people the sheep of His pasture.
Psalm 100:3

This is spiritual knowledge that He created us.  We did not make ourselves.  We are His. And the people of His pasture.

There are times that we, as Christians, tend to forget who created us by:

  • Doing our own things in our own ways thinking we can do without Him when we cannot
  • Worshipping our jobs, our husbands, our businesses, etc. We tend to praise more the material things without attaching it to the steadfast love of our Creator, the One Who made us.

If God was able to create us, is He not the Author of what we call ‘wisdom?’  He gave us this gift of wisdom, too, for us to be able to add or sum up things for our daily living.  And yet sometimes when we prosper, we forget all of this and start praising ourselves, our husbands, our jobs, etc.  Have we ever thought what would happen if our husbands were to die, and we don’t have jobs and the businesses we work for collapses.  God will still be God…all things will pass but He will still remain.

The Word (in verse 3) is saying that we are the ‘sheep of His pasture.’  We are His very own. G od is our good Shepherd; if we are of His pasture then we can lack nothing.  He is able to take us to the green pastures (Psalm 23), He will lead us beside the still waters.  According to Philippians 4:19, He is able to provide to the sheep (you and I) by His riches in His glory.  What shall we then lack?  Nothing.  We have everything in our God.

He even supplied us salvation through our Savior Jesus. Without the Cross of Calvary we would have been dead by now, I guess.

We are God’s people (Luke 1:17 and Acts 15:14 and also Titus 2:14) who He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do for them what is good.

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Knowing that we are God’s people, shall we pray:
Dear heavenly Father, hallowed be Your name, in all the earth You are known to be a Great God, the great I AM, Mighty Warrior, great in battle.  We worship You for who You are, dear God.  You are a loving Father and to You be the honor and glory!  We feel loved more today for we have been reminded that we are Your very own and that You care for Your very own.  However, Lord, we pray for forgiveness for sometimes we have made You too small in our lives.  May You wash us with hyssop; let us be clean from all iniquities.  Bless us and bless us indeed!  Enlarge our territories, Lord.  Knowing You are there to provide makes us boast in You!  Be glorified!  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

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The Sheep of His Pasture

August 7, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:3

My feet hit the floor after I roll off my air mattress.  I don’t know what the day holds.  That’s the case for all of us, right?  One thing I can be assured of, though, is that I know my God, and where the Shepherd leads, I want to be! My designated “sheep” spot in the world today is in Chicago.  I’m on a mission trip with a group from my church.  We are stepping out in faith.  Wherever the Shepherd is, let His sheep be – showing others that we are His by following Him closely because we are His. Sheep never know how much walking they will do or where they will go.  But they do know their Shepherd and follow.

We met at the park and divided into teams. Each team would go to a heavily-traveled area in Chicago and ask people, “Is there anything we can pray about for you today?” As I was walking to our destination, I was getting my heart prepared.

In Chicago, there are so many people with diverse cultures and backgrounds. I looked around me.  Buildings were high and sirens were blaring. Darkness looms in many hearts here.  Could I be a light on the corner of a busy street in Chicago with one simple question?  I was about to find out.  Thousands pass each other without ever saying a word. We arrived at our spot.  We know that God made us; we are His.  Through what we’re about to do, others will easily see that we are “the sheep of his pasture.”   We huddled and prayed before beginning.  The question was asked – numerous times!  Wow!  God used one little question to break down the walls of isolation that people build to separate themselves from others! Many let us pray for them!

At times, you saw pain in their eyes.  We were thanked, ignored, and refused.  When we did pray though, God brought us together as we called out to Him. We saw Hispanic, Polish, black, and white people – many people with many burdens – some voiced and some not. There’s such a lost world out there – so many lost sheep – who all need a Savior, a Shepherd for all times!  We kept stepping forward to try to pray with them. Today, our “pasture” was made of concrete in the little spot of the world where our Shepherd called us.

What about you?  Can others tell that you are His sheep – that you know Him, trust Him, and follow Him?  I hope so, friends!

*****

Dear Heavenly Father, You love and care for us so!  Let our every day reflect that we follow You and as Your sheep we willingly walk closely with You to bring great glory to You and show others that knowing and trusting You is our great passion!  In Jesus’ Holy Precious Name.  Amen!

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