November 21, 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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There’s Within My Heart A Melody

June 14, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still
In all of life’s ebb and flow

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Sweetest Name I know
Fills my every longing
Keeps me singing as I go

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife
Discord filled my heart with pain
Jesus swept across the broken strings
Stirred the slumbering chords again

Feasting on the riches of His grace
Resting ’neath His sheltering wing
Always looking on His smiling face
That is why I shout and sing

Though sometimes He leads through waters deep
Trials fall across the way
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep
See His footprints all the way

Soon He’s coming back to welcome me
Far beyond the starry sky
I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown
I shall reign with Him on high

Words and music: Luther Bridges

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The Name of Jesus is more than enough to take care of every need in your life:

  • Who saves us from our sins?  Jesus

He is the One all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His Name.
Acts 10:43

  • Who heals the brokenhearted?  Jesus

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,”
Luke 4:18

  • Who gives us mercy and grace?  Jesus

Let us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

  • Who shelters us with His Wings?  Jesus

He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Psalm 91:4

  • Who leads us through the storms and trials of life?  Jesus

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
Isaiah 43:2

  • Who can we follow and be secure?  Jesus

The Lord is my Shepherd; I have all that I need…He guides me along right paths,…Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me…
Psalm 23

  • Who is our peace so we need not fear?  Jesus

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27

  • Who is coming again to welcome us Home!?  Jesus

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
John 14:1-3

Jesus is truly the sweetest Name I know!  The power and the love that resides in the Name of Jesus, is more than enough to make me sing!  How about you?!

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Precious Jesus, You are worthy of all of our praise and worship!  You are our Savior, our Healer, our Protector, our Security, our Peace, our soon-coming King, and so much more!  Thank You, Jesus, that we can rest assured that all of our needs—spirit, soul, and body—can be satisfied in You.  In the Life-Giving Name of Jesus, Amen.

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Cradle Me (Patsy’s Lullaby)

March 23, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Cradle me in midnight mercies
Fill me with Your day starlight
Adorn me with thanksgiving
Strengthen me with might
Guide me with Your holy kindness
Into yet another day
Lead me on to glory, Jesus
In Your everlasting way

Through valleys, through darkest night
You guard me, speed my enemy to flight
Be the lifter of my head in sorrow
Mend my broken heart today
and heal up my tomorrow

Pillow me with Your Presence
Comfort me in Your holy rest
Surround me with your angels’ songs
Sleep safe in Your shelter of my Father’s arms

~  Sing this song with me as our prayer and worship today.  ~

~Lyrics by Patsy Clairmont / Melody and Arrangement by Mandisa and Ron Rawls~

Have you listened to this beautiful lullaby yet?  If not…please do; go ahead…we’ll wait right here for you.

So beautiful…so calming…just as a lullaby should do!  A lullaby, by definition, is a song which quiets; and in particular, quiets babies.  This song does just that for me!  And why?  For one, the tune—the melody—is written in such a way that it evokes peaceful feelings.  And the instruments that were chosen to play this peaceful tune…the cello, the piano, violins…all communicate to our sense of hearing in a gentle way.  Along with the instrument of Mandisa’s beautiful voice!  All of a God-inspired design. But mostly I think it is the words that are sung that communicate Truth that calms and settles our minds and hearts.  These are encouraging words, for sure, but not in a compelling or powerful manner. Rather, they encourage in a comforting way that causes one to feel safe and sheltered.

These words bring reminders to me of some of the phrases about sleep and peace that are written in the Book of Psalms.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone
make me dwell in safety and confident trust.
Psalm 4:8

By day the Lord commands His steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42:8

In the Scriptures, we are told time after time, of the ways in which God guards and protects and blesses us. I love the promises given to us in Psalm 91.  Here are just three of them:

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my Refuge—
No evil shall be allowed to befall you (1), no plague come near your tent (2).
For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways (3).
Psalms 91:9-11

God’s heart is to care for us now…while we still live in this ever-changing world, on this earth that is diminishing and daily being destroyed by the ways of man.  And He accomplishes this in ways that show us how perfectly He will care for us throughout eternity!  He wants us to be assured that He can be trusted to provide all we need…and that we, ourselves, cannot do this successfully on our own.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
for He gives to His beloved <blessings> even in his sleep.
Psalm 127:2

So learn of His promises, fill your heart and mind with the Truth , and meditate on God and His faithfulness to provide. Praise Him and thank Him and bless Him!

Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.
So will I bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;
and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips
When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches.
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
Psalms 63:3-7

Perhaps tonight when you lay your head down, you will remember the words of this beautiful song, and will sing “Pillow me with Your Presence…comfort me in Your holy rest.”  May you “Sleep safe in the shelter of your Father’s arms.”  God bless you and keep you…and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-25).

 

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Shepherd, Carry Me

October 18, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

The Lord is the strength of His people, a Fortress of salvation for His anointed one. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever.
Psalms 28:8 and 9

Throughout the 28th Psalm, there are such vibrant pictures—an allegory—painted with words by David, the psalmist.

He portrays Almighty God as his Rock, Strength, Shield, Refuge, and as Shepherd.  As I have meditated on this psalm, I have been drawn to my God, being comforted by all these powerful attributes of my God.  But it is this final attribute, that of Shepherd (in verse 9), that pulls my heart in close to Him. It tells of tenderness, and love, and gentleness.

Typically we think of a person who shepherds sheep as one who tends, guards, feeds, leads, protects, guides, governs, and provides for the sheep.  But to an even greater degree, our God does likewise for His people.  So many times, especially here in the Book of Psalms, David calls  God “Shepherd.”  Now David, of all people, understood what a shepherd does!  When Samuel was led to David’s family to choose the king, David, the youngest, was out shepherding the sheep.

The Lord said to Samuel…I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite.  For I have provided for Myself a king among his sons…and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen any of these.  Then he said to Jesse, Are all your sons here?  Jesse said, There is yet the youngest; he is tending the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse, Send for him; for we will not sit down to eat until he is here.  Jesse sent and brought him. David had a healthy reddish complexion and beautiful eyes, and was fine-looking. The Lord said to Samuel, Arise, anoint him; this is he.

1 Samuel 16:1-3, 10-12

David, having been the shepherd (lowercase ‘s’) understood in his relationship with Almighty God the awesome ways that God cared for Him—that God was his Shepherd (capital ‘S’).  Perhaps we can each take time today to think about how we are shepherded by Almighty God, our Father.

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Lord, You are the Shepherd of our souls!  You truly have always fed, and guided, and provided, and led, and carried us.  Help us to always recognize Your call!  We praise You and thank You for carrying us when we cannot seem to go one step more, when we have no strength of our own left, when we don’t know which way to go.  May we rest in Your arms, Faithful Father!  Amen.

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My Strength, My Shepherd

October 17, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogo

 

Praise be to the LORD, for He has heard my cry for mercy.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.

The LORD is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one.

Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalms 28:6-9

In the stillness of the dark night when hurt and problems have plagued my heart and mind, I have cried out to my Lord for mercy and help.  And He has been there to be my Strength and my Shield when I was completely broken and weak.  The Lord shines when I am weak.  “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).   He’s sustained me and strengthened me time and time again in the darkest hours. And then, dawn breaks.

How wonderful it would be to sit at the foot of two overlapping, tall mountains and gaze upward as the sun casts its streaming light between the jagged mountain edges at sunrise on a cool, crisp fall morning.  To read this Scripture passage in such a moment would probably make me want to break into singing praise music as I recall God’s faithfulness and love toward me during the most difficult times in my life.  I would desire for the sun to pause at the moment which is the most beautiful to me, but it must continue on its path, as we must also.  There will be plenty of times of joy and laughter, but realistically, we know we will encounter more dark hours ahead.  But the Lord will be there with us to help us endure heartaches and pain.  He’s our Strength and Fortress of salvation.  He cares for Israel; He cares for us.

David wrote Psalm 28 and penned, “Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.”  David knew the deep concern and watchfulness that was required of a shepherd for he had been one. He knew God as the greatest Shepherd ever.

Soon, I’m headed to the mountains like I described earlier. And as I sit there looking up at those majestic mountains before me, I will imagine David as a shepherd boy near the mountainside chasing after a wooly animal wandering away or being led astray by another.  I’ll imagine David, with staff in hand, calling for the creature getting away. Do you think the sheep would recognize his voice?  Then, quickly, I’ll think of how the great Shepherd has carried me back to where He’s desired me to be and away from my own course that could’ve caused my heart to end up in a wrong place!  I’ve been like that wandering sheep where God has called me back to join His people “in the fold” of fellowship with others and in my rightful place.  “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4).

My prayer of praise:  I praise my God, my Shepherd – Who has met my cries with mercy, Who has met my weakness with strength, Who has helped me, and Whom I trust.  I will continue to sing praises to Him.  I know full well that He will carry me while in the valleys, while on the mountaintops, or in the journey I take toward either!

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