so you shall be

f20e7ca5f17d5d6228c5b1da3690f461Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, “Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. David had said on that day, “Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward. And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him. King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees, and carpenters and masons who built David a house. David then perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. (2 Samuel 5:1-12, NRSV)

“The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.”

The Lord said it so it shall be.

And you can take it from me, when the Lord says He wants something it is going to happen sooner or later, so we might as well go along with it and have it be done the easy way.

So the people of Israel understood, that God had said David was to be their king, and so they came together and anointed David as king.

So when God calls you, so you shall be.

How does a sheep repent?

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:1-7, NRSV)

This starts the chapter of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son.

We have heard this chapter over and over in our Christian walk, as our desire to become closer to Jesus and better disciples. We look at this chapter and learn what it means to repent.

I mean that is what these stories are all about right, repenting?

I mean the prodigal son runs away from home and figure out he was wrong and he repents. Well maybe…

But answer me, how does a sheep repent?

Now I do not know sheep or their mannerisms. I know a dog can repent and I have seen it. The downward gaze, crouched down with the tail between their legs. The I’m so sorry look…

But how does a sheep repent?

(Warning: Bad joke coming)

A sheep repents by saying, “I’m sorry I’ve been baaaaaaaad.”

This parable is not about the lost sheep, it is about the loving shepherd that leaves the 99 sheep in danger because of His love for all the sheep.

Even when we wander away, He will come looking and when He finds us, He will not scold us, but throw a party because we are safe back in His arms!

So repent, but know that you are loved by one who will search the mountain side for you!

God will save

Then the LORD will appear over them,
and his arrow go forth like lightning;
the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet
and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
The LORD of hosts will protect them,
and they shall devour and tread down the slingers;
they shall drink their blood like wine,
and be full like a bowl,
drenched like the corners of the altar.
On that day the LORD their God will save them
for they are the flock of his people;
for like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
For what goodness and beauty are his!
Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.
(Zechariah 9:14-17, NRSV)

God will appear and protect His flock.

He will keep the predators away.

God will save His people as the shepherd saves his flock!

We are the beauty of His hand and He will protect us.

pasture

My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains; from mountain to hill they have gone, they have forgotten their fold. All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, “We are not guilty, because they have sinned against the LORD, the true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their ancestors.” (Jeremiah 50:6-7, NRSV)

God is our true pasture and the food and the fullness of our lives!

Do not be led astray by those who seem to be shepherds but are not.

God is the only place, our only hope.

God will provide for us.

Let us seek his pasture, his food, his life for us.

come away

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:30-34, NRSV)

Jesus called the disciples away to rest.

Do you take time to rest?

Take time away?

Just unplug and do nothing?

Read a good book, relax by a lake, on a beach, with friends and family?

Jesus listened to all the disciples had done as He sent them out, and when they were done telling Him, He said come away with me and let us find some time to rest and recharge.

We need to take that time with Jesus.

So listen and when He says come away and rest, go and do it!

Hope in you

Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
The LORD looks down from heaven;
he sees all humankind.
From where he sits enthroned he watches
all the inhabitants of the earth—
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
and observes all their deeds.
A king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.
Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD;
he is our help and shield.
Our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
(Psalm 33:12-22, NRSV)

You are our shield and our help!

You will protect us from harm and be a shade and a shelter to us!

Lord we hope in you and ask you to fill us with your steadfast love.

Even as we hope in you…

Easy to say.

Sometimes very hard to do.

But a king is not saved by his great army, and a warrior is not delivered by his great strength, they all rely on the Lord.

And in the Lord we can hope.

When we can’t see any hope, God is/will be our hope!

Citizens with the saints

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. (Ephesians 2:19-22, NRSV)

We are citizens with the saints! Gathered together in love and in your mission Lord!

No one is excluded, the stranger and the alien are not outsiders any more but have been welcomed into the family!.

We are the dwelling place of God!

We are the citizens with the saints!

no better than slaves

for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.  My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. (Galatians 3:26-4:7, NRSV)

I’ve read this passage many times and heard points argued around it.

But today I read something that has missed my attention before.

It really just drives home the point. In Paul’s day the order of the household went:

Father

Sons

Mother

Daughters

Slaves

But if the children (sons or daughters) were minors they were no better than the slaves!

So those who will control the house, until that point comes are in a sense still property.

And in that sense we are all the same under Christ. No longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, man and woman. We are all the same in the eyes of God.

We are all no better than the slaves, but what a great master to serve!

promise

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will live in them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore come out from them,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch nothing unclean;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be your father,
and you shall be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.
(2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1, NRSV)

I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God.

What a promise!

Sometimes it is hard for us as humans to believe in promises. Because we know what it is like to be on the end of a broken promise. To have someone tell us we can trust on them and they let us down.

And sometimes it seems like we are losing everything around us, but even in the darkest valley, God is always with us, and He will never break His promise. The rainbow reminds us of that!

So allow His love to permeate your life as He fills you with His Spirit, and let Him ever walk with you!

we cry

for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:13-17, NRSV)

Do you remember that time when you got hurt and you reached up and cried, “daddy!”

You knew that your dad was going to be there to pick you up and make everything better.

He was going to kiss away the pain and make the world right again.

And that is what we have in our Daddy God. Abba means daddy, it is a very personal word for the male parent.

And the Spirit of God resides deep within us, and helps us to call personally on God the father, so much so that we can call Him daddy!

He will be there to pick us up and kiss away the pain and make everything right with the world.

So cry out! Daddy!