lost

“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost. (Matthew 18:10-14, NRSV)

When a shepherd losses a sheep, they leave the rest on the mountain and go looking for the one that is lost!?!?!?!?!?

Really! they leave the rest of the flock in the open country for wolves and other hunters to come and take them down with no protection and go looking for the one lost one!

Well there is safety in numbers, but a wolf or pack of wolves could come in and take them down…

But the point here is the love the shepherd has for all the sheep, and how He will do anything to make sure the fold is complete.

When we wander away He will be looking for us. Until we are no longer wandering lost, and we are found!

So know that when you feel lost, in order to find Jesus, and your way again, all you need to do is turn around and He will be there waiting and looking for you!

Showers of Blessings

Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken. I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely. I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations. They shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD. You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 34:20-31, NRSV)

Today I heard in the locker room at the gym, “I’ll be glad when the rain is gone…” It is not unlike any other day, but maybe it would be “I’ll be glad when the snow is gone…”

“It’ll be better when it is colder, or hotter…”

“Things would be better if we just got some rain…”

We are finicky people and are never satisfied it seems. We complain about the weather as if we could control it. The Bible tells us that God sends the rain on the saints and the wicked, so we should all be prepared and have our umbrellas with us.

You see God sends the rain to be a blessing. Even when we curse it and call it bad and want it to go away.

We see the things that happen in God’s timing and plan as things that shouldn’t be happening. We want things our way.

And when we control the weather, will things in nature work the way God intended?

Who is better to be on control, us or God?

So see the rain as a blessing, the way God intends it, and love the fact that He wants the world around us to flourish and to feed it, just like He wants us to flourish and to feed us!

 

Who is it about?

The word of the LORD came to me: Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them. For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. (Ezekiel 34:1-16, NRSV)

Who do you feed?

Now that is an interesting question. I know people who will give their kids peanut butter and jelly and then go out to Burger King for themselves… This just doesn’t set right with me. Seems like the kids should get the good stuff, but maybe they are…

But I digress… Who do we look out for?

Do you only look out for yourself?

Is it really all about you?

If that is the case, you are just like the shepherds that fed themselves, and took the wool for themselves, and left the sheep to fend for and feed themselves.

You are not doing what God has called you to do. You are really focused on not number one, but yourself.

So focus on God and that will help you see others the way He sees all of us, as those who are worth the time and effort to help. That is how He looks at you and wants you to look at others.

Bad shepherds…

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.” Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, “As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,” but “As the LORD lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.” Then they shall live in their own land. (Jeremiah 23:1-8, NRSV)

If you have scattered the flock of the Lord then you are to be attended to by God…

God will attend to you for your evil of driving His flock away, by telling them to do things they need not do, or follow traditions that need not be upheld. If you have led a little one astray it is better for you to tie a millstone around your neck and throw yourself into the sea…

For the righteous Shepherd is coming and when He comes then all of the sheep will be brought back to Him and the bad shepherd will have no footing, no place to stand.

So do not lead others astray, but hold fats to Jesus and help others to see Him too.

the gate

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:1-10, NRSV)

Sheep are dumb animals. We have all heard that and I don’t know about you but that does not make me feel good when Jesus seems to refer to us as sheep…

But this passage shows they have some understanding of who is worthy to follow and who isn’t. They know the sound of their masters voice. And when He calls them they follow. Even when they are scared, they follow.

But the thing I thin we miss is the gate. In the USA we think of fences with gates that swing open and closed to keep the good stuff in and the unwanted stuff out. But in Jesus day, there were no fences that had gates like we know them. Or at least that is my understanding. Jesus was the gate, and the shepherd was the gate. the shepherd got his sheep into the penned in area then he laid down in the opening. This kept the sheep in and the wolves out. He protected them.

Just like Jesus will do for us if we will follow His voice.

shadow

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. O continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your salvation to the upright of heart! (Psalm 36:5-10, NRSV)

The steadfast love of the Lord is all encompassing!

How many ways can we say that God’s love for us is unchanging and surrounds us every where we are?

I love the image of in the shadow of your wing… Like a mother bird protects her young by sheltering them from whatever danger is upon them, God holds us close to Him and surrounds us with His warmth and protection.

He is always there for us to find shelter and refuge from the world around us!

So hide in the shadow of His wing.

Search the scripture…

And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent. “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:37-40, NRSV)

You refuse to come to me and have life!

How is it we get life? According to verse 40 it is by coming to Jesus. He will give us life. God sent Him and whoever believes that God sent Him will have life. The promise is there from God.

Yet we search the scripture to find the answer, even though the scriptures point to Him.

But here in John Jesus says ” “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life…” They didn’t get that He was the fulfillment of scripture. That it is not about fulfilling the scriptures on our own. We can’t do that, He has done it for us.

Search the scriptures for the right rules, for the right way to worship, for the right things to say, for all of the right things and you will not find it. Scripture points to Jesus. If you want life you have to follow Jesus and give up control, and understanding. He will not be confined to your understanding of scripture.

Proclaim death…

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29, NRSV)

Do this in remembrance of me is the phrase we usually hear when we read this. Yet today I read the passage and I heard, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Every time we take communion, we are proclaiming the death of Christ on the cursed tree! Every time we partake of bread and wine and think about our Lord we are placing Him back on the cross.

Wow! I want to stop right now! I never wanted Jesus to go to the cross for me in the first place. I am grateful. But I do not want to send Him back again and again.

But here is the kicker…

Without the cross there is no resurrection!

Without the death there is no life!

He had to die so that we all might live! You see you also died to self. in your baptism you died to the old Adam and were raised in the new life of Christ and if there is no cross, there is no new life. So do this in remembrance of what I gave for you. Remember how much I love you!

They didn’t know…

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. (John 21:1-14, NRSV)

Why had the disciples gone back to fishing?

Or interestingly it seems all of them went to fishing… Only 4 of the 12 were fishermen, but it seems from this passage that the 7 of the 11 are together…

But Peter goes fishing and seems to fall back on what they had known before Jesus. Now yes Jesus had died, but in the gospel of John they had witnessed the risen Jesus twice by this point. So why are they not out telling everyone about Him?

What keeps you from shouting His praises from the top of your lungs every where you go?

You see, they followed what they knew, and that is what we do. It is easy for us to do what we have always done. We don’t want to see Jesus in the new things or the different places, because that means we will have to do things differently, and differently is not easy. It is unsafe. We are not in control and have to rely on someone else.

But that someone else in this instance is Jesus! Who better can we trust…

So when you see Jesus calling you to go and do something different, don’t worry that you won’t be in control, because Jesus will be and that is all the assurance we should need!