(photo ’08 Chris M., Holland)
A wise Teacher/Shepherd said “we are the sheep of His pasture.” “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
Passage John 10:14:
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—”
The question is “do you know your Shepherd? The Good Shepherd said, “I know My sheep and My Sheep know me and follow me!” Do you think this sheep would throw a ‘hissy fit’, if she didn’t get what she wanted and when she wanted it?
Are you a sheep, a goat or a wolf? Are you saying, I am a sheep! I know a wolf when I see one, dressed like a sheep or shepherd or not, I know a wolf! If so, why are you following them? Are you a really good sheep and say, Ba, Ba, Ba, I trust my shepherd. Why? Because a good shepherd gives His life for His sheep. But a hireling, not the shepherd, but a hired hand, (someone you chose to be in relationship with), sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees,; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. (family, friends, church) Yes, he scatters them. The hireling runs and leaves because he/she does not care about the sheep.” John 10:11-16
Why, did you throw the ‘hissy fit’ or follow the wolf or give your time, words, money, and heart to a wolf or goat? The Good Shepherd will take care of the goats and the wolves in His timing and His way. But, we need to stay as far out of the path of wolves and goats as possible. Why, Because the Good Shepherd, Jesus, is in control. We need to just follow Him. It is the Him that we follow?
Isaiah says, “The Lord’s hand is not to short, that it cannot save you, His ear is not so heavy that He can’t hear you, it’s your iniquities that have separated you from God.” Don’t be known as the ‘hissy fit’ wife, husband, child, but be known as a sheep, yes a sheep of His pasture.
Passage Isaiah 58:12:” Your people will rebuild the cities that were destroyed long ago. And you will build again on the old foundations. You will be called The One Who Repairs Broken Walls. You will be called The One Who Makes City Streets Like New Again.” Repent in Restoration and be a part of His sheepfold and stay clear of the dangers of those outside the sheep pen. We do this by following The Holy Spirit!
thedailylily.com 
That question, ‘do you know your Shepherd’ was quite an astounding one. Sometimes we do know the voice of the Shepherd when He tells us by the Holy Spirit to do something, or give something or say something of the moment for the Kingdom adavancement. And we do , give, say….what He has requested of us. And sometimes we hear but we do not heed the voice of our Shepherd. We do something ELSE or something we want to do in the way we want to do it.
But hearing the Voice of the Shepherd, identifying it as the voice of the SPIRIT and NOT obeying really signifies that we do NOT KNOW our SHEPHERD. Because if we really knew HIM we would strive to hear AND OBEY! Evidently we do not KNOW HE IS THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE. We do not know that He is the Savior and King of Heaven and earth and our BELOVED from eternity. If we KNOW HIM….WE LOVE HIM….IF WE LOVE HIM….WE OBEY HIM!
The blog title question reminds me of a penetrating question that Jesus asked Peter three times in John 21:17: “Do you love me?” We may think we love Him and aspire to love Him and say we love Him but if we don’t follow Him we don’t love Him.
1 John 2:3 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” If I allow myself to be influenced or pressured by another person to follow them and their requests or ‘commandments’ rather than the will of God for me …than if I understand this blog correctly, I am a goat or a wolf. And when put in this light ,this is a real wake-up call…it measures who we really do follow. Lots to think about here. Goats and sheep end up in two different places in the end and I don’t want the goat pen.
Matt 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”…..46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
What a wonderful verse and blog to ponder. We are the Sheep of his Pasture. WOW! To me that means no matter what I go through the good shepherd is there. He sees it all. He sees my successes, JOYS, failures, heartaches, sorrows, anxiousness, illnesses, AND tears. He sees my life of ups and downs in relationships. He tends to all in HIS pasture. My good shepherd sees all and knows the wiles of the devil who works to cause pain, BOTH physical and/or emotional. To me I know no matter what situation I find myself in, Jesus is there. He restores my soul. He will not let me perish. He is the lifter of my head. Nothing is too difficult for Him. IF I CALL out to Him he is there. I had a friend who had an extremely high temperature (104) a few years ago. She had me take cloths and dip them in alcohol and place them on her body. Her temperature was so high the cloths with steam. She was so ill and didn’t want to go to the hospital. She would keep calling out to JESUS saying his name over and over again. He showed up and eventually she received her healing as He touched her. She was one of HIS sheep and He loved and took care of her and she sings His praise to the Nations today and will continue until she walks on those streets of gold. Due to her faith I too know that all I have to do is call out if only I call the name, JeSUS, and He is there. You out there have the same promise. He is waiting to hear from you. Know that He will lead and guide you no matter what situation you find yourself in this day.
Rena, you are right, there are great benefits in being a SHEEP. Remember this parable.
Luke Chapter 15 Verses 3-7
“And he spake this parable unto them saying
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it he layeth it on his shoulders , rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours saying unto them, ‘ rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost.’
7 I say unto you , that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance.”
Isaiah 53:6 “WE all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way…”
Our Shepherd knows His sheep by name. Yes He knows my name. and lays down His life for me. The Good Shepherd is never off duty. He does not work shift work or 9-5. When I fall, He carries me. When I hurt, He heals me.
I have read that sheep aren’t too smart. I agree, being one! They tend to wander off into creeks for water, and their wool grows so heavy and they sometimes drown. Psalm 23 say, Our Shepherd leads us to calm waters, not running creeks with our heavy wool so we can drown. He carries a walking stick that He uses to guide and protect us. Then He pours oil on our head to bless us with all we have need of.
Our Good Shepherd, please guide us today. Teach us, care for us. Ps 24:1 assures us “The earth belongs to You, and everything in it, the world and all its people.”You want us to enjoy the fullness of the earth and life’s experiences. Lead us into paths that are right for the good of Your name, In Your Holy Name, Jesus, Our Shepherd, we pray,
” I will Praise the Lord, because He heard my prayer for help. The Lord is my strength and shield, I trust Him, and He helps me, I am very happy, and I praise Him with my song. The Lord is powerful; He gives victory to His chosen one, Save Your people and bless those who are your own, Be their Shepherd and carry them forever.” Psalm 28:6-9
what a beautiful blog and a deep thought provoking subject….and the prayer you prayed Sara “Lead us into paths that are right for the good of Your name,”…..that too is really a thought ..”for the good of Your name”…not ours but Yours……there is a hymn by Ralph Carmichael 1946 intitled “Like a Lamb who Needs the Shepherd”
Where He leads me I must follow, without Him Id
lose my way. I will see a bright tomorrow
If I follow Him today. Like a lamb who
needs the Shepherd, At His side Ill always stay. Through the
night His strenght I’ll borrow, Then I’ll see another day.
Life is like a winding pathway, Who can tell what
lies ahead? Will it lead to shady pastures,
Or to wilderness instead? Like a lamb who
needs the Shepherd, When into the night I go. Help me
find the path thats narrow, While I travel here below.
Though you walk throught darkest valleys and the sky is
cold and gray, though you climb the steepest mountains
He will never let you stray. Like a lamb who
needs the Shepherd, by your side He’ll always stay. Til the
end of life’s long journey He will lead you all the way..
the scripture given is from Isaiah 40:11
“He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather His lambs with His arms.”
I was studying about sheep and sheperds….on line….and it was said that once the sheep have grown and matured they do know their shepherds voice….and they wont move until they hear it…and the mature sheep will even make the young ones move when the sheperd calls….(or the sheep dog rounds them up)……and some sheep just seem to stay unsmart and the sheperd has to really keep an eye on them …out of love…because they are his and they do have their part in his pasture……when I read this I thought of what Sara s response with Psalm 28;6-9 said…..carry them forever.”……….glad we have a Sheperd who neither slumbers nor sleeps!
Yes, aren’t we glad we have the Good Sheperd who never sleeps! A dumb sheep, like myself, can wonder over to the berries, beautiful grass, etc. to graze on what we THINK would be more tasteful. (but is it??)
Wendy’s mom taught me something about the sheperd’s staff. She said the “curve” in the end is for “hooking” the “straying sheep”, around the neck to pull him back in. Thank you, Father, for being the Good Sheperd.
Yeah, Needles. Those big, chubby berries look delicious and juicy but when the little sheepy strays among the berry vines & bushes, her curly locks get all entangled in the thorns and pricks & brambles of the wild berry bushes and he/she could be hooked! It reminds me of the story of David’s handsome adonis-type son, Absalom, who got his magnificent head of hair entangled & helplessly caught in the tree limbs and it was his undoing.
The Shepherd’s staff is corrective, directive and connective. We are BLESSED with the GOOD SHEPHERD and the godly undershepherds who haul us in from the brink of danger, by hook or by “crook”.
Thanks for the beautiful prayer Sara and all the other uplifting comments each had to share. Not only am I thankful for my great good Shepherd but I am thankful to be in the fold with these other sheep. It is good to know He calls and knows us each by name and that he doesn’t have to carry a notepad with Him to remember who we are…all He has to do is look at His hands…each one of us in inscribed there.
Debi, my Bible says tattooed in His Hand! We are there to stay. When we are tattooed in the hand of God, we won’t fall out, and no one can knock us out. We are there and there we will stay!
Hey Needles and MG, I just visited Debi;s spring garden sale and she had some lush blueberry plants for sale. Rena and myself thought about buying some. I don’t know about Rena but I opted out after reading that I might wonder off after the berries (and I would too when it comes to food). And, I do have a few curly locks that just might get entangled. HUM, I think I might just visit the hair cuter and get a shearing and save myself from wandering and getting entangled in thorns and pricks and brambles.
I’m glad I’m tattooed in the palm of his hand. Thank goodness it isn’t the washable tattoo the kids sometimes have. I did buy two blueberry plants at Debi’s sale plus other delightful plants. I’ll share the blueberries. If one of us get to greedy the other can use their talents and pull us away. Dorothy has the gift of helps, I’m sure she will help.
Count me in on the picking. OOOPS I mean count me in on the stacking with cake and cream. Good Job Rena! How happy I am that you are a good neighbor with hands of sharing.
Psalm 64:10
Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him!
Yes, Sara, on this National Day of Prayer, “let’s rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him”! Thank you, Lord for Your protective hand on us.
great
look at me
Yes Amen with you Sara and Needles…….Thank You Lord that we are protected and tattoed in and by Your hand…..Oh Rena I happen to like blueberries too…soooo I wouldnt mind in helping 🙂
yes, I see you Needles and you do look a bit like the picturesque sheep. But, if I could see your ears I could tell more!
Isaiah 53:6 “All of us , like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of all of us.”
Psalms 23:1-3 “1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along the right paths, bringing honor to his name.”
Mark 6:34 “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like a sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”
Luke 2:8 ” That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.”
Our shepherd stays in the field with us never leaving our sides. He guards and protects his sheep. He lets us rest when we are tired with peace around us. He gives strength to our weary body and guides down the right path. He has compassion on the sheep who have strayed and he teaches us how to stay on the right road. Our Shepherd is very loving, patient, and kind. We are so blessed to have our Lord, our Shepherd, teaching us, protecting us and loving us.
Amen Chickenfarmer and:
He Prepares a Table Before us in the Presence of our Enemies.
More on this:
http://www.chicagoicc.org/index.php/2007/11/25/you-prepare-a-table-before-me-in-the-presence-of-my-enemies
Yes chickenfarmer, your scriptures and comments help to show us that our Lord is such a skillful sheep handler who trains us well. I was reading an exhortation in Psalm 96:6 this morning about this: “Oh come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God And we are the sheep of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” We can bow down and submit to the training of His hand(ling) with confident assurance and know also that our times are in His hand (Ps. 31:15),
Chickenfarmer I love the comments on the good shepherd. This reminds me of a poem I read this week from one of my students who is 10 years old.
It read:
I am dirty on the inside, but clean on the outside.
I am torn apart on the inside, but put together on the outside.
I asked the student about the poem. He said that he learned in Sunday School that Jesus (Good Shepherd) when he comes into your life cleans you up on the inside so that your inside mirrors your outside.