Thursday, October 9, 2008

Jesus Is... (Part 2)

~Psalm 23~
"The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. I am His sheep. Sheep are very silly creatures. They cannot take care of themselves, as much as they'd like to think they can. If left to themselves, they would get lost, sick, malnourished, or attacked by wolves or other animals. They need someone to lead them and take care of them and bring them to better pastures. They are desperately in need of a shepherd. And we have a Shepherd in Jesus Christ our Lord! He is loving, gentle, and wise. He knows where the verdant meadows are. He knows all the safeties and dangers of the path that leads thereto, as He has been up it before, and He will take care of us as we travel it. He would not lead us that way if He knew the struggle would be too great for us. He knows how to take care of our smallest and our greatest needs. He protects us from our enemies. He knows what is best for us, and lovingly supplies it. As we know the character of our Good Shepherd, we sheep should have no problem being under His care. Rather, we will flee to Him, and desire to be as near to Him as we possibly can. In Mr. Stauffer's message on this topic last night in church, he made the point that the sheep far away from the shepherd are more susceptible to the enemies around. The safest place for me to be is right beside my Shepherd.


"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." (John 10:14)


My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
Psalm 23, Paraphrased by Isaac Watts

"My Shepherd will supply my need; Jehovah is His name:
In pastures fresh He makes me feed, beside the living stream.
He brings my wand'ring spirit back when I forsake His ways;
And leads me, for His mercy's sake, in paths of truth and grace.

"When I walk through shades of death Thy presence is my stay;
One word of Thy supporting breath drives all my fears away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes, doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows, Thine oil anoints my head.

"The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my above, and all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest, while others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest, but like a child at home. Amen."
Graphics in this article are taken from http://lovelywhatevers.blogspot.com/.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful message of how He is our wonderful Shepherd and takes such tender care of His sheep.

Anonymous said...

The message last Wednesday was really good! Although, after that description of sheep, I'm not sure I like being called one...:S During the message, I kept thinking of that song that you put on there ( "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need"). It is so pretty!