Does The Good Shepherd care?

 Have you ever felt alone and abandoned in your troubles and it seems as if God is not taking care of your situation? You ask - If He is the Good Shepherd, why does He seem distant from me in my struggles. I want to share some insights with you that I learned from a Bible school student named Travis who spoke on this topic. A concussion due to a mountain biking accident and  the struggle to recover from it left him feeling some abandonment from the Lord. He reminded us that Jesus went through  more abandonment ( betrayal and loss of loved ones, suffering on the cross) than any of us will ever experience. The Lord cares for us as it says in  Matthew 6:26 - Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 

Travis proceeded to read the text from John 10 : 1-21 ( posted at the bottom) .
He discussed  the job of shepherding and what it involved. It is a 24/7 job, not glamorous, sheep are defenseless and unintelligent and need a constant protector. A shepherd must have a genuine love for the sheep, protecting them from danger with his own life being at stake. At night a shepherd would bring the sheep into an enclosed area. The shepherd would physically lie down in the doorway and guard the door and the sheep with his own life. verse 7 - Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep

Three Reasons Jesus is that Shepherd:
1) He Cares and Knows us intimately - knows everything about us, knows us better than we know ourselves, loves us like His sons, knows us by name. A shepherd knows his sheep by name, not just as a number in a herd, he knows when and where he got each sheep.

2) He Protects the Flock - He guards the lives of the sheep with His own life, will stay and fight for his own sheep while a hired hand would leave the sheep when he fears for his own life. A hired hand would flee in a dangerous situation thinking he could get another job elsewhere.
 verse 13 -The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

3) He Provides - Jesus gives us what we need. Sheep need water, food and safety. We are needy, and a lost people whom Jesus came to save. Why would we die in sin when we can come to Jesus? Sin separated us from God  but through Christ we can be brought back to God into relationship with Him again. Jesus gave His life for us for that purpose.

Analogy of the mother Octopus: The mother octopus will find a safe place to lay her eggs. She will not leave the eggs for anything, not for food, not for water, but stays by the eggs the entire time to care for them and protect them from danger.  By the time the day draws near for the eggs to hatch, a mother octopus will be weakened to the point that she dies. She is devoted to those eggs and she gives up her life up for the life of her children. The  first meal the baby octopus will eat is the remains of his mother.  So also Jesus loves, guards and protects us as His children and He gave us His life so that we may have life to the full. 
verse 11 -  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep


Please take the time to read John 10:1-21, as there we can see "How Great our Good Shepherd" really is

John 10 : 1-21
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
² But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
³ To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
⁴ And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
⁵ And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
⁶ This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
⁷ Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸ All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
⁹ I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
¹⁰ The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
¹¹ I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

¹² But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
¹³ The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
¹⁴ I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
¹⁵ As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
¹⁶ And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
¹⁷ Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
¹⁸ No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
¹⁹ There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.
²⁰ And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?²¹ Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

Easter - The Promise of God Fulfilled

One super great character of God is that he knows the end of things before the beginning even happens. He knows what we will need and His promises stand for all time. In the very  beginning when God created all things, he created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden of Eden to live. In the first couple of chapters in the book of Genesis the story unfolds of the creation and how God tells Adam and Eve they can eat of any trees in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:17 -But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. But in chapter 3 of Genesis, satan disguised as a snake ( notice that satan always disguises himself and lies but pretends to represent truth) he comes to Eve and tempts her to eat of the fruit of that tree and she falls to satan's temptation, eats the fruit and also gives to Adam and he eats. That is the first sin and ever since then the relationship that God had intended for us to have with Him has been broken. God is holy. Sin cannot dwell in His presence and therefore sin has to be dealt with. God knew this would happen to Adam and Eve and He had a plan in place ( even from before the beginning of time) to restore them and us  to Himself again. So in Genesis 3:14 &15 God has a word for satan and He promises us the Savior. -And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 
 Throughout the Old Testament God remembers His promise to send a Savior who will die for us and provide a way of salvation for us. One such passage is found in Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  and that of course was fulfilled when Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. God also fortold of Jesus's death and ressurection and He has kept all his promises there too. Psalm 22 is a good description of the crucifixion of Jesus. For example Psalm 22:1 and also verse 18. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring ...They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
 In the gospels we find the complete story of the death and ressurection of Jesus our Savior.
The fulfillment of the promises and prophecy of God is sure. It's not a matter of maybe God will do what He has said - we can depend on Him to keep his Word 100%.  We are waiting now for God to fulfill His promise that Jesus will return to earth again in His second coming. We do not know when He is coming but we do know for sure that He is coming back.  Revelation 22: 12 and 13 says And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
So this Easter I want to remember Jesus that He came as a baby born of the virgin Mary, He is the promised Messiah that God sent to die on the cross for us to redeem us back to Himself. Jesus  rose from the dead on the third day and ascended to Heaven.  Now we wait for His return for us His children and so we shall forever be with the LORD!

Happy Easter!!

Overcoming Temptation....

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days. The devil tried to take advantage of Jesus in His hungry condition. We can imagine that after having been without food, Jesus's physical body will have been quite worn down. So satan tries to tempt Jesus into caving in to his own physical needs. But Jesus has just spent days in communion with the Heavenly Father, so even though in His body, he is in need of nourishment, He is still strong. Jesus rebukes satan and says : Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Satan continues on with other temptations but Jesus remains firm and strong and never gives the devil even a bit of ground and the angels come and attend to Him and take care of Him. Matthew 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him

Many times when people are discussing temptation, and trying to justify falling into temptations you will hear them say - Well, even Jesus was tempted, but He was God so, of course He didn't sin. That is true - Jesus is God and He didn't sin.

There are two aspects of temptation that I would like to address.
 First is the real definition of temptation
 Second standing strong in the face of temptation.

1) What is the definition of temptation?
The answer is found in James 1: 14-15 where it says : But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Temptation is the act of Satan presenting something unrighteous (something that he thinks you might desire) before you, perhaps with a thought in your mind or a picture in a magazine or on TV. If you have made the decision to live faithfully for the Lord you will have absolutely no desire for whatever it is that satan places before you. You will honestly say No, I do not want that, I do not need that and you refuse to take a second look or toy with the thought at all. It is awesome if you can quote a Bible verse at such a time since satan cannot stand against the Word of God. That is what it means to not sin in a temptation.

If on the other hand, satan places a thought into your mind or puts a picture in front of you and you desire it in your heart- you have already sinned and you need to repent before God even though you have only sinned in your thoughts and desires at this point. At this point lust has been conceived and sin is present. When not dealt with, this then will lead to death - spiritually and in relationships, and sometimes actual physical death.

How to Stand Strong against Temptation?
Let's think back to Jesus in His temptation experience. Jesus had just spent 40 days with God so though He was weak physically, He was strong in His Spirit. If Jesus needed to get away from people and busyness of life and spend time with His Heavenly Father - how much more do we need to get serious about spending time with our Heavenly Father. The closer we walk with the LORD, the more victory we will experience in every area of our life. So we need to daily, ( I mean daily) spend time in the Bible and become quiet before the LORD and allow Him to soak and saturate us with His Word and in this way His desires become our own personal desires. The more we have with the LORD, the less we want of the world and it's useless pleasures. We need to get Scripture into our minds so that throughout our day, we are thinking and meditating on the things of the Lord. We need to have Scripture in our mind and in this way we can quote it in the midst of temptation and Satan cannot stand against the Words of the Bible and He must flee.
Our desire becomes to do only that which pleases the LORD and brings glory to Him!!
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.