January 5, 2012

“Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 1The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:7-15


Like the sheep in Psalm 23 you should be one satisified sheep! I have spent the better part of this week reminding you of how good your Shepherd is! So, if there is still anxiety or discontent stirring in your soul it could be that you are not following Him as well as you should!

 

May I share a true story to further illustrate the blessings and benefits of following this Shepherd Who is a personal shepherd and a powerful shepherd and a promising shepherd?

 

Here it is:

In 1972, a shepherd had brought his sheep into a walled-off, enclosed area for the night, and he had just gone to sleep when he heard a commotion. He quickly rushed over to where the sound was coming from and to his horror he discovered that a wolf was in the process of dragging off one of his sheep through a hole in the wall. He was mauling this sheep and blood was flying.

 

The shepherd quickly began hitting the wolf, and the wolf turned on him and began attacking him. He bit him over and over while the shepherd was striking him with his staff, and finally with one final blow of his staff, he killed the wolf as he himself collapsed into a bloody heap.

 

He managed to crawl over to the half-dead sheep, and began to bandage its wounds.

He gave it some water, and then took it in his own bloody arms, and shepherd and sheep went to sleep together. The next morning the shepherd was found dead, his body literally draped over the sheep to comfort it and keep it warm. The following day the headline in the Jerusalem paper said, “Sheep Alive, Covered in Shepherd’s Blood.”

 

That is the testimony of every sheep and lamb who is under the care of the Good Shepherd. Why would you not follow Him closely? Why would you not completely trust a Shepherd like that?

Any other shepherd is a hireling who comes to steal, abuse, or kill the sheep. There is no comparison between the Good Shepherd and any other. There is really no comparison between sheep under the care of the Good Shepherd and those who are not. You can tell the difference by looking! There is a noticeable difference!

As the storm clouds gather and the threats increase and the world becomes significantly more dangerous, you cannot afford to be led or cared for by anyone other than the Good Shepherd because no matter how perilous the times that lay ahead - IF THE LORD IS YOUR SHEPHERD, YOUR FUTURE IS YOUR FRIEND!

 

Hallelujah!

January 4, 2012

“SURELY – goodness and mercy will follow me…..” Psalm 23:6

"Promises are like babies: easy to make, hard to deliver." ~Author Unknown

"It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath." ~AeschylusHe began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.

"Promises are like crying babies in a theater, they should be carried out at once." ~ Norman Vincent Peale

The future is your friend when you have a personal shepherd Who has an intimate concern and care for you! And, the future is your friend when you have a powerful shepherd who has seven-fold ability to protect and provide for you. But there is still another reason to trust this shepherd - His promises!

But the promises made are only as good as the previous promises that have been kept. How can you be sure you can trust the promises of this Shepherd? Has He proven reliable?

Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water.

Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest.

Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.

Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.
Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.

Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.

Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.

Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.

Yes! This Shepherd IS trustworthy! He not only keeps His word HE IS THE WORD!

What He promises:

God’s presence -- "I will never leave thee" (Heb. 13:5)

God’s protection -- "I am thy shield" (Gen. 15:1)

God’s power -- "I will strengthen thee" (Isa. 41:10)

God’s provision -- "I will help thee" (Isa. 41:10)

God’s leading -- "And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them" (John 10:4)

God’s purposes -- "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil" (Jer. 20:11)

God’s rest -- "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28)

God’s cleansing -- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9)

God’s goodness -- "No good thing will He withhold from them that work uprightly" (Psalm 84:11)

God’s faithfulness -- "The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake" (1 Sam. 12:22)

God’s guidance -- "The meek will He guide" (Psalm 25:9)

God’s wise plan -- "All things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28)

With the troubling and uncertain future you face how can you have hope?

You can be sure your future is your friend because your Shepherd is personal and He is powerful AND you can trust His promises!

The things that are coming in the next few months and years will be trouble on a scale you have never seen before. It will be frightening. It will be painful. You will be tempted to panic. That is why I want to remind you of your Shepherd and that if you fully trust Him, you will need not fear the future for He will make your future your friend!

January 3, 2012

“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23

Reading this Psalm gives you an insight into a day in the life of a sheep. I am not sure you ever had a desire to see life through the eyes of a sheep. Personally, I have never paused in the middle of a busy day and wondered, “What would a sheep think of this?" You probably haven’t either, but when you consider that the Bible compares you to a sheep it might be of some interest to you.

From this moment forward, should a similar thought flash through your mind you will have an answer. According to this beloved Psalm a sheep faces each day concerned about: hunger, harm, harassment, and hereafter.

Incidentally, I have known a few humans who worry about the same things.

Fortunately, for this sheep, he has a shepherd who worries about those same things for him. Do you have a shepherd like that? If you are worried about those things, you probably don’t!

Sheep are grazers. Grazing is great as long as there is plenty of grass. But a flock of sheep will tend to overgraze an area until all the grass is gone. Because they are too timid to move far from where they have grazed, they would starve themselves within a matter of days. Hunger is a concern. No one wants to go hungry, even a sheep!

A good shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures each day and then stand guards over them as they graze on lush green grass. After a few days of learning they can trust their shepherd, they cease to worry about hunger anymore. That is a good day!

Do you have a shepherd like that? You could!

Sheep are defenseless. They have no way of protecting themselves against predators and they can’t run fast enough to get away. So, if they have no shepherd to guard them they will become lunch for a wolf or cougar. So, along with daily concerns about hunger, they worry about harm coming to them!

But if he has a good shepherd, that shepherd is on constant guard watching for predators. Should one attack, he is armed with a staff and a rod with which he can ward off the beast. After awhile the sheep learns he doesn’t have to worry about harm when he is with his shepherd.

The fact that the sheep lays down is significant. They are so timid and flighty that they will not lie down unless they feel completely safe from predators, parasites or pests. If flies or gnats or bees are buzzing around them they will not lie down. When you see a sheep lying down he is either dead or he is feeling completely secure! In that case, it would be evidence that he has a good shepherd who cares enough for his sheep to keep him free of harassment!

Once he has been relieved of his concerns over hunger, harm and harassment, a sheep’s worry turns to the hereafter. What will happen tomorrow? Will he be hungry? Will he be harmed? Will he be harassed? Not having to worry about today will not keep him from worrying about tomorrow. Know the feeling?

But, once again, being under the care of a good shepherd over time, the sheep will come to trust his shepherd so much that he ceases to worry and is content and comfortable following his shepherd anywhere!

Life through the eyes of a sheep!

What does it have to do with you?

It IS you! That is, if you know the Good Shepherd. If not, you know hunger, harm, harassment and concerns about the hereafter.

When you follow the Good Shepherd – life is good and your future is your friend!

January 2, 2012

"Every day they continued to meet together......." Acts 2:46a

Small things done well over time make a big difference. The tendency is to value the spectacular events and the exciting efforts. But unless someone is paying attention to the details nothing lasting will result from the big things.

Today I want to talk about the value of one particular small thing - the importance of showing up!

Just showing up almost sounds too abvious to mention. But it was one of the things that the Church in Jerusalem did best. They were consistent in their Christian disciplines. Consistency equates to commitment. Not much happens without commitment.

Cal Ripken is a cinch for the Hall of Fame because he developed the discipline of showing up. His career statistics are borderline for Hall of Famers. On the basis of his stats he would have been considered for Cooperstown, but the fact that he played in a record-setting 2,632 consecutive games make his selection a no-brainer. Ripken shattered the record of a previous Hall of Famer, Lou Gehrig by almost 500 games!

I think of Betty Darling. Betty was a tiny little lady from the hills and hollows of West Virginia who was extremely shy - but amazingly faithful. Betty worked in the nursery at Heritage Wesleyan Church, one of the largest churches in our denomination. She was there when the church ran 25 people and she only had one infant to care for. She was still there when the church topped 2,000 and had more babies in the nursery than they used to have people in the church. Betty was so shy she had trouble looking you in the eye. She would slip into the nursery and out the back door. But you could count on one thing - if Sunday came, Betty would be there.

For nearly 30 years she cared for several generations of little ones. There are young men in ministry that Betty rocked and burped. She is now in God's Hall of Fame, otherwise known as Heaven. By the way, the church now runs 3,000+ because of a lot of faithful people like Betty who just show up on a regular basis.

Can I remind you that God promised that "where two or three people are gathered together, I am in their midst"?

In otherwords, God promises that if we show up He will!

Commitment trumps talent every time. Don't discount the value of just showing up. Showing up is far more powerful than showing off. Obviously, the real deal is when talented people show up!

Churches don't happen without people who are committed to showing up and doing their best. How committed are you? How good are you at showing up?

January 1, 2012

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11

 God Is Calling You To Faith!

God did not send the angels to Zechariah, Mary and the shepherds He did not send them to put fear in the hearts of those good, godly

But He sent them to call them out of fear and into faith!

“Fear not” is another way of saying “have faith”! And we have a Savior because they did! They let fear motivate them rather than allowing it to debilitate them!

How about you? Are you going to allow yourself to live in fear or are you going to choose faith?

Are you going to hide behind your weaknesses and huddle up in fear of how out of control your life is?

Those ARE the questions as you tip-toe into 2012, aren’t they?

Let me ask you:

Do you REALLY believe that God is aware of your fears?

If you do, then you can trust Him in your weaknesses! In fact, you can expect Him to show up at those points of weakness and call you to faith! Those areas the very areas where He wants you to grow this year! Try this - you can just tell the Devil that if he is planning to intimidate you in those weak areas, all he will do is help you develop your faith!

Three people are aware of your weaknesses – you, the devil and God. If you try to handle your weakness you will live in fear of having that weakness exposed to your shame. Or, the devil will come against that weakness and overwhelm you with fear. But if trust God in your weakness He will unleash His power through it and turn your fear into faith!

You can know He is aware of your fears because according to I Corinthians 10:13, nothing can happen to you without His approval and He knows how much you can take – AND how much you can’t!!

So – not only is God aware of your weaknesses and your fears - HE IS AWARE OF THEM BEFORE YOU ARE!

Do you REALLY believe that God is bigger than your fears?

Zechariah did and look what happened!

Elizabeth did and look what happened!

Mary did and look what happened!

The Shepherds did and look what they got to see happen!

If you really believe that God is bigger than your weaknesses or anything that causes you to fear, here is what I want you to do – I want you to think of the absolute worse thing that you could think of happening to you in 2012 and ask yourself, “Is God bigger than that?”

If your answer is “yes” then tell yourself, “Fear not!”

I DON’T KNOW WHAT 2012 WILL HOLD BUT I DO KNOW WHO HOLDS 2012 AND HE IS GREATER THAN YOUR WEAKNESS! “FEAR NOT!” HE WILL TURN YOUR FEAR INTO FAITH!

THIS YEAR REFUSE TO FEAR!

December 31, 2011

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11

God Is Aware Of Your Fear!

Fear usually arises out of our weakness or areas where we feel out of control. God knows that.

Zechariah and Elizabeth lived under the fear that they would be judged as less spiritual because they were childless. Children were seen as a sign of God’s blessing and God’s blessing was considered a reward for your level of spirituality.

So, Zechariah had labored faithfully as a priest but had done so with a heavy heart over being childless and being disrespected because of something he couldn’t control.

You get a sense for the level of his disappointment when he hesitated to believe the angel’s announcement.

But to that fear the angel spoke, “Fear not!”

Mary’s biggest fear after being assured that God would cause her to become pregnant with the divine child even though she was a virgin, was how her pregnancy would be viewed by Joseph and the rest of her neighbors in Nazareth.

What if Joseph didn’t believe her story and chose to divorce her? She had no control over how he would respond.

What if the people of the town didn’t believe her story – she could be stoned to death! She had no control over what they might decide to do.

Those were very real fears, but to them the angel spoke, “Fear Not!”

Out on the Judean hillside those shepherds also struggled with fears. They feared insignificance. All they were was lowly shepherd, some of the most overlooked and unappreciated people in the land. The shepherds had little control over the level of disrespect they received but it was hard to take.

But God valued them and gave them significance by sending the angel to say, “Feat not!”

You and I see our weaknesses as obstacles to faith, but God sees our weaknesses as opportunities to show His power!

As God told St. Paul, “My strength is made perfect in your weakness!”

Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary and the shepherds all became significant players in the birth of Jesus our Savior and each one did so at the very point of their weakness and fearfulness!

Think about any miracle of the Bible and it happened at point of human weakness, neediness or fear! That is why you should “fear not” and be aware of how He delights in building your faith and the point of your fear!

December 30, 2011

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11

The top 10 fears: Economy, Job, Personal Finances, Relationships, Health, Children, Terrorist Attack, Divorce, Death, Insignificance.

The New Year is always a mixed bag isn’t it? You approach it with equal amounts of anticipation and anxiety. One moment you are filled with hopes of a better year and the next you are haunted by the hurts of the past. There’s an optimistic voice within that assures you this will be your year and then the realist interrupts and reminds you that was what you thought last year.

If you are stuck somewhere between faith and fatalism as 2012 approaches, I have two words for you from the Christmas story – “Fear not!”

Wouldn’t that be great if you could launch into 2012 with anticipation rather than anxiety? It can be as easy as ABC!

Three times in the events leading up to the birth of the Savior we hear these reassuring words, “Fear not!” Once it was to the priest named Zechariah, a second time to a young girl named Mary, and the third time to shepherds on a cold and lonely hillside.

I want to draw from each of those angelic appearances to help you understand why you don’t have to fear as you look to a new year. One thing that is clear from each of the three “Fear not” announcements is that fear is a choice! You can choose not to allow fear to dominate your heart or mind. Instead, you can choose faith! Why would God tell you to “Fear Not” if He knew you had no control over your fear! He wouldn’t!

It is up to you to “Fear Not” – as easy as “A – B – C”:

God Is Aware Of Your Fear!

God Is Bigger Than Your Fear!

God Is Calling You To Faith!

Over the next few days I want to build on these ABC’s of “Fear Not” from the Christmas Story!

God can help you remove the “fear factor” from your New Year! Are you ready for a “Fear Not” year?