Shepherds

Thank You Volunteers!

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Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly. 1 Peter 5:2 ESV

This is National Volunteer Week, and I want to shout out, “Thank you!” to all you who volunteer, especially those who do so in the name of the greatest volunteer of all – Jesus Christ! Though some people may refer to you as caregivers, the Bible calls you shepherds and shepherdesses. God has given you the special gift of helping to watch over one or more of His sheep. Today, I was invited to the volunteer’s brunch at Sunshine Christian Home and was blessed to hang out with people who give of their time and talents in so many different ways. Just as Jesus came willingly, so He sends us out to willingly go to others in His name. Rather than reel off a bunch of biblical lessons on why we do this, I thought today, I would simply share the faces of some folks who God has blessed me to serve or serve with over the years.

Photo by Gu00fcl Iu015fu0131k on Pexels.com

 

Third Shift Shepherds – A Christmas Message

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And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 
Luke 2:8 KJV

For a short time, I worked a third shift job and found that I had joined that special group of people who only see the world from midnight till dawn. On the night that Jesus was born, just above Bethlehem those shepherds were the third shift workers of their day. Probably the more important shepherds got the first shift jobs. Yet on that night, those unnamed and seemingly unimportant third shift shepherds became the first people on earth to hear the good news of the birth of Jesus! The angel told them that God had remembered His people, He remembered Bethlehem and He even remembered shepherds whom everyone else had forgotten!

Did you ever stop to think that God also remembers you? He is not satisfied to visit only the better homes in the better neighborhoods with the biggest and most beautiful churches. In the same way that those shepherds were watching their flocks at night, God also watches over us in the darkest moments of our lives. He knows right where we are. He hears us and He still sends angels with His message of good news. There is no better place than right where you are to hear the news; that Jesus Christ came to bring hope and salvation to us all: even to third shift shepherds out in their fields at night!

I want to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas. Thank you for all the encouraging comments, new ideas and prayers for our family throughout the year. Below is the Christmas message which I shared at Discovery Villages this year. I hope you enjoy it as well as my “Country” version of Angels We Have Heard on High. In the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless you each and every one!”