Shepherds

One Year of Prayer and Praise

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Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

We were so blessed to be celebrating our one year anniversary of prayer and praise meetings at Sunshine Christian Village. This was a meeting that never happened before the pandemic. We know God works all things together for good and He used our need for fellowship when the normal Sunday services inside the facility were cancelled to motivate us to start an outdoor fellow praise place at the fountain. Slowly we were allowed into the activity building which is separate from the facility and together as a team and with God’s help we are growing our outreach. Today the combined theme of our readings, message and songs was prayer and the 23rd Psalm. Towards the end I shared this song which the Lord gave me this year, called The Voice of the Shepherd. I not only hope you like the song but that you take time this weekend to open your heart and listen for the Shepherd’s voice. If you are His sheep He knows your name and is calling it today!

Left Handed in a Right Handed World

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I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16

Being born left-handed I painfully remember the upside down feeling of learning to write. At Hamilton Elementary, all children learned their penmanship right-handed. Nothing seemed to work for me. I gripped the pen the wrong way, I held my paper upside down, and on my report card every quarter appeared the inevitable F. Undoubtedly My teacher thought she this would help me in the long run but I could never shake the feeling of being wrong side up and different.

Being wrong side up and different is what Jesus is preparing us for when He sends us out to the world. He tells us we are going out like sheep among wolves. There is no real competition when it comes to a fight between sheep and wolves. Wolves have bigger teeth, are stronger and can run circles around sheep. Nevertheless the master sends us out. But we have one thing the wolf doesn’t- a shepherd!

Photo by kailash kumar on Pexels.com

For some of us in the church after we get into our first wolf-fight, our tendency is to sign up for the “How to fight like a Wolf” seminar. We think if we could just try a little harder, change our tactics or develop a quicker response, we would finally come out on top. But that wasn’t our Lord’s idea at all. What Jesus wanted was for us to be ready for the wolves, by walking right behind Him. Being strong and well protected by our teeth will never compare to having the protection of our Shepherd. We are no match for wolves, but they will run away as fast as they can, when they come face to face with our Shepherd. Then we can walk calmly through the valley even when our world seems upside down!

12 Gifts of Christmas / 10th gift – Humility

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What can I give Him,    Poor as I am? 
If I were a shepherd    I would bring a lamb, 
If I were a Wise Man    I would do my part,— 
Yet what I can I give Him,    Give my heart.   
Christina Rosetti   A Christmas Carol

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Luke 2:20

I love Christina Rosetti and this poem of hers in particular, but in all actuality the shepherds did not bring a lamb. None of us would have even picked shepherds to invite to the outdoor maternity room. God had chosen Mary for her purity, Joseph reflected obedience and the wise men revealed the royalty of Christ. So what else could be added to that first Christmas? What the shepherds gave was a gift of humility. That gift of their humble praise echoed in the heart of Mary long after the sound of their footsteps vanished back into the night. Their joyful shouts even woke up the villagers and soon the good news of great joy spread throughout Bethlehem. Their very humility lent an authenticity to their message that no strangers bearing costly gifts could bring.

In fact throughout the earthly life of Jesus, that same humility tells the story of God’s love. We see it in a sinful woman’s tears washing Jesus’ feet at the home of a self righteous rich man. And there it is again in the humility of a Samaritan leper’s praise rather than his nine friends who never returned to give thanks. At the end of John’s gospel, Mary Magdalene waits outside the tomb weeping and asking someone she thinks to be the gardener if he knows where Jesus has gone. But when she hears that gardener call her name, she immediately knows that it is Jesus, and she falls in humility at His feet.

And what can we offer Him this Christmas? Costly gifts only reflect our lack of understanding of what matters most to God. He waits for simple shepherds, forgiven sinners, cleansed lepers and the broken hearted of every race, tribe and tongue to come. But if, as Christina Rosetti tells us, we give Him our heart, we will find Him delighted to welcome us for He is at most home with those who most reflect the humble heart of Jesus Christ.