Friday, December 21, 2007

John 9-11

Don't remember where I found *this sometime ago but it has always just touched something deep inside me . I guess the pride against being just a 'sheep'....and now ...well now I count myself lucky to be one.

John 10:2-5;11 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a strangers voice……"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
*There are a lot of places in Scripture where the Lord compares us with sheep. Sometimes it seems to be His favorite symbol for us. For shepherds, or for a person who is familiar with these animals, this is a very strange but interesting symbol.
Sheep are extremely simple and stupid animals. If a person leaves a sheep in a place, with plenty of grass to eat, the sheep will eat all the grass and stay there in the same place until the person comes back and takes it to another place with more grass. The sheep is actually too stupid to look for it’s own food. Even if there’s more grass close by, it will die of hunger if nobody takes it to more food.
Sheep get lost very easily. They need somebody to care for them constantly or they will get lost and die.
Often, shepherds put different flocks in the same pen for the night. It sounds impossible, but during the night, these different groups of sheep don’t mingle. When morning comes, the various flocks are still separate.
Also during the night, the shepherd sleeps laying across the gate of the pen in order to protect his sheep. No animal can attack the sheep without passing over the shepherd.
Something else that is interesting is that when the shepherd arrives and calls his sheep in the morning, only the sheep of his flock will come to him, because they recognize his voice. Incredibly, all the sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd, and even though they don’t know where they’re going, they follow him.
So what does God want to tell us with this comparison. He calls us sheep many times. That tells me that even though we think of ourselves as being intelligent, responsible and having a lot of wisdom and understanding, we are really ignorant and stupid before the eyes of the Lord. We don’t even know which food will nourish us, much less how to find it. God, our shepherd, has to guide us to our spiritual food. We get lost very easily and we can’t find our way back alone. God is always the one who looks for us and guides us.
This analogy also shows that God loves us intimately. A shepherd must care for his sheep 24 hours a day and he can never rest without taking the risk of losing some. God cares for us in the same way. He is always caring for us and protecting us from spiritual and physical dangers. He sleeps across the gate to protect us from wolves. He calls us to follow Him, and recognize His voice and we follow Him. For Christians indwelt with the Holy Spirit, it is easy to distinguish the Lord’s voice from other false voices.
For the man who knows sheep this comparison Jesus made is very revealing of our own character and of the character and personality of God. God is teaching us that He loves us and He cares for us as a shepherd does for his sheep and that we can’t survive without Him. Be the sheep……He loves you and cares for you more than anyone
Can't imagine being on here much for the next couple of weeks so wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas, one filled with moments of seeing His blessings in YOUR lives however they come. And praying for all to in 2008 follow Him with all the love He gives. Thanks for all you have taught me and continue to teach me in your journeys and I thank God for allowing us to find each other here. In Christ and journeying to follow Him with you...becky

5 comments:

Robert said...

Wishing you a blessed Christmas and new years becky so glad to have met you on this journey I sure hope to accept my sheep status more humbly in 2008!!! Look forward so much to continuing to journey and grow together in the year ahead!!

Bar L. said...

Is it February yet?????????

:)

Micah Hoover said...

"That tells me that even though we think of ourselves as being intelligent, responsible and having a lot of wisdom and understanding, we are really ignorant and stupid before the eyes of the Lord." bjk

For a person who has spent so much time leaning on his own understanding, this is hard to accept, yet in my heart I know it is true.

May God bless you during this Christmas time.

STACY'S TRIP said...

you have been tagged

Melissa said...

So thankful we are following together...this analogy of us being sheep and God been Shepherd is my Pastor's favorite. He gets so passionate and fired up concerning it...what a beautiful reminder of how much we need to lean on God!