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Monday, April 29, 2019

The Shepherd


"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides quiet waters, he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Psalm 23 

"He tends His flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11

"I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me..." John 14

As I reflect on these verses from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, I am in awe!  God is our Shepherd, loving us Always, especially when Life's hardships have rejected and hurt us.   If we turn to Him, He will love and care for us always.  He will carry us and guide us.  He knows when we need him most and what we need, just like the Shepherd tending his Sheep.

God's Love and Mercy is our greatest gift.  It is the Infallible Gift, which keeps on giving ALWAYS as he remains our forever Shepherd!

I'd like to share a story:

Every once and a while, a ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it. There are many reasons she may do this. If the lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother may even kick the poor animal away. Once a ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind. These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with its neck. Their spirit is broken. These lambs are called “bummer lambs.” Unless the shepherd intervenes, that lamb will die, rejected and alone. So, do you know what the shepherd does? He takes that rejected little one into his home, hand-feeds it and keep it warm by the fire. He will wrap it up with blankets and hold it to his chest so the bummer can hear his heartbeat. Once the lamb is strong enough, the shepherd will place it back in the field with the rest of the flock. But that sheep never forgets how the shepherd cared for him when his mother rejected him. When the shepherd calls for the flock, guess who runs to him first? That is right, the bummer sheep. He knows his voice intimately. It is not that the bummer lamb is loved more, it just knows intimately the one who loves it. It's not that it is loved more, it just believes it because it has experienced that love one on one. So many of us are bummer lambs, rejected and broken. But He is the good Shepherd. He cares for our every need and holds us close to His heart so we can hear His heart beat. We may be broken but we are deeply loved by the Shepherd.  
Author unknown

Prayer: Shepherd God, thank you for your forever Love and Mercy and guidance.  I pray that I may turn to you more frequently in prayer, in your Word, and in living your example of caring for others in their time of need.  I want to let you carry me when I need to be carried and am lost and rejected. 

Connie Barry

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