A Reminder - Sometimes, Life Stinks

But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!

1st Samuel 17:34-36 NLT

Before David ever killed the giant, he had to kill the lion and the bear. Think about that for a moment. He learned how to do that while isolated for long periods of time as he tended a lot of smelly sheep, but he used it as an opportunity to spend time with the Lord. We all want to be giant-killers, but are we willing to put up with the long, lonely, stinky parts of life and use them to get to really know who God is - or do we just want to whine and complain about how life stinks?

Prayer:

Father,
          Help us to clear our hearts and minds of the clutter of everyday stuff - just stuff - so we can focus on You and our relationship with You. When we can see clearly, Father, help us to walk in Your purpose for our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Lent - Day Twenty-four - Sheep Hear His Voice

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2024

2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 

John 10:2-4

You likely have heard the comparison that people are like sheep. Sheep are dumb, dependent, defenseless, and dirty. It is true that, in our sin, we are all those things. However, in John 10, Jesus calls us sheep for an entirely different reason. In this passage, sheep have discerning ears. Sheep become skittish and run when they hear voices they do not know. Not so when they hear the voice of their shepherd. That voice the sheep recognize and follow.

Jesus makes it very clear that he is the Good Shepherd. He is the voice to listen to and the one to follow. Many voices and messages bombard our daily lives. Jesus warns us to recognize the voices of those who mean us harm: hired hands who do not care, thieves and robbers, and worst of all, wolves seeking to devour us. Only one is the Good Shepherd who ultimately has our best interests at heart. How do we know? How can we be certain? If his words are not proof enough, then look at his actions. He does not run from danger or trouble. Jesus does not abandon his sheep out of self-preservation. He not only risks his life for the sheep, he already willingly laid it down on the cross.

Prayer: 

Lord, 

        You are my Shepherd. I know I shall not be in want. Watch over me that I may not wander far from You. Keep me safe in the sheepfold of Your church. Amen.

Reading Further - John 10:1-21

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

The Shorn Sheep

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:6 NLT

I did not write this story, but I found it very interesting and appropriate for this time of our lives. I hope you will, too. The author's identity is unknown to me. 

Have you heard of Shrek the sheep? He became famous several years ago when he was found after hiding out in caves for six years. Of course, during this time his fleece grew without anyone there to shorn (shave) it. When he was finally found and shaved, his fleece weighed an amazing sixty pounds! Most sheep have a fleece weighing just under ten pounds, with the exception usually reaching fifteen pounds, maximum. 

For six years, Shrek carried six times the regular weight of his fleece. Simply because he was away from his shepherd.

This reminds me of John 10 when Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd, and His followers are His sheep. Maybe it’s a stretch, but I think Shrek is much like a person who knows Jesus Christ but has wandered. If we avoid Christ’s constant refining of our character, we’re going to accumulate extra weight in this world—a weight we don’t have to bear.

When Shrek was found, a professional sheep shearer took care of Shrek’s fleece in twenty-eight minutes. Shrek’s sixty-pound fleece was finally removed - enough wool to make suits for 20 men! All it took was coming home to his shepherd.

Christ will lift the burdens we carry, if only we stop hiding. He can shave off our ‘fleece’—that is, our self-imposed burdens - brought about by wandering from our Good Shepherd.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Prayer:

Father,

          Forgive us for running from You and from Your disciplines and correction. According to Your Word, may we have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is for us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Voice Recognition - or - Learning to Communicate

But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.
John 10:2-5 NLT

My phone has one feature that I REALLY like. Voice Recognition. If I'm near a WIFI connection, all I have to do is hit the microphone symbol and speak my message, instead of the usual hunt and peck to text. If I'm NOT near WIFI, there is no voice recognition feature available.

It does seem to have a little bit of an issue translating a Texas accent, at times. Supposedly, the more I utilize it, the more adept it will become in recognizing my speech patterns. The key is to make sure you choose the right language for response. Mine has several choices, but I assure you, 'Texan' isn't one of them. One thing's for certain, its' inherent word bank clearly indicates it ain't from 'round here, and that can be a source of frustration.

Prayer can feel the same way. After all, it IS communication. But are we near our Connection hook up? If not, we're left hunting and pecking to try to get the message across. Can we hear the Master's voice? If not, we need to check if we're in the sheepfold. He calls us by name. He's the Leader and we follow because we know His voice. If we don't recognize His voice, we need to spend more time so that we become adept in recognizing His speech patterns.

There are 2 keys to Voice Recognition or Learning to Communicate in our text for today. 1) Be sure you are in the right sheepfold, and 2) Know who you are and what is the correct response.

If Christ is the Shepherd, then we are the sheep. That means we need to learn how to respond to Him in kind. That does NOT mean, He speaks and we say "Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

Clearly, our response should be, "Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" and follow His voice.

Prayer:

Father,
           Help us to remember that prayer is not initiation, but rather it is always in response to You. We want to be fluent in all aspects when speaking with You and when listening for Your voice. We want to recognize You and obey. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen