you can't have my Father's sheep

 I was thinking about David when he was a young boy. David was given a responsibility. He was sent out to take care of his father's sheep. He was out in the field and at some point a lion came in to take the sheep and David relied on God to help him kill that lion. Another time a bear came to attack the sheep. Again, David relied on God's help to defeat that bear and protect the sheep. He was not going to allow anything to take or destroy those sheep. When David ended up on the battlefield he saw Goliath, the Philistine giant, mocking and laughing at the Israelites. He was appalled by the giant's mockery and the inability of any one to stand up to this giant. Even King Saul was afraid to face that giant. David stood up for God's people, God's sheep. He faced that giant in the name of the Lord and with God's help defeated Goliath and brought victory to the Israelites. 

I think as a parent, I have been given responsibility over my children's souls. I am to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.(Ephesians 6:4) I am to teach them who Jesus is and show them how to live a life in obedience to the Gospel.  I am also to protect their souls. I can do this by praying for them, first and foremost. Prayer will bring about a spiritual effect that nothing I can ever say or do will have in the physical world. Prayer can change the outcome of any situation. I can also guide and at times discipline my own children to help them along life's path. I will fight for their souls. I will not allow the enemy to influence them by being a greater influence on them. I will fight for them in prayer. 

Hebrews 10:24-25

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

As I read this scripture, I am also seeing that we as Christians can consider others and lead them or spur them on toward love and good deeds. We can encourage one another and lift up one another. We are to be a support to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to help one another reach toward the goal. We have the goal of heaven and we have the goal of living our lives in accordance with the will of God. When we see a fellow Christian struggling, we can pray for them and intercede in prayer. (Romans 8:26-27). We can speak words of encouragement and guidance to those who need it. We can bring scriptures to remembrance and share testimonies of God's deliverance and faithfulness. We need one another to strengthen and uplift each other. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

I am not willing to allow the enemy to claim a brother or sister in Christ without giving him a fight. I will fight for them in prayer and in reaching out to them. I will urge them to reach for love and reach for God. I will not allow the enemy to take one of my Father's sheep without a fight. 

Let us fight for one another. Let us come together in unity and encourage one another. Let us come together in love for one another that the world may know that we are his disciples. 

John 13:34-35

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

mosaic

Have you ever taken the time to look at a mosaic?  It amazes me how much a mosiac can tell you how to live.  To make a mosaic, the pieces are broken, shaped and placed carefully by the hand of the artist. The little pieces in and of themselves may not be beautiful, but as part of the whole, they add beauty and depth.  They each have a place in a whole beautiful picture.  Each piece must be there to create the entire effect.  Each piece must work together for the whole image to be perfect. The artist gets that, the pieces may not understand it.  The pieces have to trust the artist to do it right.  I guess that is just like us, we have to trust God to get it right.  We have to trust He is shaping others just like he is shaping us to use us in the mosaic to create a beautiful picture.  We have to work right in the place He puts us because He sees the big picture when we can't.

in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

Ephesians 2:21 NKJV

We are part of something God is creating.  We need to allow God to work on us and mold us to fit into the calling He has for us. 

And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord . “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!

Jeremiah 18:4‭-‬6 NKJV

We are being shaped and corrected when we submit to God's will. His plan for us is to change and become more like Him. We need to allow God to change us and shape us. He will speak to us, remove things we don't need, and add what we do need. We need to trust Him even when it doesn't make any sense. The clay does not tell the potter how to do the job, or what it wants to be.  The clay is to be malleable and foldable. The potter works the clay to remove impurities and make it workable. Trust His process, because in the end, the clay turns out beautiful and functional. It is turned into something useful with purpose. I want to be useful to God for His purpose. 

Just like a mosaic, we are each being changed and maybe even broken a little to be fit into the Kingdom of God. Place you life in His hands so He can fulfill His purpose in your life.

what am I known for?

What are you known for?  I think we all wonder at times about that question and it may even change as time goes by. We may be known for doing a job well or for our attitude. We may be known for an event in our lives or how we treat others. I don't always really know what I am known for, but I know what I want to be known for. I want to be known as a child of God. 

Paul wrote to the church at Philippi about what he hoped to see and hear about them.

Philippians 1:27-28 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but [f]to you of salvation, and that from God.

This is the reputation Paul prayed the Christians at Philippi would have. He wanted them to be known for their standing in unity together and working together in faith. He did not want them to be afraid but to be known as saved as only God can save. What a reputation!  He wanted them to reflect the saving grace of God, be able to stand together in unity and in faith. He wanted them to be known as Christ-like by fulfilling the work that God had called them to do. Paul wanted their reputation to be like his own as well. Paul was known as a preacher of the gospel, bold in faith, and never backing down. 

I also want a reputation of faith and being a reflection of Christ. I want others to see Christ in me by the way I talk, by my actions, and by my love of God and others. I want it said that I spoke Christ to others, showed Christ to others and lived what I believed. I want my faith to be reflected in all I do and how I live. I want the Word of God to be permeated in every action I make and every word I speak. I am far from where I want to be but I pray that God will lead me and direct my path. I pray He will reveal to me my shortcomings and change me to be more like Him. I want His Spirit to reign over my soul and my own desires. I need Him to take charge of my heart and my mind. Is this easy? No. But is it worth it? Yes!  God needs to have complete control of me. I choose to surrender every part of me to His will. 

Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

I want to be known as a child of God and all He stands for. I want to stand for Him in faith and love. I want my reputation to be a reflection of God in my life. I choose to serve the Lord.  I want my reputation to come from Him and what He is doing in my life.

pour out praise

As Christians, we are taught to pray. We know Jesus taught us to pray.  Prayer is very important. I want to be better at praying. I try to start my day with prayer because that tends to give me a better outlook for my day. My days tend to run smoother and my attitude tends to be better when I have taken time to pray in the morning.  I am learning that prayer is also not just a one time a day activity. It is also a lifestyle.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing."  We need to have an attitude or life style of prayer. This means we are ready and able to quickly turn to prayer at any moment, in any circumstance. I can go through my day and be talking to God as I go. This is changing my responses to struggles, trials and difficulties. I am trying to talk to God first, rather than letting the fear, emotions and other things take over. Is it easy? no.  Am I good at it? No. Am I getting better at it? Yes.

One thing, though, that God has been working on me about prayer is that I often turn it  into a list of requests. I make lists of needs and rattle them off asking and asking for answers. This is not necessarily wrong  as the Bible teaches us to make our petitions known and in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast our cares on Him.  We all have needs and we all have concerns. We know people that have needs and concerns. We can bring these needs to God and make them  known. He knows what we need before we even ask (Matthew 6:8).

He wants us to come to Him.  He has the answers already in mind.  

The one thing God wants me to remember in my prayer is praise.  I need to focus on the praise, not the worry.  We often have a lot to ask for and may forget to spend time in praise.  We have access to the Almighty God through prayer. He is worthy of all praise. Praise is how we should begin and end prayer. Jesus, himself, taught this in the Lord's Prayer.  "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be your name."  (Matthew 6:9) When we focus on praise, we begin to focus more on who He is, what He can do, and is doing, rather than our problems.  We recognize His power and authority rather than our fear.  We see how small our circumstance is in comparison to His greatness.  The perspective of praise changes how we pray and how we approach God.  

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

1 Chronicles 16:29 KJV

We can approach God in worship and praise rather than in request of help and fear of not getting what we need.  Praise creates faith and boldness to declare victory. Praise creates peace in the storm. Praise creates knowledge of how good God is. 

King David wrote many Psalms with this perspective. He did come with some complaints and concerns. He poured out his heart to God.  But, he always turned to praise of the great, good God.  You can read through Psalms and find many examples of how we need to approach prayer as praise.  We can pour out praise over our concerns and circumstances and find that God is good and He is working out all things for our good.  We can praise Him before the storm, through the storm, and after the storm.  He deserves more praise than I can ever give.  I want my lifestyle to be one of prayer. I want my prayer to be filled with praise.  I want praise to become my first thoughts and my first words each day, rather than words of fear and worry.  May praise pour out of us daily, minute by minute.  May praise be my response to all things. May God hear my praise and find it as sweet incense before his throne.  May we always recognize His greatness and His goodness in every moment. I want to pour out praise. 

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord , all ye lands.  Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.  Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalms 100:1‭-‬5 KJV

found in faithfulness

What is faithfulness?  I am often impressed when someone is described as faithful. I have heard a spouse described as faithful, or an employee called faithful. In the church world, faithfulness is a wonderful attribute. God himself, is called faithful.  We say and sing "Great is Thy faithfulness."

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:23 KJV

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is full of examples of men and women whom were considered faithful. They are heroes of faith. They were found faithful in the eyes of God. They were not perfect, but they were described as full of faith.  

So, what is faithfulness? Merriam Webster Dictionary defines faithfulness as    1 : steadfast in affection or allegiance : loyal a faithful friend. 2 : firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty : conscientious a faithful employee. 3 : given with strong assurance : binding a faithful promise.

It is a binding promise, showing yourself faithful, loyal, constant and steadfast.  

Why do we want faithful people and why should we strive to be faithful? 

Someone who is faithful is someone on which we can depend. We want to know that they will be there, keep their word and follow through.  We know they are reliable and do their best to do what they say.  We want those kind of people in our lives. We want to be married to  a faithful person. We want a spouse who is constant,  loyal, and steadfast.   Businesses want faithful employees who will be there and do their best to work and support the business. Churches, groups, and communities are blessed by the faithful members who are there,  steadfast, and always show up to help, support, and do what is needed.

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:2 KJV

It is the same with God.  He is faithful. He is loyal, dependable, steadfast,  and constant. He never changes. He is the same, yesterday,  today, and forever. ( Hebews 13:8) He is ever faithful.

We as a Christian, should also be faithful. Saying we are a Christian is to say we are trying to be like Christ. Christ is faithful so we should also strive to be faithful.  We need to be faithful in service to others, faithful in our lifestyle, faithful in prayer,  faithful in study of His word, faithful in love of others, faithful in worship,  faithful in attendance to church, and many other areas.  We need to be steadfast,  constant and loyal. We need to be dedicated and trustworthy. We should be someone that when others think of us, faithfulness should come to mind.  We should demonstrate faithfulness as God is faithful.  

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Luke 16:10 KJV

Are we always able to do so? No, we are only human. But, we do need to strive toward being better than we were before. We do need to work toward being more faithful and more like Christ. We do need to ask God to help us and work on our hearts to change us and mold us more into His image. Faithfulness to Him and His purpose will become a part of who we are through His leading.  

His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

Matthew 25:21 KJV

It is pleasing to God when he finds us faithful. Is it always easy to be faithful? No, we have human bodies that tire, minds that wonder, hearts that are fickle at times. We have to put aside things we desire to allow God to use us and to do work that He is asking of us. Faithfulness involves setting aside self for others. Faithfulness is rooted in love for God and for others. It is a choice to put God first and put others before self.  It is a chosen action that at times can be hard. It is, however, worthy and rewarding. The more you  choose to be faithful, the more you realize that God is working in you and through you. 

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

Hebrews 11:39 KJV

There are blessings for the faithful that only God can give.  Strive for faithfulness, strive to be faithful. Ask God to help you be found as faithful. I pray to be found faithful in the eyes of God.  

 

He holds my future

I know who holds the future. There are so many uncertainties in life. We don't know what will happen tomorrow,  next week, next year, or even the next minute. We can make plans and try to control what will be, but we really have no way of knowing. There are so many things changing in this world and seem out of control. Even with uncertainty, we do have hope. We have hope when we place our faith in God.

Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

God has plans for us and we can trust what he is doing. The next couple of verses say: Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  And I will be found of you, saith the Lord : ...

Jeremiah 29:12‭-‬14 KJV

When we need his leading and peace, we can seek the Lord in prayer and He will be found. He will lead us and show us what he has for us. It may not be what we plan or think, but He is working ahead of us. We need to be sure we are hearing the voice of God so we are working in His will. We can trust that God will lead us where He knows we are best used by Him and where His goodness will be done. 

 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

James 4:14‭-‬15 KJV

Tomorrow is not known, but we do know that God is already prepared for what will come.  He is preparing us as well. He works on our hearts and minds to change us and make us into what he knows we are meant to be.  His goodness and mercy is with us no matter what the future holds. We may feel worry or anxiety about the unknown, but when we call on Him, his peace can fill our hearts and we can rest in His will. We also know the final outcome is eternity in heaven with our Savior. We have the greatest gift when we have salvation in Jesus Christ. We will be with him forever.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Psalms 23:6 KJV

My future is in His hands. I submit to His plans and purpose and know that all things will work for good. The hard things, the good things, the difficult and the easy are all in His hands.  I choose to trust my future to Him.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.

Our Good Father

I had the privilege of watching a young lady and her dad for a few minutes. She had a little puppy but needed to go take care of something that meant she couldn't take the puppy. She asked her dad if he would take care of the puppy while she was away. He took the leash and as she went off to attend to what had called her away, her dad looked after the puppy, played with it and petted it. The young lady knew her puppy was in good hands. She had entrusted her puppy to her dad and had full faith and trust in her dad. She didn't look around a corner, call lots of times, or even seem concerned when she returned. Her dad had kept her puppy safe. 

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

John 8:36 NKJV

This reminded me of the faith and trust we need to have in our heavenly Father. We can come to God with every care amd concern.  We can place it in His care amd know He is going to care about it just as He promised.  He knows our needs and cares about what we care about.

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Matthew 6:8 NKJV

Too many times, we go to the Lord and make our requests known, but refuse to trust Him to take care of it. We pick it up and take it back to worry over, fret about, and try to solve ourselves. God wants us to trust Him and have faith that when we ask, He will answer. He will provide, bless, and protect.  He is a good Father.

 

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.   For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.   If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?   Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?   If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Luke 11:9‭-‬13 KJV

God's promises are Yes and Amen. (2 Corinthians 1:20) He wants nothing more but to pour out His best gifts on His children.  He wants to give salvation, joy, peace, comfort, protection, victory, power, etc.  There is so much our heavenly Father has in store. He has answers to our needs and prayers. He is good and faithful. He asks for our faith and trust.  We can place all our concerns at His feet. And He will take care of them. He already has the answers in store. He does not want us to worry, when He has peace for us.  Just as the young lady had complete faith and trust in her dad to care for her puppy, we can have can have complete faith and trust in our Father to care for us. 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6‭-‬7 NKJV

We can stand on God's word and promises.  We can go to our heavenly Father in prayer and leave with peace knowing He is answering our every prayer, taking care of every need, and will always care for us. He is a good Father.