The Good Shepherd (March 16, 2020)

Jesus said, " I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep and my sheep know me" (John 10:14)

King David said in Psalm 23 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

Even before Jesus came to earth, King David who was ahead of his time, saw the Lord as his Shepherd. He shared with us the many reasons why he saw the Lord as His Shepherd and the reasons we should see Him as our Good Shepherd as well.

We find in Psalm 23 what the Good Shepherd provides for us, His sheep. He supplies our needs, gives us rest, restores us, leads us, protects us, gives us peace, walks with us, comforts us, even in difficult and dangerous situations and times. Even during uncertain times as we are experiencing now, He can cause us to overflow with His love, joy, peace, strength, and comfort to the point where our trust and faith in God will encourage others. All this comes by virtue of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Goodness and mercy are constantly following us and will for the rest of our days. Because of God's faithfulness towards us, it should always draw us back to His house, the place where His glory dwells, to give Him glory and praise forever.

TDLC family, I encourage you to keep looking to Jesus, our Good Shepherd, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. He will lead us and guide us during this time. He will give us peace and strength to the point where we will also be able to be a blessing to others in need.

The current situation should cause us to reflect and meditate on what the Word of God says and how we are living out our faith in this world. Some things that I have been thinking about:

1. How interconnected we are with all of humanity. If a virus can spread this fast, how fast could the gospel spread if we intentionally sought to pass it to others? The book of Acts church preached the gospel wherever they went (Acts 8:4).

2. Jesus spoke of the End Times & how we would see wars & rumors of wars, natural disasters & plagues.  This should cause us to evaluate where we are in our relationship with God & if we determine we are far from Him, what are we going to do to get closer.  Examples: go to church, pray & read Bible every day, fellowship with other believers, etc,.  Matthew 24:1-8; 2 Corinthians 13:53)

3. To not take the gathering of ourselves for granted.  It’s in our gathering where we are encouraged, uplifted & equipped to keep fighting the good fight of faith. There is so much beauty in our gathering together.  While I thank God for our ability to broadcast our service via the internet, I know it is a supplement & cannot replace the genuine Christian love & fellowship expressed & experienced when we are together.  Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 16:18