I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
The Good Shepherd
One of the most familiar and loved chapters in all of Scripture is Psalm 23.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”
Psalm 23:1-2 ESV
King David, the author of this psalm, wasn’t lacking in power or prestige. And yet, before silencing Goliath, being anointed as Israel’s king, and leading troops to victory in the trenches of war, David was a lowly shepherd boy. Turns out, he knew a lot about sheep.
David understood that sheep need a shepherd to survive. Without guidance and protection, sheep are prone to wandering off, following each other off cliffs, being washed away by strong currents, or becoming a predator’s next meal. 1 Samuel tells us that David fought off lions and bears to protect the livestock that had been entrusted to him.
Comparing himself to a sheep, David explains that his needs are fully satisfied in God. He lacks nothing—he is filled with contentment and peace—because God provides for and protects him.
In John 10:11, Jesus makes a strong declaration, saying, “I am the good shepherd.” He describes how His sheep know His voice, and that He has one flock from many folds.
Jesus not only leads and guides His people, but He also loves and laid down His life for His people.
You can choose to brave this world alone, boasting of your independence and self-sufficiency. History proves that kind of strategy never ends well. But you also have another choice: you can humble yourself under the authority, protection, and sovereignty of the Good Shepherd who always has your best in mind.
His Pain, Our Gain
Isaiah 53 is a stunning chapter in the Bible—in what is now commonly referred to as the “Old Testament.”
Approximately 700 years before Jesus walked the earth, Isaiah prophesied about a suffering servant who would also, somehow and in some way, be exalted. A coming Savior, a future Redeemer, the long-awaited Messiah—whose death would ultimately bring life.
A portion of Isaiah 53 says this:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NIV
So, who was this man who would be pierced, crushed, and wounded because of someone else’s sins? Whose undeserved punishment would be the catalyst for healing? Whose life would be given as an offering—so that others might live?
Jesus Christ not only fits the description of the suffering servant who paid the ultimate price to buy His people back, redeem them, and set them free—He ...
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge...
