The Divine Shepherd

 

Psalm 23:2-3 (NRSVue) - He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

Recently, I attended the funeral service of a family member.

The message at the service was one of hope.

This brought Psalm 23 to mind where the Psalmist writes of the Divine Shepherd.

Verse two and three were good reminders for me.

There are times I do not wish to rest, but the Shepherd makes me.

There are times when I desire excitement, but the Shepherd guides me to stillness.

There are times when I feel overwhelmed, but the Shepherd restores both mind and body.

And there are times I want to go my own way, but the Shepherd puts me on the right path.

In 1 Peter, we are told of Christ’s suffering and the reason for it.

1 Peter 2:25 (NRSVue) - For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

When we go astray, the Divine Shepherd guides us to the place He desires for us.

There, we can find true happiness.

There, we can find true tranquility.

I wrote my first devotional fifteen years ago.

In it, I wrote that being called a sheep is not necessarily a compliment.

Sheep are stubborn and willful at times,

That is why we need a Divine Shepherd to guard our souls and our lives, 

Once we allow the Divine Shepherd to guide us, our lives are forever transformed.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, January 17, 2025.

I will be back here on Friday, January 24, 2025

Rest and Understanding

 

Psalm 6:2-3a (NRSVue) - Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. My soul also is struck with terror,

Psalm 6 is a prayer for recovery.

In fact, it is a prayer for recovery from a serious illness.

The words reflect just how heavy the burden is and how strong is the fear that accompanies it.

In Matthew 28, Jesus prays to the Father.

He thanks the Father.

Christ acknowledges that those the world deems simple are granted insight.

No one knows the Son except the Father.

And no one knows the Father except the Son and those whom the Son chose to know the Father,

Christ then prays for those who are burdened and promises rest.

Matthew 11:28 (NRSVue) - “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Christ is the great physician.

He tells us to bring our burdens to Him.

And when we do, Christ grants us rest.

This is not just rest for our bodies, this is rest for our souls as well.

It does not matter what our burdens are, Christ invites us to bring those burdens to Him.

He removes all burdens: physical illness, fear; distress of the mind, even concerns of the heart.

In their place, Christ gives rest, peace, and hope.

This is one of the first verses my mother taught me as a small boy more than half a century ago.

I take its meaning to heart.

I also understand that this was a very unique way in which I was chosen to know the Father.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, July 5, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, July 12, 2024

Rested Development

We all know that God created the world in six days and on the seventh day He rested.

Was God tired and weary after six solid days of work?

The answer to this question is a resounding "No".

God is All Powerful, therefore, He would never tire and have no need to rest.

So, why did God rest?

The truth is, He set aside this seventh day of rest strictly for our benefit.

Exodus 20:9-10 (NET) - For six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on it you shall not do any work, you, or your, son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.

God in His infinite wisdom knew our physical bodies would have need of rest.

Work in and of itself is a good thing.

As a matter of fact, we were meant for work.

Genesis 2:15 (NET) - The LORD God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and maintain it.

So, work is something ordained by God. Yet we can overdo it if we are not careful.

Moses almost overworked himself.

Moses was a great leader.

Like many great leaders, Moses tried to do everything himself and was quickly burning himself out, but, like us, he was probably too busy to notice.

Fortunately for Moses, God blessed him with a wonderful father-in-law named Jethro who took notice of this. Jethro had a frank and honest talk with Moses and helped him put things in proper perspective.

Exodus 18:17-18 (NET) - Moses’ father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good! You will surely wear out, both you and these people who are with you, for this is too heavy a burden for you. You are not able to do it by yourself."

In the verses that follow, Jethro suggested a plan for Moses that would allow him to work but would keep him from working to the point of burning himself out.

Fortunately for Moses, he heeded this wise council.

Even Jesus knew there were times He needed rest.

Jesus had both a Divine Nature and a human nature.

While the Divine Nature had no need of rest, the human nature did.

In the Gospel of Luke we read where Jesus healed a great multitude.

Luke 4:40 (NET) - As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed His hands on every one of them and healed them.

This healing continued apparently throughout the night.

Luke 4:41 (NET) - The next morning, Jesus departed to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking Him, and they tried to keep Him from leaving them.

Jesus went to a deserted place in order to find rest for His human nature.

We are all in need of rest periodically.

That is why God set aside the Sabbath Day,

This does not mean exchanging one set of activities and demands on our time for others that may prove equally or even more tiring.

Rest, true rest, like the kind of rest that God meant for us to have is achieved when we set aside the time God meant for us to set aside.

A time of quiet set aside to commune with God and reflect on all that He continues to do for us.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 7, 2011.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, October 14, 2011.
Schedule subject to change.