Cowboy or Sheppard?

John 10:27: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

What exactly does it mean to ‘follow Jesus’? Sounds like a pretty basic question but I think we sometimes lose sight of what following Christ means.

In our western world we see cowboys moving a herd along by riding behind them, ‘driving the herd’ and they only ride up ahead if some of the cattle or sheep start to stray from the direction they desire the herd to move.

In the eastern part of the world, as well as in Biblical times, the Sheppard walked in front of his herd and they followed. Sound familiar? The words of Jesus in John 10:27: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

As Christians, we can far too easily move in any direction we want, all that ‘free will’ stuff, you know. Once we have decided, in all our sophisticated and worldly wisdom, what we want to do we ask the Lord to bless it…whatever IT may be. We like to think that calling ourselves Christians means God will bail us out of whatever mess we get ourselves into…after all, we asked Him to bless our mess, didn’t we?

In that regard, we are no more following Christ than a herd being driven are following the cowboy. The old saying about ‘getting the cart before the horse’ comes to mind. We are putting ourselves before Christ when we make decisions and plans or take actions or behave the way we want before taking it up with the Lord. I can look back on some of the things I wanted or did on my own and it makes me shudder to think how arrogant I was to think I knew what was best.

I don’t think we have to ask the Lord if we should choose Del Monte or Van Camp canned peas; He did offer us common sense and wisdom to think, but how we live, how we worship, how we serve Him, how we behave and speak…those are biggies.

We know more about how the Lord would have us live by reading and studying His word. We are to live and walk and talk more and more like Jesus as we grow as Christians. Take a moment to stop and reflect back on yesterday alone. Did your actions and words reflect Christ or worldly man/woman? Were you following Jesus or bolting off like a wayward bull hoping He would come running if you fell off the cliff?

Something to think about….

Pearls of Wisdom

Job 28:18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned: And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls."(NAS)

The ‘holy tap’ on the shoulder came early this morning. My alarm had gone off and I was still snuggled in that comfy spot so hard to leave thanking the Lord for all He has blessed me with and the new day to move forward. It was then the ‘tap’ and I ‘saw’ a line of pearls on my shoulder. With a head still fuzzy from sleep it took a second for me to recognize they were pearls but at second glance, they were strung together like a fine necklace of valuable pearls. Now I’m wide awake!

I love pearls, real pearls, though I’ve never had any… but one day…that however was not where the Lord was going with that. I tried to do my regular Bible reading and study but could not; the pearls would not leave my mind. So I researched how pearls were referenced in scripture. They were considered one of the finest and most valuable jewels in Biblical days.  

In the beginning chapter 28 Job is describing the treasures found in the earth and how men seek them out…for example: iron is taken from the dust (:2); copper is smelted from rock (:2); rocks are a source for sapphires(:6); dust contains gold….BUT…where can wisdom be found? (:12) It’s as though Job is saying…pearls are the most valuable, sought after gem…but wisdom is even more precious.

Matthew 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

Matthew is using a variety of similes for the kingdom of heaven…a pearl is a perfect simile because a ‘fine pearl’ is a valuable treasure that needs no polishing or cutting by man. It comes to us complete and lustrous created by God through nature, as is the kingdom of heaven, which only God could create and perfect.

All that good stuff and more on pearls can be found in scripture but it just didn’t seem to be what I was suppose to ‘get’ out of the Lord showing it to me. I went back and thought about the timing of it all. I was lying in bed thanking the Lord for my blessings…ah, here it is. I had to smile when it hit me because only God…

A pearl is created inside a ‘wound’ of a pearl oyster. The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritate­s the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The man­tle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl.

We all have ‘wounds’ in our lives. As believers, we have the blood of Jesus Christ covering our wounds and sins, over and over again. When we hurt it is hard to imagine that anything of beauty and worth can come from it but given time, His timing, all our wounds are healed and covered by the blood and are used for His greater glory. People, most especially family, can wound us yet they are still blessings we are given. Over time those wounds make little pearls which become big pearls when we leave the process to the one created by our Creator.
 
I believe that string of pearls I saw during the ‘holy tap on the shoulder’ this morning was God showing me how my blessings, wounds and all, are still a thing of beauty and value I can wear proudly as I move forward in following Him.

Two or More

Matthew18:18-20 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Early last week I knew I was in for a rough time physically. My body struggles with lupus and there is as occasional ‘flare’ that magnifies all the ugliness, fatigue and pain. I started praying against it, chose not to say anything about it and go on with life. By Wednesday I was in a full blown flare up and could barely function. Mentally my head was foggy and every move agonizing. I am blessed to have a new job I enjoy yet that day it was my need to work that kept me moving. I can deal with the daily chronic pain but flares are another story.

Since I was at work, I wasn’t able to send out my usual prayer request email but I did send a text to my inner circle prayer warriors. There was comfort in knowing these trusted friends and family were standing in prayer for me all at the same time. Prayer power is a mighty thing! By mid-afternoon I physically could feel a difference on the scale of pain level. It was as if it could be measured with the scale tipping toward relief more and more as the afternoon wore on. I knew in the depths of me that the cries of my prayer warriors and the healing hand of Jesus were covering me. I went home in far less pain than I started with in the morning and I used wisdom by resting my body when I got home instead of listening to the yapping chores vying for my attention.

I’ve said all that to say this: I could have and should have reached out to my prayer warriors sooner; perhaps the flare could have been averted if I had. I do not hesitate to pray for those that ask yet I was hesitant to ask for myself…why? Was it pride, was it fear…what kept me from calling on those I knew loved me and would stand with me in prayer? This bothered me and I gave it serious thought. In the craziness and turbulence of my world the last year and a half, I have called on them for prayer so often I think I felt guilty for needing them… AGAIN. What a foolish way to think!

Friends, it was our Lord Jesus saying those words in the scripture: “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.

Whatever your situation, know that it was God’s plan for us to pray with and for one another. There is nothing you can have going on in your life that is not common to man. Your needs will not shock God. As believers we are suppose to support one another in prayer and lift each other up with the Word of God. My foolish mentality in not reaching out for support or prayer was of my flesh, not my spirit. I knew better but didn’t follow through. The price for my hesitation was high and a consequence of my sin of pride. God didn’t make me suffer; I suffered because I leaned on myself to ‘get through it’ over calling on my fellow prayer warriors and Jesus as I know to do. Make a note and don’t walk in my stupid footsteps.

Step Up and Speak Out

2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Why can we get so fired up about sports (Go Spurs) and become so quiet about the Savior? Why do we so readily share our political views, but hit the mute button when it comes to sharing Jesus? Why do we call all our friends to tell them about a great restaurant we found and don’t make the call to tell them about the Redeemer we know?

Why do we show more passion about the new diet, new golf club, new car, new shoes, new hobby, new vacation spot, new movie, new iPhone app, new whatever…than a relationship with Christ? Why is it easier to talk about anything else…than Jesus?

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power…!” If this is true, why do we often feel so wimpy and powerless when it comes to sharing the most important message in time and eternity?

FEAR – that’s why! We are fearful of what others may say or think about us. We are fearful we will look like a fool. We are fearful we don’t measure up as a Christian and they will know. The list goes on….

How do I know this? I lived it, that’s how! I walked in fear and intimidation about sharing my Jesus for years! I knew it, I hurt because of and was ashamed by it. Then one fateful day God showed me how He was going to use pitiful, messed up, beat up, scarred up ME for His purposes. I felt so unworthy of His love much less thinking He could use me. After all…I knew all the bad things I had done, all the harsh words I had spoken, all the times I thought about myself instead of others…yep, I was painfully aware of all that mess. YET…He loved me anyway…that was the beginning of the new me, the acceptance of the fact that He loved me anyway! He had plans for me of which I had no idea. He showed me, that fateful day, how all my scars from wounds, all my pain, all my trials were going to be used for His glory…and I was dumbfounded!

Here’s the key…He was able to show me that day because I took a leap of faith and stepped out in fear asking Him to work through me. I wanted to be bolder about speaking out for Jesus and knew it was a weakness of mine so I had asked a friend if I could tag along one day to ‘see’ what she did in prison ministry. She threw me off the deep end and gave me a small group to lead that day!! I was so scared, my knees knocked, my gut hurt and I never felt more inadequate in my life! I kept telling God I wasn’t as knowledgeable as the other women I was with, I wasn't as ‘studied’ as they were, I wasn’t as holy as they were, and I didn’t have a clue!

Looking into the faces of the women in white uniforms sitting around me that morning, I prayed silently to God as I had never prayed before. As part of the lesson I was to present, I had to share about myself and how God had worked in my life. It was in that sharing I had my ‘light bulb’ moment and understood that God was using all the cr_ p from my life to reach these women! They could identify with me BECAUSE I had gone through all that junk! They actually were open to receiving what I had to say about Jesus because I knew and had experienced their pain.

That day, God showed me that I was to use my life and my spiritual growth to reach others. All these years later, I still do. I am not the most educated Christian you know, nor the most eloquent, nor a deep theologian. I am simply one woman that is willing to share all my warts publicly, in writing, to share my Jesus. I share my truth about my Jesus in the morning…

Be open to something new in your life, ask God to show you how and then hold on!

Mercy!

Luke 6:27-36 But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Mercy for other people, as described above, basically means loving someone that doesn’t love you back. Being kind where you find no kindness. Going against everything inside of us that screams out when we’ve been wronged. Showing mercy isn’t for the faint of heart, the weak in spirit or sissies. Showing mercy takes a determined mind and heart to follow after Christ and follow His lead whether we feel like it or not. No one said living a Christian life is easy.

Acting like this requires a divine amount of grace-laced empowerment, so good luck if you are going to try it in your own strength. The very same Jesus who calls you to this type of life lives in you. This is the way He wants to live through you, and Christ is going to bless you for allowing His mercy to flow through you in a way that brings good things to those who don’t deserve it.