Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 95:6-11
Ps 95:6-11
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways." So, I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest."
John 10:11-15
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So, when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep.
The imagery of a shepherd and his sheep is often used to depict the relationship of the Lord and his people. In the Old Testament it was often used of the Father with Israel and in the New Testament it is used to show the people of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe this imagery is chosen because of the nature of the sheep and how they depend on the shepherd and trust him completely.
The sheep know the shepherd, they know his voice and respond to him. The shepherd knows his sheep. He knows which one is strong and which is weak. He understands the personality of each one. He can identify them all and calls them by name. He loves them and is willing to die to protect them from harm.
Jesus is our shepherd, and he knows each of his own by name. We are to follow him as he leads us in life. He loves us so much he has already given his life for us, to deliver us from sin and death. He took our sin upon himself so that we can become the righteousness of God in him. He is our Savior, we are his people; he is our Good Shepherd, we are the sheep of his pasture.
O Lord God, my Father in heaven, hallowed is your name in all the earth. Your wisdom and power are beyond description, your love is unfathomable. Yet, in all your glory and greatness and might, you know me by name, and you love me and provide my needs. Increase my faith. Help me follow Jesus without reservation, giving up my own will, and then making your will my own. Thank you for my family and the love we share. Thank you for your family and for allowing me to be a part of it. Give peace to those who are troubled. In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Robert
