Tag: stand

The Good Shepherd

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

“For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. “

“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.“

Isaiah 53:6    All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

John 10:9  I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved

John 10:11  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:14  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Micah 5:4    And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Romans 5:1    Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Ephesians 2:18     For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

1 Peter 2:24     He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Our shepherd, Jesus Christ, is the good shepherd that calls, leads and protects His sheep. These sheep hear His voice calling.  They come running to Him because their heart desire wants to hear His voice because the Spirit of God has opened their heart to hear.  Of course there are those who choose to shut God out and reject this calling.  The sheep also hear His leading.  They trust in Him and come running to Him and where He leads they follow.  They choose to stay close to Him for with Him they find comfort in His guidance.  They stay close to hear His voice.  These sheep know He protects them and in His care they are safe and secure.  They choose to stay near.  If only we would be like sheep and follow the Good Shepard.

Cast out fear, God is Greater

“At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!  But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”

‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”

John 7:13  Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

John 12:42    Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;  for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Proverbs 29:25     The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

Galatians 2:12    For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.  And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

2 Timothy 2:9     for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.  The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;  if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

Fear is something common to all man.  Deep down or on the surface it is there.  Fear takes root in the place where there is unknown outcomes. In our heart and mind we formulate what the possible future outcomes could be based on connecting the dots from past experiences or things we have heard or seen.  From an early age we learn either to respect  or fear natural affects of fire, gravity, snakes, bees, wild animals, water currents, speed, etc…. Some of these we have experienced and others we have heard of their affects on others. Sometimes we apply this same thought process to serving God and have fear based on only what is in our mind.  When it comes to serving God, fear should be blanketed in trust and faith in Him.  Trusting God is in control, He is more powerful than whatever I’m facing, He has promised to be our refuge, strength, and power.  He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He can do more than we ask and much more than be can imagine.  Replace fear with Trust and Faith in Him alone who can overcome whatever is or is thought to be before us.