“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:9-10 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
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realchristianwomen.blog
Imagine you are sitting in church, listening to your pastor’s message, and he says,
“By the way, a lot of people around here aren’t going to Heaven!” (Everybody perks up and starts to pay attention.)
He continues, “The door to heaven is pretty small. So, many people are going to go through the wrong door. In fact, only a few people will find the right door, only a few.”
The people are thinking, “What? Is that really true?”
He continues, “You better make sure you are studying your Bible or you won’t find the small door. Instead, you’ll follow the crowd through the big door. Some of you tend to do what sounds good, instead of carefully studying your Bible.” (People start to fidget because they don’t have time to read their Bibles. They’re really busy!)
The pastor exclaims, “Now that big door is not only the wrong door, it is the door that, once opened, will take you down a big, wide road that looks like a good road, but it isn’t! It leads to devastation and disaster!” (This isn’t what the people want to hear. They think he is too negative.)
He ends by saying, “Make sure you find the small door. Like I said, study your Bible. It is the GPS to the small door.”
Will the people start studying their Bibles, or will they dismiss the pastor’s warning?
Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
That is an intriguing statement, made by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus and the Apostles gave us many warnings in the New Testament. We would do well to know what they are. We mustn’t only read and study the promises. We must read and study all of God’s Word.
Do you know what God’s warnings are? Several are listed in my post, Don’t Follow the Crowd. https://realchristianwomen.blog/2019/02/18/dont-follow-the-crowd/
With Love,
Cindy
This is My Journey Unscripted.
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
All Scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted.
Photo by Arno Smit on Unsplash
realchristianwomen.blog
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Harald Arlander on Unsplash
realchristianwomen.blog
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Eugene Kuznetsov on Unsplash
realchristianwomen.blog
You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
C.S. Lewis
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash
realchristianwomen.blog
“He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me—I who was helpless in their hands. On the day when I was weakest, they attacked. But the Lord held me steady. He led me to a place of safety, for he delights in me.” Psalm 18:17-19 TLB
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
“But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken!” Jeremiah 9:24 NLT
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash
realchristianwomen.blog
“In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
“I have concluded based on my years of experience that sheep are stupid. Not just stupid but mind-numbingly stupid— sometimes I wonder how they manage to breath and eat.” Glenn Brunkow, Rancher¹
Somehow that quote from Brunkow gives me comfort. God wants to lead us, feed us, and guide us. Our responsibility is to just obey.
*********
I’m re-reading a fascinating book by Phillip Keller called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.² Keller was a shepherd for years and explains many things about sheep that most people don’t know.
The book is eye-opening and provides a deeper understanding of our relationship with the Lord, the Great Shepherd. It’s no accident he calls us His sheep!
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Psalm 23 KJV
The shepherd watches over his sheep day and night. They cannot take care of themselves, and they get into all kinds of trouble. They will drink polluted water, wander off and be attacked by a wild animals, get stuck in the same fence repeatedly, etc.
“He who watches over you will not slumber;” Psalm 121:3
Sheep are fearful, timid, and skittish. A rabbit hopping by suddenly can send them into a panic. But they calm down when the shepherd walks into view and they are comforted. So many times in my life, when I was in a panic, the Lord has comforted me and calmed my fears. That’s when I wonder how people who don’t know Him get through tough times.
We do “not want” because Jesus is always with us, in good times and in bad. Our joy and peace comes from His presence in our life, not in what we have or the way life goes. We are content to be led by Him, doing His will.
One thing I found interesting is the fact that like humans, some sheep refuse to follow the shepherd and instead do their own thing. (Ouch!)
This can result in lots of serious problems for the sheep, problems they would have never experienced – if only they had followed the shepherd. (I think this parallel is pretty obvious!)
Keller tells how he would lead his sheep to a clean, clear stream and a stubborn ewe would go off and drink from a polluted, parasite-infested puddle instead. Isn’t that what some people do? We choose the unclean ways of the world instead of the ways of God.
“Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit,” John 7:37-38 NIV
A good shepherd provides good forage for the sheep, lush green vegetation, so that the sheep can have plenty to eat, grow, and thrive. However, some sheep will wander off and eat from barren, dry brush instead. Many times, we prefer to feed on the barren ground of the world around us instead of the peace and comfort that comes from dwelling in His Word and His presence.
The final parallel I want to share is the most extraordinary. Sheep must have plenty of pure clean water. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to lead them to a lush green field heavy with morning dew.
The sheep can keep fit and hydrated for months just by grazing right before dawn when the field is heavy with dew. The sheep feed heavily and are most content at this time of day. A good shepherd will make sure his sheep have this opportunity to drink in the “still waters” of dew.
“In the Christian life it is of more than passing significance to observe that those who are often the most serene, most confident and able to cope with life’s complexities are those who rise early each day to feed on God’s Word.” (Keller)
These are just a few of the many insights from A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller.
I don’t know about you, but it gives me great comfort to know that I don’t have to be smart to thrive. I need only to follow Jesus, the Great Shepherd.
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6 NIV
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 NIV
“If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This is My Journey Unscripted.
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
¹https://www.agupdate.com/midwestmessenger/opinion/columnists/glenn_brunkow/the-questionable-intelligence-of-sheep/article_69540f07-7577-5559-bfde-a31ea95acc0c.html
²ISBN 0-310-26790-0 available on Amazon
Photo by Sam Carter on Unsplash
“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” Psalm 5:12 NIV
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Real Christian Women 