Men Classed Their Kind as Sheep

Jesus Christ

Matthew 9:36  

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 10:6

 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

Matthew 10:16  

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Matthew 12:11-12  

11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?

12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Matthew 15:24  

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

Matthew 18:12-13  

12 “What do you think? 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, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.

Matthew 25:32-33  

32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

John 10:27  

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

John 21:16-17  

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

Paul

Hebrews 13:20  

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

Peter

1 Peter 2:25  

For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Thought

“While committees waste their time over resolutions, do something.  While Societies and Unions are making constitutions, let us win souls.  Too often we discuss, and discuss and discuss and Satan laughs in his sleeve.” … C. H. Spurgeon

Compelled to Speak Up

The authorities could hardly believe their ears! “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” After a brief consultation among themselves, the religious rulers forbade John and Peter to speak in Jesus’ name. The disciples’ reply was a classic defense that rang as true in their politically correct, pluralistic, multicultural society as it does in ours: “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. They were compelled to speak up—they couldn’t help it—because they had been with Jesus! They had been with Him when….

…the blind received sight,

…the ears of the deaf were cleansed,

…the lame walked,

…the tormented were set free,

…the dead were raised to life!

They had seen five thousand people fed with five loaves and two fish!

They had seen Jesus calm the wind and waves with a word!

They had seen Jesus walk on the water!

They had seen Jesus confound the Pharisees!

They had been with Jesus!

They had heard Him pray!

They had felt His touch!

They had witnessed His power!

They had seen His glory!

They had received His love!

They had seen Jesus crucified!

They had seen Jesus buried!

They had seen the empty tomb!

They had seen Jesus alive and risen from the dead!

How could they ever be silent again?!

They knew too much

…and had heard too much

…and had felt too much

…and had learned too much—

They were under compulsion so speak up!

Friends, why do we seem to make speaking up for Jesus so complicated? If He fills our hearts, His is going to come out on our lips! Like Peter and John, we will not be able to help “speaking about what we have seen and heard” of Him!

Giving the most out of life

By John Fischer

You were put here on earth to make a contribution. God did not create us in his image to do nothing but sit around on clouds and play harps. He’s not doing that, so why would we ever think of this as a fitting conclusion for us? He created us to share in the ongoing creating and nurturing of his world. We were made in his image to share in his work. We are supposed to do that here on earth, and we will do that in heaven. And we can start today.

The need and capacity to serve was in us from the beginning. Adam was immediately given the job of naming the animals and subduing the earth. This did not change after disobedience took its course and banished him and Eve from the garden; it just got harder to do. Eve was given the job of being his helpmate and that definitely got harder to do! But nonetheless, we all have jobs. Not the job you get paid for, but a job to do in relation to your existence – a job to do in service to those around you.

The more we are conscious of this purpose, the easier it will be to figure out what this job is at any given time. Suffice it to say, it is primarily found in focusing our attention on others. This is in stark contrast to “getting the most out of life,” which has become the modern mantra of a “me” generation. This would be more along the lines of “giving the most out of life.”

Deep down inside, every one of us wants to leave something behind. We want to leave a legacy. We want to be significant. We want an epitaph with substance. God put this desire in us because it is one of our purposes in life. If your epitaph were written today, where would the significance lie? Who would be better off because of your life? If you’re anything like me, the current answer to that question makes me glad I still have time to affect it.

Think today of what you can add to someone’s life, not take away. Think of leaving situations better than you found them. Think of whom you can serve of how this can be a better day for someone because of you. This is important. It’s part of your legacy. Let’s be careful to give the most out of life today.

In the whole land, declares the LORD, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one one-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answerer them; I will say, “They are my people, and they will say, “The LORD is our God.”…Zechariah 13:8-9

God’s 90 Promises to me – 17 to 19.

17

About God’s power

Psalms 145:1-3  

1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

Isaiah 14:27  

For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

Deuteronomy 32:3-4  

3 I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

18.

About Serving God

Colossians 3:23-24  

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Mark 8:34-35  

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Luke 17:9-10  

9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

19.

About Praising God

Psalms 29:2  

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

Psalms 30:4  

Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.

Psalms 95:6-7  

6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,

Psalms 150:1-2  

1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Psalms 150:6  

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Things God Will Do.

Bring hidden things to light:

1 Corinthians 3:13 “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”

 The apostle was a wise master-builder; but the grace of God made him such. Spiritual pride is abominable; it is using the greatest favors of God, to feed our own vanity, and make idols of ourselves. But let every man take heed; there may be bad building on a good foundation. Nothing must be laid upon it, but what the foundation will bear, and what is of a piece with it. Let us not dare to join a merely human or a carnal life with a Divine faith, the corruption of sin with the profession of Christianity.

Christ is a firm, abiding, and immovable Rock of ages, every way able to bear all the weight that God himself or the sinner can lay upon him; neither is there salvation in any other. Leave out the doctrine of his atonement, and there is no foundation for our hopes. But of those who rest on this foundation, there are two sorts. Some hold nothing but the truth as it is in Jesus, and preach nothing else. Others build on the good foundation what will not abide the test, when the day of trail comes. We may be mistaken in ourselves and others; but there is a day coming that will show our actions in the true light, without covering or disguise.

Those who spread true and pure religion in all its branches, and whose work will abide in the great day, shall receive a reward. And how great! How much exceeding their deserts! There are others, whose corrupt opinions and doctrines, or vain inventions and usages in the worship of God, shall be made known, disowned, and rejected, in that day. This is plainly meant of a figurative fire, not of a real one; for what real fire can consume religious rites or doctrines? And it is to try every man's works, those of Paul and Apollos, as well as others.

 Let us consider the tendency of our undertakings, compare them with God's word, and judge ourselves, that we be not judged of the Lord.

Thought

There is a wonderful law of nature that the three things we crave most – happiness, freedom, and peace of mind – are always attained by giving them to someone else…Unknown

Until we’re fully known

By Jon Walker

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12.

In relationships the failure to communicate can be extremely frustrating. But, the failure to commune leads us to despair.

Communication is usually about sharing information – at its most basic level, the transmitting and receiving of meanings.

Communion, however, is about sharing life. It’s about knowing and being known, caring and being cared for on a deep and personal basis.

Perhaps the most pressing need each of us has is to know that we are fully known and yet still deeply loved; that, despite our failures and weaknesses, regardless of our successes and strengths, we are still unconditionally loved.

Some of our families did a fairly good job of this while others failed miserably.

But God, the Father, is perfect in his love, and we are already fully known by him. He created us with a desire for that “fully known” love and so he draws us to himself, where we are face-to-face with him, where one day we will know fully even as we are now fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

And our objective-in-Jesus is to carry this fully known love into our relationships, modeling for others a Christ like communion that emerges in a place where it is safe to be fully known and still be loved.

Thought

I asked for strength, that I might achieve, I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy, I was given poverty, that I might be wise. I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life, I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for; almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men most richly blessed…Unknown Confederate Soldier

Sing Praises to God

Psalms 27:2 

When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

Psalms 42:10-11

10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalms 52:9 

I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Jeremiah 20:13 

Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.

Romans 15:9 

So that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.”

James 5:13 

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

Psalms 150:1-3

1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet; praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with tambourine and dancing; praise him with the strings and flute,

Thought

Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask…Billy Graham

God’s 90 Promises to me – 14 to 16.

14.

About God’s Blessings

Ephesians 1:3  

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

Romans 10:12-13  

12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,

13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

James 1:17  

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

15.

About God’s Guidance

Isaiah 58:11  

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Proverbs 16:1  

To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.

Proverbs 16:3  

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Romans 12:2  

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

16.

About God’s Grace

Hebrews 4:15-16  

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Ephesians 2:8-9  

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

1 Peter 5:10  

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Thought

Fulfillment doesn't automatically happen as a result of linking up with the "right" person, job, or even ministry. Fulfillment happens as a result of being in God's will. ..Marilyn Olson

Salvation

Christ – Brings with Him:

Isaiah 62:11 

Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

Christ – Mighty to make possible:

Isaiah 63:1 

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

Christ – to make possible:

Matthew 18:11 

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

1 Timothy 1:15 

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Christ – Died to make possible:

John 3:14 

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Galatians 1:4 

Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.

Thought:

It is not darkness you are going to, for God is Light. It is not lonely, for Christ is with you. It is not unknown country, for Christ is there.

Charles Kingsley

The Wounds of Jesus

By Rev. Dr. Emmanuel James

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

The wounds that were inflicted upon Jesus during His crucifixion are part of the price He paid for our salvation. How He suffered and bled because of these wounds Jesus still bears these wounds in His Risen Body as an eternal sign of His redeeming Love. Why does He allow these scars to remain? He has power to erase them but they remain as a reminder to us that He suffered for us.  Read Isaiah 49:16 which records God’s endearing words to us: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands”. These words have far reaching spiritual significance for us. The Lord God clearly says, “I have engraved you” This includes all my sins, weaknesses, problems, failures, sorrows, and unworthiness. He has engraved my complete personality on the palm of His hands. My God loves me so much that He has engraved me on the palm of His hands. What more assurance do I need to be convinced that He loves me and cares for me? The engraved hands of God are a symbol that He remembers me. God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Heb. 13:5).

Secondly, what benefit can I get from these wounds? I can receive my healing. Praise God for the power that Jesus has over my sicknesses and pains. Peter testifies, "By His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24). There are so many people who are sick and are suffering and are eagerly looking for their healing. There is hope for everyone who is sick and in pain. Each one of us can be healed if we believe in the healing power of Jesus.

Thirdly, the wounds of Jesus make it possible for us to believe in Jesus and accept Him as our personal Lord and God. Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side” (John 20:27). Here Jesus referring to the wound caused by the piercing of His side by the spear of a Roman soldier. Heart is the seat of love and He loved me so much that He allowed His heart to be pierced for me. With what a great love He has loved me! When each one of us realizes this, we will fall on our knees and confess gratefully with Thomas, "My Lord and my God!"  Jesus tells Thomas, “Stop doubting and believe."   When Thomas obeyed the Lord, he blurted out, “My Lord and my God!"   Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  (John 20:27-29). Do I have that kind of faith that Jesus expects from me?

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I am deeply grateful to you for your wounds. They remind me that you love me and care for me. They give the assurance to me that by Your wounds I can be healed. They make it possible for me to believe in you and accept you as my personal Lord, Savior and God. May your wounds be a source of loving gratitude for you throughout my life.

In Jesus’ dear name, Amen.

God’s 90 Promises to me – 11 to 13.

11.

About God’s Faithfulness

Psalms 89:1-2  

1 I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all 

generations.

2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

Deuteronomy 7:9  

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

1 Corinthians 1:8-9 

8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

12.

About God’s Forgiveness

Isaiah 1:18  

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Psalms 32:1-2 

1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

1 John 1:9

 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

13.

About God’s Comfort

Psalms 34:17 -18

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5  

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all 

comfort,

4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we 

ourselves have received from God.

5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Psalms 23:4  

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.