Shepherds….

Our family has been pastored by many kinds of pastors…some missions oriented, legalists, others-social issues, while others were more knowledge driven and a few more…I appreciate all of them for their gifting, but I appreciate the ones who are shepherding the most…those who like Barnabas stayed behind and helped people grow in their faith….we can’t forget  the others though…we have looked for good teaching, care and encourage missions or are involved with the community and its issues. So I guess we have looked for well rounded people…

 Good shepherds care for the people and follow after God, desiring that his flock do the same…

Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15 NIV).

Genesis 29: 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 78: 72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;

    with skillful hands he led them.

Micah 5: 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock

    in the strength of the Lord,

    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they will live securely, for then his greatness

    will reach to the ends of the earth.

Hebrews 13: 20 Now 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, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Revelations 7: 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne

    will be their shepherd;

‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’

    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

What a Shepherd we have…

Thank YOU….

Shepherd of my soul…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sv3e2cFcj4

 

Anger…

Once upon a time, I was angry…at the world, at church, at my family, at everything….I didn’t know I was so angry…and I really don’t remember the reason why now…but things were not going my may….

One Sunday, I walked into church, sat through the songs and then the sermon and I realized I was just plain mad at God…I can remember where I sat that day and how the realization hit me hard…I wasn’t trusting God’s goodness even through the trials or circumstances…I thought I had a better plan…and I was mad…angry…and everyone around me was suffering because of it…

That verse about seeing someone’s splinter in one’s eye while ignoring the plank in your own was so evident…

I was so humbled and asked for forgiveness….

It didn’t change the circumstances, but my heart was changed and I could look at what was happening with God’s light rather than my own…so much peace came, that I was startled by the amount of anger I had held onto, cherished…joy returned…

I have so far to go to learn all that God wants to teach….and the lessons are frequent…both with discipline and goodness…

Thank YOU…

Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!

    I will not yield my glory to another

    or my praise to idols…

Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains be shaken

    and the hills be removed,

yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Again I say rejoice…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvWYDuinMTg

 

Do not be anxious….lady bugs…

Going to my overgrown garden boxes, yesterday I was picking dried milkweed pods for flower arrangements….some still had seeds, some hadn’t popped yet and others were totally empty of seeds… But, low and behold I found a whole miniature world of ladybugs…🐞 

The adult bugs were crawling around…then upon further observation, there were all the life cycles of the lady bugs, from eggs to nymphs to adults…then upon  further searching, their food source, aphids, was in some plants while the ladybug colonies were on other plants…

Their homes, their food were all provided.

It brought to mind the verses in Matthew….how God provides and anxiousness…here was a miniature world, going about their business without a care in the world and God was providing…their needs…how much more are we, created in His image, cared for…

Thank YOU….

therefore I tell you , do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on, is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing…look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap or gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Matthew 6:25-26

Jehovah Jireh….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCsH_TtZReY

 More joy….

“To infuse more joy Into your day, seek to increase your awareness that I am with you…an easy way to do this is to say; Thank You, Jesus, for your presence.”  Sarah Young…

Don’t we all want joy, that deep sense of thankfulness, peace that runs through our soul? In the hard times as well as the parking spot in just the right place…knowing that we are cared for….that we are a vessel of God’s grace…a vessel prepared…a vessel of the promised Holy Spirit…

Thank  YOU Jesus, for your presence…..

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life;

    you will fill me with joy in your presence,

    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 5:11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

    let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

    that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Psalm 7: 17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;

    I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

    and with my song I praise him.

Acts 17: 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

2 Corinthians 4: 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation

    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

 Your presence…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGDsreB1CyQ

 A rock…

I need to go back to this last weekend and one of my grandsons….

A rock poking out of the water saved him…that rock was created by the spoken Word of God at creation…was it planned just for my grandson to find rescue…a solid perch on which to wait…if God has a plan for each of our lives, it was…He knows the beginning… He is the first and last…He knows our thoughts before we perceive them…

Our whole family is very aware of rocks…my husband was a geologist…the rocks God made put food on our table, clothes on our backs, shelter ….allowed us to give…rocks are personal to us…and they became more personal this last weekend…they became another saving force to our family…

I look at the video of the rescue and see God’s hand of care and salvation….what you don’t see in the pictures is rescuers downstream as backup to the one in the water …another picture of God desiring that none should perish…He wants us to live…he wants us to come to Him…

We depend upon the Rock as well…Jesus is our rock…our refuge…

Thank you…

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you (Isaiah 26:3 NIV).

 Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,

    and all his ways are just.

Psalm 71: 3 Be my rock of refuge,

    to which I can always go;

give the command to save me,

    for you are my rock and my fortress.

Jesus is my rock….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M88ItKnXlrI

 New lines…

Our neighborhood and town is getting new underground lines….day after day of huge trucks grinding away underground…Pulling lines, cutting holes in our driveways, lawns..backing up traffic, etc so that we can get “better service”…”faster service”…

This is the second time around in six months…

Pretty soon, the salespeople will be knocking at our doors with their sales pitch for subscriptions to their new services. Then , if we bite, they will come around and hook up the individual homes to the lines going down the streets…more trucks and equipment…

Talking to God requires none of these inconveniences…He is there, waiting… no trucks, no salespeople, no ruined yards, no waiting in traffic, no cost…no subscriptions…and a much better advisor and listener, plus a relationship with the Creator of the universe…he hears us when words are too deep to speak, he teaches us truth, counsels us, and so much more….

Thank YOU…

Romans 8: 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Matthew 6: 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’

John 14: 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our Father…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRg2kZcg9q4

 

Comfort verses…??

Not sure where I am anymore on my lists of comfort verses…there are so many….

My grandson is well, now needs to overcome the trauma and face water again. It will come…he is the adventurer. Thank you for your prayers, concerns, care…blessings to you all….

I’m pleading with you, Yahweh, help me! Don’t close your ears to my cry, for you’re my defender (Psalm 28:1 TPT). PM

So as for you, return to your God, Maintain kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually (Hosea 12:6 NASB).

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4 NIV).

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted (Isaiah 12:4 NIV).

Yes, he did mighty miracles and we are overjoyed! Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again (Psalm 126:3-4 TPT).

They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord (Psalm 112:7 NIV).

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles (Psalm 34:17 NIV).

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1 NIV).

Thank YOU….

Through it all….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfAj_l1bLlQ