The Good Shepherd

 The Lord is my Shepherd

Have you ever wondered what a shepherd is to his sheep? 

Whenever I see a picture or a video of a shepherd and his sheep, it always reminds me of how dependent sheep are on their shepherd. They go wherever he goes. If it is time to sit and rest, or stand up and go, the sheep need to do the same. And luckily for them, the shepherd knows where the water is and where the green pastures are. All that the sheep need to do is to follow their shepherd and his voice.

When David wrote in Ps 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd” he had first-hand knowledge of what it meant to be a shepherd, because he was one. He knew all the ins and outs of being a shepherd, and he most definitely knew the responsibility that comes with being a shepherd. 

The amplified Bible enlarged three aspects of being a Shepherd, and still today, I believe that this is God’s heart towards you and me - if we allow Him to be our Shepherd. It says “to feed, to guide and to shield”. 

“To feed” speaks of God’s heart to provide for our daily needs -  Jesus even taught us to pray this - “give us today our daily bread”. As a Shepherd, God’s heart is not for us to go hungry or to be in lack. 

“To guide” speaks of God’s heart to guide us through life. “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake”. He knows the future from the beginning, and he wants to lead us into the plans and purposes He has for our lives because He created us and He knows us!

“To shield” speaks of God’s heart to protect us! To protect us against evil, to protect us against dangerous situations, and not to harm us! I don’t know if I have ever seen a shepherd standing by and looking at one of his sheep being attacked by a wolf! No, on the contrary, we read about the parable of the shepherd that will leave the 99 and go after the one that is lost.

If you feel lost today, if you experience lack, if you sense that you are being attacked, just call on Jesus - His heart was, and is, and will always be - to feed, guide and shield you! Rest in knowing that He is a Good Shepherd and He knows what you need (even before you ask). Talk to Him like a friend and tell Him what is in your heart.

He promises: I will never leave you, nor forsake you. Be encouraged, the Shepherd will look after you.

@Always.in.tune

You can receive the Holy Spirit - the power helper

Have you ever heard someone say to you: It would be to your advantage if I go away? Perhaps you feel this way about some people in your life, but usually, it is on the contrary - we miss people that go away, and their presence is obvious in the void that is left behind. 

And so it was with Jesus. He once made this comment to his disciples in John 16:7

“It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” 

Jesus would often comment on this one, that at the time does not make sense, but later on definitely...

And we are living in that “later” moment. We read of Jesus' ascension into heaven, as well as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, as was also promised in Acts 1:8 (ESV)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  

The Holy Spirit power-outpouring changed the Peter that denied Jesus into the Peter that stood up and boldly witnessed Jesus and 3000 people came to Christ (Acts 2:41). The Holy Spirit is the one who is sent to help delivers live the God-life.

The same Holy Spirit power-outpouring is available for us today! 

It is easy to receive the Holy Spirit. First, you must believe that Jesus is the one who saves you from your sin and restores the relationship between you and God. Second, you need to ask God for the Holy Spirit, for he gives good gifts to his children. You don't need to strife for it - trust and believe that God will do what he said and be content in him.

Would you allow Him to be poured out in your heart and mind to live a life of power, victory, of witness and influence?

He is our Power Helper! 

God wants to restore

Have you ever restored something? Like an old car, an old wooden furniture piece, or even a fixer-upper piece of property? There is something satisfying in restoring an old piece! According to the dictionary, to restore means to “bring back to a former or original condition”. Old wood comes to life when it is sanded down and varnished, a coat of paint on a building dresses it up for the eye to enjoy looking at! 

And apart from the fact that we want to restore something to its original condition, it almost always will increase in value.

When something is restored in the Scriptures, it is always increased, multiplied, or improved so that its latter state is significantly better than its original state.

Joel 2:25-27 say it so beautifully:

25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. 27 Then you shall know that I am amid Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. Joel 2:25-27 (NKJV)

God multiplies when He restores. And so, in His restoration work today, in your life, God wants to bring a restoration so that your days to come will be better than your days gone past! Don't give up, or give in to doubt and fear. Keep on trusting that God is a restorer and declare it over your life.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

Proverbs 4:18 (ESV)

@Aways.in.tune

What are you thinking?

 Do you still remember when you started to write in school? Can you remember that you had to write with a pencil, not a pen. The reason is obvious, if you made a mistake you can quickly erase it, and replace it with the right letter or word.

It reminds me of the spiritual principle: Erase to Replace….

Erase negative thoughts and replace them with godly thoughts…

Erase wrong beliefs and replace them with right beliefs…

Erase lies and replace them with the truth…

God gave us His word to do all the replacements that need to be done!

Our part is to take action, to intentionally take the eraser and wipe out the negativity, the wrong beliefs and the lies and replace it with what God says about it! To do that you need to know what God says. Read the Bible and think about it.

And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].  Rom 12:2 (Amp) 

When that negative thought comes, deliberately think about something God says in his word about it and replace the thought with a right one.

Erase to Replace…

@Always.in.tune

How Christians should face difficulties

Sometimes we go through a life experience that can leave a bitter taste. It can be a financial crisis, a betrayal of a friend, or even the death of a loved one. It can even be something that you did not see coming, something that you did not have control over, something that was unfair. 

This was the case with Naomi in the Bible. She was married, had two sons, moved to another country because of famine and there she lost both her husband and two sons. Coming back to Bethlehem Judah, "the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty, has dealt very bitterly with me." Ruth 1:19‭-20 

And all the while, daughter-in-law Ruth was accompanying Naomi and witnessing this whole event. 

Fast forward through the book of Ruth we see that although Naomi had this bitter experience, she saw an opportunity in their customs and traditions, to give Ruth a chance at a better life. The field in which Ruth picked up grain, belonged to Boas, who was a relative of her deceased husband.  

“The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” Ruth 2:20 ESV 

It so worked out that Boaz redeems (marries) Ruth, and they had a son. "Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 

Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 

And the women of the neighbourhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David." Ruth 4:14‭, ‬16, 17 ESV 

I am sure that when Naomi nursed Obed, she tasted a sweetness that came with nursing her grandson, a sweetness that soothed the bitterness she experienced when she lost her husband and sons. Our lives, like Naomi's, are filled with bitter-sweet experiences. May we not get stuck in the mud of bitterness, but may we see honey-sweet opportunities despite it. 

Don't despise the bitter in life. Don't isolate the bitter moments and focus on them, but mix them in with the sweet and life will be more palatable.

I want to end off with Rom 8:28 with a bitter and sweet remark: 

And we know that for those who love God all things (bitter and sweet) work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

#alwaysintune 

@Always.in.tune

Jesus cooked - Spiritual act of love

 

Do you like or dislike cooking?

As someone who have to cook everyday and prepare meals three times a day, 365 days...I`m not a fan. But you may like cooking or baking and that is okay, you are in good company! 

In the bible eating and feasting is a big deal! Remember what happened to Eve with her apple eating and Esau who gave away his birthright for lentil stew. There are many celebrations recorded in the bible and God even command his people to keep their festivals. As God’s children we celebrate Easter and Jesus’ Birth with food. We also read In Revelation that in the end we will have a seat at the table of the Lamb’s wedding feast.

Jesus also love feasts and eating - he even cooked!  What a refreshing thought that Jesus cooked for his friends. 

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.  

Now this is how he did so... Jesus, the risen Lord, cooked his disciples a meal!

Something so simple and mundane becomes an spiritual act of love demonstrated by the Master himself. Jesus could have done a million awesome and powerful things - but he cooked a meal. Maybe that's just it, cooking a meal can be a powerful thing. If you are like me and cooking is not your favorite thing, then it becomes a sacrifice of love. Some love cooking and for them it is an act of love and devotion. Whatever the case may be, we are blessing people.

Jesus showed me that cooking a meal is not just a mundane thing. It is a powerful demonstration of relationship and love. 

So lets get cooking and show some love!

@Always.in.tune

Communion (Audio)