A Good Shepherd

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 1 & John 10

Scripture:

"I am a good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." John 10:11

Observation:

In today's reading in Jeremiah and John I feel that I see a few things I have to do in order to follow Christ's example of being a good shepherd.

Application:

First, I have to deal with my fear of man issues. My weakened view of God, His Grace, and my standing with Him cause me to be subject to fear. I fear what people will think. I fear being mocked. I fear being rejected. I fear what my kids will suffer. I fear man's reaction to what God says.

Second, I have to deal with my Jason is right issues. I want to be right. That is the bottom line. Not only do I want to be right, I want others to submit to me being right. I want to speak and have other people look at me, be moved to change, and then pat me on the back and say thank you. This is just not reality. The only thing that I need to worry about is am I aligned with what God wants to say. I have to be one with what God is doing around me and then I have to realize that what God is doing is always going to be at odds with the popular opinion.

Third, I have to walk through the front door. The primary need of every person is to be in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the front door to every man and I should stop trying to get at people through any other means. Everything in my life should come through Jesus, everything pouring out of my life should go through Jesus, and everything I do in life should point to Jesus.

Prayer:

Father I know that You have a plan for my life. It is unimaginable that You, the God of the universe, would take the time to craft something that includes me, but You did. You can do things in any way imaginable and You do not need me yet You chose me from the beginning to accomplish a portion of Your plan. That is just amazing to me.

There are days that Your plan for me is incredibly evident. I feel like I am centered in Your will and my soul comes to life in a manner that can not be matched by any other experience. There are also days in which I find myself battered, bruised and confused. In those times finding Your plan and purpose feels a lot like working on a Rubik's Cube in the dark.

Father time is infinite for You. A thousand years is like a day to You. Human definitions of time mean nothing to You. But to me, time is precious. A day is a pretty stinking big deal as I only have so many of them on this earth. I feel like I have wasted many of them and I do not want to waste them any more.

I pray that You lead me today to center myself in Your purpose for me and live my life in a manner that truly counts. Align me with Your purpose and help me to not be controlled by my pride or my fear.