The good shepherd “leads me”; he does not “drive me.” There is a marked difference. In Egypt where there is no open pasture land I have often seen shepherds driving their sheep from behind with sticks. But in the open wilderness of the Holy Land the shepherd walks slowly ahead of his sheep and either plays his own ten-second tune on a pipe or (more often) sings his own unique “call.” The sheep appear to be attracted primarily by the voice of the shepherd, which they know and are eager to follow. It is common practice for a number of shepherds to gather at midday around a spring or well, where the sheep mingle, drink and rest. At any time one of the shepherds can decide to leave, and on giving his call all his sheep will immediately separate themselves from the mixed flocks and follow their shepherd wherever he leads them
Excerpt from: "The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament" by Kenneth E. Bailey. 🔲🔳🔲 “During the riots in Palestine in the middle thirties a village near Haifa was condemned to collective punishment by having its sheep and cattle sequestrated by the Government. The inhabitants however were permitted to redeem their possessions at a fixed price. Among them was an orphan shepherd boy, whose six or eight sheep and goats were all he had in the world for life and work. Somehow he obtained the money for their redemption. He went to the big enclosure where the animals were penned, offering his money to the British sergeant in charge. The N.C.O. told him he was welcome to the requisite number of animals, but ridiculed the idea that he could possibly pick out his “little flock” from among the confiscated hundreds. The little shepherd thought differently, because he knew better; and giving his own “call”, for he had his nai (shepherd’s pipe) with him, “his own” separated from the rest of the animals and trotted out after him. “I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep—and am known of mine.” Excerpt from Eric F. F. Bishop, “Jesus of Palestine”
#thegoodshepherd #john10 #morningdevotional #hissheepknowhisvoice #heleadethme #whereheleadsiwillfollow #yeshuahamashiach #messianicjudaism #hespeaksthroughhisword
“I don’t have peace about it” “I don’t feel led to do it” “I need to hear from the Lord” these are just a few of the most common phrases I hear from believers when I am encouraging them to do what God created them to do, when I am encouraging them to be what He has called them to be. Even when encouraging to use the skills and talents He gave them. 😔 I am so thankful He has taught me what seems to be the greatest kept secret in the church today.... to live in accordance with God’s Word. His Word is enough. I no longer agonize in prayer pleading for a sign, crying out to hear His voice. He speaks so clearly and directly to me through His Word that He so miraculously persevered throughout the millennia just so that I could know how to live pleasing to Him. The clouds of confusion have evaporated in so many areas of my life. The dark reliance on feelings has fled in the light of His counsel. Yes, there are still situations that I go to Him in prayer seeking clarity, but the questions are different now. The process is different now. When I seek Him, I am able to recognize His voice directing back to His Word. As I am diligent to seek His Word for the answer He is ever faithful to illuminate the answer to me. Proverbs describes the simplicity with which the tiniest of beasts live for the glory of God. It’s not bc they have tiny brains. It’s not because their unimaginative drones. It’s bc they do what they were created to do. Ants don’t wake up in the morning and say how can I live for God today? Yes, this query is so natural and common to humans, isn’t it? Ants aren’t exploring their options. They get right to the doing. ⬇️continued below ⬇️ #dailydevotional #proverbs30 #biblicalwisdom #gototheant #trustgod #leannottoyourownunderstanding #createdforhisglory #sundaysermon #liveforgod #beadoeroftheword #obedienceisbetterthansacrifice
One’s concept of God, moreover, is viewed as the primary determining factor in faithful stewardship. ...the good servants trust in the goodness of their master and as a result of their faith are willing to take risks in order to achieve a maximum return for their master’s money.
Fear, in fact, guided the actions of this one-talent servant, who failed to grasp the essence of his master’s character. His good intention, misled by a wrong understanding of his master, produced the opposite result.
With a clearer understanding of the attributes of his master, he would have had sufficient vision to use his talent wisely.
The practical message of the parables should never be eclipsed by an overemphasis on the coming of the Son of man. In fact, many eschatological sayings of Jesus also speak about ethical living and social action that must characterize the lives of the disciples. It is Jesus’ theology of dedicated service to others, divine justice, and holy living that forms the foundation of his teachings concerning the end times. Even in the lofty description of the eschatological judgment of the nations, the greater emphasis is placed on social action and moral responsibility.
In Jewish theology, the issues pertaining to the love and fear of God fascinated and perplexed the rabbis. A parable is told in a search for insight, that about a king and two servants. As has been seen, although the Gospel parables have more servants, in fact there are only two types. The faithful servants are of one type, while the slothful, unimaginative servant is of the second type. The rabbinic parable emphasizes the special characteristics of the two servants. The first one loved and feared the king, while the other merely feared his royal master. The rabbis were keenly aware of each person’s need to stand in awe and reverence before God. But as this parable illustrates, the emotion of love is of primary importance. The parable is used in a sermonic portion that explains Deut 6:5, “you shall love the LORD your God.” ⬇️continued below⬇️ #goodsteward #biblicalstewardship #parablesofjesus #shemaisrael #morningdevotional #preparationday #matthew25 #parableofthetalents #messianicjudaism
“But we do [strongly and earnestly] desire for each of you to show the same diligence and sincerity [all the way through] in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of [your] hope until the end, In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith (by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises.”
Hebrews 6:11-12 🔲🔳🔲 They (heroes of faith) are calling to us from the heights that they have won, and telling us that what man once did man can do again. Not only do they remind us of the necessity of faith, but also of that patience by which faith has its perfect work. Let us fear to take ourselves out of the hands of our heavenly Guide or to miss a single lesson of His loving discipline by discouragement or doubt.
L. B. Cowman 🔲🔳🔲 So thankful for the encouraging testimonies left behind by those who have gone before us. Their lives, their fidelity, their courage still speak. 🕯 #beencouraged #walkingbyfaith #dailydevotion #morningdevotional #hebrews
“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Yeshua the Messiah.”
Philippians 4:19 🤲🏼 Yah is our provider. He is our source. This is a lesson we are given daily, weekly, monthly bc unfortunately we tend to forget this essential truth, and in forgetting we open ourselves up to discouragement, frustration, stress, and offense. When we forget to lean on God for our needs we put pressure on places that are innately weak. We put pressure on ourselves to meet our own needs, but we are weak and we eventually break. We put pressure on our jobs and employers or employees or customers to meet our needs, but ultimately they cannot fulfill our expectations and relationships begin to break down. Someone gets offended and our witness is tarnished. We put pressure on friends and family to meet our needs. They can’t meet our needs, and we get offended and stumble. All of these places are weak places that are not the sources of provision, rather they are merely tools which Yah chooses to use. God USES jobs. He uses our family and our friends. He DOES want us to be hard working, BUT we are not the source of our provision and neither are other ppl. The pressure we put on ourselves or others is not sustainable. And the stress this pressure causes can strain and even fracture relationships. This stress can hinder the production of the fruit of the Spirit in us as we allow this pressure to build up within us and react in ways that are not Messiah-like. We are called to serve others, but when we are depending on others to provide for our needs we are stunted in being able to serve them and point them to the True Provider of all of our needs. We are unable to sow kindness, longsuffering, mercy, or patience bc we are so stressed out at the lack we which we perceive to be their fault. - “I’m stressed bc I have a lack. And YOU are the reason I have this lack! If YOU would just do ‘X’ my need would be filled and I could be nice to you!” 🙊 (continued below)⬇️ #shabbatshalom #philippians419 #godwillprovide #godismyprovider #overcomer #shema #dailydevotional
