“ ‘I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

(John 10:11)

            The Gospel of John is famous because seven times Jesus is quoted as saying, “I am…”  We started our journey of pondering the names for God by looking at Psalm 23 when King David says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  John expands our understanding of “good shepherd” by including the willingness of the good shepherd to sacrifice himseslf for the sake of the sheep.  God is our protector.

         For those of us who had good parents or are in the process of parenting children, we understand the many decisions we make daily about how to stretch our money when our child, or important other, needs something that we want to give them.   Sacrificing for another is not uncommon.  Laying down our life, actually dieing for another, is considered an act of valor often associated with military appreciation or acts of heroism.  We would relate the above verse to Christ’s death on the cross.          As I have pondered the cross and Christ laying down his life for me, the explanation I have come to love is that Christ who was God did not need to die because he did not commit sin but he willingly walked through death to show me that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even our sins.  He humbled himself, went through all the humiliation of crucifixion, and so was a living proof of a God who sees, who care, and who still loves us.  As you think about protection right now, pray for the fear that plagues you or the fear you might have for another.   God hears and understands.  Blessings

         While in Kenya, our family went through a rough patch that ended with us moving to Nairobi, the capitol.  A friend and I met regularly for memorizing scripture.  I chose Psalm 91 that speaks of God being our refuge and pictures us gathering under his wings as a mother hen protects her chicks from harm. The Message translates it to be as “Shaddai’s shadow” that covers us, protecting us and shielding us.  I think of how the shadow of a tree shields us from the heat in the summer.  It does not remove the problem but it shadows us from the most harmful aspects of it.

         As you read the whole psalm picture a mother bird spreading her wings to protect her chicks or a giant redwood blocking the rays of the burning sun midday.  The psalm says we do not need to fear for we are safe.  I suspect that does not mean that bad things don’t happen to good people but I do believe that hovering bird mediates the impact of evil that desires to devour us.  We are under the shadow of El Shaddai, the Almighty, our Lord.  Enjoy reading the psalm and enjoying the imagery.  Blessings.

91 ^1-13 You who sit down in the High God’s presence,

spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.  I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,

shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you’re perfectly safe;
    his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,

not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left,
    no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,

watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
    and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

Psalm 25:  Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance:  Of David.

Our Psalm for church tomorrow.

¹ To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, in you I trust;
    do not let me be put to shame;  do not let my enemies exult over me.
³ Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
    let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴ Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

⁶ Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,

    for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

¹¹ For your name’s sake, O Lord,
    pardon my guilt, for it is great.
¹² Who are they that fear the Lord?
    He will teach them the way that they should choose.

¹³ They will abide in prosperity,
    and their children shall possess the land.
¹⁴ The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
    and he makes his covenant known to them.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever towards the Lord,
    for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.
¹⁸ Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹ Consider how many are my foes,
    and with what violent hatred they hate me.
²⁰ O guard my life, and deliver me;
    do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
²¹ May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

²² Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.

Exodus 19:4

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on e ⁴ You have seen what I did to the Egyptians,

and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

         In Exodus 19 about three months after leaving Egypt, God tells Moses to remind the people of Israel how God had delivered them from their captivity and slavery.  He likens it to being carried on eagle’s wings. Probably an image of the American bald eagles comes to mind of a majestic bird circling high in the sky.  The eagle is strong, building its nests in high dangerous places.  But I like the challenge of trying to remember the last time we cried out to God for deliverance. Certainly I have been crying out as I work through the grief of the death of my husband but there are many other challenges God carries us through.

         Eric Liddell in “Chariots of Fire,” the movie about the 1924 Olympics in Paris, is famous because he refused to run the preliminary qualifying 100 meter race on Sunday.  In the movie he chose Isaiah Is 40:31 as his text for talking about finding the strength to run the longer race.

            “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isa. 40:31).

         Today when your strength feels like it is finished, think of the picture of an eagle carrying you safely through your challenge.  Perhaps take a deep breath, spread your arms and just visualize gliding on the eagle that is carrying you, even as God carries you.  That is a fun mental image to hold on to.  Blessings.

⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’(Rev. 5:5)

⁴ For thus the Lord said to me,
As a lion or a young lion growls over its prey,
    and—when a band of shepherds is called out against it—
is not terrified by their shouting
    or daunted at their noise,
so the Lord of hosts will come down
    to fight upon Mount Zion and upon its hill.

(Isaiah 31:4)

     One of the names for God that many of us are familiar with is “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”  Judah was the fourth son of Abraham and Leah, the first wife, and his name meant “praise.”  King David was a direct descendant of Judah and Joseph and Mary were descendants of David.  In the first quote from the Book of Revelation, a highly symbolic book, John paints a picture of a scroll nobody was worthy to open and read until, the wounded lamb that is the “lion of the tribe of Judah” steps forward.  He has won the victory over death at the cross and has the authority to open the scroll.  The title thus involves the gentleness of a lamb, the sacrifice of that lamb for us and the fierceness of a lion.  It is a picture of love that conquers, not hate and vengeance that destroys.  Isaiah further fleshes out that image picturing for us a lion unafraid of its attackers.  In the same way Christ fights for us today.  Not only does Christ fight for us but also he has the authority above all to deal with our lives.  That is comforting.

     We used to do a children’s sermon at churches on how to kill a lion, a lesson we learned in Kenya.  There are three rules.  The first is never to turn your back on a lion and run.  In today’s context, as we picture Christ as a lion of the tribe of Judah, I would take away that we would be very unwise to turn our back on God today but to remember as we go through our day that he is there to fight our battles with us.  Judah means praise and that is always healing.  Blessings as you face today’s challenges.                                    

¹⁰ The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
    the righteous run into it and are safe.

Proverbs 18:10

         Psalm 18 takes the first nine verses critique foolish talk that is self-centered, unwise, and destructive – hurtful.  In verse ten the writer contrasts that foolishness with the name of the Lord that is a like a strong tower we can run into when we are in trouble.  Invoking the Lord’s name is to find safety.  It requires the humility of admitting you need help.  God’s name is not invoked thoughtlessly.  That seems very counter cultural to our world today where explicatives using God’s name are very common.

         Perhaps a question we can ask ourselves is “Which direction are we running when we call out God’s name?”  I hear many using his name as a way to express anger, surprise, and condemnation.  This verse though carries the sense of calling on God when we need “help!” or guidance.  As we go about today, let us note how others are using God’s name and may we track what our hearts are yearning for when we think of God.

           God goes by many names.  If you type “names for God” in the address bar the first thing that pops us is 23 names God is called in the Bible, the meaning and history of each.  Take a moment to tap on just one of them and carry it with you today.  I tapped on “Adonai” that means, “the Lord.”  I want him to be my Lord today!  Blessings as you research

Genesis 15:1

         Genesis 15 tells of a pivotal point in Abraham’s faith journey.  He has obeyed “the voice” that called him to leave his home country to a destination yet to be disclosed (Genesis 12).  This is the start of a faith journey of a man who was not Jewish, Christian, or Islamic but who would become the father of three faith traditions.  God called him to journey in faith and he stepped out.  He took his nephew Lot with him and his wife.  Lot chose the lush valley to pasture and Abraham was left with the mountain terrain.  After Lot was captured and Abraham had to rescue him,  again the Lord appeared to Abraham in a vision and this time says my favorite words “Do not be afraid.”

         15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision,

        ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very   great.’ (Genesis 15:1)”

         Abram points-out to God that he has no son and so his servant shall inherit this “reward.”  God promises Abram a son from his own bloodline.  Abram, who becomes known as Abraham, believes God and it is counted to him as righteousness.  We would call this a defining moment.  The religious word is “covenant.”

         The promise did not come before the journey started.  Abraham’s journey was a journey of faith with a God he was growing in relationship with.  God promises to be Abraham’s shield.  I do not think that was just a promise to be a coat of arms.  It implies protection from the arrows of any enemy.  It implies something to hide behind in the midst of a battle.

         We have each been called out in someway to leave that which is comfortable and known to enter a journey of faith, learning to trust God.  Jesus incarnate shows us the nature of that shield that is ours.  Jesus cast out demons, healed, gave sight, raised the dead and much more.  God as shield brings to mind a warrior holding up a protection separating him from evil.  If you were to draw symbols on your shield to say what God means to you, what would you draw?  I think I might draw a teardrop to represent the refreshment when my soul is parched with grief and the teardrop of tears that he wipes away when I cry.  What would you draw?God

“My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
    but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
    the child he embraces, he also corrects.”

Hebrews 12: 5-6

         Our culture today has trouble differentiating God from Santa Claus.  We want God to be love, to be cozy and approachable, forgiving and loving.  Media tells us how inadequate we are and reminds us that we need to buy their products to improve this or that about ourselves. A voice of affirmation of the beauty of life is often drowned out.  The Old Testament in talking about the Second Commandment where we are warned not to make an images of God or use his name in vain, talks about God as a consuming fire.  That message is not in vogue for sure.  The New Testament softens the image in the letter to the Hebrews.  God is not a “Get Out of Jail Free” card.  Hebrews pictures him as a loving parent that disciplines those he loves to bring out the best.  He guides those who are lost.  We don’t like to think of God confronting us with our mistakes but we sometimes need to be confronted and just plain told the truth.  We took a wrong turn.  The end of the world is pictured as being consumed by fire rather than water so that a new world can be created.  That which is old and useless must be discarded.  Dealing with waste is a real ecological problem.  Fire deals with waste and sin.  Cauterizing bleeding with heat stops the bleeding.  Fire purifies gold, gives warmth on a cold night, and provides light in darkness.

         Whether we use the word “discipline” or “fire”, the image of God being a passionate being on my side, defending me from evil and bringing out the best in my life can be comforting.  God is the Good Shepherd for those of us feeling like sheep but God is also a Disciplining Parent for those of us who need guidance.  Let us thank God that he sees and cares about our lives and our world.  Blessings.

Edward Mote, author of “On Christ the Solid rock I Stand,” was raised in a non-Christian home.  He became a carpenter apprentice.  This is the only song he ever wrote but it has been a favorite of people around the world.  Mote walked away from being a cabinet-maker one day and the chorus to this song came to his mind.

“On Christ the solid rock I stand;

 All other ground is sinking sand.”

By the end of the day, he had written down all four verses.  A week later he visited a friend whose wife was very sick and pulled the song out of his pocket and sang it.  She was comforted and he had 1000 copies of the song printed and distributed.

“My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

Chorus:

“On Christ the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.”

         Mote attended Tottenham Court Road Chapel in London where he would listen to sermons. He learned that Jesus Christ could take away all the fears of life and give him the peace of heart and mind that he had long desired.  This inspired his faith and his song.

Sometime later, Edward Mote became a Baptist preacher. He faithfully served his congregation for twenty years.  He refused to accept the gift of the church property to him and only wanted to be known for preaching at the pulpet.  At age 77, on his death bed, he is known to have said, “I think I am going to heaven. Yes, I am nearing port. The truths I have preached I am now living upon, and they will do to die upon. Ah! The precious blood, which takes away all our sins. It is this, which makes peace with God.”  This one simple Gospel song marked his life!  God was his rock!

2 Samuel 22:1-3

“22 David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. ² He said:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
³     my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
    my stronghold and my refuge,
    my saviour; you save me from violence.
⁴ I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.”

         King David is in battle, fearing defeat, but personifies God like a storm blowing in that rescues him so he feels like he is standing on a rock.  Standing on a rock is like being protected by a fortress or having someone come and deliver or rescue you.  We teach our children the song, “The wise man built his house upon the rock” and the house stood firm when the rains came tumbling down.  “The foolish man built his house upon the sand,” and when the rains came tumbling down, his house went swoosh.

         I suspect for most of us, our battles are much more subtle.  We fight fear within as we face a culture of ads convincing us we are not good enough and need their product to be young or beautiful or thinner or healthier or more competent or…  Most of us do not live in war zones physically but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Might I suggest that the rock we stand on is the truth of God’s word that we are loved, we are his creation, we are important, and we are worth saving.  He loved us so much he incarnated and lived truth with us, walked through death for us and resurrected to prove nothing can separate us from his love.  Those truths are foundational to faith and form the firm foundation we can build our life on.  Enjoy these twins singing the song about building houses.