Tag: god cares

The Lord Is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Psalm 23, by Cliff Gleason

The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
    He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever. (New Living Translation)

This is one of the best known places in the Bible – even for people who are not religious. And that is for good reason. The psalm is timeless in it’s relating to us in our human condition. It taps into our human need for a compassionate presence, secure protection, and abundant provision. I believe that, most of all, Psalm 23 effectively goes to our inner selves and reminds us of our greatest need: God.

My underlying conviction concerning this wonderful psalm is that the reason we adore it so much is because we humans have an innate primal desire for God. Whether we are consciously religious or not, our deepest longing is for connection with the Divine.

Much of humanity, it seems to me, have repressed this desire. Many people bury this longing underneath multiple layers of other interests and competing desires. Others experience the primal desire for God as a yearning for wholeness, completion, or fulfillment.

Yet, regardless of how particular individuals or groups may frame it, humanity’s basic need is to love and be loved – to move ever closer to the source of love. This inner craving is the essence of the human spirit, and it is captured well in a biblical psalm which pictures a person who settled into the God who is Love.

“Our hearts are forever restless until we rest in God.”

St. Augustine

With Psalm 23, our human longing is spelled out in a mere 50 or so words – we can imagine not only being transported, but also being actually transformed into an enjoyable divine/human relationship, set within an idyllic landscape of settled peace, safety, and strength.

Serenity for our anxious racing thoughts becomes a real hope, for there is a shepherd who protects the human flock and ensures that they have everything they need.

It is understandable that the relationship between God and humans is likened to that of a shepherd and sheep. In reality, sheep need a shepherd. They require someone to look out for them and provide for them. Sheep, in my opinion, are not stupid and clueless; they are skittish animals who only function well if they are non-anxious and at peace.

The presence of a caring shepherd makes all the difference. And, more than that, the shepherd does a myriad of needed things for the sheep that they are not able to do themselves, such as protecting them from wolves, finding adequate pasture to feed upon, and relieving them of the intestinal gas from eating all that grass which would literally kill them without the shepherd’s intervention.

Whereas human shepherds may or may not be faithful in their duties and extend genuine care to the flock, God is always present and loving. Moving to the rich pasture of the New Testament, Jesus is described as the Good Shepherd who will care for and preserve the sheep in every way needed. (John 10:1-21)

Psalm 23, by Cliff Gleason

Indeed, with Jesus as the consummate shepherd, people want for nothing and have everything they need. No wolf can snatch them out of his hand, and the mundane tasks of washing their feet is lovingly done for them. With Jesus, the deep yearning of the inner person becomes satisfied; the soul is restored.

Even the implements of a rod and a staff are used for good, and not for ill. An unfaithful shepherd will likely beat the sheep and berate them, only concerned for fleecing them to sell their wool on the market. But Jesus uses the rod to guide and direct in the way we ought to go, for our benefit and well-being. And the staff – the shepherd’s crook – is benevolently used to rein in the strays who don’t realize how in danger they’re in.

Truly, discipline and encouragement are not mutually exclusive concepts; they instead go together as two forms of loving leadership and care. Only those who take the time and effort to correct another are the ones who really care enough to do so.

In the shepherd’s presence, we can exist with a sense of security, even though there is danger all around us. Our longing for peace, and to be secure within oneself, is not a pipe dream, but a real possibility. To be provided for by God in the face of hard circumstances strengthens faith, awakens hope, and fosters love. It becomes an overflowing feast of the soul.

And this goodness is not fleeting. It can be a continuous present reality. Since God is good, all the time, and there is never a time when God is not good, we are continually and actively pursued and shepherded by goodness and not by harm, all the days of our lives.

The threat of death – and even death itself – cannot thwart the avenues of righteousness from being available to us. We can walk the true path toward inner peace and fulfillment, of genuine connection with God and others, without moral or spiritual harm.

There are good and right paths of life. Those avenues are guarded by a gracious God; they will never be destroyed or damaged. If the psalm is correct, and if my core convictions are right, then there is no longer any reasonable or justified basis for fear.

A good care-taking Shepherd is protecting the flock, and providing the sheep with everything they need. We can live a morally strong, ethically sound, and eminently happy life, without being constantly afraid.

Blessed and Good Shepherd of all, by laying down your life for the flock, you reveal your love for all. Lead us from the place of death to the place of abundant life, so that guided by your care for us, we may rightly offer our lives in love for you and our neighbors. Amen.

The Sheep Need Boundaries (Jeremiah 23:1-8)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year ALeave a comment

“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.

Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“For the time is coming,”
    says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant
    from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
And this will be his name:
    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
    and Israel will live in safety.

“In that day,” says the Lord, “when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ Then they will live in their own land.” (New Living Translation)

All of the Old Testament prophets have something to say on the subject of caring for the flock, that is, on the religious leaders of the people and their sacred responsibility to spiritually meet the needs of others.

God cares for each and every sheep (person) and will do whatever it takes to ensure the flock has everything they need for life and godliness.

So, the Lord’s ire is raised whenever shepherd-leaders don’t do their proper job and fail to live into their vocation of responsibly caring for the flock by watching over it and providing for them.

One of the modern forms this takes is expecting worshipers to serve the institution, rather than the institution existing to serve the worshiper. The telltale signs of institutional centrality in the Church (instead of Christo-centric religion) is continually pursuing the priorities of attendance, money, and the church building.

To put it more crassly, some churches seem to only care about buildings, budgets, and butts in the pew. This makes the people the burden-bearers of supporting the system, rather than the system of leaders supporting the people.

“You get what you tolerate.”

Henry Cloud

Admittedly, I just painted a picture with a broad stroke; furthermore, there is nothing inherently wrong with institutional religion (after all, I’m part of the established religion scene). It’s just that shepherds need to be continually vigilant about focusing their pastoral goals and efforts in ways which spiritually care for the common good of all the flock.

A major reason why there is so much fear and anxiety amongst believers is twofold:

  1. Spiritual leaders have too much power and responsibility over too many things, and so, less time and effort is put into pastoral care and compassionately ministering to the flock of God
  2. Churches give spiritual leaders too much power and responsibility, having unreasonable expectations for pastors
  3. Believers aplenty have given up on church

You might conclude (wrongly) that institutional forms of religion, such as churches, just need to be avoided. However, none of us can completely avoid systemic sin because it resides everywhere. Instead, we need to clarify what we will tolerate and not tolerate.

Abusive situations occur when there are no fences to keep everyone safe, secure, and well-fed. It’s important to have boundaries in place for the life and health of everyone.

What are “boundaries?”

Boundaries define who we are. A boundary shows me where I end and someone else begins, leading me to a sense of ownership. Knowing what I am to take and not take responsibility for gives me freedom.

“No is a complete sentence.”

Anne Lamott

Why is it important to set boundaries?

  • Boundaries help us keep the good in and the bad out. Setting boundaries involves taking responsibility for your choices. You are the one who makes them, and the one who must live with their consequences.
  • Boundaries help protect us from “gaslighting.” Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse in which one person manipulates another into doubting their thoughts, feelings, judgments, perceptions, and/or memories. Gaslighting convinces someone to accept the gaslighter’s version of reality at the expense of their own.
  • Boundaries hold people accountable for their words and actions. Without boundaries, we can easily feel used and mistreated.

What are some ways to set healthy boundaries?

  1. Clarify your values. Is this about preserving personal space? Do you want to make sure your emotions are not dismissed or invalidated? Are you trying to take back control of your time, energy, or resources?
  2. Decide where the fence will go. Where is your boundary line? What behaviors can you tolerate?  At what point does someone cross the line with you?
  3. Identify specific, problematic behaviors. What specific behaviors constitute unwanted trespassing on your life?
  4. Identify how a boundary violation is handled. Will you remove yourself from the situation, or step away from an unfinished argument?
  5. Follow through on the consequences. This is essential. If you’ve stated clearly what your boundaries are and they are crossed, make sure to do what you said you will do.

God makes and keeps boundaries and puts up reasonable fences in order that God’s people will be safe and cared for. The Lord also enforces those boundaries and has clear consequences when they are crossed.

The sooner we respect those divine fences, the better off we will be.

Almighty and everlasting God, breathe your Holy Spirit into our hearts and inspire us with love for goodness and truth. May we respect and honor you, and have no fear to hinder us from doing your will. Help us to be compassionate leaders and followers, knowing your compassion, being mindful of your love, and serving you faithfully, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God Will Take Care of You (Ezekiel 34:23-31)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

I will give them a king like my servant David to be their one shepherd, and he will take care of them. I, the Lord, will be their God, and a king like my servant David will be their ruler. I have spoken. I will make a covenant with them that guarantees their security. I will get rid of all the dangerous animals in the land, so that my sheep can live safely in the fields and sleep in the forests.

“I will bless them and let them live around my sacred hill. There I will bless them with showers of rain when they need it. The trees will bear fruit, the fields will produce crops, and everyone will live in safety on his own land. When I break my people’s chains and set them free from those who made them slaves, then they will know that I am the Lord. The heathen nations will not plunder them anymore, and the wild animals will not kill and eat them. They will live in safety, and no one will terrify them. I will give them fertile fields and put an end to hunger in the land. The other nations will not sneer at them anymore. Everyone will know that I protect Israel and that they are my people. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.

“You, my sheep, the flock that I feed, are my people, and I am your God,” says the Sovereign Lord. (Good News Translation)

We all need a safe place to live and our needs provided. When protection from harm and provision of needs are realized, we call this “peace.”

So many people long for peace, simply because they aren’t experiencing it. They feel unsafe – either physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually – and are separated from the sort of resources which would give them what they need to live well.

God is the expert on security and safety, peace and protection. The Lord has provided what we need.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4, NIV)

The Shepherd Ruler

God made a covenant with David that was to last forever. There was the anticipation of a leader, even the Messiah, who would come from the line of King David. Such a ruler will bring unity to the people. This leader shall be a servant of the people, a shepherd, characterized by humility. And, most of all, the hoped for ruler will usher in an unprecedented time of peace.

The flock of sheep – the people – will not have a care in the world. The new divine shepherd will not live off the sheep, but will instead live for the sheep. The shepherd shall be the ultimate non-anxious presence among the sheep, assuaging their fears and keeping them well-fed.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Jesus (John 10:14-15, NIV)

From the standpoint of Christianity, this great restoration project of the Lord finds its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus. We needed a faithful shepherd, a merciful ruler, and we now have one.

The Settled Rest

Wholeness, integrity, thriving, flourishing, satisfaction, contentment, and a good life are all wrapped up in the biblical concept of peace and rest. And that is what the shepherd does for the sheep.

There is no peace when shepherds view the sheep as merely animals to be fleeced and used. But with a good shepherd, predators are kept away from the flock, plenty of pasture is provided to feed upon, and other shepherds in other fields attempting to steal sheep don’t stand a chance against the Good Shepherd.

A large chunk of humanity lives in a state of fear and anxiety because of violence, lack of basic necessities, disease, or natural disaster. Life can become so overwhelming that the future seems bleak and without hope. People long for peace – personal peace, family peace, world peace. They’re tired, and just want some rest.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Jesus (Matthew 11:28, NIV)

Although the list of stressors may seem endless, divine blessings shall create the conditions in which humanity can live without fear and with hope in the world. No one will make them afraid, ever again.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27, NIV)

The Sure Restoration

The divine/human relationship, so marred and messed up by the presence and power of sin, will be perfectly restored. The Lord is God; and God is with us. The divine energy is no longer against us, but is for us. And if God is for us, who can be against us?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39, NIV)

God will care for you. Along with you, the Lord will care for your loved ones who need a faithful leader, a place of peace and rest, and a new life.

O God, the source of all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works: Give to your servants the peace which the world cannot give, so that our hearts may obey your commandments, and that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may pass our time in rest and quietness, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Care For the Flock (Ezekiel 34:1-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The Lord God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, Israel’s leaders are like shepherds taking care of my sheep, the people of Israel. But I want you to condemn these leaders and tell them:

I, the Lord God, say you shepherds of Israel are doomed! You take care of yourselves while ignoring my sheep. You drink their milk and use their wool to make your clothes. Then you butcher the best ones for food. But you don’t take care of the flock! You have never protected the weak ones or healed the sick ones or bandaged those that get hurt. You let them wander off and never look for those that get lost. You are cruel and mean to my sheep. They strayed in every direction, and because there was no shepherd to watch them, they were attacked and eaten by wild animals. So my sheep were scattered across the earth. They roamed on hills and mountains, without anyone even bothering to look for them.

Now listen to what I, the living Lord God, am saying to you shepherds. My sheep have been attacked and eaten by wild animals because you refused to watch them. You never went looking for the lost ones, and you fed yourselves without feeding my sheep. So I, the Lord, will punish you! I will rescue my sheep from you and never let you be their shepherd again or butcher them for food. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Lord God then said:

I will look for my sheep and take care of them myself, just as a shepherd looks for lost sheep. My sheep have been lost since that dark and miserable day when they were scattered throughout the nations. But I will rescue them and bring them back from the foreign nations where they now live. I will be their shepherd and will let them graze on Israel’s mountains and in the valleys and fertile fields. They will be safe as they feed on grassy meadows and green hills. I promise to take care of them and keep them safe, to look for those that are lost and bring back the ones that wander off, to bandage those that are hurt and protect the ones that are weak. I will also slaughter those that are fat and strong because I always do right. (Contemporary English Version)

We have a pastoral duty to care for one another. Individuals need not have the title of “Pastor” in order to function as pastoral people who seek the welfare of the flock. A part of our responsibility (and privilege) is to know the flock well enough in discerning when there are some lost ones out there. Whenever that happens, we care about them enough to go after them.

If we either ignore the flock, fail to care for it, or seek to fleece them for our own benefit, we will have to contend with a God who has no tolerance for unnecessarily putting the sheep at risk. And we are to be attentive to the ones who have strayed and are lost.

Caring about the lost, enough to go after them, has always been, unfortunately, a scandalous activity for Christians who do it. In the Gospels, the religious leaders had a big problem with how Jesus was spending his time (Luke 15:1-3). From their perspective, Christ was guilty by association. Many of the people Jesus pursued and hung-out with were unsavory characters; there was really no doubt about their bad character. 

But we must come back to why Christ made the decisions he did: Jesus did not come to earth to make already righteous people feel good about being around him; he came to rescue sinners and restore them to God. 

Jesus never wavered from this fundamental mission. With everything he said and did, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, communicated that lost people matter to God – and that practice eventually got him killed.

Early in my Christian life, I adopted a practice, on most Friday nights, of going to a certain bar known for its less than virtuous clientele. I typically ordered a bowl of chili gumbo, and simply sat and talked with fellow students. I learned a lot about people – their hopes, fears, and spiritual inclinations. 

I learned even more about God. I saw the terrible brokenness of many people’s hearts, and saw that the heart of God was pained in longing to restore such persons to a place of spiritual abundance, peace, and joy.

One Friday night, in the middle of winter, as I was walking back from the bar with a friend at about midnight, we encountered a guy so drunk that he could not walk straight. He wasn’t wearing any pants, nor did he have a coat. In below freezing temperatures, he was in only a shirt and underwear. 

All the people who passed by him laughed and kept walking. But we stopped. It took several minutes to get some semblance of a story out of him about what happened, where he came from, and where he lived. The poor guy couldn’t remember losing his pants, which had his wallet and keys. 

He lived far enough away that there was no way he would have ever made it home. It’s quite probable that without someone helping him he would have passed out somewhere and died. We got him home, found a way to get into his place, and tucked him in his bed.

The next day I went and checked on him. Even though he had a bad hangover, we still had a good conversation about what happened and why I helped him. We ended up meeting several times together and talked a great deal about God, guilt, grace, Jesus, and salvation. 

Meanwhile, however, not everyone was happy about my practice. Some of the people in my church were not pleased with me spending time in a bar with “sinners.” They told me things like, “Bad company corrupts good character” and “it doesn’t look good.” I merely matter-of-factly responded, “I like the way I’m reaching out to lost people better than the way you’re not.”

We are in danger of becoming encrusted with so much insulation from lost people, and their very real hurts, that we do not know God’s heart for them. 

Jesus, better than any of us could ever imagine, knows how awful and horrific sin really is. That’s because he suffered by taking on the shameful baggage of every person who ever lived. Since Jesus understands how awful guilt and shame is, it’s God who goes uncorked with joy and celebration when just one lost sheep is restored to the flock.

Grace lies at the center of God’s heart – a scandalous grace that defies all earthly sense. God’s deepest desire, greatest yearning, and most passionate dream is that lost people return home. (Luke 15:11-32) 

In light of the reality that God’s heart burns for lost people, we as churches, faith communities, Christian ministries, and believers everywhere really need to: 

  • Put away all petty concerns and realize there are lost people, far from the flock, at risk and dying apart from God
  • Put all worries about the future in biblical perspective – because there are people with no hope and no God all around us
  • Put aside all pre-occupations with optics and marketing, numbers and money; and instead have a holy obsession with people knowing Jesus Christ, and him crucified, risen, and coming again 

We are to make it our aim in this life to pray for, long for, look for, run after, and pursue lost people and restore them to life.

For what does it profit a person to gain the world but lose their life because they was too pre-occupied with everything but caring for the flock? And what does it profit a church to have buildings, budgets, and butts in the pew, but never see a lost soul come to Jesus?