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Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,21equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)

If you have attended church for very long, or been in many small groups or Bible studies, you have most probably encountered the illustration of we Christians being sheep, and in need of a shepherd.  I didn’t want my brain to go on autopilot as I chewed on this passage; I wanted to look at it with fresh eyes.

I thought, ok, this sounds great and all, but what keeps this blessing from “working” consistently in our lives?  Am I the only one who struggles with feelings of “I don’t think I can take much more,” or “this is way over my head!”

Maybe the problem is that I, the sheep, am standing up on my hind legs (which position I was not created to sustain), grabbing the shepherd’s staff with my hoof, and trying to be the shepherd instead of being a sheep –and I don’t have opposable thumbs with which to hold the staff!!  Does anyone else see a problem here?

God ordained that we sheep already have a shepherd.  Jesus Christ is the shepherd; the position is filled; He has no intention of going on vacation or retiring.  I am a sheep; God wants me to be His sheep.  God does not want me to shepherd my own life — I don’t have the thumbs for the job. 

God promised to give me what I need to do His will, what is pleasing in His sight, what will bring Him glory.  I don’t set the agenda; I don’t just go my own way (if you are starting to hum melodies based on Isaiah 53, so am I).

So, why do I want to be the shepherd of my own life, when I am not equipped for that, and it will cause frustration and failure?  Is it because I think my spot in the flock is too difficult?  Because I want to be another sheep, not the sheep that God has made me?  Isn’t this just simply pride — wanting to do my own thing my own way and not listening to anybody tellin’ me what to do. . . now, how much like a 2-3 yr old does that sound?!

I think I’ll be chewing on this passage for a while. . .

Baa, baa

 ”Passion” — the word evokes various feelings and visual images.  If we have ever seen a Passion play, or seen the movie “The Passion of the Christ;” if we have ever read a romance novel (Christian or otherwise) or watched much television; if we have ever encountered someone working intensely for a cause; we have encountered “passion.”

Does this vast and seemingly unrelated range of emotions and imagry seem strange to anyone but me?  Thinking on the sufferings of Christ and using the same word for erotic emotion or political fervor just doesn’t settle well with me.  So, I did a little research and this is what I found:

c.1175, “sufferings of Christ on the Cross,” from O.Fr. passion, from L.L. passionem (nom. passio) “suffering, enduring,” from stem of L. pati “to suffer, endure,” from PIE base *pei- “to hurt” (cf. Skt. pijati “reviles, scorns,” Gk. pema “suffering, misery, woe,” O.E. feond “enemy, devil,” Goth. faian “to blame”). Sense extended to sufferings of martyrs, and suffering generally, by 1225; meaning “strong emotion, desire” is attested from c.1374, from L.L. use of passio to render Gk. pathos. Replaced O.E. þolung (used in glosses to render L. passio), lit. “suffering,” from þolian (v.) “to endure.” Sense of “sexual love” first attested 1588; that of “strong liking, enthusiasm, predilection” is from 1638. The passion-flower so called from 1633.  http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=passion

Now I know . . .

This Passion Week I am praying that God will soften my heart and fortify my will to blend some of these definitions together, just as the apostle Paul did when he was sitting in a cold, damp, dirty prison cell. . .

Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (ESV)

I wish you all a blessed Resurrection Sunday.  He is risen indeed!

Well, what happened is there seems to be no interest in having an interactive online book club at this time.  I plan to try it again some time, so look for it again. . . (smile)

If anyone has a suggestion for a book that we could discuss, send it my way via comment or at my email address.

Blessings,

Beverly

I looked at the blog, and the date of the last post surprised me — not only has it been more than a week since I have posted, it’s now in the next month!  Am I sounding too old when I ask, “where has the time gone?”

This may seem as a real “duh” moment to many, but, having God break off the hard places of my heart, to reveal a soft heart toward Him. . .

leaves a soft heart which is vulnerable to being wounded.  Ouch.  I like the thought of having a tender heart toward God, a heart that is quick to respond to His leading, quick to repent of sin and joyful to be in relationship with the God of the universe Who saved me and Who loves me so.

However. . .

So, here’s the challenge; what do I do with the woundedness?  How does a “tender heart toward God” handle the hurts of relationships that are less than perfect because we live in a broken, sinful world?

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. . . As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts . . .” (Hebrews 3:12-15 ESV)

First of all, don’t blame God for the failings of man, even fellow God-followers. 

Don’t use difficulties in relationships as an excuse to run away from God.  How many times people have been used as an excuse for an “evil, unbelieving heart.”  “Yeah, I used to go to church, but people were such hypocrites that I figured it was all a waste of time.”  “I can’t forgive him/her until they admit they were wrong.”  “If you knew how he/she/they treated me, then you would understand why I act this way.”  I’m sure you can think of a myriad of examples of your own. 

Staying in godly relationships is God’s way of keeping our hearts tender toward Him.  I’m not discounting time alone with God, which is necessary, but we were created to be in community, in relationship, and other people can see through our blind spots. 

Keeping a soft heart toward God is not maintained by a one-time event or decision.  “Today” is used purposely.

Here are some questions I’m asking while I chew on this passage. . .

Will I allow God to keep my heart soft and tender toward Him, even though a soft heart can hurt and be wounded?  Will I maintain a believing heart by trusting Him to care for my heart in every situation?

Am I willing to extend grace to those who, in the name of exhortation, are critical and mean?  Will I accept healthy criticism as a means of God to keep my heart from becoming “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin?”

Do I daily run to God for wisdom to sort out the truth from the falsehoods, the “safe” people from the “unsafe,” and decide to willingly love and stay in community because every person represents a soul that Christ willingly died to save?

“For this is how God loved the world;  he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)