Category: Good Shepherd

Understanding Our Role as Shepherds in the Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, Good ShepherdLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Monday, May 19, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read Jeremiah 23:1-4 in your Bible or click on it to read it online in The Voice (VOICE).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
Some commentators believe that in our Scripture today, God is speaking to the political leaders/shepherds of the day, while others believe that God was addressing ministers of the church and town or country leaders. Whenever I discern God saying something that could possibly relate to me in His Word, I take particular note and seek His guidance to correct my ways to better align with His Word. You may wonder why I may feel a sense of responsibility in this challenge from God, so I believe I should share that while I feel like pastors are most often referred to as ‘Shepherds’ of their flock – the church, I could see very easily how town leaders could also be seen as ‘Shepherds’ of their flock – the townspeople who elected them. I also believe we should look deeper into our responsibilities as a Sunday School Teacher, a church Elder or a spiritual leader, as well as a father who is the spiritual leader of his home. For these are positions that God has given us responsibility over others to share the love and teachings of our Father, so that they may be drawn to our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Crime, disrespect and a divided town seems be some fallout from failure by town leaders. Church splits, gossip and turmoil among parishioners seems like something normally attributed to pastors and church leaders and often results in members exiting the church. Families are often torn apart, and children turn to the evil temptations of this world when fathers walk away from their God-given responsibilities. Children walk or run away from home, and we see many instances where there are decades of time where families are apart from each other without communication or any expressions of love, concern or care for one another. Friends, I hope by now you are beginning to appreciate why God might be challenging ‘Shepherds’ from all walks of life, and depending on your assignment in life, you may very well be impacted by what God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah. Here’s what I understand from the Word given by God through Jeremiah for ‘Shepherds’: If you fail, I will punish you for your negligence, and for the careless evil you have done. Then He will personally go after the remnant of believers (His sheep) who separated themselves from their earthly shepherd, bring them back and assign new responsible shepherds to them, who will make sure that no sheep ever strays again. I wonder, have you missed any fellow ‘sheep’ from church lately? I know of instances where members disappear and it’s 6 or more months before anyone notices they are gone. Families separate and while it’s always the other person’s fault, what might you tell God about the responsibility He gave to you to shepherd that son, daughter, sister, brother, or otherwise? Waiting to apologize for not being a good shepherd to them when they are laid out in a casket, is of no value. What if God called you, or them, home today? Remember, you can’t change the other person, but God will help you change yourself to be a better shepherd!

PRAYER
Thank you, Father, for never giving up on me! I know I wasn’t worthy of Your love and forgiveness, yet You went to the ‘unheard of’ extreme to sacrifice Your very own Son to facilitate the only way that I might seek forgiveness of my sin. Please Lord, forgive me and my fellow believers when we turn our heads in another direction, rather than running after that one sheep who felt left out and unworthy enough that they went their own way. Many believers stay away from church because of such bad experiences with ‘shepherds’ and their fellow ‘sheep’. Many family members stay disconnected from their family because of ill feelings and separation from ‘shepherds’ who stopped caring for the ‘sheep’ who look to them for nurturing. Please Lord, accept the cry of one, as I humble myself before You and seek Your forgiveness and ask for Your strength and guidance to be the kind of ‘Shepherd’ You desire. Please speak to the heart of each one who may read this devotional and plainly hear Your voice in asking them to seek You while You may be found. You are the ‘Great Shepherd’ and Your sheep are expected to follow You in obedience. May it be so, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

My Shepherd

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Good Shepherd, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2021-04-12
WRITTEN AT: Jupiter, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 23:1-3
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!
2-3 He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honors him the most.

OBSERVATION: I hope that you will find new insight and an even clearer view of what David may have felt when he wrote this Psalm. We know that David shared with us a lot of what he was thinking and feeling at the time that He wrote each Psalm, and it was like a conversation with his God – his Shepherd. Today I believe it will serve us well to consider where do we run to for peace, quiet, provision, protection and love – qualities David found in his Shepherd.

APPLICATION: Some turn to alcohol and drugs when life seems overwhelming and they are looking for help, or a way out of the stresses of life. For those who have a biblical understanding, or who have attended church services or even funerals, you have heard the words – God is our Shepherd, and We are the sheep of His pasture. I would humbly ask that you stop for a few minutes today and ponder the words ‘Shepherd’ and ‘Sheep’. Try opening the portals of your mind beyond the content of Psalm 23, and just think of the various meanings and characteristics of the two words. While I’m sure that you will find alternate words to these, I thought of: Shepherd – provider; protector; love for his sheep; risk taker for his sheep; looking for the best for his sheep; would place himself in danger to protect his sheep; guide; leader; etc. And for Sheep – humble; obedient; having a mind only to follow their shepherd; no questions asked; no griping or complaining; no ability to fight off the enemy; convinced that the shepherd knows what’s best for them; etc. As I indicated, I realize that this list is not all-inclusive, and that you would have derived a much longer list. However, I believe the process you went through in your mind may have given opportunity to see how David felt about the Great Shepherd, his Heavenly Father. In concluding that God is our Shepherd, and that we are His sheep, don’t you see that we quickly become overwhelmed by God’s love for us? Don’t you see that He was willing to place the life of His Son on the line for us, so that we might be saved from the vengeance of Hell, and instead look forward to the joys of Heaven where the Father and Son reside? But dear friends, I believe it is also easy to see that unless we are good imitators of sheep, we may choose a much worse route for our lives and our eternity. If you gain nothing else from this devotional, please remember that the Great Shepherd is our God who loves us (His children) way more than we could humanly comprehend. As His sheep, we must be willing to give God (our Shepherd) the reigns to our life, so that He may lead us into the best pastures; calm our anxious nerves besides the stillness of beautiful, calm waters; and into His glorious Kingdom; so that we may live forever with He and the Father for ever and ever. It is easy to see that God never intended for us to live a complex; anxious; nerve-wrecking; worrisome life. With Him as our Shepherd, and us as His sheep who would mindlessly obey His commands and His guidance, we could rejoice like David did about enjoying the calm and tranquility of life, as if sitting on the banks of a peaceful river, away from all city noise and stress. We have a faithful Shepherd, oh that we may learn to be like His sheep who will listen and follow His commands!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, our Great Jehovah, our only Shepherd, thank You for loving us enough to lay down Your life for us. Thank You for guiding us into all peace and tranquility. Please help us to bow in obedience and allow You to be our Great Shepherd. David found great peace in this and He shared how he felt in Psalm 23. May we write our song of praise today as we share our words of praise, adoration and thankfulness with You. May it be easy for the unsaved to look on in amazement at how great our God is, just by the way you tenderly care for us – Your sheep. Please draw the unsaved to Yourself today dear Lord, and use us as You see fit. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Find Yourself

On By Ed AlgreenIn Good Shepherd, Obedience, SheepLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – John 10:10-13
– Contemporary English Version (CEV): 10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. 11 I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. 13 Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

THOUGHTS: In this scripture I recognized several characters that Jesus chose to use in this parable, and I believe it was intentional, because each of us would recognize the qualities of the characters and position ourselves as one of these as applicable. Here are the characters:

  • A Thief – This is an individual controlled by Satan, and comes into a person’s life, or into a church with the intent of robbing us of our joy, our peace and our security. They are so determined in their mission that their ultimate goal is to kill and/or destroy the fellowship that we have with Jesus Christ. This person comes in the form of a gossiper; a teacher of false doctrines; a distractor when one is determined to draw closer to God and/or determined to understand and obey His Word. I believe we are challenged to be on guard for such ‘thieves’, but more importantly to open our eyes so that we might not get caught in the trap of being a ‘thief’;
  • Hired Worker – I believe this could be a leader that sees the need to teach a lesson, but they really got nothing out of the lesson themselves. I am very touched when it becomes evident that a teacher, or a preacher visited the ‘wood shed’ before teaching a same principle or lesson to an audience. For then the lesson comes from the heart, or from personal application first, and not from an obligation to teach, or because one is paid to do so. This also becomes very apparent in the extent that the teacher feels a heart-felt responsibility for their audience, rather than a casual sharing because of given responsibility. Satan can easily distract our pastors and teachers, so let us continually pray for their spiritual welfare as they seek, in obedience, to be used by God to impact our spiritual welfare;
  • Sheep – I believe it is very important that we get the picture about the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd. Sheep are very dependent on the shepherd, but they are extremely blessed by their shepherd, for he protects them, leads them to green pastures for great nutritional value, and also to streams of water that satisfies their quench. Sheep are so obedient that the shepherd can walk ahead of them and they will follow. No need for whips and sheep dogs to keep them corralled together. We are often likened to sheep in the Bible. Don’t these characteristics speak volumes as to what God expects of us as His ‘sheep’?
  • Wolf – A wolf is known for attacking, scattering and destroying. This happens in many congregations, and could easily happen in our own lives, where a ‘wolf’ could sneak in and totally destroy our fellowship, or our individual walk with the Lord. Let’s be careful that Satan has no leverage in our lives that may cause us to act like a ‘wolf’ among God’s people. Let’s be leery of wolves that may be standing by to attack us. Staying strong in the Lord and His might, is our primary defense. May God be so strong in our lives that wolves will be kept at bay;
  • Shepherd – The importance of a ‘shepherd’ is highlighted throughout my above thoughts. Jesus is our ‘Shepherd’, and in Him we should take our stand. He will not lead us astray, and only He can protect us from the harm and potential danger of Satan’s wolves that wait to destroy us each and every day. It is incumbent upon us to stay closely attuned to our Shepherd. Follow in His footsteps. Obey His commands and love Him because of the love He shows for us every day. Our Good Shepherd is the only defender capable of standing up to Satan. Let’s stay connected and confident in our Good Shepherd, for He has already sacrificed His life for our safety from the awful wolves of Satan and the peace, tranquility and security of Heaven – our heavenly home!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for sacrificing Your Son as our Savior, our Lord, our redeemer and our Shepherd. May we be careful to take our appropriate role today as Your humble and obedient sheep. Our witness to this will affirm to the sinner that there is a God and a Good Shepherd that they need in their lives also. Happy, obedient sheep will attract more sheep, especially those who are not secure in Your good graces. Use each of your servants who meditate on this devotional today to be the kind of sheep that You desire, and can use to reach out to other sheep. For I ask these things in the name of Jesus, our obedient Good Shepherd, AMEN!

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FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!