Dear Pastor Jackson,
All
of us can visualize the heart warming picture of a shepherd watching
over his flock of sheep. There are many earthly shepherd's who watch
over their flocks, but there is only one heavenly shepherd: our Lord
Jesus Christ. I am going to begin with earthly shepherd's.
I
am a shepherd. I have a small flock of about 40 sheep that I care for.
So please join me as I begin chores this morning. O my! It's already 6
AM. My sheep will be waiting for me. I need to take care of my eight
rams first. They are "mowing my lawn" for me. I open the gate to let
them in the front yard and start calling them by name. Here Buck! Come
on Buttons, Spot, and Browny! They know my voice so they follow me into
my overgrown front yard, nibbling on tender clover as they come.
My
main flock of ewes and lambs are in the "high pasture" . I call it the
"high pasture" because it is across Honey creek at the top of a very
steep hill. So I wade across the creek and begin trudging up the hill.
When I reach the top I can see the whole flock bedded down in a bunch,
the little lambs nestled close to their mothers. It is cool this
morning. I open the gate and begin calling my sheep by name. Here
Patches! Come on Smokey, Zebra, Christmas, and Star of Wonder! They know
my voice so they start to get up and follow me into the new pasture.
Smokey is my best and favorite ewe She always comes up to me to be
petted and scratched. She had a lamb with unusual pin stripes and
markings, so I named hér Zebra. Christmas and Star of Wonder were born
in January. It was bitterly cold but they both had good mothers that
kept them warm and well nourished. I notice a ewe all by herself on the
other side of the pasture. As I approach two little white fuzzy heads
pop up. She has twin lambs! I don't want to get too close as it takes
about five days for lambs and ewes to " latch on" to each other. After
five days lambs and ewes will recognize each other's voice. It's a
miracle to see two little lambs come running when they hear their mother
calling them! How they can hear her voice over all the other ewes
calling their lambs at the same time is a wonder of God's creation!
I
do have a helper who protects my sheep from vicious packs of coyotes
and other predators, even an occasional stray mountain lion. His name is
Ringo. He is a huge fluffy Great Pyrenees who stays close to the
sheep. He is very protective of newly born lambs.
Sometimes
lambs stray away from the main flock. They somehow find a way out, so I
always watch for them. The whole flock is together this morning, so I
breathe a sigh of relief. Lambs can really get lost especially if they
wander into the thick woods.
Doing chores is a
good work out. I need a little rest, but I am really writing about rest
for my soul that my good shepherd gives me.
To
find my good shepherd, I go to some shepherds keeping watch over their
flocks by night. "And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the
glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. " Luke
2:9-14 So I went with my fellow shepherds toward Bethlehem and the star
we had seen in the east went before us and stood over the place where my
good shepherd was born. We went in and saw the virgin Mary his mother
and her new born son wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
Here is my good Shepherd and only Savior. As I kneel down by the manger,
all I want to do is pick up my true God and hold Him close to my heart.
God's Holy infant child Jesus shepherds me from his manger. O how this
little infant child Jesus brings me back to God my heavenly Father. "For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John
3:16-18 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:6
We are his sheep who know and hear his voice. We
follow him. So let us follow him to the Jordon river. Here our good
Shepherd leads us into a most wonderful pasture for our souls. Here he
opens heaven for us and gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost.
"Now
when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also
being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost
descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from
heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleasèd."
Luke 3:21,22. Here our good Shepherd is clothed with our sins to give
us His righteousness in our baptism. Here Christ opens heaven for us
and gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost in our baptism. "For ye are all
the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have
been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:26,27
Baptism is God's work. "Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his
grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
Titus 3:5-7 Let's not rush past these words of God. We are justified by
grace in our baptism.
Christ our Good
Shepherd carries us into pastures of rest for our souls. Luther says,
"For I was baptized in Him and have received in the Gospel a letter and
seal, that I am His dear lamb, and that He is my good Shepherd, who
seeks His lost lamb and deals with me in no legalistic way. He demands
nothing of me, neither does He drive me on; He does not threaten,
neither does He frighten me, but He shows me His sweet grace, and lowers
Himself to me, even beneath me, and takes me upon Himself, so that now I
lie on His back and am carried by Him. Why then should I be afraid at
the quaking and thundering of Moses or even of the devil? I am under the
protection of the Man who has given me His saintliness and all that He
has, who supports me and upholds me that I cannot be lost so long as I
remain His lamb and do not doubt Him or willfully fall away from Him."
(Martin Luther, Day By Day We Magnify Thee, Fortress Press, pg. 182)
So
let us rejoice in the faith of professor Nils Dahl, PhD: "The text! The
text! We have the text!" (Gregory L Jackson, PhD, The King James
Version, pg 189 footnote) God has chosen the Greek TEXTUS RECEPTUS and
exact translations of it (King James Bible, Luther's Bible etc.). God
has rejected the corrupt Vaticanus family (Nestle Aland Text, United
Bible Society Text ) and the corrupt translations sprouting from them
(ESV, NIV, RSV, NKJV etc.)
I have more to write, but will save it for the next time.
Happy trails to you! Until we meet again! Roy Rogers sang this nice song.
Tom Fisher
