Tabernacle

Ever heard of a courageous sheep?  Neither have I.  Sheep are mostly a fearful lot, which is one more evidence for the wisdom of God in calling us His flock.  How does our Good Shepherd relate to us when we are afraid?  Please welcome Rev. Marc Corbett as he reminds us of the courage we can find in Christ.

Good shepherds want their flock to flourish.  A flock that isn’t growing, isn’t maturing, and isn’t multiplying is not flourishing.  How do we grow?  How do we mature?  How do we multiply?  Our Good Shepherd calls us into communities of mutual ministry that are built upon on the love and truth of His Gospel.  Otherwise, we will never grow up.

Conventional wisdom tells us, “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”  Apparently, when someone gives you a horse, you are not supposed to scruple over its oral equine hygiene.  Just be grateful someone gave you a horse!  But what if you didn’t want a horse in the first place?  But then what if you find out the horse is a thoroughbred!  Some gifts don’t make sense at first, until we find out their true worth and blessing.

Part of what makes the Good Shepherd so good is that He was willing to come after His lost sheep—us.  He was thinking of us and had us on His heart.  He loved us and gave Himself for us!  Now, if we are to follow Him, that means we are to be like Him in the ways that we think about others before ourselves.  The Gospel transforms us so that our self-love moves into its humbly proper, third position behind a love for God and for our neighbor.

Elbert Hubbard once said, “a friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” Don’t we all want friends like that? Friends that we can trust absolutely. Friends with whom we can be vulnerable and transparent and not fear rejection. The Good Shepherd is such a friend to His Sheep. He knows each and every one of His sheep exhaustively and intimately and loves them regardless of their many sins. He loves them so much that He laid down His life for them in order to rescue and redeem them. What a friend we have in Jesus!

Psalm 23 has had some surprises along the way, especially regarding valleys and enemies.  But the “pearl of the Psalms” ends beautifully, in the house of the LORD.  What will it mean for us to be brought forever into His home?  What can we expect when we get to heaven?

What does it mean to sit at a table with Jesus and share a meal?  Better still, what does it mean to have Jesus invite you to His table to share His meal?  There was no greater sign of acceptance and friendship in ancient culture, and this is exactly what is promised to those who receive His forgiveness and come.

One of the greatest mysteries for religious people revolves around a good God allowing bad things to happen.  Christians ask the same question, “Why does our Good Shepherd lead us through the valley of the shadow of death?”  We may never understand all of the reasons, but we have something better than explanations.  

We have a Good Shepherd who is with us in the valley, and who leads us through it to glory.

Ever had to restore your computer?  How about your smartphone?  When things don’t work right, they need a hard reset.  How well does your soul work?  We tend to think that our souls can do just fine with minimal maintenance, but God says they need a hard reset.  We need the Good Shepherd to “restore my soul” (Psalm 23:3).

Psalm 23 is arguably the most familiar chapter of the Bible.  You know the words, but do you really know what is says?  For instance, the first verse tells us, “I shall not want”, but life seems to never want for wanting.  What does our Good Shepherd mean when He promises we shall not want?  Let’s look to Jesus to find out.