Today Daily Devotional

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

— Psalm 23:6

Looking again at Psalm 23, we can see that the Lord our shepherd is not like a cowboy chasing us to move us along or dragging us along by a rope. Our shepherd walks ahead of us and among us—and if we are wandering, he goes out searching for us to draw us back in. His love, goodness, grace, and mercy surround us. We don’t have to go chasing after the shepherd’s love and care. It is always there because Jesus is always there. Grace pursues us. It is not something we have to earn; nor is it something we have to prove we deserve. It is freely given from the giver of all good gifts.

Psalm 23 begins and ends with notes of gratitude. We have everything we need—so much, in fact, that it overflows to everyone in our midst. We can’t contain it. The psalm writer’s thought here is that wherever we are present, grace should abound. It should have a ripple effect in our relationships with others.

Goodness and mercy not only follow us; we share these blessings with others and leave them behind as we move along. When we follow the shepherd well and lean into our calling as sheep, we take the blessings we receive and bless others, who in turn are able to bless still others, and so on.

Lord, we want to honor you by being a blessing in our families and communities. Make us attentive to the needs of others and open to coming alongside people who need to experience your presence in us. Amen.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

— John 14:18

One of the hardest things for the disciples to grasp was how Jesus could continue to shepherd them after he returned to be with the Father. So Jesus prepared them ahead of time for that transition. He told them that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to be in each one of them. They would always have a comforter and advocate to guide them, reminding them of Jesus’ teachings and giving them peace.

Jesus tells us that “the Spirit of truth” will teach us and remind us of all that Jesus has taught because he knows that his physical absence will make us forgetful. Jesus knows that we have to grow used to seeing him with spiritual eyes. As we keep his commands and learn from his Word, the Spirit will fulfill God’s promise to love and care for all who follow him.

The Spirit will comfort us with peace as we go through the valley of shadow. The Spirit will advocate for us, serving as our supporter, protector, and champion. The Spirit will advise us and uphold us as we journey with Jesus.

Jesus, the good shepherd, continues to be present among us through the Spirit even as he prays for us and upholds us while ruling beside the Father in heaven today.

Where have you experienced Jesus’ presence in your life lately?

Lord, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to guide us from within. Help us to listen for the Spirit’s voice and to respond with trust and obedience to the Spirit’s leading. Amen.

“It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”

— Luke 24:34

Buoyed by a renewed understanding of Jesus’ mission and their calling to tell others, all of the disciples found renewed hope. They shared stories among themselves of other encounters with the risen Lord, and their joy and confidence grew. Hope was the very thing these sheep needed, and Jesus provided it in abundance (see also vv. 36-49).

Hope is powerful. It sustained the disciples well into the future. It comforted them when Jesus returned to heaven (Luke 24:50-53). And with the coming of the Spirit, it propelled them into new places and fortified them when they faced persecution (Acts 2-8).

These sheep could declare with the writer of Psalm 23 that they lacked nothing. Jesus provided all that was needed to anchor and build their faith. They regained confidence that they belonged to him and to each other. They had renewed knowledge that God faithfully keeps working in the world. They also had a renewed sense of calling to be on mission with God as they continued working and waiting in hope for Jesus’ return.

We can declare the same. The shepherd continues to form our faith. And like the early disciples who shared testimonies of their encounters with the living Jesus, we are invited to give witness to our own encounters with Jesus today.

With whom can you share stories about the Lord’s work in your life?

Lord, help us to encourage one another by sharing about the ways we have seen you working in our lives and in the world around us. Amen.

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. . . . Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

— Luke 24:33-35

The news about Jesus was too important for the disciples in Emmaus to keep to themselves! Isn’t it interesting that these disciples “returned at once to Jerusalem” to tell the others about their meeting with Jesus? A little while earlier, they had urged Jesus to stay with them because it would soon be dark—and generally too dangerous to travel. But now they rushed back to Jerusalem, seemingly without a care for their own safety. These disciples could not contain their excitement to tell the good news about Jesus. They were no longer victims of a terrible loss; they were disciples on a mission.

They realized that their calling was to confirm the teaching of the Scriptures about Jesus and to bear witness about the resurrected Jesus to others who were feeling lost and defeated. They brought to the other disciples the same encouragement, comfort, and grace that they had received.

When we think of ourselves as part of Jesus’ sheepfold, it can be easy to think that we have been invited to be passive followers. What we see in the Emmaus disciples’ response is that we too are invited to partner with Jesus.

We are called to tell the world that God loves everyone so much that he continues to seek all who are lost so that they can come home where they belong.

Who in your midst needs to hear this good news?

Lord, give us courage and energy to share your good news with all who need to hear it. Amen.

Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

— Luke 24:27

The two disciples from Emmaus needed to be reminded that they belonged to Jesus. They were like lost and confused sheep that couldn’t articulate what they were feeling. They also needed to hear the Lord’s story again in all of its beautiful simplicity and complexity. Like a good teacher, Jesus retaught his students so that they would be well prepared to tell his good-news story to others.

While Jesus’ closest disciples hid from the authorities who had arrested and sentenced him, these two sheep had fled for the distant safety of their home in Emmaus. Thinking that Jesus was a stranger, they shared about their trauma and disappointment with their shepherd, and he helped them make sense of recent events by rooting his death and resurrection in all the Scriptures had said about him. Jesus gave them the Word to feast on, despite their doubts and fears and the threats of their enemies.

The disciples’ encounter with the living Word and what the Scriptures said about him changed their lives forever. We are reminded that we too need to know God’s big story so that we can make sense of how God keeps working in his world today. It can be easy to be overwhelmed by surprising, chaotic events and forget God’s promises, invitations, and commands to us today.

How have you responded to the Lord’s invitation to feast on his Word today?

Lord, thank you for your Word, and help us to feast on it daily. Amen.

. . . Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

— Luke 24:15-16

Does it seem unfair that these disciples were kept from seeing Jesus? I have heard people say that it seems Jesus was being tricky here. While Jesus walks along with them, the disciples think he is an out-of-touch stranger who has no idea what happened recently in Jerusalem.

But let’s look at this from a different angle. From a teaching and learning perspective, Jesus makes a brilliant move. The disciples do not know Jesus is right there with him, so they can express their misunderstanding and frustration without being distracted. They have no need to try to act as they would if they knew he was there. They have room to hear God’s story all over again and to begin learning anew.

We learn that they also asked each other later, “Were not our hearts burning within us as he talked with us . . . ?” Somewhere deep inside they sensed that their fellow traveler had remarkable understanding and authority as he spoke about the Scriptures, but first they needed to be in a space where they could be redirected. Jesus their shepherd had more than one agenda to attend to in order for them to grow as disciples who would be invited to share in his mission. While not being able to recognize him, they could begin to develop spiritual eyes of faith by which all new disciples would begin to see him.

How has the good shepherd gotten your attention lately? What is he trying to teach you?

Lord, help us to learn anew and to be more attentive so that we can see you at work in the world today. Amen.

As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. . . .

— Luke 24:15

One of the more poignant places where Jesus shows up as the good shepherd is when he goes after two despondent, lost sheep on the road to Emmaus. Jesus meets these two followers in their grief and invites them to tell their story, processing their disappointment. Jesus’ very presence with them reminds them that they still belong to him and are part of his sheepfold, in spite of their doubts and confusion. He literally walks with them in the valley of the shadow of his own death.

The good shepherd is a pursuer. These sheep are on their own, vulnerable, lost, and in need of their shepherd’s care. They are not abandoned to their misconceptions of current events. Jesus seeks them out and tends to them as only he can.

This story serves as a comforting reminder to any of us who may be facing doubts or disappointment with God. Maybe we have had to adjust our understanding of how God is working in our lives, or maybe we feel unworthy of the shepherd’s care because we have wandered away. This picture of Jesus underscores his love for us and our worth to him as his beloved sheep.

In what ways does this story bring you comfort today?

When we feel lost and alone, Lord, open our eyes to your very real presence in our lives. Give us glimpses of your presence and work all around us. Amen.

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”

— John 19:26-27

Here we see the good shepherd so near to the end of his life and in so much pain that we would certainly understand if he focused only on his own suffering. But he doesn’t resign from his duties.

In our reading for today the gentle shepherd is moved by compassion for his mother, Mary. In a final act of honor for her care, Jesus ensures that she will not be left homeless and vulnerable. He commissions his dear disciple John to take Mary into his household.

The gospel account of Luke shows, as well, how Jesus responds to the prayer of a convicted criminal who is dying next to him. He blesses the man with forgiveness and with the promise of life in paradise (Luke 23:39-43). The Lord our shepherd continues to pursue the lost and the wandering even as he faces his own cruel death.

These incidents show us that taking care of his Father’s sheep was Jesus’ passion. Jesus walks with them through the valley of the shadow of his own death.

What wonderful love this is! Death and the tomb cannot contain it. The passage of thousands of years beyond his resurrection and return to heaven cannot dull such love. This is good news for us all.

Where in your life have you encountered the good shepherd’s love?

Lord Jesus, we cannot thank you enough for your loving sacrifice for us. Help us to honor you in all we do as we seek to extend your care and love to the world. Amen.

While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

— Matthew 26:21

The patience and generosity Jesus shows as he prepares for his last supper with his disciples is really awe inspiring. Without anger or malice he tells the truth of what is about to happen. He not only sets a table in front of an enemy but also serves that enemy. This too is amazing grace.

The good shepherd feeds his sheep both physically and spiritually with a meal (the Lord’s Supper) that the flock will eat in remembrance of his sacrifice and love for years and years to come. It will nourish them spiritually so that they will have what they need to stay on mission. And even in underground churches to the present day his sheep have joined in this meal despite being surrounded by enemies.

Humanly speaking it would not have been easy to think about the sheep in his care as Jesus set his face toward the cross and he became the sacrifice for sin for the sake of all who would follow him. But while Jesus was fully human, he was also fully the Son of God who continued to care for his flock even as he faced death on their behalf. Here we see his overwhelming love for both the Father and the flock, including any who opposed him.

We are called to live and act like Jesus. How does his example of showing love to both his faithful followers and his enemies inform how we can engage with people who are unkind to us?

We praise you, Lord Jesus, for your undying love shown to us in so many ways as you walked toward your death for our sake. Amen.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

— John 10:11

Jesus makes clear that his work is much more than a job to do. He has real skin in the game. He is not playing at caring for the Lord’s sheep until something better comes along. Jesus is the gate that any poacher or corrupting force would have to pass through to get to the Lord’s sheep—and because of his deep love for us, he is willing to die on our behalf in order to bring us back home to his Father.

This is Jesus’ mission. The sheep and the good shepherd are completely connected to each other. As Romans 8:39 tells us, nothing can “separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus doesn’t feel put upon to carry out this mission for the Father; he and the Father are of one mind, both driven by a shared love for the sheep.

Jesus the Son gave up his privilege in heaven, emptying himself to come and invite us back into a relationship with God our Father and Creator (Philippians 2:6-8). What an amazing sacrifice! And this is amplified by Jesus’ willingness to lay down his life for us so that we can be saved. This is amazing grace! This is abounding love!

How can you thank God for this astonishing gift today?

We thank you, Jesus, for your sacrificial love. Thank you that nothing can separate us from you. Help us to live boldly into this gracious truth. Amen.