Men As Christ
Where Iron Sharpens Iron / Proverbs 27:17
The Good Shepherd
John 10:11-18
Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”
Blog:
We are all Blessed with Good Shepherds in our life. These are the people in your life that will be there no matter what. They will cry with you, bleed with you, laugh with you, help you up when you’re down, meet you at 2 AM to help you change your tire, visit you in the hospital when you need a visitor, pray with you and for you, make you a meal, have you over to entertain you, get your mail for you when you’re gone, etc. You get the point. They do all of these things – not just one or two of them – and help make you Better. They are completely-invested in you – warts and all. T.D. Jakes calls this type of Friend a Confidant. Pastor Jakes likes to talk about the three (3) kinds of people that you will interact in this world as a Child of Destiny – He categorizes them as Confidants, Constituents, and Comrades. It is critical that we understand the differences between these three (3) archetypes. By understanding that there will be much fewer Confidants than Constituents and Comrades in our lives, it warms our Souls to know that the Confidants (aka Good Shepherds) will be with us as long as they possibly can be (to learn more on this from Pastor Jakes, please click here). Jesus set the Ultimate Example of being a Good Shepherd and He will be with us through all of Eternity. Ultimately, we are all Good Shepherds to some and we are Sheep to Others. God calls us to invest our time on Earth wisely, so it is Good for us to invest in the Eternal – the things that, in the end, will really Matter to Him. Via ruthless trust in Jesus, we should live like we’re dying to this world while growing in love into the Saints that we are called to be in the next World. The Pastures There are always green and the wolf(ves) are not allowed in.
Men As Christ 