Month: November 2012

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The Good Shepherd

It’s Friday, so a light thought for today.  I found this link yesterday to pictures that will restore your faith in humanity.  I am not sure these pictures really do that, but they do show people treating others with respect and that’s it a good thing.  The one set that really stood out to me are the pictures of the shepherds rescuing their sheep from the ocean.  There are so many connotations for us in this set of pictures.

 

But what I think about is this parable that Jesus told.

 

4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  Luke 15

 

and then I look back at that picture and this about the Christ, the good shepherd, reaching in to the ocean and saving us, he beloved sheep.

Do the same today.

“Feed my Sheep”

 

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Career Day!

This morning I off to the school to talk with the high school students about the greatness of software development for career day.  It is going to be a fun morning, talking with them a little about their future and providing advice from a seasoned veteran.

I am been thinking about what one message I should tell them about life, outside of the software world.  My mind immediately goes here to Micah 6

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

or to Luke 10

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

What one thing would you tell them?

 

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In a Pickle

It’s National Pickle day, which really reminds me of one person, er character.

Bob: Silly pickle,

Larry: Hey I not a pickle, I’m a cucumber.

Anyway, It’s National Pickle Day, so don’t just throw out the wedge that for some reason is always toss in with you sandwich.  Chomp that thing down.

For those of you wondering how I am going to tie pickle day to some great spiritual example, you can stop, I am not.  Although cucumbers are mentioned in the bible, pickles seem to be overlooked, and so I will head right into something completely different!

 

13 Be alert. Be firm in the Christian faith. Be courageous and strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 (GW)

 

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Seeing What God Sees

This past weekend I spent some time studying the story of Jonah.  Yes, the prophet of old who spent three days in the belly of a big fish because he ran away from God.  I was however, looking past that and looking at the way he viewed and thought about the people of the city that God told him to go encourage and teach.

When God told Jonah to go to his own kind, he was willing to go, but when the command required him  to cross cultural boundaries, he froze and high tailed it out of Dodge – abandoning hope, faith, and the eyes of God.

Take a look at this. See what God said to him when Jonah was whining and crying that God had mercy, and then whining and crying even more after a vicious worm destroyed his favorite shade tree.

10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city? Jonah 4:10-11 New Living Translation (NLT)

Oh, it’s not that I sit here years removed and look down my nose at Jonah, for I find myself in his very position quite often.  I might not take a physical trip to avoid the commandment, but I find plenty of diversions and side shows to keep me removed from the greatness of hope, faith and the eyes of God.

Today, let’s make sure our focus in our the things that God sees, and not the items that we might seek in vain!

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Happy Veterans Day ( Observed)

Several of you out there in Daily Buffet land may have the day off today, as the federal government observes the day we remember those guys and gals who have fought in our country’s conflict to protect our freedom’s.  That’s a great thing!

And if you remember two weeks ago we remembered those who fought for spiritual freedom.

So with all of this remember and honoring going on, I hope maybe you are inspired to keep freedom alive, both our personal freedom to live as we do in this land and  our freedom from those spiritual forces that seek to bind us in the chains of sin.

No matter how you spend the day, give that a moment of thought.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit