Shepherds

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Psalm 23:1 says, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” 

     I have seen a few sheep in my life but have not been around too many shepherds.  I recall reading a book by Philip Keller on the twenty-third Psalm and since he was a shepherd at one time, he enlightened many of the statements made in the Psalm that has become so popular.  I was in Spain for a couple of years and one time saw about five shepherds bringing in their sheep for the night into one group.  They were all secure for the night .  What was astounding was the morning when each shepherd called his sheep and they all separated and went to their own shepherd.  It  was amazing to see but each lamb knew their master’s voice.

     The Psalm above, or at least the one verse, speaks of the LORD as being the Shepherd of the Psalmist and He is our Shepherd also.  The Psalm has become a very popular part of many funeral services because it speaks of passing through the valley of the shadow of death.  It is a short, quick walk  when the Shepherd is there to holy you by the hand and to guide you along the way.  When we look at the Psalm, we notice that we have protection, guidance, provision and love.  I heard of one young  girl who quoted the first verse this way,”The Lord is my Shepherd, what else do I need?”  That's a good summation of the Psalm.  We look at the Lord Jesus Christ as the Great Shepherd and call our “pastors” undershepherds.  They are the direct command of the Chief Shepherd, the LORD Himself.  We all may find ourselves in that position in one way or another even as parents, or friends, or bosses or leaders or church members, as Sunday School teachers, and the lsit goes on and on.  We all become shepherds to someone as we are not on a deserted island in the middle of an ocean like Robinson Crusoe.  Wherever you find yourself, you soon discover that you have all kinds of sheep. Some are continually cast down, some are disobedient and going off the beaten path, some are too fat and some are just a tad stubborn, some are sick , some are young and some are old and feeble.  They all need a shepherd and many times you are going to be that shepherd.  Your sheep may be scattered and going in every direction possible but as you continue to be there and continue to speak to them in loving words, you soon find that the sheep begin to come to the sound of your voice and mill around at your feet especially when you are giving them the food of life.  We need not look too far as they are right  around you now.  Praise God today that He is our Great Shepherd and that He has given us a flock of our own to guide from day to day.