Be A Good Shepherd
BRD REFLECTIONS
Jeremiah 23, 24 and Psalm 27 (NIV)
(Goh Khean Chye, Chairperson, DISCIPLE Committee, Discipleship & Nurture)
READ:
Jeremiah 23 (NIV)
1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
OBSERVE:
Verses 1 to 2 come at the end of a string of Kings of Judah who were ungodly and poor leaders of God’s people and led the people astray. This resulted in the Babylonian invasion and exile.
However, in verses 3 and 4, the Lord promises to gather Israel together again under good shepherds.
This closes in verses 5 and 6 with the promise of a saviour from David’s righteous branch. We thank God that we have the gift of salvation through Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit to be our helper and guide each and every day.
APPLY:
This is a timely reminder that just as the Lord is our Good Shepherd, we are to be good shepherds wherever we are called to lead and take care of his flock.
DO:
I commit to pray weekly for all our church leaders to be guided and enabled by the Holy Spirit and specifically for the Lord’s enabling and wisdom to be upon each one of the DISCIPLE leaders as they lead their classes through the weekly study of the word.
PRAY:
Father Lord, thank you for all the leaders that you have called to serve in church, be it full time or as volunteers. May you grant them the strength and wisdom to fulfil your plans. Amen.
