November 15, 2013
November 8, 2013
One Shepherd, Many Sheep
.jpg "One Shepherd, Many Sheep") |
| Image Courtesy of Commons.Wikimedia.org |
For
today, I want to direct your attention to shepherds and sheep. A shepherd is "[o]ne who herds, guards, and tends
sheep” or “[o]ne who cares for and guides a group of people, as a minister or
teacher”. The word herd is "[a] group of cattle or other domestic
animals of a single kind kept together for a specific purpose" or “[a]
large number of people; a crowd”. As you
can see from the definitions, a sheep is to follow the directions of his
shepherd and the shepherd is to take care of the sheep making sure that they
all stay safely together.
In today's time, many pastor's (or ministers) are called shepherds because they have their "flock" (who is the congregation), but the problem with this is that a lot of the times, we start to follow the man instead of gospel that the man preaches. There is but one shepherd of man and that is God. Psalm 23 starts with "(1) The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. (2) He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the still waters..." (NKJV). So who is our shepherd? The Lord! On his best day, a pastor is but a sheep himself following an awesome God. He just happens to be someone trying to get you to recognize that we are suppose to be following His Word.
When you have sheep following other sheep, then there is a problem. Unless that sheep is following the directions of The Shepherd, he could lead you down a path where the enemy can overtake you. The Shepherd cares for all of the sheep. "(12) What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? (13) And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. (14)In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." (Matthew 18:10-15). No one man can do this no matter how charismatic he is.
I am not saying that a pastor is useless. If they are not poisoning the congregation with their own agenda and they are preaching what the Bible says, then they are a great asset for the God's Kingdom. The question is do you take more queues from another sheep rather than from the Good Shepherd? If your pastor acts in a manner contrary from the Word of God, are you bold enough to call them on it or do you continue to blindly follow the person behind the pulpit? Who are you really following today?
Be blessed and have a good one!
In today's time, many pastor's (or ministers) are called shepherds because they have their "flock" (who is the congregation), but the problem with this is that a lot of the times, we start to follow the man instead of gospel that the man preaches. There is but one shepherd of man and that is God. Psalm 23 starts with "(1) The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. (2) He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the still waters..." (NKJV). So who is our shepherd? The Lord! On his best day, a pastor is but a sheep himself following an awesome God. He just happens to be someone trying to get you to recognize that we are suppose to be following His Word.
When you have sheep following other sheep, then there is a problem. Unless that sheep is following the directions of The Shepherd, he could lead you down a path where the enemy can overtake you. The Shepherd cares for all of the sheep. "(12) What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? (13) And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. (14)In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." (Matthew 18:10-15). No one man can do this no matter how charismatic he is.
I am not saying that a pastor is useless. If they are not poisoning the congregation with their own agenda and they are preaching what the Bible says, then they are a great asset for the God's Kingdom. The question is do you take more queues from another sheep rather than from the Good Shepherd? If your pastor acts in a manner contrary from the Word of God, are you bold enough to call them on it or do you continue to blindly follow the person behind the pulpit? Who are you really following today?
Be blessed and have a good one!
Antoine
E. Hall
"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33
November 4, 2013
Don't Get Caught Up
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| Courtesy of Commons.Wikimedia.org |
2 Peter 3:10-11 (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (NKJV)
Interesting right? So, I decided to venture into the entire chapter of 2 Peter 3. In it, Peter describes the Day of the Lord and what will happen when He returns. You can read the entire chapter in detail for your self and I highly recommend it, however I want to focus on the very last two verses.
2 Peter 3:17-18 (17) You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; (18) but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (NKJV)
In essence, as a Christian, we cannot get caught up in this worldly place. Many times we have heard that this earth is not our home. We are merely passing through on our way to heaven. Well, if you are not paying attention, you can take the wrong exit and be on a path to hell. Continue to grow in the Word. Read. Pray. Talk to God. Just don't lose sight of Him. It's as simple as that folks. Nothing fancy about it. You know the consequences of getting caught up and the fruits of the reward for walking the straight and narrow. Now that we know better. We can do better.
Antoine E. Hall
