Keeping the Sheep, episode 47 (Repost)

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Today in this episode of the When You Love a Prodigal podcast, God is promising

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to take care of you in every way. Have you found encouragement that God sees

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your tears and hears your prayers? This week we will consider two more names of

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God and the amazing promises they are to us. Patches, one of my many dogs, was an

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Australian Shepherd. She was beautiful and so much fun and truly a shepherd. She

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was always trying to get us to go where she wanted us to go. She would even

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approach a complete stranger, take his wrist in her mouth, and try to lead him.

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This frightened a few people. I learned a little about sheep during my farmer son's

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brief stint raising sheep. Sheep had some great positives. They reduced the need to

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mow the pasture because they ate the grass down to the bottom. And the variety

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that my son and his wife were raising provided much desired wool, high quality

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wool. But sheep required a lot of care and they attracted predators. But oh,

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those baby lambs. In my favorite picture of our son, he is tenderly holding a

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newborn lamb. Helped me to fall in love with sheep. Shepherds, which is a

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contraction of sheep herders, have responsibilities to protect, supervise,

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care for, and discipline their sheep. It is no wonder that God calls himself

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Jehovah-Rohi or shepherd. We, his people, his sheep, need lots of protection,

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supervision, care, and discipline. Listen as I read through the most popular psalm

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of all time. You know the 23rd psalm. The Lord is my shepherd, Jehovah-Rohi. I lack

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nothing. Does that just astound you? That the psalmist can say, I lack nothing

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because the shepherd is providing everything that I need? True for you and

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me too. The psalm goes on. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me

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beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for

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his name's sake. Sounds good, doesn't it? In the midst of a wilderness journey.

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Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil. For you are

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with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Any dark valleys in your life

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lately? Any fear of impending evil? Says you're with me. I can walk through that

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valley. Says you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You

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anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Well, most of us don't want to sit down

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with our enemies. Certainly the major enemy is the evil one, but our loved

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prodigal can be an enemy sometimes too. Says I'm there. I'm gonna get you ready

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for this banquet and I'm gonna fill your cup up so that it's overflowing. Surely

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your goodness and mercy, or some verses say goodness and love, will follow me all

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the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What an

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incredible picture of what our God, our Shepherd, does for us. There are books

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written to help us comprehend all that God is promising us.

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Goodness and mercy forever. And then the Lord Jesus amplifies it. He says I am the

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good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Now that's a

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promise. He already did it. He laid down his life for you and me and for our

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prodigals. Then Jesus continues, my sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they

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follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. And then one of

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my very favorite promises, he says no one can snatch them out of my hand. How much

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are you sure that the crowd that our prodigal is running with, or the

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addictions, or the choices that he's making, will snatch them out of the hands

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of the Lord? They may try to escape but he says I'm the good Shepherd. I'm holding

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none. I've held on to that promise so many times as I have prayed for my

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prodigal and for your prodigal. No one will snatch them out of my hand, he says.

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But wait, there's another name and another promise that God gives us. When

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our drunk son yelled obscenities at me in the front yard in the middle of the

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night, turmoil just welled up in me. When the hospital called to say that our son

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had been in an accident, a serious accident, worry overwhelmed me till I

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knew how he was. When he disappeared for three days, fear engulfed me. Confusion,

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turmoil, conflict, worry, fear, every one of us experiences these in our day to

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day lives. But when you love a prodigal, these become often a way of life. I am a

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fan of peace. I don't care for noise and chaos and especially not for conflict. I

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am a confirmed conflict avoider. So I am grateful that God has named himself

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peace. In the book of Judges we learn of Gideon who was no stranger to chaos and

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conflict. The Midianites, very large and powerful group of people, totally

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oppressed and impoverished Israelites. God's people lived in constant fear of

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them. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, a youth in a very

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insignificant family, and called him a mighty warrior. Did Gideon laugh? And then

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the angel gave Gideon this unimaginable assignment, you will rescue Israel.

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Gideon apparently responded, who me? Pardon me Lord, but don't you know I

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can't do that. Who am I? After much conversation, the Lord gave him a sign

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to assure him that he could and would do it, rescue Israel. But Gideon was still

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afraid and God said, peace, do not be afraid. Gideon received that peace and

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then he built an altar to the Lord there and called it, the Lord is peace, Jehovah

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shalom. Don't you want peace in your heart? God is the peace that you're

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seeking. Our Savior confirms this wonderful promise to us, peace I leave

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with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not

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let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. The Greek word for peace is

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very similar in its meaning to the Hebrew word shalom and it's called

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Irene. And Jesus also promises in John 16, I have told you these things so that

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in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, boy do we know

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that. But take heart, I have overcome the world. In this world there's trouble but

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I am your peace. And the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2 uses the same Greek word for

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peace in this amazing statement. He, Jesus, is our peace. Who has made the two

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groups, the Jews and the Gentiles, one and has destroyed the barrier, the

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dividing wall of hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away

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and peace to you who were near. This could be for you and your prodigal.

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You're far away perhaps and there's animosity or there's tension. There's so

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many things that steal our peace and Jesus says, I'm here. I will give you

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peace and I will give your loved one peace and I will bring you together.

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Jesus is the source of peace both for our troubled hearts and for troubled

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relationships. So when our lives in the wilderness seem filled with chaos and

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conflict we can call on this name of Jehovah Shalom and rest in the promise

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that Jesus gives us his peace. So a question. What part of the 23rd Psalm,

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the shepherd's Psalm, speaks personally to you today? Maybe you should get out

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your Bible and and read the 23rd Psalm and let God speak to you through it

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today that he will care for you as a good shepherd. And what aspect of your

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current life and relationship with your loved one, what needs more of God's peace?

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Ask him for it. He'll give it. God bless you.