Tag: Good Shepherd

Do You Love Me? Prove it!!

John 21:17
He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep”.

If Jesus had asked any of us the same question that He asked Peter, surely our response would have been similar. “Of course, I love You Jesus,” is a refrain that each of us would speak very easily and we would believe fully in our sincerity. Yet aren’t we all a bit like Peter? Our spoken proclamation of love does not necessarily measure up to our proven love.

Peter, believing his love for Jesus was obvious to Jesus, became frustrated. So Peter challenged Jesus, saying, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus’ response to Peter’s challenge was essentially, “Prove it.”

Jesus challenges each of us as well to feed His sheep. He calls us to provide appropriate nourishment to the young lambs and encouragement to the mature members of the flock. He calls us to go after any that leave the flock until they are found and brought back under the protection of the Good Shepherd.

Jesus calls on each of us who love Him to go out and do the work that He was doing. He tended to all of the needs of the people, all the way to the Cross, because of His love for His Father. Jesus expects us to take up His work, to take up our cross, because of our love for Him.

Let us go out into the world and join Jesus in the work that He would be doing for His Father in heaven if He were still on earth. Let us allow Him to do His work through us. Let us show the world His love as we respond to His question, “Do you love Me?”

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to tend to our every need, especially our need to be freed from the sin that separates us from You. In response to Your loving kindness, mercy and grace, we surrender our lives to You. We ask that You show us the cross that You have prepared for us. We pray, Lord, that You instruct us in the way that we should go as we join Your Son in His work. May Your Holy Spirit guide us and strengthen us for the journey. Father, we pray that You release Your power through us so that others may discover the Way of the Cross. We ask all these things in the name of the one who went to the Cross and shed His blood for us, Jesus Christ.

The Secret of Our Joy in Service to Others

1 Peter 5:2
Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly–not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.

The apostle, Peter, witnessed first hand the servant attitude of His Master, Jesus Christ. Peter saw how Jesus served all people out of the devotion He had for His Father in heaven. In his writings, he was encouraging His fellow followers of Christ to follow the model that Jesus had provided them.

When we were children, many of us joined our parents in the work that needed to be done around the house. We joined them in obedience to their request for help. If we served them because we loved them and wanted to honor them, our work was done eagerly and with joy. If we served them for any other reason – to earn allowance or perhaps avoid punishment – our work probably became tedious quickly.

We may find a similar experience when we seek to serve humanity. No matter how fulfilling the service may be at first, the humanitarian cause will become exhausting if the root of our service is not our love for Our Savior. The secret of our joy in service will be our devotion to Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the perfect model of service. Jesus was able to carry through on His service to mankind all the way to the end because He was driven by His love for His Father first. Honoring His Father with His obedience was His calling. The service that He provided for mankind was the result of His love for His Father.

Let us willingly serve Our Father in heaven with the same passion that was so evident in Jesus’ ministry. Let us eagerly serve those around us out of devotion for Our Savior King. Let our service to the flock that the Lord has given us be marked by the same sacrificial fervor as the Good Shepherd.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to express our love to You through our service to those around us. We pray that You strengthen us, Lord, for our work by helping us to grow in our relationship with Your Son. May our devotion to Him be measured by the fruits of our work. May all that we do to serve Your kingdom bring honor and glory to Your Holy Name, the name of Your Son, Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of Our Servant King and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Perfect Model of Service

1 Peter 5:2
Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly–not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.

The apostle, Peter, witnessed first hand the servant attitude of His Master, Jesus Christ. Peter saw how Jesus served all people out of the devotion He had for His Father in heaven. In his writings, he was encouraging His fellow followers of Christ to follow the model that Jesus had provided them.

When we were children, many of us joined our parents in the work that needed to be done around the house. We joined them in obedience to their request for help. If we served them because we loved them and wanted to honor them, our work was done eagerly and with joy. If we served them for any other reason – to earn allowance or perhaps avoid punishment – our work probably became tedious quickly.

We may find a similar experience when we seek to serve humanity. No matter how fulfilling the service may be at first, the humanitarian cause will become exhausting if the root of our service is not our love for Our Savior. The secret of our joy in service will be our devotion to Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the perfect model of service. Jesus was able to carry through on His service to mankind all the way to the end because He was driven by His love for His Father first. Honoring His Father with His obedience was His calling. The service that He provided for mankind was the result of His love for His Father.

Let us willingly serve Our Father in heaven with the same passion that was so evident in Jesus’ ministry. Let us eagerly serve those around us out of devotion for Our Savior King. Let our service to the flock that the Lord has given us be marked by the same sacrificial fervor as the Good Shepherd.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to express our love to You through our service to those around us. We pray that You strengthen us, Lord, for our work by helping us to grow in our relationship with Your Son. May our devotion to Him be measured by the fruits of our work. May all that we do to serve Your kingdom bring honor and glory to Your Holy Name, the name of Your Son, Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of Our Servant King and Savior, Jesus Christ.