"We are His Sheep"

“As life in general becomes more and more complex, so religion tends to be affected in the same way. It seems to be assumed that if the affairs of men are so difficult and complicated, the affairs of God should be still more complicated, because they are still greater…The fact is, that as we get further away from God life becomes more complicated and involved. ..The truly religious life is always the simple life.”

When we think about peace and simplicity our minds imagine, quiet pastures and gentle streams. We have such a picture given to us in one of the most famous chapters in the bible. Psalm 23 is written by a shepherd, however it is not written from a shepherd’s perspective but is written from the perspective of a sheep. “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” We dare not ever forget this. The life of a sheep is pretty simple. Sheep only get into trouble when they forget they are sheep
The Key Phrase in this Psalm is “The Lord”
The LORD - (Yahweh)(“I AM”) is My Shepherd. The LORD is...

• My Savior - My Deliverer
• My Substitute - My Sin bearer
• My Shelter - My harbor of hope
• My Strength -
• My Shield - my defender
• The LORD is my shepherd – he is all of these and more

As we consider this statement something should be obvious, obvious that is to sheep.
The most important knowledge a sheep can have is knowledge about the shepherd.

• Sheep do not need to know a lot about how to build fences
• Sheep do not need to know a lot about how grass grows
• Sheep do not need to know a lot about waters sources
• Sheep do not need to know a lot about bears, wolves etc.

The survival of sheep is dependent upon one thing - do they have the courage to trust the shepherd?! That courage comes from knowing the Shepherd

It is true that the Lord is a shepherd.
It is true that the Lord is the Good Shepherd.
It is because I trust in the Lord as MY shepherd that I can experience the rest of Psalm 23.

We need to have a personal relationship with the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. That relationship comes through faith in His finished work upon the Cross where the good shepherd gave his life for the sheep and paid the penalty for their sins. The most important question you can ever ask yourself is , do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

The rest of Psalm 23 outlines the multitude of blessings flowing out of this personal relationship with the Lord my Shepherd. Read it again today. Follow the Good Shepherd, have the courage to trust The Good shepherd who gave his life for you. “Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee.” Perfect peace comes when we have the courage to trust the perfect shepherd.

This Shepherd says to us in Proverbs 8: 34-35 “Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.” Wisdom, don’t leave home “the sheepfold” without it. Listen, watch and wait for wisdom and blessings (the blessings of simplicity) will find their way into your life.