The Shepherd

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom [be] glory forever and ever. Amen.  Hebrews 13:20, 21

Come Thou Fount (Click to Listen)

I am just a simple, wandering sheep who needs a Shepherd.  My greedy heart wanders in search of material pleasures.  My proud heart wanders to lift itself up.  My selfish heart wanders to demand its own way.  My angry heart wanders to justify itself.

Come Thou Fount

An ordinary shepherd cannot handle the rebellion of my wandering heart.  Only the most extreme measures can rescue me from the depth of my depravity.  I inherited my waywardness from my very first father and mother.  When they broke the law that God commanded them with that one single taste of forbidden fruit, my judgment was forever sealed.  Because of their disobedience, they and I were destined for God's wrath.

But God in His mercy provided a substitute for the death they should have died.  Instead of destroying Adam and Eve, God killed an animal, took its skin, and covered them.  The blood of an innocent animal was the price paid in place of their own blood.  The blood shed by the innocent animal brought it death.  But for Adam and Eve, the blood brought life.

From that time forward, God required blood as the means to relationship with Him.  It was through blood sacrifice that God made a covenant with Abraham, and later with the Israelites.  But that covenant was not complete.  The sacrifice was never enough to fully satisfy God’s wrath for our sin.

So God clothed Himself in human flesh, and offered Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ as the perfect Lamb for the sacrifice.  The Father received the blood poured out as atonement—appeasement—propitiation for sin—once for all! The covenant was fulfilled and completed in Jesus Christ.  The Lamb was also the Great Shepherd who gave His life for this wayward sheep as an everlasting covenant!  Praise the Lord! Jesus now lives forever as a Mediator between me and God.  I, who once was an enemy in my mind through my wicked works, am now reconciled to God. We are made as one—in unity with one another through faith in what Jesus did. 

My heart is still prone to wandering, but it now has the Shepherd who lovingly rebukes and restores.  Instead of stony, cold rebellion, I now have a heart of flesh, alive and alert to His correction empowered by His grace to follow.  

I am just a simple, wandering sheep in need of the Great Shepherd.  O, How I Love Him!

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom [be] glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20, 21