Devotional Guide -- April 1

Monday, April 1, 2019
Jesus, the Christ

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:12

I’ve never been around sheep but my husband had. He used to tell the children and me stories about sheep. Evidently they are not very smart. He told us how easy it is to herd sheep; just get a ram to obey you, and the rest of the flock will do exactly what he does. Get one moving in the right direction; the others follow almost without hesitation.

If that’s true, imagine how important it is to get the lead one to go in the right direction! Sheep need a shepherd!

God knows us well, doesn’t he? Isn’t that true of people? Isn’t it all too easy to follow the wrong leader? To hear of someone who is doing something different and immediately go with them just because it is different? To laugh when others laugh, though we don’t really get the point of a joke? To go with the crowd – wherever the crowd is going?

How desperately we need a shepherd! Someone who knows the way, knows how to lead us down the right path to still water, knows how to restore us in adversity. Someone who won’t accept change just because it is politically expedient or correct. Someone who not only will not go with the crowd but will stand firmly against the crowd if he knows it is wrong. “The Lord is our Shepherd!”

Prayer: Thank you, Father. Jesus is the best shepherd. Amen.

“I am the resurrection and the life.” John 11:25
Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2009
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Director