By Latonya Brinson
Are we Good Shepherds? Are we faithful over the small things! According to Webster a Shepherd is:
1: a person who tends sheep 2: pastor
3: german shepherd , all who are Very Responsible people or animals. The German shepherd is considered to be very Intelligent and Responsive, pastors are Spiritual overseer and a shepherd is someone who is very responsible. I recall a day I had no appointments and was starting to feel the pinch of the “Recession” and I prayed to God for Guidance and the Answered I heard and felt was CLEAN YOUR HOUSE! My first thought was Clean my house? but the Will of God is bigger than me so I walked into my bed room Closet. The closet was overflowing with Stuff everywhere. So I started to clean, I had clothes, shoes, hats, baby stuff and more in this small space. After 2 hours of straight work I was very upset with myself because I learned I was not a Good Shepherd. I had over 6 large trash bags of stuff that I did not or could not use. Some of the clothes were brand new with tags or baby clothes worn maybe once. I ask God for forgiveness for keeping this entire overflow for myself, so I decided to give it away (in my opinion you should not sell overflow). As soon as I made the decision to give this overflow away, God Blessed me in so many ways. God showed me that I had everything I needed and more, and by holding on to this entire overflow I was stopping someone else’s blessing. I even got phone calls from people wanting Massage appointment that I had never talk too or knew before. I was so Grateful for the lesson of a Good Shepherd. The lesson I learn was simply this: 1.Take account for what you have! To take account we first must get our house in order. Most of us have more than we need or ever could use and we just hold on to it or asking for more, buying more, or loathing for more. When I started cleaning my closet I found about $20.00 (wow I was so Happy, my husband said I get excited over anything, I tell him I am Grateful for a penny) That was $20 I did not have, and as I clean, the more pennies I found. I took an account of what I had! I (I knew where my sheep was and what I really had to work with) 2. Get rid of overflow now! I donated or gave away everything that I could not use, and promised myself not to ask for anything or buy anything until I used what I had! My Closet and my life were free of clutter, I could think better and I felt better. (I had gotten rid of all that extra sheep fur that was just taking up my valuable space) 3 Reset your priorities! Before I got married or had children, or got out the Navy it was all about me and what I wanted! I spent money with minimum thought into how much money I spent on stuff. Then I receive the best blessing in the world my family and my priorities had to change, which required a cleaning of the old so that I could have room for the new! My decisions have to take in account the whole picture, not just for the moment. I first had to be GRATEFUL of where I was at, what I had, and use the resource that was hidden by the clutter! That day my life changed and I became a better Shepherd! We are all Shepherd’s over ourselves and our possession, but are we taking care of what we have, are we reading to our kids, cleaning our house, being Grateful, showing our Appreciation with our action. I stared by cleaning my house, and the results were amazing. Next I started telling GOD everyday whether with my voice, my action and/or through my Gratitude Book THANK YOU! I thank God for this Blog! I try to be a Good Shepherd in all areas of my life, and cleaning away the Clutter. It has saved me time, frustration, money and so much more. I pray this Blog touch and change your life in the Most positive way! Leave a comment or a testimony of how being a Good Shepherd has helped you!
John 10
1I ASSURE you, most solemnly I tell you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way (elsewhere, from some other quarter) is a thief and a robber.
2But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3The watchman opens the door for this man, and the sheep listen to his voice and heed it; and he calls his own sheep by name and brings (leads) them out.
4When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5They will never [on any account] follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers or recognize their call.
6Jesus used this parable (illustration) with them, but they did not understand what He was talking about.
7So Jesus said again, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that I Myself am the Door [a]for the sheep.
8All others who came [as such] before Me are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not listen to and obey them.
9I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture.
10The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [b]overflows).
11I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.(A)
12But the hired servant (he who merely serves for wages) who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away. And the wolf chases and snatches them and scatters [the flock].
13Now the hireling flees because he merely serves for wages and is not himself concerned about the sheep [cares nothing for them].
14I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me–
15Even as [truly as] the Father knows Me and I also know the Father–and I am giving My [very own] life and laying it down on behalf of the sheep.
http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=John+10&version=45
shepherd. (2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
Retrieved March 11, 2009, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shepherd
March 24, 2009 at 11:17 pm
I totally agree with you. I myself has had to stop myself sometimes from blaming my problems or issues on someone else and realize that I wasn’t being a Good Shephard of my situation. I have been truly blessed with a wonderful husband and a house full of boys, four to be exact, and I would get down in the dumps because I used to feel that my life was put on hold…that I was making a huge sacrifice because I couldn’t go back to school. One day it hit me, while I was cleaning as well, that I was doing what God wanted me to be doing. What better place could I exhibit the qualities of a Good Shephard, than in my home. I am definitely not trying to take the role of my husband, he is the head of this household, the Shephard of this house, but I have a leading role here as well. I have the future here in my hands, in my grasp, under my leadership. What example was I setting for my children by sitting around sulking, talking about what I could be doing and why I wasn’t doing it. I had to take self inventory. I was good at telling others what they needed to be doing, but I wasn’t practicing what I was preaching. I now understand that I am doing exactly what God wants me to be doing and even when those hairy days come, I lean on Him. There is no other way to do it. I get my guidance from Him. I get my direction from Him. I get my answers from Him. I get my joy from Him. I could go on and on, but He has told me that He needs me to set the tone in this household because I have precious lives here that He needs me to help mold for the future. And I have seen the change. Once I started to totally rely on God, I saw the change in my children and my husband. I now lead by example, and in doing so I am showing my children how to handle situations when they get older. I am showing them that you don’t have to fight and scream your way through everything. I am showing them that just by calling on the Lord and trusting Him completely all your prayers will be answered. He will not withold any good thing from us. I am a living testimony of that. My life has been truly blessed and they just keep on coming, and those who don’t know the Lord (and even those who claim they do) are standing back looking at my husband and me wondering how we did it. We always tell them we didn’t do anything, it was all God.