THOUGHT - Follow the Shepherd

This is the second in a series of thoughts from the Lord. Sometimes we feel pressure from others to conform in some way to their expectations; this can be obvious or it can be so subtle that we hardly notice. In the same way we can bring similar pressure to bear on others from time to time. Perhaps it's better if we don't!

Today, the Spirit of Christ whispered these thoughts to me and I feel I should share them.

I have particular things for you to do. I choose specific things for each of my children, things they will be able to do because their personality and gifting suits them to it. Don't try to do what you see others do, do instead what you see ME do. I will show you. My sheep hear my voice and follow me.

Nor should you try to persuade others to do what I lead you to do, my call on them may be different from my call on you. Follow me, and leave others to do the same. Don't be pressured or persuaded onto a different course, don't allow anyone to tell you what to do or how to do it. Simply follow me and do what I do for that is obedience and I will bless you abundantly in obedience.

Don't criticise others, always encourage and build up.

Walk in my ways, on the path I take, keep your eyes on me, don't be anxious. Walk joyfully, walk in peace, but walk resolutely and with courage for I am with you.

Here are some more thoughts on sheep and shepherds based on John 10. Notice that 'his sheep follow him because they recognise his voice' (John 10:4).

Colworth (CU) - A servant heart

Steph brought some thoughts based around Lent, traditionally a time of fasting and preparation for remembering Jesus' death and return to life.

The first thought she brought was about grace, something we receive freely and undeservedly, in his graciousness the Almighty doesn't expect us to earn the right to the good things we receive. We don't deserve life, but if we follow his Son we will certainly receive it. We are actually a royal priesthood, Christ is our King and also our Great High Priest and we are therefore of his royal and priestly family. Therefore we reign with him and through him, and we have access to the Almighty through grace.

Steph read the Anglican Confession, very familiar to some of us and perhaps less so to others.

Then we returned to thoughts about grace. The gospel (the good news) is bearing fruit in us. In a sense we are the fruit of the gospel. Psalm 139 shows that Yahweh knows everything about us. Grace comes to us free, without conditions, without strings.

We also though about the attitude of Christ and how we should have this same attitude in our own lives. He encourages us, we have peace, joy and love because of him. If we are like him we will always look to the interests of others. This is the nature of a servant. He humbled himself to come as a servant, in the same way we should always be ready to serve one another.

NEWS - Latest H2H e-letter

The latest issue of the House2House (H2H) e-letter dropped into my inbox this morning. I always look forward to these arriving!

In this issue Tony and Felicity Dale take a look at the underlying characteristics that result in rapidly growing, self-replicating churches. They mention simplicity, truth, relationships, and mission as essential elements. The e-letter links to other useful resources from David Garrison, David Watson, Wolfgang Simson, and the Mather family.

If you've never sampled an H2H e-letter before, now would be a great time to take a look. They're published every week or two, are always worth reading, and are kept deliberately brief to make them easy to read and absorb.

You can always find a link to H2H in the sidebar of 'All About Jesus'. It's a great resource so I like to make sure everyone can browse to it easily. Hint: you can sign up to receive the e-letters by email too, so you always see new ones right away without checking the website.

THOUGHT - Our inheritance

The following thoughts were from the Lord to me this morning. Every day I try to spend some time listening and this is what I think I heard today. I plan to share these thoughts from time to time when I consider they might be useful to others. Take whatever seems good or helpful.

My ways are higher than yours, I hold the entire universe open, if I let go it would collapse and be gone. Without me there is nothing, but if you have me you have everything.

Be bold, be brave, find safety in me for you won't find it anywhere else. I'm calling you to create something out of nothing too because you are the very image of me. Your nature derives from my nature, your heart is no longer the heart of stone you were born with but it's the heart of flesh I placed in you as you were born again into new life in me.

I created something out of nothing, now it's your turn. Follow me. Be a light in the darkness, salt in a flavourless world, peace in the place of struggling, truth where before lies prevailed. I have called you to do my work because you are like me and I enjoy having you as companions in my journey. Don't cling to this world because you no longer belong here, you belong with me for all eternity. I am your King and your Inheritance. Everything I have is yours.

Eaton Ford (day) - Beauty in nature

We began this morning with a chat over coffee, then shared CO2 together. Paul and Jules are planning to do this together for a week or two or longer if they feel they should continue, so we were able to demonstrate it for Jules and he joined in too. It took quite a long time to work through this as there were four of us - Paul, Roger, Jules, and me.

As a result of the issues we'd just shared it seemed very natural to go into a time of prayer. We prayed for the things in our own lives that were causing concern, sadness, excitement, or tenderness; and we prayed for friends who are ill or grieving.

Paul spoke about the beauty of the natural world around us that reminds us daily of our Father's presence and power and love.

Roger read Psalm 46 and we talked about it for a while. And finally, James 2 was on my heart so I read through it without understanding its significance until I came to the end of verse 13, 'Mercy triumphs over judgement'. This almost jumped off the page and seemed especially relevant for one of the friends we had talked about and prayed for earlier.

Moggerhanger - Trusting the Lord

Jim had invited me to join the Moggerhanger Park staff prayer meeting and today for the first time I was able to do so. It was lovely. We met around a table and there were two other visitors this morning, a couple who plan to hold their wedding reception at the Park. The three of us almost outnumbered the staff!

Jim began by reading from Proverbs 3:5, then sharing about trusting the Lord. The entire chapter puts the verse in context. There is a section on wisdom, and trusting the Almighty is an important aspect of wisdom!)

We prayed for a number of sick friends, and listened as the Spirit encouraged us. He said that this house is a holy place because it is filled by his holy people. And he said that we would receive what we hoped to receive from him but that he would also surprise us with what we do not expect.

Afterwards Jim and I were able to spend a few minutes together with tea and coffee before I had to head back for a day working at home.