Shepherd

“For the Lamb in the center of the throne

will be their shepherd; he will lead them to

springs of living water. And God will wipe

away every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17 (NIV)

“For I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep

and my sheep know mejust as the Father knows

me and I know the Father I will lay down my life

for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this

pen. I must bring them also”.

John 10:1416 (NIV)

Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd. He tells the Pharisees a good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep. He continues by stating He knows His sheep and they know Him. Then Jesus says something soberingthere is one flock and one shepherd.

A shepherd protects, leads, and guides the sheep. Most shepherds worked for someone else, which made them caretakers of the animals, not owners.

God sent His Son to earth to protect people from the outcome of their sins. Jesus’ role was also to lead those people to His Father’s Kingdom and to show them how to live while they were on this earth.

When we have problems we are to take them to Jesus and let Him work them out to His liking for us. He will, if we let Him.

The Root of David

“ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on himthe Spirit

of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of power. The Spirit

of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord and he

will delight in the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:12 (NIV)

“ And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse

will spring up, one who will arise to rule

over the nations: the Gentiles will hope in him.’ ”

Romans 15:12 (NIV)

A lot of us study our family trees as we search out our backgrounds. In my husband’s genealogy, we learned of Civil War heroes. Our son discovered that my paternal grandfather’s grandfather died at Andersonville prison. I have always been told that one of my ancestors established the state of Georgia. I read later where this man hired John Wesley to come to the United States to teach the Native Americans. We all will find something interesting in our background, if we take the time.



The lineage of Jesus carries a lot of royalty. Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem in order to obey a proclamation of Caesar Augustus. The Roman Emperor called for everyone under Rome’s domination to be taxed. Each household must be accounted for and taxed in the birthplace of its head. Both Mary and Joseph had roots in Bethlehem and in the house of David, Israel’s second and greatest king.

The Alpha and The OmegaThe First and the Last

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word

was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:1 (NIV)

“ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God,

who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’ "

Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

“ ‘Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me,

and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.’"

Revelation 22:1213 (NIV)

The Apostle John begins his account of Jesus’ life by stating Jesus Christ was with God. Then John further says, “The Word was God.” I find this statement very humbling.

The thought of God, the creator of the universe shedding His glory, donning rags and coming to earth as a baby humbles us all. And then, to think His message was for the poor people of Judea gives us pause.



The Biblical writers tell us we all will go before God to be judged when we die. These scribes also write of Jesus sitting at God’s right hand. Because of this Jesusbeing God plays a part in our judgment. But He has already paid the price for our sins.

Picture this, if you will: As each believer comes before God, Jesus will plead his or her case.

“But I died for those sins.”

“However, I shed my blood for her.”

“I love him, I went to the cross for him.”

Jesusthere with God in the beginning, there with God in the end.