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Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?  Luke 12:54-59

How can someone close to God miss the obvious? This was Jesus’ question to the crowds. They were good at reading weather signs but struggled to interpret the times spiritually.

When Saul pursued David to kill him, only a small number of people stood by David. But a group called the ‘sons of Issachar’ understood things correctly. They saw Saul for who he truly was — a disobedient king under God’s judgment. They also saw David for who he was — God’s anointed man who was destined to become king. Based on all the evidence, it seemed that Saul was threatened by a possible coup led by a renegade named David. However, these 200 men understood the situation accurately.  

The children of Issachar, men who understood their times, knew what Israel ought to do.  I Chronicles 12:32

What kind of spiritual insight do I have? The men of Issachar looked at Saul the way God looked at Saul. His crown did not influence them. They could judge his actions and leadership style to recognize that he was out of God’s favor. They searched for his anointing but couldn’t find it. They also looked at David and saw beyond his poverty and ragtag militia. They perceived spiritual greatness and the signs of a kingly anointing.

Not everything is as it seems. Influential people are often fragile like a house of cards. They can crumble after just one confrontation. The humble are often seen as weak, but they may rise to power if God promotes them. Jesus is coming soon, and understanding the times has never been more critical.

Oh, for divine eyesight.  Train me.  Amen

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  Luke 18:1-7

The tragedy of this parable, though the contrast between the judge and the Father is striking, is that I have often seen the Father as the judge. I feel I dare not ask for too much because God won’t have a heart for me. And, if I keep asking, He will see me as a pest.

Although many wouldn’t admit to feeling this way, I believe it’s the reason why more people don’t live a lifestyle of prayer. All teachers of the Word should stand up for God’s character. With that in mind, I’d like to present a contrast based on the whole counsel of God’s Word.

• The judge did not have a heart for people.  The Father does.
• The judge was unfamiliar with this woman. The Father knows the number of hairs on our head, and we are His precious children
• The judge was not moved by the widow’s story of injustice. The Father promises to avenge all wrongs done to any of His children.
• The woman had to plead her case on her own, but Jesus rose again to be our advocate, our lawyer in heaven’s courts.
• The woman had a one-time audience with the judge.  We have round-the-clock access to our Father. 

Put your faith in the unwavering character of God.   Though you may feel one way (based on human experience), you can act on a truth you do not feel yet affirm to be true.  This will always be the right choice.

You are always my Father, and when I fear You’re the judge, I need Your Holy Spirit to fuel my faith. Amen

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.”  Mark 4:26

What a wonderful parable to start our series. It offers great comfort if you need reassurance that the spiritual seeds you have sown will continue to flourish, even in your absence.  When sown into a person’s heart, it works in secret. Jesus intentionally conveyed the nature of the combustible seed of the Word of God.  I can count on its power. 

If I’ve planted seeds in the hearts of a loved one, those seeds are still at work. “Oh, but I don’t see any signs of change,” you might say. No matter. The overarching message of Jesus’ words is that the one who sows might not see evidence right away. Our confidence rests not in our ability to sow but in the power of the seed. God oversees the process, and transformation belongs to God alone. 

I have a window of time with each person in my life. With my children, it’s the first eighteen years. With a spouse, it’s longer. With a friend, there is usually an adequate window. I faithfully plant the seed when there is proximity. That access may one day end, and I may become discouraged, thinking my ability to effect change is over. Oh no! The seeds I’ve sown by the power of the Spirit are still there, still at work, still stirring up the soil and bringing holy conflict. The one I love may be out of my sight, but the Word is more active than it has ever been. 

I can find comfort when I see little or no harvest. While I sleep, the seeds are working. While I pray for them from a distance, the seeds are germinating in the soil of their hearts. My prayers of joyful confidence water the seeds, even from afar.  

I forget how thunderous Your Word sounds in the soil of a man’s heart.  What has been sown, You will faithfully cultivate, and in that, I rest. Amen

Listen to the LORD who created you, to the One who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1

Brennan Manning said, “We often feel like the homely peasant girl for whom the king has come to take a bride.” Our sense of self-condemnation makes us back away from God’s call to live as His beloved. We feel unworthy. Our own view of ourselves overrides His words. Imagine someone asking you today, “Do you believe that God loves you?” You would nod your head appropriately and answer yes. You know the scripture verses. You learned the Sunday School songs. 

But the problem is, our understanding of love has been compromised by our experiences with others. In varying degrees, we have all felt degraded, excluded, rejected, ridiculed, passed over, and a host of other things related to rejection. Each memory festers in our soul. Each arrow of inflicted pain still sits there, infected by time. Oh, how we need our Elohim Hu Ahava to do spiritual surgery to remove the arrows. His Spirit can heal the wounds as the truth of His love replaces the lies of our past.

No one gets to define our worth except our Creator. Not a parent, not a caregiver, not a teacher, not a pastor, not a child or spouse. But many were made to feel unworthy by their parents. They were never anyone’s priority. Work came first. Or other children were preferred. Spouses can communicate that their mate isn’t worth much. Children tell their parents, “You’re a bad father, or bad mother.”  We tend to absorb their opinions. We rationalize that these are the ones who know us best and that makes them credible, right? No.

How do we live cherished in a world where few are cherished? We believe our Father’s proclamations of love, by faith. We are to no longer be crippled by the hole in our souls. The story of our new birth becomes a narrative we can tell others to extol the incomparable Fatherhood of God.

Extoling begins on my knees and there’s so much to thank You for. Amen

I remember sitting in Sunday School as a child, looking at a flannel graph, and seeing a felt image of a lion.  “Satan is a roaring lion…” Mrs. Dixon said. “He’s on the prowl and looking for someone to devour.”  First, this is a dark message for children without telling them the rest of the story ~ Jesus is more powerful than the enemy!  

Only as I’ve grown older have I looked carefully at the scripture she quoted.  “Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  I Peter 5:8-9   She left out an important word. Satan is not the roaring lion.  He prowls ‘like’ a roaring lion.    He sets out to mimic God.  Let’s be clear and comforted ~ The real lion is our Aslan, the Lion of Judah.  

There’s an interesting disclosure about lions in Amos 3:4.  Does a lion ever roar in a thicket without first finding a victim? Does a young lion growl in its den without first catching its prey?  A lion roars to terrify its victim.  He knows his prey will freeze before being easily captured.  Then the lion growls as he begins to devour his catch in order to attract other lions to come and enjoy the feast with him.  Doesn’t our enemy deal this treacherously?  He roars.  We freeze, or so he hopes. 

But Satan is not the lion.  We are told he roars ‘like’ a lion. Remember, he’s the wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s a lion impostor.  This fake lion has already been defeated, and we are the children of Aslan, fighting our fear with this truth.  

“God is a shield to all who trust in him.”  Psalm 18:30

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.”  Psalm 28:7-8

Let’s talk about this big thing that overwhelms you; that thing you bring before God nearly every hour of the day.  I know you wish it weren’t there, that He’d reach out with a sweeping wave of His hand to remove it.  You are frustrated that He’s not doing it when all power is His. David reminds us of God’s declarations ~ He’s our strength and shield, our trustworthy helper. However, it doesn’t always seem that way.

God told His people when they were traveling through the wilderness to Canaan, “Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”  His plan is for each of His children to become mighty in wisdom, strong in muscle strength, and fluent in the ways of the kingdom.  Slaying one giant at a time will build into your life the things that are critical for your future.  Never underestimate what is gained when you walk with God and see the progress that is characterized by baby steps.

God is not stingy, nor is His power limited.  It is His love that restrains His hand from completely rescuing you so that He can do what is ultimately best on your behalf.  I know that this mountain makes you tremble, even despair.  However, by dealing with your fear and choosing to stand in faith, you are being transformed into a champion.  When you can’t see your progress, God can.  You have already changed more than you know. He has been, and is your shield, and He is working on your behalf in ways you could never guess.

I rest in Your faithfulness and my invisible growth. Amen

“You are my refuge and my shield; I hope in your word.” Psalm 119:114

God has been faithful to show me where my hope has been misplaced. 

There were people in my life who claimed to have solutions for things that distressed me. Sometimes they did, but most of the time, they did not. They were unreliable shields.  Misplaced hope.

There were a few who, early in my ministry, did whatever they could to coerce a friendship. They worked to make themselves indispensable, rising to the occasion to provide whatever I was lacking. I let unsafe people close and as their real selves surfaced, I got angry, then depressed. Misplaced hope.

Though lifesaving, God’s lessons are hard to learn. He pushed the idols off my pedestal and exposed them. It took time for my hope in them to grow faint enough to place all my hopes in God. I learned that hope trembles before it becomes a phantom. 

Hope in Yahweh Magen is never misplaced.  In God ~ I have a shield against arrows that would kill my faith. In God ~ I have a defender against all accusations. In God ~ I have a refuge for the storms that loom on the horizon. In God ~ I can take refuge no matter how big the threat.

The roots of my faith are in an un-created God. He is ageless and His names are old and tested. His protective nature is firmly writtenwithin the context of Jewish history. He not only releaved His name to them as their understanding of Him was under development, but He demonstrated it in battle. I can know that this name has stood the test of time.

Oh Lord, you are my unshakeable shield, my hope and my defender. Amen

1. Shepherds were intimately acquainted with nature. They could accurately predict the weather by observing the patterns of the wind, observing their animals’ behavior, and reading the stars. 
 
*We are the sheep.  We are not God.  Jesus is God.  He reads our current environment, intuits the storylines of our lives, factors in how we are wired, and then orders our days with wisdom.  We can trust our Shepherd’s providence. 
 
2. Shepherds were clued into their flock. They knew when one was acting abnormally, saw the beginning stages of an illness, and discerned subtle indications of stress.
 
*Other people can be clueless regarding their understanding of us. They miss the obvious signposts.  Our Great Shepherd does not.  Nothing goes unnoticed.  He picks up on everything, sees what’s coming, and prepares future provisions before we need them.  
 
3. Shepherds possessed excellent knowledge about flowers and plants that could be used medicinally to treat their animals.  
 
*Jesus will Shepherd us in all the places we are wounded.  Only He knows what will heal us.  What He prescribes, even to what seems ludicrous, is precisely what is needed for our wellbeing. We don’t know more than our Creator.  
 
4. Shepherds would move their flocks to better grazing areas, pastureland with hidden water sources, according to the seasons and changing climates. 
 
*Change is usually stressful.  Yet our Shepherd promises to lead us to green pastures.  Leaving a place of abundance fills our hearts with anxiety.  Where is He taking us?  Will the next place be as good?  We can know this ~ we can trust Him to define what is good ~ knowing ‘He will withhold no good thing from us.’
 
5. Shepherds were considered unclean because of their lifestyle and proximity to animal waste and disease.  
 
*Jesus was written off because of His associations with sinners and because He touched the dead.  He took the Gospel to the last places religious people would have gone.  Our Shepherd also leads us to places we wouldn’t choose for ourselves.  They aren’t logical.  Advisors may shake their heads.  But our Shepherd knows what sheep don’t know. Wherever He leads, we are safe in His care.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.  Psalm 84:11

Each of us is valuable because we were created in God’s image. We need others to remind us of this when we face challenges that raise questions about God and faith: poverty, sickness, moral failure, natural disasters, experiences that bring shame, and periods of mental frailty that make us vulnerable.   

Soul care is found in God’s family. It is a safe place to be vulnerable because Jesus’s shepherding heart is expressed there. Others know some of our personal life stories and feel our frustrations, sadness, challenges, and doubts.  

Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.  Galatians 6:2 THE MESSAGE

So, I must not have unrealistic expectations of Jesus. He is my everything, but that doesn’t mean I can get everything I need from Him while living in isolation.  I will experience the Shepherd’s care within a community. We are all priests in ‘the priesthood of believers’, ordained to carry out His ministry to the rest of His flock. 

There is security in the company of those who love Jesus because of collective discernment.  We study together, listen to the Holy Spirit, hash things out, wrestle with the scriptures, and humble ourselves to understand how God’s truth impacts us.    

The Shepherd’s arms are available and can be found in communities where His Spirit thrives.  Our part is not to hide when we feel Shepherd-less.  Instead of retreating, we must move toward those who listen and love well.  As we share our burdens, they are given the privilege of enfolding us into the shepherding arms of our Christ.

Lord, I will open myself up more to those who are alive to Your Spirit.  And I will commit to shepherd others when it’s personally expensive and do it as You have cared for me.  Amen