Two Sheepdogs

 

I live in Carlton Place subdivision, but it is more country than subdivision.  And there are two dogs that intrigue me in the neighborhood.  One is an Irish setter that runs out to chase my car.  I’m not sure what he would do if he ever actually caught me, but he tries.  And the other is an Australian blue healer that always makes his rounds early in the morning.  I don’t know what he is looking for, but he runs by each morning.  Both dogs do instinctively what they are bred to do.  It’s in their DNA.  They remind me of the two dogs mentioned in Psalm 23.  What?  You didn’t know about the two dogs in the Shepherd Psalm?  You find them in verse 6.  They are the two sheepdogs that God has guarding His flock of sheep.  They are named Goodness and Mercy.  Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”  God has his two faithful sheepdogs nipping at my heels keeping me in line.  God’s goodness and God’s mercy are forever chasing after me.  I can’t get away from God’s goodness and mercy.  The Lord is so good and so merciful to me that I can’t escape His love.  The Good Lord’s love compels me to follow Him and to obey Him.  So, how about you?  Have you trusted in the Good Shepherd?  Is His Goodness and Mercy following you?

Remember

Do you remember where you were when the Twin Towers in New York city were burned down?  I do.  I remember working at home and my dear wife calling me from school telling me that I needed to turn on the television.  Actually, I remember where I was when President John F. Kennedy was shot.  I was coming home from high school and my mother met me and my brother at the front door of our home with the news.  I remember the somber cloud grief that hung over our home that evening at supper time.  Can you imagine the doubt and fear that the disciples felt the afternoon that Jesus died?  Jesus had been their powerful leader and close friend for three years.  Then, suddenly, he was arrested, hauled into court, rushed through a mock trial, condemned to death and crucified, all in a matter of twelve hours or so.  I’m sure that they were crushed.  They cowered behind locked doors fearing that they would be next.  But then came Easter Sunday morning!  The ladies went to pack the burial shroud of Jesus with embalming spices early Easter Sunday morning, but came running back with the unbelievable news that Jesus body wasn’t there!  Two angels had told them in Matthew 28:6, “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”  Then, Mary Magdalene returned affirming that Jesus was alive!  She had actually spoken to Him!  The disciples couldn’t believe their ears!  Peter and John visited the tomb and confirmed that the tomb was empty.  The grave shroud was there right where it should have been, but Jesus was not there!  But then that evening, with all of the disciples in the upper room (except Thomas) Jesus Himself appeared to them!  He was alive!  Hey, Jesus IS alive!  And now, I remember where I was the day that I trusted the risen Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  I was in the basement of Maple View Baptist Church, April 17, 1956, when I was gloriously born again!  Have you been born into God’s forever family?  Message me right now and I can tell you how you can.  And today will be a day for you to remember!

Prophecy

Nearly 75 percent of the population belongs to one of five main religions in the world: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity.  But of all of the holy books of the world religions, only Judaism and Christianity contain prophecy.  That’s because not everyone can predict the future.  Only God can do that.  More than 500 years before Christ, one of God’s prophets, Zechariah prophecies in Zechariah 12:10, “…and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”  More than 1,000 years before Christ, King David prophecies in Psalm 22:16, “… the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.”  When Zechariah and King David lived, execution was done by stoning, not by crucifixion.  The Romans and Crucifixion were completely unknown and centuries in the future.  So, how did Zechariah and King David know about death by crucifixion?  Well, actually, they didn’t … God did.  And God told Zechariah and King David exactly what to write because God knew the future.  And centuries later it came to pass.  Hey, only the true God knows the future!  So, what does your future look like?  This Easter would be a good time for you to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior.  You can join God’s forever family and spend eternity in heaven with Him!  The choice is up to you.