John 14:1-7 Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

John 14:1-7 NIV
Today, we have one of my top ten readings. I have officiated at close to 300 funerals since I began ministering here in Baraga County. This lesson, next to Psalm 23, is probably the most read, by me, when ministering to family and friends at a funeral or memorial service.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe. Believe that a place has been prepared for you in our Father's house; for Jesus has gone before us to prepare it. He is the way, the truth and the life. In him and through him, we are reconciled to God our Father in the Kingdom prepared for all who believe in him. Believe and follow him.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Jesus died so that all who believe in him, might live life eternally in our Father's house, in His presence.
God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 50 - Babylon/False Shepherds Destroyed

Babylon is about finished. God is about to destroy her and His people will turn their faces, once again, to the LORD and to the land that He has given them; to the covenant that He has made with them. They were once lost, living in exile; because of their hard-heartedness and eagerness to follow false god, false shepherds. But, now God will destroy those false shepherds who led them out of the land He had given them.

“My people have been lost sheep;
    their shepherds have led them astray
    and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
    and forgot their own resting place.
Whoever found them devoured them;
    their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,    the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’" (Jer 50:6-7 NIV)

No more! Those who say that they are not guilty, that they have no sin; those who have scattered the flock will fall. Babylon will fall! The wolves in sheep clothing will fall! The Good Shepherd, Himself, will lead the remnant home.

“Israel is a scattered flock
    that lions have chased away.
The first to devour them
    was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones
    was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

"I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
    as I punished the king of Assyria.
But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture,
    and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied
    on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
    but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
    but none will be found,    
for I will forgive the remnant I spare." (Jer 50:17-20)

 

There are many false shepherds out there. Beware! And, follow in the way that the LORD has prepared for you. "The LORD is our Shepherd, we shall not want. He makes us to lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside still water. He restores our soul..." (Psalm 23)

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 23 - The LORD Is Our Shepherd!

Well, here is one I don't have to read.  I pray it every day, not just for me, but for all of you, as well. 

The LORD is our shepherd!  Thanks be to God that He is with us now and always, guiding us wherever He would lead us!  Yea, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we shall fear no evil, for God is with us. 

As long as we live in this world, death looms large in front of us.  It is still before us and we live in its shadow.  But, God is larger.  Thanks be to God, Christ has overcome the power of death for us. On this side of death there will always be trials and challenges to overcome.  We will endure persecution for the sake of the Gospel (that is the good news of the Kingdom in Jesus the Christ).  We will suffer, but we know that even as these days might present themselves as a shadowy darkness, God is with us.  Our shepherd is is with us in the face of the enemy, even as He anoints our heads with oil, leading us to green pastures and still waters. 

His goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.  We are confident that the LORD, our Shepherd, will be present with us even as we dwell in His presence, in His House, in His Kingdom, forever!  Amen!
God's Peace - Pr. J