Morning, August 19
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From Meekness to Majesty: The Reign of Christ our Good Shepherd

What does the image of a shepherd bring to mind? How does this metaphor translate to our everyday lives? What kind of shepherd do we find in Christ? What does it mean for us to dwell securely under His reign?

He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth. — Micah 5:4

Christ reigns in His Church as a Shepherd-King. His rule is one of supreme authority, but it also carries the wisdom and tenderness of a shepherd caring for his devoted flock. His commands are met with the joyful obedience of sheep well cared for, whose familiarity with the Shepherd's voice prompts trust and devotion. This Shepherd-King rules not with might and fear, but with the irresistible power of love and the dynamic energy of goodness.

His reign is tangible. The Shepherd-King is actively engaged in His Church, standing and feeding His people. The term "feed" here is inclusive. It encapsulates everything expected of a shepherd: guidance, protection, preservation, restoration, tending, and yes, feeding.

His reign is continual. The Shepherd-King does not merely feed His flock occasionally and then abandon His post. There is no cyclical pattern of revival and barrenness. Instead, His watchful eyes never slumber, His active hands never rest, His heart ceaselessly pulses with love, and His shoulders willingly bear the burdens of His people.

His reign effectual. When the Shepherd-King feeds His flock, He does so in the strength of the Lord. It is an uplifting truth that He who represents us is indeed the very God to whom every knee will bow. We His flock are truly blessed to have such a Shepherd, whose humanity shares our experiences and whose divinity offers us protection. Let us worship Him, the One who allows us to graze peacefully in His pasture.

O Lord, the Shepherd of our souls,
In Your strength we find our peace.
Under Your watch we dwell securely.
May Your greatness extend to the ends of the earth.


Questions for Reflection

1. How does the metaphor of Christ as a shepherd influence your understanding of His relationship with the Church?
2. How can you apply the attributes of the Shepherd-King in your daily leadership roles?
3. How can the willing obedience of the well-cared sheep inspire your relationship with God?
4. In what ways do you see the "feeding" of Christ in your life, in terms of guidance, protection, restoration, and nourishment?
5. How do you find comfort in the continual nature of Christ's reign, and how does this inspire your faith?
6. How does the image of Christ as an unslumbering, unwearying Shepherd affect your sense of security in Him?
7. How can you show reverence and worship to Christ in your daily life?
8. Reflect on a situation where you felt the loving, caring nature of Christ the Shepherd.
9. How does the understanding of Christ’s humanity and divinity affect your relationship with Him?
10. In what practical ways can you 'hear' and follow the Shepherd's voice in your life?
11. How does the notion of Christ's unending reign bring peace into your present-day living?
12. How can we contribute to extending the greatness of the Lord to the ends of the earth in our own small ways?

Supporting Scriptures

2 Samuel 5:2: Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the LORD said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”
Psalm 23:1-2: A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 78:52-53: He led out His people like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness.
Isaiah 40:11: He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
Jeremiah 3:15: Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
Ezekiel 34:23: I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
John 10:11: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

Dawn and Dusk: Scriptures, Devotions, and Prayers. Inspired by Charles Haddon Spurgeon's Morning and Evening: Daily Readings. You are free to copy as needed for noncommercial personal and ministry use.

Bible League: Living His Word
. . . looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews Chapter 11 gives us a list of heroes of faith that is meant to inspire us to walk in the same faith as they did. In Chapter 12, however, we are given one final example of faith. We are given Jesus, the hero who is the very "founder and perfecter of our faith." As such, Jesus is worthy of being dealt with in a separate treatment apart from the other heroes.

Jesus is the founder (or "author") and perfecter (or "finisher") of our faith because He is from first to last the archetypal example of what it means to have faith in God. His faith, to put it another way, supersedes the faith of any of the previously mentioned heroes of faith and serves as the preeminent and perfect example as a result. We should look to Jesus, therefore, before we look to any of the other heroes. The faith of the other heroes, exemplary though it is, is not comparable to the matchless faith of Jesus.

The main reason that Jesus holds this exalted position in the hall of the heroes of faith is that He was able by faith to see past the horror of the cross to the joy that was in store for Him. Jesus believed there would be great joy at the right hand of the throne of God and that there would be great joy for having saved the whole creation.

Given His faith, Jesus was able to bear the pain, suffering, and shame of the events associated with His trial and crucifixion. Indeed, Jesus did more than bear them. He "despised the shame." Instead of allowing the shame and everything else to inhabit and overwhelm His soul, He despised them by refusing to give them entrance into His sense of himself.

By faith Jesus overcame the shame and He now sits in the place of highest honor in heaven and earth.

In the world of trouble we live in we may be going through many things that we would rather not be going through. Like our hero Jesus, however, there are great rewards set before us that we will obtain if we overcome by faith just as He did.

Bible in a Year
Old Testament Reading
Psalm 112-115


Psalm 112 -- Blessed is the man who fears the Lord

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Psalm 113 -- Praise, you servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Psalm 114 -- When Israel went forth out of Egypt

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Psalm 115 -- Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


New Testament Reading
1 Corinthians 1


1 Corinthians 1 -- Greetings and Thanksgiving; Exhortation to Unity; We preach Christ crucified

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library.
Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand.
Insight
Just as a shepherd protects his sheep, Jesus protects his people from eternal harm. While believers can expect to suffer on earth, Satan cannot harm their souls or take away their eternal life with God. There are many reasons to be afraid here on earth because this is the devil's domain.
Challenge
But if you choose to follow Jesus, he will give you everlasting safety.
Morning and Evening by Spurgeon
Micah 5:4  He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord.

Christ's reign in his Church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock; he commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the energy of goodness.

His reign is practical in its character. It is said, "He shall stand and feed." The great Head of the Church is actively engaged in providing for his people. He does not sit down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without wielding it in government. No, he stands and feeds. The expression "feed," in the original, is like an analogous one in the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as to feed.

His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, "He shall stand and feed;" not "He shall feed now and then, and leave his position;" not, "He shall one day grant a revival, and then next day leave his Church to barrenness." His eyes never slumber, and his hands never rest; his heart never ceases to beat with love, and his shoulders are never weary of carrying his people's burdens.

His reign is effectually powerful in its action; "He shall feed in the strength of Jehovah." Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it is a joyful truth to consider that he who stands today representing the interests of his people is very God of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before him as the people of his pasture.

Daily Light on the Daily Path
1 Peter 1:15  but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;

1 Thessalonians 2:11,12  just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, • so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

1 Peter 2:9  But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Ephesians 5:8-11  for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light • (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), • trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. • Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

Philippians 1:11  having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Matthew 5:16  "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

1 Corinthians 10:31  Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.

Evening August 18
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