by Sharla Guenther

Psalm 23 is one of the more famous psalms written by David the King.  This was the same David who took down Goliath with a slingshot and some smooth stones.

David was now King but he was also a musician and liked to write poems and songs.  This particular psalm is about God being his Shepherd-King.

Keep in mind that David used to be a shepherd.  He remembers how he lead and cared for a herd of sheep.

At first thought a King and a Shepherd are very different.  When I think about a King I think of a royal crown, a large castle, servants, large fancy meals and a beautiful Queen.  When I think of a shepherd I think of a servant who works in the fields with raggedy old clothes and a small bag lunch. 

There is also something that a Shepherd and a King have in common too.  They both take care of something.  A King is supposed to look after and protect the kingdom of people under him and a Shepherd looks after and protects his herd of sheep.

A King might have fancier stuff than a shepherd but they both have an important job. 

David might compare God to a shepherd because sometimes when we think of kings we think of someone snobby, who thinks he’s way more important than us and he couldn’t possibly know each person in his kingdom. 

A shepherd on the other hand seems like a regular person that works hard and takes care and loves each of his sheep.  We wouldn’t be afraid to talk to a shepherd and could just be ourselves around him.

David knows that God isn’t like the kings on earth so he compares Him to a loving shepherd taking care of his people so we can get a better picture of what God is like.

So, throughout this chapter even though David is talking about himself as a sheep.  I think it was meant for us to read and see ourselves as the sheep and God as our shepherd. 

After thinking about a shepherd I thought about sheep and how they completely rely on the shepherd for food, shelter and safety.  Just like we need to rely on God. 

You might think that your parents provide all this for you but your parents rely and trust in God to give them a job, money and blessings so they can give you what you need.

Another important point is that sheep don’t know as much as a shepherd.  If you really think about it sheep are pretty dumb compared to a shepherd.  Compared to God we don’t know too much either!  God knows our future, He made us and the whole world.

The first part of the psalm David talks about God being his shepherd and he is the sheep.  The shepherd makes sure his sheep has everything he needs like nice green grass and clean water.  God gives him peace and rest because he can trust Him.

God keeps him on the good path.  Even when there’s rough times he doesn’t have to be afraid.  God is always with him and He can make him feel better when he needs it.

Then David talks about a banquet that God the King would prepare.  There were lots of important, fancy banquets for kings and since David was a king he was thinking how God would treat him.  (I don’t think David is still referring to himself as a sheep).

God would prepare a banquet for David and protect him from his enemies.  He would treat David like a royal guest and anoint him.

In those days people would get anointed to become king or if they were recognized as being someone special.  David was trying to say that even though he was King, God recognized him as more than a king but as someone even more special to Him.

David ends by saying that he will continually be blessed by God with lots of goodness and love and he is looking forward to living with God forever.

God is our Shepherd-King and we are his sheep.  God is guiding us, protecting us and He loves us.  We don’t know as much as God does so we have to trust Him.

By  Dana Gioia

Stand in a field long enough, and the sounds   

start up again. The crickets, the invisible   

toad who claims that change is possible,

And all the other life too small to name.   

First one, then another, until innumerable

they merge into the single voice of a summer hill.

Yes, it’s hard to stand still, hour after hour,   

fixed as a fencepost, hearing the steers

snort in the dark pasture, smelling the manure.

And paralyzed by the mystery of how a stone   

can bear to be a stone, the pain

the grass endures breaking through the earth’s crust.

Unimaginable the redwoods on the far hill,   

rooted for centuries, the living wood grown tall

and thickened with a hundred thousand days of light.

The old windmill creaks in perfect time

to the wind shaking the miles of pasture grass,   

and the last farmhouse light goes off.

Something moves nearby. Coyotes hunt   

these hills and packs of feral dogs.

But standing here at night accepts all that.

You are your own pale shadow in the quarter moon,   

moving more slowly than the crippled stars,   

part of the moonlight as the moonlight falls,

Part of the grass that answers the wind,

part of the midnight’s watchfulness that knows   

there is no silence but when danger comes.

“Sometimes I go to God and say, “God, if Thou dost never answer another prayer while I live on this earth, I will still worship Thee as long as I live and, in the ages, to come for what Thou hast done already. God’s already put me so far in debt that if I were to live one million millenniums, I couldn’t pay Him for what He’s done for me.” ― a quote from AW Tozer

by Sharla Guenther

This week we are going to learn about another parable.  Do you remember what a parable is?  It’s a story Jesus told to teach a lesson.  The story should be easy to remember and will have a special meaning for us to learn from.

This is the parable of the lost sheep.  Jesus started by telling the story to men called tax collectors and Pharisees.  These were men who thought they were more important than everyone else and they weren’t very nice.  They were whispering about Jesus and how he shouldn’t eat and talk with sinners.

It’s funny they would say that because we all are sinners, we all do things we shouldn’t.  The tax collectors and Pharisees thought that they were better than everyone else.  In fact, they didn’t think they had to repent or say sorry to God for their mistakes.

Have you ever felt really bad for something you’ve done?  Maybe you’ve hit your brother or sister and afterwards you wished you hadn’t.  When you really feel sorry for something and tell that person you are sorry, that is what we do when we repent.

Just like with our family we need to feel bad and say sorry to God when we’ve done something wrong.  The Pharisees and tax collectors didn’t think that they had to do this because they were so important.

Of course Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he told this parable:

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Does he not leave the ninety-nine sheep and go find the one sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he is so excited he carries the sheep all the way home.  Then he phones all his friends and neighbors and has a party to celebrate the sheep that was found.

Then Jesus told what the parable meant:  Just like there was a big party over the one lost sheep, there will be a big party in heaven over just one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine people who think they are perfect and don’t need to repent.

Just imagine, when you say “your sorry” to God all of heaven has a big party just for what you’ve done!  God is much more excited when we say we’re sorry than when we act like nothing has happened and don’t think we need to repent at all.

But you know, Jesus just kept going and he told another parable.  Listen and see if this sounds like something you’ve already heard.

Suppose a woman has ten dollar coins and loses one.  Does she not turn on all her lights, sweep the whole house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls all her friends and neighbors and has a party to celebrate finding the lost coin.

Just like the lost coin, there is great joy with all of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.

I think the lesson here is that nobody is perfect (except God of course).  It’s very important that when we make a mistake we realize we have done something wrong and we tell God we’re sorry.  It’s as simple as taking a couple minutes, going somewhere quiet would be best (but you can talk to God anywhere), and just say you’re sorry for the wrong thing you’ve done and ask God to forgive you.

When you ask God to forgive you He immediately erases the mistake from His mind and He won’t think of it again.  It’s pretty easy, huh?!  Just think how happy God will be when you do it ,and you’ll feel better too!