Worship the Good Shepherd

Psalm 95:6-7
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice:

In these verses, the psalmist invites us to enter into worship, to humble ourselves before our Maker.  The act of bowing and kneeling before someone is an act of submission, of yielding oneself to the sovereignty of the One you bow before.  Therefore, before we can truly worship we must yield our will to His, we must acknowledge His right to rule and reign over our lives, and we must lay ourselves before Him totally surrendered.  I wish I could say this is a state of being for me, but for this strong-willed child, I must die daily and sometimes it is a struggle!  At times, I forget that giving into my flesh is actually surrendering to my adversary the devil.  Unlike surrendering to my enemy, when I daily surrender to Jesus I can be assured of an incredible journey.  “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.  My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”  John 10:10 

As I meditate on the above verses in Psalm 95 I am reminded that in John 10 Jesus continued to say, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep . . . My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."  (John 10:11, 27 & 28)  Jesus gave his life so that my sins could be forgiven and I could be one of His sheep.  He has given me eternal life, meaning that even though my body will die, my soul will live forever with Him in heaven - I will dwell in His pasture.  I am safe and secure because no one can snatch me from My Shepherds hands.  Jesus knows me; He has counted every hair on my head and written my name on the palm of His hand.  Because I am His, when He speaks I recognize His voice.  Just like when my husband speaks, I recognize his voice and know it is he speaking to me.  When my Dad speaks, I also recognize his voice.  I know their voices because I belong to them – I have a relationship with them.  Because I have a relationship with Jesus, when He speaks to me, be it through His Word, prayer, or circumstances, I hear His voice and I follow Him.

Do you recognize Jesus when He speaks to you?  When someone calls that I don't know very well, I don't recognize their voice and they have to tell me who is calling.  In order for me to recognize a stranger's voice, I need to develop a relationship with them.  I would need to spend time with them, listen to them and learn about them.  Likewise, to recognize the voice of Jesus we must develop our relationship with Him. Jesus longs to have a personal, intimate relationship with each one of us, but He will not force Himself on anyone.  If you desire to cultivate a relationship with Jesus, you must first belong to Him - if you don't or you are uncertain, please read How to get to Heaven.  We develop a relationship with Jesus the same way we do with each other - we spend time with Him, listen to Him and learn about Him. Some call this their Quiet Time or Daily Devotion, but it's setting aside time everyday for prayer and Bible study.  This is how we grow to know Him, to love Him, to follow and obey Him.

I belong to Jesus, He is my Friend, He is my God, my Savior, my Lord, my King, my Master, my Father, my Maker, my Good Shepherd.  He is my EVERYTHING and He is worthy of all my praise and worship.  He gives me the incredible privilege of coming before His throne; of entering into His presence; of listening to my hopes, dreams, desires, needs and often my ranting and ravings . . . and then He gives me what I need.  I can bow before Him in complete surrender knowing He is in control of all things and will work them together for my good.  No one else does that for me or for you, so yes beloved, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our maker.  For He is our God and only He is worthy of our praise!

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