by Roger Bruce
What is your favorite Psalm? There are 150 from which to choose. They encompass the range of all human emotion.
Riverbender.com is calling this race with less than 1% reporting and Psalm 23 is the winner with over 90% of the vote!
People who have not had exposure to the Bible or church recognize the opening verse. The King James Version has it this way: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Some Bible translations expand for better understanding (we will re-visit this hot potato another day), like the New International Version: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing”. The Amplified version has it: “The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me], I shall not want”. The New Living Translation: “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need”.
Great, Rog, apparently you have BibleGateway.org (I know, isn’t it awesome?). What’s your point? Thanks for asking. It is less a point than a question. One for all of us, no pointing of pious fingers. You should know me by now and there are no short stories…
In our part of the world, the shepherd directs traffic from the rear of the flock, relying on dogs to flank the flock and drive them forward to their destination. In the time of this Psalm, the shepherd would lead the flock and by relationship, the flock would follow, responding to the shepherd’s voice. Put yourself in the place of the sheep. Which shepherd would you choose? Do you want to be merchandise or have a personal relationship? Would you prefer to be driven or led?
So, let’s be clear here in 2019? Who is the shepherd? If we have any doubts, consider John 10.14 (AMP).
14 I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me].
I think our Shepherd is Jesus. Remember how shepherding was done back then.
The question I promised earlier is, “Is Jesus leading you or are you trying to drive the flock yourself?”
I am not trying to be mean. I do believe that if we consider ourselves to be Christians/Jesus followers, it falls by definition who the leader is. Are we following where He leads?
Psalm 23.1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”. Do you find yourself in shortfall (I am not speaking exclusively to the financial realm)? Is it possibly because you are trying to lead instead of following?
Maybe try following for awhile. My name is Roger and I am your friend. God bless you!
