| TODAY'S SCRIPTURE "If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray." (Matthew 18:12-13)
TODAY'S WORD , a shepherd looks out for the welfare of his sheep. He leads them to green pastures and takes them beside still waters. But in spite of all his tender care and good intentions, the sheep have a trait that truly resembles people. Sheep tend to go astray. As the Scripture says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way . . ." (Isaiah 53:6).
Now it would seem that anyone under the care of the Good Shepherd would never go astray or need restoration. But sadly that is not the case. You see, sheep are incredibly stupid. And people are that way too. For example, why do we run from God? Why do we disregard His plan for our life? You know it's amazing. We will break God's commandments and ignore His Word. Then when we begin to reap what we sow, we will actually get angry at God for a spiritual valley that we created ourselves.
The good news is that the Bible speaks of how God will restore us. Psalm 23:3 says "He restores my soul." Do you need restoration? Maybe you have strayed into sin or gotten yourself into trouble. Perhaps you have this image that God is going to hunt you down and punish you for what you have done. But God loves you and misses you. Just as Jesus told the story of the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to go after that one stray sheep, God is seeking you out, wanting to put you back on your feet.
If you need restoration, don't be afraid to turn to the Good Shepherd today.
A PRAYER FOR YOU TODAY My Father in heaven, help me, for I have slipped into bad habits. Something in me defies my attempts to change, and I feel compelled to do that which I do not want to do. I feel weak and ashamed, and I turn to you for help. Help me, dear God. Help me to resist this temptation. Lend me your mighty power to cast it aside. You have graciously promised that you would not let us be tempted beyond our ability, but instead, would provide an escape for any temptation we pray to resist. Holy Spirit, show me my escape from my bad habit. Let me resolve to work on it, to pray on it, to turn it into a habit of good; for I know how you love righteous conduct, and my love for you longs to please you. Work your power to help me please you, mighty God; for I know that with your help, I can overcome any evil. In Christ's name, I pray, Amen. |
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