August 3, 2010
Read Ezekiel 34 - 36
Ezekiel 34:11-12 “‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
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Ezekiel 34:31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”
WHY DO people meet as a church or in small groups? Reading these words from a prophet who generally proclaims destruction for an unrepentant people, we are reminded of God’s great desire to gather his people as a good shepherd gathers his sheep.
In this pastoral picture, we see God the Father calling his people into a place where they can hear his soothing voice and feel his comfort. We see the Son, the Great Shepherd, personally tending to each sheep as it has needs. And we “feel” the gentle wind of the Spirit of God bringing cool, refreshing air to the flock.
And the concluding words of Chapter 34 give to us that wonderful, eternal promise that we are his, and he is our Shepherd.
God has invited us to gather as a church, a small group or even with one other person, to know the good pleasure of God’s leading us to be in a place of peace, promise and trust with others and with him. To be gathered together with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a life-chaning, life-givng gift he has for us, even if we’ve been far away.
Oh, yes, we can trust such a Shepherd to gather and to lead us. Faithfully, we can obey his Word, respond to his call, and rejoice in his Shepherding love each day.
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