Tag Archives: Shepherd

Children That Please God

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Scripture Speaks To Children

I find it interesting that in his letter to the Colossian church, Paul speaks directly to children: “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” — Colossians 3:20. In a section of Scripture devoted to family issues, Paul expects children to read and adhere to his admonition. And if obedience to parents pleases the Lord, we can infer from that that God is not pleased with children who disobey their parents. Yes, He still loves them—but He’s not pleased with them!

Disobedience Produces A Hard Life

I used to tell our kids, “Hey, I’ve figured out how to never get in trouble with your parents! If you never disobey them, you’ll never get in trouble with them!” I would often remind them, “The way of the transgressor is hard!” If Paul were writing a letter to your kids today, I think he’d say something like this: “Your life is going to be hard if you insist on disobeying your parents. Why put yourself through that? Disobedience produces a hard life because your parents are always on you—and God is not pleased with you! So, OBEY! Your life will be much easier!” Jesus set the example of obedience—both to His Heavenly Father and to His earthly father.

Attitude Originates In The Heart

Obedience is a matter of the heart. It’s not just about obeying outwardly—your body language can show disrespect even if you did what you were told! Grumbling, rolling your eyes, shrugging your shoulders, stomping off, banging doors, sassing, arguing, justifying your behavior by making excuses, rationalizing with a “Jimmy’s mom doesn’t make him do that…”—all point to a disobedient attitude of the heart. And to delay is the same as disobedience! When Paul wrote on the same topic to the Ephesian church, he told them that honoring your parents will earn a reward of long life. Put the two together—HONOR your parents by OBEYING them!

Fathers Are Significant

Back to his letter to the Colossians—Paul also pointed out that fathers play a significant part in raising children who please God: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they won’t become discouraged.” — Colossians 3:21. I don’t believe that Paul is suggesting Mom has no responsibility in raising children; rather, he’s calling out Dad for his headship in the home. He’s to be the family shepherd and leader.

Don’t Crush Your Child’s Spirit

Dad needs to be the leader when it comes to voluntarily loving his wife sacrificially (as we noted in our previous post). And he needs to step up his leadership when it comes to training the children. Don’t exasperate your children, Dad—or you’ll discourage them. You’ll crush their spirit. That’s what it means to discourage them. Don’t make promises you don’t keep. Don’t change your mind without a very good reason. Don’t withhold compliments. Give them credit for the good things they do—for the times they’re obedient. They’ll remember it forever. But they’ll also remember when you fail to compliment them for a job well done. Love them unconditionally, Mom and Dad—and give them room to grow.

Our Savior Jesus Christ!

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-Jesus Christ’s Humility!

The humility of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is apparent in the cloth the shepherds found Him wrapped in after His birth. Luke records that they would, “…find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths & lying in a manger.”  There’s significance to the swaddling cloths that can easily be overlooked at first glance.  But, those cloths foreshadowed Jesus’ death. According to the Mishnah, which is the collection of the Jewish oral traditions, these cloths were used to wrap the lambs that were destined to be Passover lambs. As soon as the lamb was born, they’d wrap them with these cloths or bands to keep them from injury; because the lamb could have no blemishes or broken bones.

-He Was Wrapped In Burial Cloths!

And, it’s interesting that the same type of cloths was also used for burial cloths; and, the manger, used for cattle, was typically a cave; though, caves were also used as tombs to bury the dead. Someone put it like this:  “On the first day of Jesus’ earthly life He was wrapped up like a Passover lamb and laid in a cave, and on the day of His death He would be wrapped in the same type of cloth and laid in a cave” (Robby Gallaty). Our great God is humble! To the Church of Philippi, the Apostle Paul spoke of Jesus; and, said, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross” Philippians 2:8.

-Jesus Christ’s Humanity!

But, the Bible affirms not only the humility of Jesus; but, the humanity of Jesus. And, what makes Jesus’ humanity unique from the humanity of every other person who’s walked this earth is His “incarnation.” The “incarnation” is just a big, theological term that means Jesus “took on human flesh”; or, the act of being made flesh! So, why is that significant? For Jesus to be our Savior, He had to live the life of a perfect, sinless man to die as a substitute in our place. The Gospel writers are methodical in pointing out that Jesus was a human baby planted in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit.

-The Holy Spirit Will Come Upon You!

Luke wrote that Mary had a conversation with an angel; and, when she asked how she could become pregnant when she had never been intimate with a man, “The angel replied to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (1:35). So, Jesus was a real human baby born to a real human mother; without a human father. The Gospel writers bear that out!  Jesus had all the typical needs of a human man. He slept. He ate food. Luke says He perspired (ch. 22:43-44). He bled; and, He died like a man. He also showed the human emotions of joy & sorrow & anger. Luke also records that, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature (as a man), and in favor with God and with people” (2:52).

-Our Great High Priest!

The N.T. book of Hebrews calls Him our High Priest; and, says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin” (4:15).  He shared in all the human weaknesses of the flesh without sinning; so, that He could be the sacrifice that God required for the remission of our sins. But, the Bible also affirms the Divinity of Jesus Christ. He was God! The divine nature of Jesus was joined with His human nature; so, He became the God-Man. He didn’t come out and say, “Hi, I’m Jesus & I’m God, and here are 10 reasons why!” But, it’s clear each & every time when the Jewish religious leaders understood Jesus to be making that claim! They called it blasphemy & picked up stones to stone Him! He fulfilled all the O.T. prophecies; which, one mathematician calculated to be 1 chance out of 13 trillion. If it’s true, God visited our planet! Do you know Him?

The Humility Of Jesus Christ!

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-Humble God!

Perhaps the attribute; or, character quality, of God, that we most often forget, is His humility! The Bible affirms the humility of God in Jesus. And, let’s remember that Jesus said, “...if you’ve seen Me, you HAVE SEEN the Father…”; and, “…I and the Father are ONE…”; or, One & the same, He meant. They were of the exact same substance! So, if you want to know what God is like, just look at Jesus because He IS God! And, because God, in Christ, has written Himself into the story of human history, we can see Him & hear Him! We can touch; and, be touched by Him!

-His Humility In His Birth!

And, Luke, in his Gospel, reveals the humility of Jesus in the announcement of His birth; and, in His entry into this world:  “…shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths & lying in a manger’” 2:8-12. So, again, to whom did the angels announce the wonderful news about the birth of Jesus, the Messiah? To shepherds, right? Really? That’s how God announced His arrival? I’m pretty sure that’s not how most of us would have scripted it if we were God!

-Human Announcements In Contrast!

Actor Chris Pratt; and, his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger recently announced that they’re expecting a baby in 2022.  Now, I’m pretty sure that on the day their baby is born that they won’t be sending messengers down to the docks so the fishermen can be the 1st to hear the great news; or, to all the cab drivers in America. No! You know how it works with human royalty! There’ll be gold-leafed announcements sent to all the prominent people in Hollywood. And, all the tabloids will have perfect pictures of the couple with their newborn child. My intent, in sharing those thoughts, is not so much to bash on the actor & his wife as it is to emphasize the humility of God.

-Bypassing The World’s Customs!

In God’s humility, He bypasses the customary ways of the world’s rich & famous; and, announces His coming to lowly, disrespected & marginalized shepherds. Bible scholars tell us that, “Shepherds were detestable and unreliable. They sometimes couldn’t testify in court. Nobody wanted to be a shepherd. Shepherds were despised by the ‘good’ respectable people of that day…The only people lower than shepherds at that particular time in Jewish history were lepers.” (From The Shepherd Of Israel by Dwight Pryor). God was revealing something to us about His “name”; or, His character! He reveals that He’s a God who cares for the lowly and the needy!

-God’s Character!

He cares for the humble in this world; for the marginalized and for people who are easily discarded or cast aside. He’s the Savior of everyone who humbly admits they need a Savior. He’s the friend of sinners! He eats with tax collectors; welcomes prostitutes; heals Gentiles; and, He’s willing to touch lepers who hadn’t felt a human touch ever since they were overcome by a contagious disease. He’s a God who doesn’t discriminate based on race or the color of someone’s skin! He created beautiful diversity in people groups. The humility of God, in Jesus, is also apparent in the cloth the shepherds found Him wrapped in. Luke records that they would, “…find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths & lying in a manger.”  According to the Jewish oral traditions, these cloths were used to wrap lambs that were destined to be Passover lambs; and, they were also used for burial cloths! Jesus’ humble birth was prophetic of his humble death!

Children That Please God!

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-Scripture Speaks To Children!

I find it interesting, that, in his letter to the Colossian church, Paul speaks directly to children:  “Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” Colossians 3:20.  In a section of Scripture, devoted to family issues, Paul expects children to read & adhere to his admonition. And, if obedience to parents “pleases” the Lord, we can infer, from that, that God is NOT pleased with children who disobey their parents. Yes, He still loves them! But, He’s not pleased with them!

-Disobedience Produces A Hard Life!

I used to tell our kids, “Hey, I’ve figured out how to never get in trouble with your parents! If you never disobey them, you’ll never get in trouble with them!” I would often remind them that, “The way of the transgressor is hard!” If Paul were writing a letter to your kids today, I think he’d say something like this:  “Your life is going to be hard if you insist on disobeying your parents! Why put yourself through that? Disobedience produces a hard life because your parents are always on you; and, God is not pleased with you! So, OBEY! Your life will be much easier!” Jesus set the example of obedience—both to His Heavenly Father; and, to His earthly father!

-Attitude Originates In The Heart!

Obedience is a matter of the heart. It’s not just about obeying on the outside—your body language can show disrespect even if you did what you were told! Grumbling, rolling your eyes, shrugging your shoulders, stomping off, banging doors, sassing, arguing, justifying your behavior by making excuses, rationalizing with a “Jimmy’s mom doesn’t make him do that…”— all point to a disobedient attitude of the heart! And, to delay is the same as disobedience! When Paul wrote, on the same topic, to the Ephesian church, he told them that honoring your parents will earn a reward of long life. Put the two together— HONOR your parents by OBEYING them!

-Fathers Are Significant!

Back to his letter to the Colossians, Paul also pointed out that fathers play a significant part in raising children that please God— “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they won’t become discouraged” Col. 3:21. I don’t believe that Paul is suggesting that mom has no responsibility in the upbringing of their children.; rather, he’s calling out dad for his “headship” in the home! He’s to be the family shepherd & leader!

-Don’t Crush Your Child’s Spirit!

Dad needs to be the leader when it comes to “voluntarily” loving his wife sacrificially (as we noted in our previous post). And, he needs to step up his leadership when it comes to training the children. Don’t exasperate your children, dad! Or, you’ll discourage them! You’ll crush their spirit! That’s what it means to discourage them. Don’t make promises you don’t keep! Don’t change your mind without a very good reason! Don’t withhold compliments! Give them credit for the good things they do! For the times they’re obedient! They’ll remember it forever! But, they’ll also remember when you fail to compliment them for a job well done! Love them unconditionally, mom & dad! And, give them room to grow!