John 10:10-11 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Joseph, the son of Jacob, grew up caring for flocks as a shepherd boy (Genesis 37:2). While we might have a romantic view of an easy pastoral life among sheep and goats, the main responsibility of a shepherd was to protect the flock against hungry predators (wolves, lions, etc.) looking for an easy meal, actually quite a dangerous job. The shepherd loved his sheep, and Joseph was a good shepherd.
Mashiach “ben Yosef, ” the “Suffering Servant” Messiah, was illustrated in the life of Joseph. Yeshua (Jesus) came as a good shepherd to protect His flock against the enemy whose sole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. Our Shepherd Messiah, was ready to give His life to protect us. And He is still watching over us – He gave His lifeblood to protect us because He loves us, and we are incalculably precious to Him, each one.
Do you know how precious and loved you are? How the Son of God exposed Himself to the ultimate danger because of His incalculable love for you? How He protects you from unseen danger every day of your life? We can rest in His protective love, no matter what happens, especially because where we’re going, there will never be danger again.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Our little Elianna is not a baby anymore, someone reminded us recently as we were saying something in passing about “our baby”. Boy do they grow fast.
Today marks 14 days of war in Israel. Amidst the craziness, we've been very encouraged by the many of you around the world who've written to tell us you're interceding for us and standing with Israel. Thank you so much.
On October 27, 2005, the Iranian president declared that Israel should be "wiped from the map!" He went on to declare that a new series of attacks would destroy the Jewish state. Psalm 83 prophecies of an attempt by Israel's enemies to "cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance". But the Lord will continue to defend His people that men may know that He, whose Name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth!
For those of you who’ve been following our travels, we’ve been on the West Coast for a couple of weeks now. Yesterday, we took some visiting family to the Grand Canyon for a little day trip -- and words can hardly express the beauty of this marvelous sight.
Some of you know the miraculous story of our daughter Elianna. She was born blind, with a rare eye condition called bilateral vitreous hemorrhage. We didn't even realize it until she was three months old. When we went to the doctors in Israel, they advised an immediate risky surgery. We quickly went to the Lord in prayer and fasting for her healing. Low and behold, the Lord began to heal our little one!! Today, three years later, we're overjoyed to say that despite the fact that her vision is not yet perfect, she is a thriving and beautifully developing child!
Ever since the Garden of Eden where the story began and our first parents sinned, fear has permeated humankind. The fracturing of relationships, God to man, man to man, man to woman, engendered a universal pandemic of fear and alienation. Fear supplied the Adversary, Satan ("satan" means adversary in Hebrew) with a powerful means for control, manipulation, and deception of fallen humanity, with nearly infinite varieties of expression.
Numerous acronyms can be made from the four letters which spell “F-E-A-R”. Here’s one: False Evidence Appearing Real.” Deceptive fear is spreading everywhere. False evidence, questionable claims, disputable statistics, endless narratives, hyped-up threats, and massive complexity defying interpretation are producing a threatening atmosphere (or “atmosFEAR”). Uncertainty and danger, real and imagined, pervade, the air spreading rampant anxiety. This FEAR is being used as a weapon to attack our mind and emotions, and quench our spirits. How to master it?