Christ, The Good Shepherd

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6

There is no one upon this earth who is blameless or without flaw… The biggest step toward becoming what you were created to be is realizing that you aren’t what you were designed to be…  Isaiah says, “All we like sheep have gone astray…” A sheep is a animal that needs guidance, discipline and structure provided for them… Sheep are frequently thought of as extremely unintelligent animals who can become frightened easily, intimidated and subdued… We “being like sheep” can easily be lead astray because of the self discipline we lack and the fear of the unknown that leads us to cling to the inferiorities of the present… Sheep have to be monitored and guided because they can very easily wonder off… The same is true of the body of Christ; we need the presence of the Holy Spirit and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ in order to keep from wondering off and becoming subject to many snares and traps… This verse taken from Isaiah tells me that since my birth I have wondered aimlessly through life, I have wondered away from the destiny God has for me and have turned away… It is because of this that “…the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all...” This is why Isaiah says in the previous verse “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” We can’t find the way through the fall of mankind and it was only through the blood of the savior that we have a guiding light which will lead us to the path that we were created to travel with a  clean slate and hope for a better tomorrow… I once read a billboard that had this recorded, “Lost??? Try GPS – God’s Plan of Salvation…” Remember when Jesus was on this earth, He told His disciples, “No greater love has a man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends…” In the midst of our crooked and perverse ways, while we were yet sinners, while we continued to disobey the will of God Christ died for us… Before we even knew how to love ourselves let alone love God, Christ had already stretched out His hands; He was already pierced for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquity… Isaiah reminds us today that no matter where you are, not matter how much success you have experienced or even how much prosperity you have seen that we all have gone astray… Through the sin of Adam all have fallen short of the Glory of God and it took the precious blood of the ultimate sacrifice to pave the way to Salvation… Make no mistake about it, your success derives from His outstretched arms, your victory comes from His blood, your deliverance came in the times that He shouted out from the cross and your Salvation was secured when He bowed His head and gave up the ghost… Paul told the church that I preach Christ crucified, your foundation was established in His death and you are alive because of it… In the church today so many people want to act as if yesterday didn’t exist, they want to ignore the sin of an hour or minute ago and try to portray a perfect life… Isaiah says, “…we have turned every one to his own way…” There was a time when you turned away, there have been times when you wanted to march to your own drum and do the things that pleased you… There was a day (maybe even now) that you desired to worry about “me, myself and I” and didn’t even care about how your actions could impact someone else… If we are truthful with ourselves we will understand that there is no truth in us until we receive Jesus Christ… The second thing we are taught today is that because of our sin and transgressions we have sowed seeds of adversity that sprout periodically in our lives… This second notion is why it is of the utmost importance that we do not blame God for trials and tribulations… We were made in His image, but when we transgressed the law of God we begin to sow seeds of disobedience that lead to harvest of tribulations… God has not punished us nor has He allowed the true judgment that we deserved to be rendered… We have punished ourselves and are just looking for someone else to point the finger too… The bible says that His mercies are new every morning; this is good news, because I will be the first to admit that I sin quite often and like sheep wonder away from the path… Thank God for the Ultimate Shepherd...

BE BLESSED!!!