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Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 267 Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please go this video link to see/hear a brief tutorial on the whistles used by modern shepherds to control their sheep dogs and call their sheep …
Highlight Passage - Zechariah 10: 8 [NKJV] …
8 I will whistle for them and gather them; … I will redeem them.
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Highlight Passage [Context] - - Zechariah 10: 1-8 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK
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Reference Passage #1 - Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] ...
23 Then He [Jesus] said to them all [a large group of followers], “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
Reference Passage #2 - John 10: 27 [NKJV] …
10 My sheep hear My voice; and I know them; and they follow Me.
My Journal for Today: In this morning’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, the author, Mart de Haan, opens with a story about tie ancient language of whistling developed over time by the inhabitants of La Gomera, one of the small Canary Islands, where the people could communicate with distinct and identifiable whistles over the valleys/hills of that island, over distances of up to 2 miles.
In the time of Christ on earth, the shepherds would use whistling commands for their lead, more mature, sheep, especially when they were at a distance; and these older sheep would recognize the shepherd’s call and come to him, leading the lesser mature in the flock to the shepherd. In John 10: 27 [above] we read of Jesus, using the self-identifying metaphor of “The Good Shepherd,” indicating that the flock who’ve been sent to Him and gathered by His Heavenly Father are the ones who know His voice – i.e., like the whistles of the earthly shepherds – and they obey His calls, following Him obediently (see my ever recurring passage of Luke 9: 23).
The self-evaluation questions which readily come from today’s ODB entry are these for anyone reading along with me here?
1. Am I in Jesus’ flock?
2. Am I willing to deny myself and follow my Good Shepherd wherever He leads?
It doesn’t take a theologian to answer these questions; and I personally know to stay as close to my Good Shepherd as possible – at all times! … And one way I do that, as well as to hear His calling more clearly, is to be here daily … in His word; … because like the whistles of those 1st Century shepherds, Jesus’ calling is clearest and most discernible from His word. So, everyday, God willing, you will find me here doing all I can to stay close to My Good Shepherd and to hear His calling.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I hear Your call, … My Shepherd, and I come. Amen
Blogger Note: Every day during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK; on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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