December 7, 2022 … God’s Caring Pursuit …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2021 - Day 341 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... </b> …Please take the time to take in song and lyrics of Fernando Ortega singing … The Good Shepherd … poignantly singing about how our Lord is our Good Shepherd, eternally pursuing His beloved flock. 

Our Good Shepherd pursues His lost lambs ... 

 

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Highlight Passage: … Psalm 23:6  [NKJV] …  

6 Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  

… David sings of his confident trust that his LORD will lovingly come after him all the days of his life.                                                                         

Highlight Passage (Context): … Psalms 23 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… King David sings of His Lord as The Good Shepherd who doggedly pursues him with the caring heart that a shepherd has for his sheep.                                                                               

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Reference Passage: … Psalm 139:7-8 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  King David sings to assure fellow believers that there is no where we can go to escape God’s loving pursuit of His beloved chosen ones.

Reference Passage: … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

…  Solomon shows that believers must humbly and patiently trust God …  ALWAYS …,  leaning not on our own human understanding but on God’s love and mercy.                  

Reference Passage: … Isaiah 40:11 [NLT] … 

11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. 

…  The Prophet Isaiah compares God’s loving care for His children to the loving care of a shepherd for his sheep. 

Reference Passage: … Matthew 9:36 [NLT] … 

36 When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 

…  Matthew shows how much compassion Jesus had for those who were following Him, . comparing that love and care to a shepherd’s care of his flock of sheep.  

Reference Passage: … John 10:11-14 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK .... 

…  Jesus compares Himself to a “good shepherd” who cares for his flock of sheep to the point of dying for them if necessary.      

                                                                              

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, John Blase … AT THIS LINK …   tells of seeing a man fall and drop a lot of packages the man was holding, including his wallet, which the author retrieved but had to run to pursue the man who had lost the wallet.               

And the ODB author used that story to illustrate how God’s love pursues the lost, … often in God’s word (see Scriptures above), comparing that faithful pursuit to the love of a shepherd for his sheep.  And oh how yours truly identifies with that analogy, because God pursued me - as a Good Shepherd - for over two decades of my youth, when I was like a wayward lamb, declaring my denial of God as angry atheist to anyone who would hear me.  

But God’s love doggedly pursued me, until finally I could not deny His faithfulness and mercy anymore; and I finally relented to my Lord’s pursuit and surrendered my life to him over 40 years ago.  And I will follow my “Good Shepherd” for the rest of my life, … just as David declared he would in Psalm 23 (see above).  And … oh how I pray you know and follow our Good Shepherd as well.      

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for lovingly and faithfully pursuing me … even today!          

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to surrender to Your loving Shepherd’s pursuit, Lord.    …  Amen

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.