by David Gibson<\/p>\n
Sheep need their shepherd. So do we (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23). What a Palestinian shepherd did for his flock, Jesus does for His sheep: He leads, provides, and protects (Isaiah 40:11). Self-reliance is folly. It takes humility to admit we can’t make it without Him.<\/p>\n
The Bible warns against depending on anyone or anything other than the Lord-not on money (I Timothy 6:17), military might (Psalms 20:7), people (Psalms 118:8-9), or ourselves (Proverbs 3:5-6). Also, Satan employs false shepherds to lead us astray (Jeremiah 50:6; Matthew 7:15).<\/p>\n
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me<\/em>” (Psalms 23:4 NASB).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
W. Phillip Keller writes, ” Let come what may. Storms may break about me, predators may attack, the rivers of reverses may threaten to inundate me. But because He is in the situation with me, I shall not fear” [A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23<\/em>, p. 89].<\/p>\n
We cannot be led “in paths of righteousness” if we refuse to live righteously.<\/h2>\n
“. . . He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness . . . . For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls; for by His wounds you were healed<\/em>” (I Peter 2:24-25).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If we desire His healing, we must be willing to “die to sin and live to righteousness<\/em>.”<\/p>\n
For the Shepherd to benefit us, we must follow the Shepherd.<\/h2>\n
Of the 23rd Psalm, Tom Wacaster observes, “There is a certain calmness in it which almost reproduces itself in the mind whenever we say it” [The Songs and Devotions of David<\/em>, Vol. 1]. This is true. And yet, the comfort is only for those who truly submit to the Shepherd’s leadership. “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me . . .<\/em>” (John 10:26-27).<\/p>\n
When we really make up our minds to submit to this Shepherd, He will guide us in paths of righteousness and lead us home.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David Gibson We cannot make it without the Shepherd. Sheep need their shepherd. So do we (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23). What a Palestinian shepherd did for his flock, Jesus does for His sheep: He leads, provides, and protects (Isaiah 40:11). Self-reliance is folly. It takes humility to admit we can’t make it without Him. Only…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[516,517],"class_list":["post-85776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-psalms","tag-shepherd"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67144,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-the-good-shepherd\/","url_meta":{"origin":85776,"position":0},"title":"Jesus, the Good Shepherd","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer One of the great figures for the Messiah is that of the Good Shepherd. Jesus refers to Himself as the \"door of the sheep,\" but He is more than that. \"I am the good shepherd,\" He claimed (John 10:11). We will consider more in that context, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60579,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":85776,"position":1},"title":"The Valley of the Shadow of Death","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Earl Kimbrough Via\u00a0Guardian of Truth XXXII: 17, pp. 534-535, September 1, 1988 The beautiful twenty-third Psalm is a song of faith. It abounds with an assurance of God's guidance and protection. There is mention of the danger of enemies, both past and present, but it is muted by David's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2280,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-song-of-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":85776,"position":2},"title":"A Song of Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Psalm 23 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The most famous psalm is a song about faith. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It weaves in a few brief words the clear message of a special relationship between man and God \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It speaks of trust and security in good times and bad. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Faith in Times of Quiet - Psalm 23:1-3\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20848,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-did-jesus-expect-of-peter-when-he-said-to-feed-his-sheep\/","url_meta":{"origin":85776,"position":3},"title":"What did Jesus expect of Peter when he said to feed his sheep?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Our Lord Jesus in John 21 tells\u00a0the apostle Peter to feed His sheep three times. What role was Peter being told to assume? Is it that of an elder? \u00a0Which sheep was our Lord talking about? Is it the other apostles and disciples or the church that was going\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9744,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-need-for-guidance\/","url_meta":{"origin":85776,"position":4},"title":"Our Need for Guidance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: John 10:1-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A disturbing trend has been commented upon time and again \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Children going astray, Christians leaving the church. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It appears that the second law of thermodynamics applies to Christians as well. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Instead of a trend toward increasing entropy (randomness and disorder) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a trend toward increasing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85300,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/following-the-shepherd\/","url_meta":{"origin":85776,"position":5},"title":"Following the Shepherd","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Shepherding has changed little over the centuries. While more modern methods are used in the work-even trained dogs are used to direct and round up the sheep-it's still pretty much a lonely life: just the sheep and their shepherd. In Jesus' time, the shepherds kept their sheep\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/shepherd-300x168.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85776\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}