Michelle Shocklee's Blog, page 5
May 2, 2019
Does God Watch Over Us?
(Originally posted in March 2015)
Last year was not a good year for our sheep. We started losing lambs in February 2014 and it didn't stop until April. Coyotes, bobcats, and even some wild hogs killed every single lamb that was born during the winter and spring. It was a sad, depressing time for us. Each day we would hop into the 4-wheeler to check on the sheep, wondering who would be missing from the group. I'd taken to naming the babies as they were born, but after Gimpy, Valentine, and Junior all went missing, I stopped giving them names. It was just too hard on my heart. When the easy-pickings-lambs were gone, the predator started on the ewes. Our herd dwindled down to what we referred to as "the lucky thirteen." Thirteen very skittish, unhappy survivors.
Mighty Hunter and I knew we had to do something or else the entire flock would be wiped out. But what? How do you protect sheep on 400 open acres of land, bordered by property dense with trees where all manner of predators live? We tried traps, snares, hired guns, and cameras, but still the sheep disappeared one by one.
Then one day I read an article about guard llamas. Llamas have a natural alertness to their surroundings. They dislike dogs and are not afraid to attack a coyote or any other predator that threatens. The more I read, the more I liked the idea, so I passed the information on to the property owners. It was soon decided we needed a llama!
One week later, Jaxx arrived at the ranch. We moved him and the sheep to a pasture a few days before Easter 2014 so they could bond. And you know what? We haven't lost one sheep since that day! Our herd is now up to 35 sheep, with all kinds of sweet babies. They are happy, content, and not the least bit afraid. Instead of staying huddled together in a tight group, they spread out to graze and bask in the sunshine. The lambs love "Uncle Jaxx" and follow him around when their mama's are busy eating.
It's amazing what a difference one year and one llama made!
I can't help but think about how our Great Shepherd is always watching over us the way Jaxx watches over the sheep. Like our sheep, we are often in danger even when we don't realize it. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that our adversary, Satan, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. In Job 1:7, Satan describes how he stays busy: "...going to and fro on the earth, and walking up and down on it." And you know he is doing his best to wreak havoc in our lives while he's here!
Like our sheep, we need a protector. We need someone who will stay alert to dangers we can't see or anticipate. We need someone who isn't the least bit afraid of the enemy and is willing to do battle for us. I don't know about you, but I need someone who is willing to keep his eye on me 24/7/365 so I don't get myself into trouble! All too often we try everything but God.
Psalm 121 (NLT) pretty much says it all:
I look up to the mountains--does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let you stumble, the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.
The LORD himself watches over you!
The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.
The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go.
Both now and forever.
So on those days when you wonder if God is watching over you...on those days when you're frightened and feel alone...on those days when you sense the enemy is near...know without a doubt God is right there. He will never leave you or forsake you.
Rest in that peace.
Jaxx and his peeps, er, sheeps ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:USA, France, Russia, Philippines, China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Romania, Ukraine
Last year was not a good year for our sheep. We started losing lambs in February 2014 and it didn't stop until April. Coyotes, bobcats, and even some wild hogs killed every single lamb that was born during the winter and spring. It was a sad, depressing time for us. Each day we would hop into the 4-wheeler to check on the sheep, wondering who would be missing from the group. I'd taken to naming the babies as they were born, but after Gimpy, Valentine, and Junior all went missing, I stopped giving them names. It was just too hard on my heart. When the easy-pickings-lambs were gone, the predator started on the ewes. Our herd dwindled down to what we referred to as "the lucky thirteen." Thirteen very skittish, unhappy survivors.
Mighty Hunter and I knew we had to do something or else the entire flock would be wiped out. But what? How do you protect sheep on 400 open acres of land, bordered by property dense with trees where all manner of predators live? We tried traps, snares, hired guns, and cameras, but still the sheep disappeared one by one.
Then one day I read an article about guard llamas. Llamas have a natural alertness to their surroundings. They dislike dogs and are not afraid to attack a coyote or any other predator that threatens. The more I read, the more I liked the idea, so I passed the information on to the property owners. It was soon decided we needed a llama!
One week later, Jaxx arrived at the ranch. We moved him and the sheep to a pasture a few days before Easter 2014 so they could bond. And you know what? We haven't lost one sheep since that day! Our herd is now up to 35 sheep, with all kinds of sweet babies. They are happy, content, and not the least bit afraid. Instead of staying huddled together in a tight group, they spread out to graze and bask in the sunshine. The lambs love "Uncle Jaxx" and follow him around when their mama's are busy eating.
It's amazing what a difference one year and one llama made!
I can't help but think about how our Great Shepherd is always watching over us the way Jaxx watches over the sheep. Like our sheep, we are often in danger even when we don't realize it. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that our adversary, Satan, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. In Job 1:7, Satan describes how he stays busy: "...going to and fro on the earth, and walking up and down on it." And you know he is doing his best to wreak havoc in our lives while he's here!
Like our sheep, we need a protector. We need someone who will stay alert to dangers we can't see or anticipate. We need someone who isn't the least bit afraid of the enemy and is willing to do battle for us. I don't know about you, but I need someone who is willing to keep his eye on me 24/7/365 so I don't get myself into trouble! All too often we try everything but God.
Psalm 121 (NLT) pretty much says it all:
I look up to the mountains--does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let you stumble, the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.
The LORD himself watches over you!
The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.
The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go.
Both now and forever.
So on those days when you wonder if God is watching over you...on those days when you're frightened and feel alone...on those days when you sense the enemy is near...know without a doubt God is right there. He will never leave you or forsake you.
Rest in that peace.
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Jaxx and his peeps, er, sheeps ;)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This week's Prayer Shout-Out countries are:USA, France, Russia, Philippines, China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Romania, Ukraine
April 21, 2019
When Easter Makes Sense
Getting older has an upside. It's called Wisdom! When I was a child and even a young adult, I didn't truly "get" Easter. I knew Jesus died on a cross even though he wasn't guilty of anything, and I knew he rose from the dead on the third day. I believed he did it for us because of his great love, yet the full meaning of what it was really about escaped me.
Now that I'm old and wise (heh heh), I get it. But I didn't acquire this understanding just by celebrating birthdays. It came from reading the Bible. Sounds simple, and yet it wasn't until I was in my thirties that I truly became a student of the Word. Imagine my utter amazement when I discovered that reading the Bible from cover to cover--from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21--makes things soooo much clearer than picking and choosing verses and books to read. The Bible truly is a story, and as a writer of fiction, that really speaks to me. I wouldn't pick up a novel and start reading from the middle or flip to this page or that page. I'd read it from Chapter One, page one, and continue on until I reached the end.
Don't get me wrong. I am NOT saying the Bible is fiction. Far from it! But it IS God's story. A story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And when you read this amazing story, you can't help but see the order--the plan--that was in place from the very first four words:
"In the beginning GOD..." Genesis 1:1
The word for GOD used here is Elohim . It's plural. Why? Because God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all present at the creation. When God made man, he said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." Genesis 1:26
John 1:1-3 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men."
When Jesus left heaven to come to earth, he knew it was temporary. He knew he'd only live a mere thirty-three years before he would die a horrific death on a cross, yet he came willingly. He lived in relative obscurity the first thirty years of his life, earning a living with his hands, and obeying the Laws of God. Yet he had a far greater purpose. When John the Baptist saw him, he spoke truth and prophecy about Jesus: "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29
Those words came true when Jesus was crucified. He was nailed to the cross at 9:00 AM, the time of the Jewish morning sacrifice. He committed his spirit into the the hands of God the Father at 3:00 PM, the time of the Jewish evening sacrifice. When he spoke, "It is finished," (John 20:30) he became THE sacrificial Lamb for all humanity. He bore all our sins--every single one that I've committed, and that you've committed, and that every person who ever lived committed!--offering us reconciliation with God in a way that had never happened before. And God himself acknowledged this new relationship, this new covenant, by tearing the veil--a huge, thick curtain in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies, the place where he dwelt, from the rest of the temple--making it possible for us to approach him, to know him, as very few had experienced up until this point.
My prayer for you on this Easter Sunday is that you will know the truth of the cross and the empty tomb, and that the truth will set you free! Free from sin, free from shame, free to live with hope and joy, free to forgive and be forgiven, free to give and receive, free to die in the knowledge that Jesus has prepared a new home for you where you will dwell in God's presence for all eternity.
That, my friend, is Easter.
May you and yours have a blessed day celebrating all that Jesus is!!
HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!
~Michelle
Now that I'm old and wise (heh heh), I get it. But I didn't acquire this understanding just by celebrating birthdays. It came from reading the Bible. Sounds simple, and yet it wasn't until I was in my thirties that I truly became a student of the Word. Imagine my utter amazement when I discovered that reading the Bible from cover to cover--from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21--makes things soooo much clearer than picking and choosing verses and books to read. The Bible truly is a story, and as a writer of fiction, that really speaks to me. I wouldn't pick up a novel and start reading from the middle or flip to this page or that page. I'd read it from Chapter One, page one, and continue on until I reached the end.Don't get me wrong. I am NOT saying the Bible is fiction. Far from it! But it IS God's story. A story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And when you read this amazing story, you can't help but see the order--the plan--that was in place from the very first four words:
"In the beginning GOD..." Genesis 1:1
The word for GOD used here is Elohim . It's plural. Why? Because God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all present at the creation. When God made man, he said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." Genesis 1:26
John 1:1-3 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men."
When Jesus left heaven to come to earth, he knew it was temporary. He knew he'd only live a mere thirty-three years before he would die a horrific death on a cross, yet he came willingly. He lived in relative obscurity the first thirty years of his life, earning a living with his hands, and obeying the Laws of God. Yet he had a far greater purpose. When John the Baptist saw him, he spoke truth and prophecy about Jesus: "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29
Those words came true when Jesus was crucified. He was nailed to the cross at 9:00 AM, the time of the Jewish morning sacrifice. He committed his spirit into the the hands of God the Father at 3:00 PM, the time of the Jewish evening sacrifice. When he spoke, "It is finished," (John 20:30) he became THE sacrificial Lamb for all humanity. He bore all our sins--every single one that I've committed, and that you've committed, and that every person who ever lived committed!--offering us reconciliation with God in a way that had never happened before. And God himself acknowledged this new relationship, this new covenant, by tearing the veil--a huge, thick curtain in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies, the place where he dwelt, from the rest of the temple--making it possible for us to approach him, to know him, as very few had experienced up until this point.
My prayer for you on this Easter Sunday is that you will know the truth of the cross and the empty tomb, and that the truth will set you free! Free from sin, free from shame, free to live with hope and joy, free to forgive and be forgiven, free to give and receive, free to die in the knowledge that Jesus has prepared a new home for you where you will dwell in God's presence for all eternity. That, my friend, is Easter.
May you and yours have a blessed day celebrating all that Jesus is!!
HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!
~Michelle
