Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD.
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
Jeremiah 23: 1- 6
…that was the first reading today. Some seriously real words written thousands of years ago.
I thought about those words all day.
We are all his flock. Some of us choose to leave. But He still considers us his. But how often do we scatter others away- with our hypocrisy, with our judgementalness, with our ugly?
We need to Care. We need to show God to others.
Not just on Sunday, or when it’s convenient…every single day.
Because if this strikes a cord, any cord, I truly believe God is calling us to search out the missing and love them. Pray for them. Pray with them.
Faith isn’t supposed to be comfortable, or trendy. Faith isn’t supposed to always have some feel good touchy feely message. Faith is supposed to be real. On the good days, and on the bad days.
There will be rocky terrain and cliffs and we need to know we will not be deserted.
And Someday’s we are called to rise up and gather people, but after that…let God be God, and act like someone who loves Him. He is the good sheperd and appoints when He chooses.
None shall be missing.
A good sheperd…does everything within his flock to do that. Gathering, leading, Finding…
Giving Hope and offering New life.
Always.
My Joyful Mysteries, and A Revolution of Real 
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July 21, 2015 at 4:21 am
Karla Huntley
totally struck a chord…invited a friend to join something I belong to. I am love this thing that I belong to…I am loved and encouraged and built up. I invited someone to come join me…she was criticized…offended and won’t come back. I am torn…was it truth that was spoken to her…but was it necessary to be said? Could it have been said in love so as to still love and encourage and build her up? We have to run everything we say and do by God…and then ask ourselves are we speaking or doing this in love….with love…if not, then it’s not our place and we might loose a part of our flock.
July 21, 2015 at 3:11 pm
joyfulmysteries
It’s so true and discouraging. There is a saying my husband and I often say that we learned from the Missionary’s of Charity which is a question we should always ask ourselves…”is it better to be right or holy?” I believe there is a place for truth and sometimes it is hard to say BUT If it is not from a place of God and Love…we should just be quiet and let God do His work.