Sheep
are not very intelligent animals. They are sweet looking animals. But
they do
not have much sense. I have heard a man who raises sheep actually state
that
they really are pretty dumb animals.
If
sheep do not have a shepherd to guide them, they can get in all kinds
of
trouble. Each animal will go its own way. They do not stay together.
They
simply wander off in every direction looking for something to eat. They
do not
really pay attention to where they are going. As long as they are
finding
something to eat, they just go about their own way.
God
says humans are like sheep. In Isaiah 53:6, we read, “All we like sheep
have
gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath
laid on
him the iniquity of us all.” All of us tend to go our own way. Without
God as
our guide, we get into all kinds of trouble. We need a Shepherd.
We
deserve to be punished for not following God. But Christ came and died
and rose
from the dead so that we could avoid that punishment. I am glad that
God is so
loving. Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to be die for us.
And I am
glad that he is willing to be our Shepherd.
Study your Bible. Learn all you can from it.
Learn how to follow the Good Shepherd. He only wants what is best for
you. And
if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
Turn Away
Your Foot
In
Isaiah 58:13, we read, “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,
from doing
thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy
of the
Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor
finding
thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.”
Earlier
in the chapter God had pointed out that the Israelites were in some
instances
performing the required acts of worship and penitence. But they were
not doing
them for the right reasons. God also pointed out that they were not
doing
things that they should be doing. They were not taking care of the
poor. They
were not helping the oppressed. They were doing some very wicked things.
Instead
of walking according to God’s laws, they were walking according to
their own
thinking. They were not letting God’s laws guide their actions and
motives.
Instead, they were attempting to please themselves.
God
said they had to turn away their feet from the Sabbath. This means that
instead
of worshipping the way they desired, they must worship the way God
desires.
They needed to quit using their feet to walk in a selfish way, and
start using
God’s feet to walk in his way. All of this talk about the feet is
symbolic. The
physical feet are not really what is being talked about. It is the
spiritual
mindset that is the focus of the discussion.
Study the Bible. Make sure you are walking the
right direction. Make sure you are not doing things in worship to just
satisfy
yourself. Make sure your worship is what God requires. And make sure
your
worship is in the right mindset. And if any of this is hard to
understand, ask
an adult to help you.
