The Shepherd’s Staff: Just Like That!

The Shepherd’s Staff: Just Like That!

On Saturday afternoon I was gently floating on a lounger in our blow-up pool. As I lay soaking in the sunshine, gazing at the magnificent white clouds and expansive blue sky, I was giving thanks to my Creator God for what He has given me. I had no troubles diverting my thoughts or any anxieties to disturb my relaxation. I was so comfortable! When, just like that, I heard the gurgling of air escaping from the inflated lounger. The lounger began to deflate and I began to sink in the water. I got off the floater and tried to find the leak. The leak was in the seam and I knew the lounger was no longer usable with a leak of that kind.

That set me to reflect on many experiences of life that I have encountered over the years and of the experiences of others. Life was going on very smoothly and there was joy and satisfaction and peace. Life was so comfortable! Then, just like that, something out of the blue happened and life changed in the blink of an eye. 

Some years ago, my brother-in-law was inside his house believing that my sister was outside watering the garden. He went out to see her and she was lying unconscious on the walkway. He called 911, but it was to no avail. Up until that time, it had been a typical day for them. Then, just like that, life changed. As was his practice, my son was jogging with his best friend, who was in excellent physical shape, then, just like that, his friend collapsed and died of a heart attack. In a flash, life changed for my son, his friend’s wife and their two teen-aged children.

I’m sure that most of you who are reading this would be able to give an example of how life was comfortable for you, or someone else, when, just like that, something happened and life changed drastically. Perhaps you went to the doctor for a routine checkup and something did not look right during the exam. The doctor ordered some tests and you were asked to come back to the doctor’s office. Then, just like that, you were given a diagnosis that changed your life in a split second. Maybe you were a soldier on patrol, when a sniper found his target and it was your buddy right next to you. Then, just like that, life changed for you and your buddy’s family. One fraction of a second before, you were discussing what it would be like when your deployment ended and you would be with your loved ones. The next second, you are holding the lifeless body of a brave soldier who always had your back.

Why am I writing these heart wrenching experiences? I am writing because we should never take life for granted. The Word of God says that, “it is appointed unto men to die once, and after this comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27). The Bible speaks about two final judgments. One is called the Great White Throne judgment, where everyone who has ever lived without believing Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, will be judged for their deeds and then banished to the Lake of Fire with Satan and his demons (Revelation 20:11-15). The other judgment is called the Judgment Seat of Christ, which is when every believer in Jesus Christ will appear before the Lord and He will reward each believer according to the works they accomplished during their walk as a child of God. Some will receive many rewards and some will not receive any rewards. But, all those who appear at that judgment will enter into the eternal kingdom which is being prepared by Jesus right now (2 Corinthians 5:6-10; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

You see, we all have a choice to make right now. If you have not asked Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to forgive you for all of your sins, based on His death and resurrection from the dead, you will face the Great White Throne judgement. You will be eternally separated from God, eternally suffering unspeakable torment, eternally in total darkness, eternally in solitary confinement and without any hope, whatsoever.  All because, just like that, you stopped breathing and you were transported immediately into hell. All your life you did not want God in your life, and now your desire will be satisfied. Just like that, in one breath, He will eternally be out of your life.

On the other hand, some of us have asked Jesus to forgive us of our sins, and just like that, we became children of God. Now we have choices every moment of the day to live as a child of God or not.  We have the choice of following Him as our Lord or to follow our fleshly desires. What our Lord Jesus Christ wants from us, is all of us. “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your logical service of worship (Romans 12:1). Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:9, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” That is the abundant life!      

Remember, just like that we can die and just like that Jesus could come. I hope I will see you at the Judgement Seat of Christ and rejoice with you as you receive rewards from our Lord. In adoration and praise we will cast them at His feet as we worship Him face to face.

Bill Olsen, Elder

Read Past Devotionals In The “Shepherd’s Staff” Series

The Shepherd’s Staff

by | July 24, 2020 | Devotionals, The Shepherd's Staff | 0 Comments

He created angels and humanity because everything that He does brings glory to Himself, for He alone is worthy of all glory. God enjoys fellowship.
Read Now

The Shepherd’s Staff: Soil

by | July 31, 2020 | Devotionals, The Shepherd's Staff | 0 Comments

To be a disciple of Christ involves digging deeper into the riches of God’s Word.

Read Now

The Shepherd’s Staff – Reedemed!

by | August 10, 2020 | Devotionals, The Shepherd's Staff | 0 Comments

Did you know that before you placed your trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christfor the forgiveness of your sins, and the gift of eternal life, you were a slave of sin? You were underthe power of the evil one, Satan, and you had no choice but to yield to...
Read Now

The Shepherd’s Staff: Thoughts

by | August 27, 2020 | Devotionals, The Shepherd's Staff | 0 Comments

I love family gatherings like Thanksgiving or Christmas.  These gatherings are even more special when all four of our children and their families are with us.  However, even when we don’t have the joy of having all of them here, I love to be an observer.  I am not...
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The Shepherd’s Staff: Thoughts

The Shepherd’s Staff: Thoughts

I love family gatherings like Thanksgiving or Christmas.  These gatherings are even more special when all four of our children and their families are with us.  However, even when we don’t have the joy of having all of them here, I love to be an observer.  I am not much of a conversationalist, but I love to watch and listen to my children and their spouses conversing about all kinds of things.  I don’t recall any gathering which was ruined by interpersonal discord (this could be selective memory, but I’ll call it a blessing!).  Sure, there were disagreements and hurt feelings on occasion, but there was reconciliation in the end.

By far, my favorite observations are watching my grandchildren play with each other, or even by themselves.  From the mesmerizing observation of a sleeping baby to the action-filled competition of a Rubik’s Cube race… from the leadership and follower-ship of a multi-age swimming pool game to something as simple as a hike in the woods… it is so satisfying and absolutely enjoyable to watch my grandchildren relate to each other, smile and laugh and talk together, solve problems together, design new games together, and just encounter – and tackle – the things that life has thrown in front of them while they are hanging out together!  I just sit there in the background and watch.  Depending on the activity, I participate, but always, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude as I observe even one of them for a while.  I pray for them as I realize that they are a gift of God to their parents and a crown for me.  Initially, my prayers are for their salvation; following a decision to personally trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for their salvation and eternal life, I pray that they grow into faithful followers of their Lord in utilizing their gifts and being an effective witness for Him.

Did you know that your Heavenly Father looks down on you with similar thoughts?  King David recorded these words in Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.  When I awake, I am still with You.” Doesn’t that blow your mind?  I mean, if I, a human being, have joyful thoughts of my children and grandchildren, how much more significant is it that the infinite, transcendent, all powerful, all knowing, ever present, holy, righteous, just, gracious, wrathful, good, faithful, solitary, eternal Creator would have thoughts for me?  David describes them as ‘precious’.  These thoughts are so numerous that they are beyond our ability to count.  Even when we are sleeping, He is thinking precious thoughts about us.  I can understand that from my own observation of a sleeping baby.  Don’t you just love holding a sleeping baby?  They are so innocent and the little sounds they make bring tears to your eyes.  They are so dependent on the one who is holding them and so vulnerable.  A loving parent or grandparent is watching over them and that is what our Heavenly Father relates to us.

But what about the times when children are not so compliant and demonstrate their relation to Adam and Eve (i.e., original sin)?  Do we still have precious thoughts about them?  Deep down inside we do, even though they may bring disappointment or evoke anger in our response because of their disobedience.  After dealing with the wrong, we can look at them with eyes of love. So, when you and I sin against our Heavenly Father, there is a barrier which we place between Him and us.  He is displeased with us because we are not acting like someone who is born of God.  Instead we are acting out of our old character.  Our Father still has precious thoughts for us yet He will not leave us and will never cast us out of His presence.  We can be confident in saying, “I am still with You”, as David says in verse 18.  Because He is a loving Heavenly Father, He disciplines us but He never leaves us.  He has precious thoughts toward us, because we are His adopted children and we were purchased with the infinite price of Jesus’ life.

So, meditate on how precious God’s thoughts are for you; not only when you are pleasing Him in obedience, but also when He is disciplining you.  “How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How vast the sum of them!  If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.  When I awake, I am still with You.”  The writer of Hebrews recorded these words, “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom [his] father does not discipline?  But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He [disciplines us] for [our] good, so that we may share His holiness.  All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness ” (Heb. 12:7-11).  Our Father’s thoughts are all encompassing and they bring Him delight, just as we delight in observing our children and grandchildren.  Just think about this.  Even as God is keeping all the universe in perfect harmony, He has time to think about you.  That’s how precious His thoughts are for you!

Bill Olsen, Elder

The Shepherd’s Staff – Reedemed!

The Shepherd’s Staff – Reedemed!

Did you know that before you placed your trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins, and the gift of eternal life, you were a slave of sin? You were under
the power of the evil one, Satan, and you had no choice but to yield to his bidding. You were born a
slave of sin. But when you made the decision to trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, you
were born again and became a child of God. You were redeemed by the blood of the crucified and
risen Jesus Christ. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

Photo by Erika Giraud on Unsplash

The word, redeemed, is packed with meaning for us as believers. The Old Testament book
of Hosea records the tragic, yet gracious, story of a prophet who married a harlot named Gomer.
She was an unfaithful wife, who had children through her harlotry. Hosea and Gomer eventually
separated and she became a slave. Hosea saw her in the slave market and the Lord God commanded
Hosea to love her and purchase her back with the pledge that she would not return to her lovers. The
picture of this tragic marriage is the marriage of God and Israel. Israel was an unfaithful wife who
served idols instead of the God who had redeemed her when Moses led Israel out of Egypt.

One of the New Testament words for redemption, exagoradzo, means “to purchase out of
the slave market, never to return again”. The other word is loutromai, which means “a ransom”.
We were all slaves of sin and we were without any hope until God sent His Son to die in our place.
His blood paid the ransom. His blood purchased us out of the slave market of sin. Now that we are
redeemed, we have a choice to sin or not to sin. Paul addresses that in Romans 6:16, “Do you not
know that when you present yourselves to someone [as] slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the
one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”
Some believers take advantage of God’s grace and continue to obey their previous master, sin. Paul
reminds the Roman believers, and us, “having been freed from sin, you became slaves of
righteousness” (v. 18). Then he exhorts us with these words, “I am speaking in human terms
because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity
and to lawlessness, resulting in [further] lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to
righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard
to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are
now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and
enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(vvs.19-23).

Let me ask you a question, “Does it make sense to you, that having been a slave of sin, then
redeemed, to go back to be a slave of sin?” It is like a dog going back to its vomit! Yet that is what
we do when we choose to put ourselves under the slavery of sin. It is the nature of swine to grovel
in mud. You can hose them down, but if you let them back in the ‘pigpen’ they will go right on
grovelling in the mud. It is their nature. Before we were born again, it was our nature to grovel in
sin. Now that we are redeemed, we are slaves of righteousness and we do not have to go back to
grovelling in sin.

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the freedom to choose the object of our
obedience. We can be slaves of sin, which results in death, or we can be slaves of righteousness,
resulting in sanctification. We become more holy. We become more like Jesus.

This is a no brainer! Choose today, who your master will be. Will it be sin and Satan, or will
it be righteousness and the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who redeemed you? If you have been serving
sin, confess it right now. Receive His forgiveness. Thank Him that He redeemed you. Tell Him that
you choose to serve Him in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Bill Olsen, Elder

The Shepherd’s Staff: Soil

The Shepherd’s Staff: Soil

Evelyn and I lived in the “Garden State” of New Jersey for 32 years. While we lived in Cherry Hill, my daily
commute involved a lengthy drive through the Central Jersey farmlands, abundant with hectares of corn and
soybeans. I specifically recall observing the dedicated farmers as they plowed their fields, applied fertilizer,
watered seed, and finally reaped their crops. It was a pleasant sight during that 45 minute commute.

To put things into perspective — during Jesus’ day, farming was much more common than it is today and it
was accomplished without all the high-tech machines that we are accustomed to seeing. Jesus uses the
illustration of a sower spreading seed on the ground in order to produce a crop. He frequently spoke in
parables — fictitious stories used to teach those who had a desire to hear Truth. Every parable has a main
point, only understood by those who have the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

The parable of the sower, or soils, is recorded in the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9
and Luke 8:4-8. Jesus interpreted this parable in Matthew 13:18-23, Mark 4:13-20 and Luke 8:11-15. The
farmer, or sower, first prepared the field with a plow, then he walked out on the land with a bag of seeds
fastened around his waist to scatter the seed onto the soil. There were four kinds of soil upon which the seeds
were thrown. There was the road, the rocky places, the thorns and the good soil. The seed which fell on the
road were eaten by birds. The seeds which fell on the rocky places began to grow but were scorched by the
sun having no deep roots and they withered away. The seed which fell among the thorns where choked by
the thorns. However, the seeds which fell on the good soil yielded a bountiful harvest.

Jesus was speaking to two groups of people: 1) those who simply heard the story and took an agricultural
lesson from it, and 2) those who were listening and realized that Jesus was pointing to a deeper, spiritual
meaning through the story. The seed was the Word of God being spread by His disciples. The soil was the
hearts of those who were hearing the Word of God. The response to the Word is illustrated by what
happened to the seed. The seed falling on the road was immediately prevented from germinating by the
interference of Satan. There was no effect on that person, because there was no faith in the first place. They
were not children of God. The seed falling on the rocky soil is represented by a hearer who was shallow in
his faith, excited at first but who could not endure any kind of affliction, persecution, hardship or conflict as
a result of their initial believing. These are those who did not have assurance of their salvation and the
understanding of the cost of being a disciple. They were saved but lived as though they weren’t, thus bearing
no spiritual fruit. The seed falling on the thorny soil, are those who have a crowded life, wanting the best of
two worlds. They focused on pleasures, worries, riches and were unresponsive to heavenly things. They too,
although saved, were unfruitful. Fortunately, the seeds which fell on the good soil produced spiritual fruit
which was bountiful and brought satisfaction to the Sower, because they had accomplished His will.

So, examine your heart. Are you faithful and fruitful? Do you keep your heart refreshed by the Word of God,
prayer, fellowshipping with fellow believers, serving the Lord in the power and infilling of the Holy Spirit?
Continue to do that. Are you worried and worldly? Are you pursuing wealth and material things, or the
preservation of comforts, luxuries and privileged positions? Where is your priority of the Lordship of Christ
in your life? Are you keeping company with the world and walking the fence when it comes to moral
decisions? Are you shallow and shaky in your faith, holding on to your eternal life insurance policy but not
realizing that to be a disciple of Christ involves digging deeper into the riches of God’s Word. Maybe you
are content with your shallow Christian life and enjoy the fleeting comfort of the world. Are you faithless
and stubborn and totally reject the Truth, having never received it by faith, thinking that this faith is just not
for me?

The Lord Jesus Christ is looking for those who will not just hear what He says, but will listen and obey
through faith. This decision of the heart will produce spiritual fruit now and eternal rewards later when Jesus
returns. What kind of soil are you?

Bill Olsen, Elder

The Shepherd’s Staff

The Shepherd’s Staff

Beginnings

 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit coexisted as three eternal persons and in essence, one solitary God. Since He, by nature, is perfect, lacking nothing, needing nothing, He is never lonely. The three existed eternally in perfect harmony, enjoying the fellowship they had with each other. Out of that beautiful Oneness, God created angels and then He created Adam and Eve. There is no indication that He was lonely or that He was lacking relationship. He created angels and humanity because everything that He does brings glory to Himself, for He alone is worthy of all glory. God enjoys fellowship.

Genesis devotional about the Shepherd

 God can do anything He wants and He wanted to create angels and mankind. He enjoyed an intimate relationship with His creation until Lucifer, His most senior angel, rebelled. Lucifer, or Satan, was cast out of Heaven, God’s dwelling place, with hordes of angels loyal to Lucifer. Then Adam and Eve rebelled and were thrown out of the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had walked with God in the garden which had everything they needed as human beings and the most perfect intimate fellowship they could have had with their Creator. They threw all of that away on the day they rebelled against God and sin has separated mankind from an intimate relationship with the living God ever since.

 It appeared that God had been defeated both in Heaven and on earth. Since He is the sovereign God who is Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent, His plan of having intimate relationship with His elect angels and His elect humanity can never be thwarted. God planned before time existed, that His Son, would become flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, would live a perfect life as a human being, would die a substitutionary death for all mankind, would rise up from the dead and would ascend into Heaven from where He came. Victory over death and sin was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All who trust in His work will live eternally with Him in perfect fellowship. God’s plan in the beginning for intimate relationship with His mankind is available now on a spiritual plane. The Apostle John writes this in his gospel, “And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3). That word “know” has the meaning of “intimate, experiential knowledge”.  It means that once we have placed our trust in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are declared to be children of God and thereby begin a never ending relationship with our Creator and Father. The Apostle John writes about that fellowship, “our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3).

 Although the beginning in Genesis was followed by a banishment from Paradise, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them and that He would return and take all who are His children to live with Him for eternity. The Bible says that the present Heaven and earth will be replaced by a new Heaven and earth, which Jesus, the One Who created the original Heaven and earth, has been preparing since He ascended into Heaven almost two thousand years ago.

The first book of the Bible speaks about the first beginning and the last book of the Bible speaks about the new beginning. The garden of Eden was occupied by Adam and Eve, animals, birds, fish and crawling things. The serpent (Satan) was also there. God walked in the garden with His human creatures. The new heaven and earth will be occupied by God, countless numbers of people from every tribe, nation and tongue, who have been adopted as children of God because of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This new heaven will be void of Satan and his angels, who will have been cast into the Lake of Fire for eternal punishment prior to the creation of the new Heaven and new earth. A unique aspect of this new creation is that the dwelling place of the Triune God, Heaven, will be on earth. The Apostle John wrote this as a result of the revelation He received from the Lord Jesus Christ, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be HIs people, and God Himself shall be among them.” (Revelation 21:3).

 Before the first beginning, God existed alone as Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Heaven. In the new beginning, God will continue to exist in fellowship as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also in delightful fellowship with all His redeemed children. Will you be there with Him?

Bill Olsen, Elder