"The Lord is my Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1).

Psalm 23:1

* The Lord is my Shepherd; * The Lord is my Shepherd; * The Lord is my Shepherd; * The Lord is my Shepherd. 

_____

"The Lord is my Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1).  

In Luke 15:3-7, Jesus tells the story of the lost sheep and the loving Shepherd. We read about a lost sheep. We know that we are lost sinners. We are lost because we are sinners. Lost sheep need a loving shepherd. Lost sinners need a loving Saviour. That's what Jesus is. He's our Saviour. His Name means "Saviour" -  "You are to give Him the Name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Why did Jesus come to this world? -  "The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). -  "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:17). Jesus came to find the lost. He came to save sinners.

God speaks to us in love. He says, ‘I Myself will be the Shepherd of My sheep... ’ (Ezekiel 34:15). We rejoice in His love. We say, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ (Psalm 23:1). Jesus is our Shepherd. He is ‘the good Shepherd’. He laid down His life for us that we might receive the forgiveness of our sins. ‘Christ died for our sins’. He - ‘the Righteous’ - died for us - ‘the unrighteous’ - ‘to bring us to God’ (John 10:11; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 3:18). He is ‘the great Shepherd’. He was ‘raised’ from the dead’. Through His resurrection, we receive eternal life. He says to us, ‘Because I live you will live also’ (Hebrews 13:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:4; John 14:19). He is ‘the chief Shepherd’. He will come again with ‘the unfading crown of glory’ for His ‘good and faithful servants’ (1 Peter 5:4; Matthew 25:21). "He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake" (Psalm 23:3b). We enter the Kingdom of God through the new birth. Jesus Christ is "the Door" to God's Kingdom (John 10:9). To those who have come, in faith, to Him, the Lord Jesus says, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). * Where does the Good Shepherd lead those who follow Him?  - He leads us "in the paths of righteousness." * Why does the Good Shepherd lead His people in the paths of righteousness?  - It is "for His Name's sake." The real goal of Christ-like living is not our pleasure. It is God's glory. we find our true pleasure as we give glory to the Lord. Are you following the Lord Jesus? He will lead you in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.