The Good Shepherd Came Down

Meditations on Psalm 23:2

On Christmas morning I’m going to lead Church of the Open Door through meditations of the wonder of Psalm 23 in light if the Incarnation. Because of Christmas, King David’s words describe the reality of our lives as Christians. The Lord is my Shepherd.

I’m journaling through a verse every morning this week, meditating on the actuality of Christ being my Good Shepherd who showed up in a manger in Bethlehem so that all that David says and feels about his Good Shepherd is true of me.

Here’s Day Two, Verse 2. You may want to subscribe or go to edunderwood.com to keep up with the series daily.

Day Two: He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water (Psalm 23:2, NET Bible).

Sometimes I forget that David was a king. Imagine the pressures on his schedule—the endless meetings, the long lines of people needing their king, the palace operatives demanding an audience. And all of this while trying to appease the too many wives and too neglected children of his highly dysfunctional family.

Still, in the blur of his kingly schedule, David prioritized his personal time with his Good Shepherd. Whether on the battlefield, around the palace, with his flocks, or in the charged atmosphere of his home, David made time for his Shepherd.

Why?

Because David knew that only his Shepherd could take him to that place where the two of them could be alone, that place of rest and refreshment.

Right now, on the 21^st of December, I’m so unlike David I’m ashamed to admit it. Unlike David, I’m exhausted. Not from leading armies into battle or settling arguments between the Secretary of State and a Senator, but from celebrating the birth of the Good Shepherd!

But it’s not his fault; it’s mine.

There’s not one sentence in his entire Bible that says, “Okay, Ed, when my birthday comes, make such a big deal about it that you stop just short of killing yourself and everyone else with special events, parties, and activities. That’s what I want from you in December. Wait, that’s not enough, I want you to start all of this right after Thanksgiving…or better yet, before Thanksgiving!”

No, all he wants from me in December is what he wants from me the other eleven months of the year.

He just wants me.

To stop what I’m doing, look up at him, and say, “Hi, Jesus.” And he will take me by the hand and lead me to the same place he used to take David to. That quiet place where the two of us can be alone so he can give me rest and refresh my soul. That place where I lie down and completely relax because I trust my Good Shepherd. He knows what’s best for me, loves me deeply, and cares for my every need because I’m his special concern.

I need to be more like King David as I celebrate the birth of the Good Shepherd who only wants to take me to lush pastures and lead me to refreshing water.

Time to stop what I’m doing, grab my Bible and my journal, and spend an hour with my Good Shepherd.

Questions: Have you lost sight of the Shepherd’s goodness in trying to celebrate his birth? What are some ways you have discovered that you can pause to let him lead you to your place of rest and refreshment? 

A Song About Christmas

I don’t know what young King David was picturing in his mind when God promised him that one of his descendents would reign forever in a Kingdom that God Himself would establish (2 Samuel 7). I suspect David’s pictures were pretty earthy and everyday.

But I do know what an older, more seasoned King David was picturing in his mind about forty years later, because after God had given him an oracle, a clearer understanding of what he had been promised, David was so overwhelmed that he wrote a song describing the majestic, supernatural coming of his Heir, the Priest-King, Psalm 110. The song has three parts:

• Conversation between YHWH and Adonai telling Adonai to sit it YHWH’s right hand until YHWH sends Adonai to establish His Kingdom (1-2).
• Description of the Coming Kingdom of Adonai (3-4).
• Warning that Adonai’s Coming to establish His Kingdom will involve judgment of the wicked (5-7).

Heresy or Hope?

Jews of Jesus’ time knew that Messiah would be a physical descendent of David, but they were not expecting this physical descendent of David to also be the Son of God. Jesus proved this simply by pointing out to them who was writing verses 1 and 2 of Psalm 110: David. You can read about it in Mark 12:35-37.

And that is our simple Christmas Truth—the baby born at Bethlehem was God.

They would not receive it because to them this was a scandalous idea, a shocking declaration, a shameful proposition. They didn’t want a God who came down to be one of them.

Another Hebrew, the author of the book of Hebrews, put this Incarnation into it’s most practical application: Hebrews 4:14-16. There he speaks of the wonder of the Son of God experiencing life as a human so that He could sympathize with our every temptation, our every trial!

We receive it because to us it’s not a scandalous idea but a cherished truth, not a shocking declaration but a comforting hope, not a shameful proposition but a glorious reason to worship Him and commemorate His birth. We want a God who came down to be one of us.

That’s our Christmas Truth—the baby born at Bethlehem was God.

Whatever pain you’re facing this Christmas, know that there is One who sits at the Right Hand of the Father who knows exactly how you feel. You’re not alone in your pain; Jesus is watching with a sympathetic heart.

The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14).

Looking for a friend?

If you’re looking for that friendship that is totally fulfilling, you need to know that you won’t find it this side of heaven.

On the other side of that barrier is the only One who will not disappoint you, the only One who is always thinking about you and never of Himself, the only One who doesn’t need you.

His name is Jesus.

Friendship:

Since no one thinks about you much,

Unless they need you.

Relate deeply to Jesus;

Expect Him alone to meet your deepest needs.

Question: How do you sometimes put pressure on your friends to “be Jesus” for you?

Galatians 6:6-10

Galatians is the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. It’s a powerful little book. We’re studying it this year at Church of the Open Door. In Chapters 5 and 6 Paul applies the messages of justification and sanctification by faith.

In the first section of the epistle proper, 1:11-2:21, Paul defended his apostleship. In 3:1-4:31 the Apostle clarifies the implications of justification and sanctification by faith and why it’s true. His final section (5:1-6:10) demonstrates how this grace works in life. Grace works through liberty. Christ set us free to demonstrate His righteousness in ways that transcend any enslaving set of rules or moral codes (5:1-12). This liberty isn’t so that we can indulge the self-centered desires of our flesh as we did before we trusted in Christ. Using our freedom in that way will cause us to lose our inheritance in the coming kingdom (5:13-21). We’ve been set free to walk in the Spirit (5:16-18) so that we can display Christ’s righteousness through the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-26). But even this transformation isn’t about us; it’s about Christ and others. What we’ve really been set free to do is to love and serve others (6:1-10).

Those who walk in the Spirit glorify God in their liberty. Freedom from the Mosaic Law does not mean freedom from responsibility. Truly spiritual Christians will fulfill the “law of Christ” by bearing the burdens of one another’s sins (1-5), bearing the financial burden of teachers of the Word (6-9), and taking every opportunity to do good, beginning with the family of God:

Here’s the link to the sermon, study notes, and discussion notes from my exposition of Galatians 6:6-10:

Sharing By Grace Through Faith

The Perfect Title

Rarely do the media get something right from a biblical perspective. Usually, what pop culture calls good, the Bible calls bad; and if the Bible says it’s bad, pop culture exalts it as good.

But the popular title for the day after Thanksgiving is biblically precise:

Black Friday

For it is the Friday after Thanksgiving when the dark night of the soul of our materialistic culture asserts its true allegiance, unashamedly worships its true god.

Here’s your Saturday morning headline:

Black Friday madness: Shopper pepper sprays crowd to get deal at L.A. Wal-Mart, shootings in CA, SC (Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/black-friday-madness-shopper-pepper-sprays-crowd-deal-a-wal-mart-shootings-ca-sc-article-1.982565#ixzz1epW5gq6E)

How else do you explain such bizarre behavior?

It’s idolatry.

And like all idolatry, it exposes the emptiness of life without Christ.

We’re raising a generation of idolators in homes where no one talks, but everyone has a screen to relate to. Junior’s in one room dedicating his life to the life-critical skill of flying angry birds to their objectives. Sister sits in another room texting her love and devotion to the latest pimple faced heart throb of her personal high school musical subculture. Mom’s trolling Facebook. This is all fine with dad because he has to get his fantasy team set so that he can compete in a league that only he and a handful of fellow fantasy players will remember…for about two weeks.

But, they gather often at the throne of the screen that really counts: The screen that presents pages and pages of the “stuff” they may want to buy. No, the stuff they must buy. No, the stuff they have to have. And the stuff they will get.

Even if they can’t afford it.

Even if someone else gets there first.

That’s why mom carries that pepper spray.

We Became a Voting Bloc

A strange thing happened to so-called evangelical Christianity in the 1970s, a rarity in church history. We became a voting bloc with a lot of political power and an exceptional opportunity to influence our society for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, what too many leaders were telling Christians to do with this power and what way too many of us were excited to hear is that we should become the “Christian right” and use this power to demand our rights and impose standards of biblical righteousness on society.

And Defended Our Turf

I would argue against that message, that we should use our influence to defend our rights and impose standards of biblical righteousness on society.

I would argue that the New Testament teaches that we should indeed use our political power to influence society, but that we should use it to defend the rights of others and to demonstrate biblical righteousness, justice, and mercy in the name of Christ.

I write about this in my book, Reborn to Be Wild. I think our Jesus Movement revival may have stayed more on track if we would have thought more about Christ and others and less about us and our rights.

“Hey, Ed. Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, you’ve been a little over the top lately.”

Over the top?

Top of what?

Over the top of the vanilla offer of the tamed Jesus most Christians are told to settle for?

Over the top of the “hold a little back from your devotion to the Lord Jesus, I mean, what will people think of you” mentality of suburban evangoculture?

Over the top of the hilltop of legalism so I can get to the high country of freedom in Christ?

Over the top of saying I’m not going to do the stuff that doesn’t matter any more?

Okay, I’m over the top.

Anyone want to come along?

It was the last thing I wanted to do-be around a group of people.

I was bone-tired and emotionally spent. A desperate phone call the night before had left Judy and me sleepless. Two of our very best friends had been killed in a car accident in Oregon. Not only did this news break my heart, it also drained me as it pressurized my insane schedule. Somehow I had to find time to fly to Portland, do a wrenching memorial service, fly home, and get back to everything else I had to do. (On that list was taking my teenage daughter to the DMV for her driving exam.)

“I’m not going to small group tonight,” I reported to Judy. “This is nuts!”

“You don’t have a choice. We’re baptizing Brian and Lori (two new believers) in the pool. Everyone’s expecting us,” my bride protested.

“You go if you want,” I replied. “I’m not going; I have too much to do.”

(Though I didn’t say it, I was also thinking that the last thing I wanted to do at that moment was be around a group of people . . . even if it was our church small group.)

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