The rulers of Israel were the designated by God to be "shepards". They were supposed to lead and nurture, heal and strengthen the weak . They were supposed to go after the strays and search for the lost. They were the "true north" when they were directionless. According to the Bible and supported by the commentary, the leaders of Israel were cruel, evil and self-promoting. They took what the sheep were to provide - food, milk, wool for clothing and allowed others to plunder and scatter. They fell way short of the goals and directives that were set before them. Shepards were and will be accountable for the flock. God's word was true then and it is true now.
As an elder, I always am pressured by this undaunting task. I take it personally when someone wants to leave our church, regardless if I am the direct cause of it or not. I was so pleased when a young Christian this past retreat revealed her lack of daily devotions due to "lack of time". I told her to use the 5 minute rule and let that grow. 1 min opening prayer, 2 min reading a short passage and 2 min in prayer for applicability and guidance. Consistency is the mark of a true champion. God will bless that effort and use that as a springboard. She told me this past Sunday that she started that and it has helped her immensely. Praise God!
Still reeling from the long day yesterday, somethings good and some not. Got back in @ 12:15 this morning but not without incidents. Long meeting at work forced me to skip lunch and haul over to the train station. Both usual lots were filled so I ventured into this other lot which I thought was going to accomodate train riders and their schedules. Due to the lateness, I missed my Acela and had to wait for a commuter train which had a car (mine) that was stiffling so I moved into a cooler one. My glasses fell out en route but luckily they were retrieved and I got them! Still the heat was overwhelming and I was sweating bullets especially since I was suited up. The bad thing about that was the blisters I developed while walking in dress shoes I rarely wear. Good meetings and dinner and caught my train ok, only to find out that the car was locked in the garage due to the early close and I had to pony up $30 for a cab ride - ugh! Thankful today that a co-worker will give me a lift to work and hopefully I can get someone to drive me to the station to retrieve my car. Never a dull moment...
Praise for today - that He is in control, while I'm not...
What an awful night you had! I hope today is much, much better. The 5-minute rule is great advice. I had not heard of that before.
ReplyDeleteYup, only got 3 1/2 of sleep so I decided to bag the gym (since I have a wicked blister on one of my toes). The 5-minute devo was something I had thought of decades ago. The timing of the Word and prayer could shift but I feel that when someone starts it, invariably they will spend more than 5 minutes and that's a good thing!
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