We Need

We need help. We need the God who designed us to engage with Him. We need the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts and show us there is much to improve in our relationship with Him. We need enlightenment to come and lead us in spiritual ways we cannot fathom. Pride in what we know and decisions already made can keep us from realizing this deep eternal need. But if we listen carefully, we will detect the Lord´s soft call.

Many may not want to admit there is distance between us and our Lord. Some refuse to admit they cannot step into heaven without assistance. But when awareness of God´s presence sweeps over us, we will look for One worthy to hold us. Christ alone can provide what we lack in pureness and eternal insight. Pray that we are close enough to Him that we are found in Him.

Dear Lord, give us light to see and understand. Show us revelations of You that blow us away. Help us see the incongruity of worldly sinners standing in the presence of the Divine. Show us our insufficiency so that we throw ourselves into the most intense pursuit of You. We need You for every aspect of faith and life Draw us close. Keep us even closer. Help us find You and cling to You, we pray! Amen

John 10:1-18 ESV / “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. …

John 10:16 ESV / And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Luke 15:4-7 ESV / “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Matthew 18:12-14 ESV / What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 ESV / “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. …

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. …

1 Peter 2:25 ESV / For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.