March 14, 2018
Ask Jesus to be your shepherd.
Have you asked the Lord Jesus to come into your life? Have you stepped across that line? Will you say, “I put my trust in Jesus. I know Heaven’s perfect, and I’m not. There’s no chance I’m getting into Heaven because of my own goodness, because I’m not good enough. But I’m trusting Jesus to get me in. I’m trusting Jesus to save me by His grace. I’m trusting Jesus to save me because He loves me.”
You know what? When Jesus died on the cross for you, He solved your biggest problem. You don’t have any bigger problem than eternal salvation. If Jesus can handle that – the biggest problem you have – why do you doubt He’ll be able to take care of the smaller things in your life? What’s the logic of saying, “Jesus, I’m going to trust You to get me into to Heaven, but I’m not going to trust You help me with my car payment?”
It’s like, I’m walking down the road wearing a heavy backpack. You see me, pull over, and say, “Jeff, you want a ride?” I’m like, “Yeah, that would be great.” I jump in and, five minutes later, you notice I’m still sitting there, hunched over, uncomfortable, still wearing that backpack.” You say, “Jeff, you can just toss that in the back.” I say, “Oh, no. It’s enough for you to carry me. I’ll carry the backpack.”
That’s the kind of stupid logic we use. “Oh, yeah, God, You can save my life and carry me to Heaven. You worry about that! But I’ll worry about my money, and my job, and my sex life, and my social life.” No, no. No, no, no! You don’t need to carry that backpack. You don’t need to carry that load. He’s going to carry you to Heaven … and He’ll carry everything else while you’re here on earth.
Here’s what you do … Every morning, when you get up, sit on the side of your bed, and say, “The Lord is my shepherd. Lord Jesus, today I’m expecting You to feed me, I’m expecting You to lead me, and I’m expecting You to meet my needs.”
Then say it throughout the day … You’re ready to go into an important meeting. “The Lord is my shepherd. He’s going to help me in this meeting.” You’ve got a parent teacher conference. “The Lord is my shepherd. What I’m about to hear I may not want to hear, but He’s going to feed me, lead me, and meet my needs.” You’ve got a decision to make. “The Lord is my shepherd.”
“Jesus, Lord of Love, I give every area of my life to You. I want to love You and follow You. In Your Name I pray. Amen.”