Christ the Good Shepherd: Ask and He will give you reason to believe.

Believers in Christ, the power that saves and heals us is the same power that sets things right in our lives, causing us to live right, reign over death and do God's good pleasure. See Christ's counsel to us in John 6:43-46 (MSG)

"Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End.""

Consider "setting them on their feet." What does this mean? It has to do with the relationship that Christ the Good Shepherd has with we His sheep (all who have Christ as their righteousness and strength.)

Did you know that whenever a sheep gets cast (falls on its back with all four legs in the air,) it can never right itself on its own? This is a picture of what happens to the believer (Christ's sheep) whenever we fall. The Shepherd puts the sheep back on its feet. After righting the sheep, the Shepherd holds it steady until it regains its bearings or else it will topple over again! The Shepherd will never disflock the sheep for falling. He will help you. He is our right-standing with God and frees us from every kind of sin- Titus 2:14 says of Him:

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

There is nothing worse than a cast sheep (a believer that has sinned) that has been cut off from the Good Shepherd. It looks like this:

It is the delight of wild animals to find sheep in this state. If wild animals aka Satan the devourer and his agents sight such sheep in their fallen state, they devour it alive! This is the whole essence of 1 Peter 5:

7 "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."

Satan is on the prowl looking for believers that have been separated from the flock of Christ so he can devour. But how does a believer get cut off from Christ? Definitely not by sinning or inability to keep the law as many believe. He came to free us from those same sins. The Parable of the Lost Sheep shows us that the Lord our Shepherd is not in the business of disflocking, beating or abandoning His sheep that go astray or leaving us to the devices of the devourer. Galatians 5:4 tells us how one gets cut off from Christ:

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace."

This is a picture of what is going on in many places of worship today. Because of the teaching of a false doctrine, many churchgoers are struggling to keep the Law in order to be right with God and so are cut off from Christ without even knowing it.

The verses "..Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith..." is being twisted and misinterpreted to mean:

"make sure you do your best to keep the Law and be upright before God so that Satan won't catch you napping and devour you."

Believer, let's take our blessed brains to church: The bible says "The law is not of faith." We resist Satan by being "steadfast in the faith." How on earth can keeping the Law to get right with God, an action which cuts one off from Christ, be effective in resisting Satan? It only gives Satan power to devour! This is exactly how to get cut off from Christ and be prey to the devourer!

Believer, not every "Daddy in the Lord" is of Christ. The spirit of the antichrist is not anti-God. It preaches very STRONGLY about keeping the law and living a godly life but it downplays or outrightly rejects the finished work of Christ in making the sinner righteous. It tells you that you need to keep the law that gives the knowledge of good and evil in order to be godly aka "be like God." Same strategy was used to deceive Eve into believing that she could be like God by human effort at doing something. See the forbidden fruit as a picture of the Law that many are trying so hard to obey in order to be godly in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG) -

"Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me."

Satan, through his ministers on many pulpits, is still seducing many into depending on their arm of flesh (human effort) in the quest to attain godliness, be accepted by God or to position oneself for His blessings, a direct contradiction of His word in Romans 3:

26"...and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

Believer, God Himself provided the Way for us to be godly, like Himself. Isaiah prophesied about the suffering of Christ in Isaiah 53. See the result of His suffering for us in Isaiah 53:11-

"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."

Christ suffered and died to make us godly (be like God). But churchgoers are being taught that they can be godly, save themselves from their cast positions (overcome sin and right themselves before God by their own power) and escape the devourer if they tried hard enough to suppress sinful urges and keep the Law! No friend. The arm of flesh will fail and when it does, those sinful desires will explode in a volcanic eruption of sins that lead to death (Romans 7:5)

Believers, Christ is the only Way to live in triumph over sin and death: Romans 5:16-17-

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

By God's grace flee from any place where it is being taught that you have to do certain things by your own power in order to gain right-standing with God, enjoy the blessing or escape the devourer. Flee from those who tell you that you have to do certain things in order to get "re-righteous" when you sin.This is akin to a cast sheep trying to right itself. This is how to get cut off from Christ and fall prey to Satan the devourer.

In Christ, our righteousness is from Christ's obedience (Romans 5:19) and it is an everlasting righteousness according to Hebrews 10. Our own "filthy rags" attempts at obeying the law to get right with God only serve to cut one off from Christ and here the devil can devour.

Believer, is there a sin or addiction that you are trying to overcome? Do you feel jealous when good things happen to others and hate yourself for it? Are you having challenges believing that all you have to do is rest in Christ's love? Do you feel depressed, empty, suicidal and just don't know what to do? Stop trying to defeat such things by your efforts at obeying the law and rest in God's grace. In Him, despite your imperfect condition, there is no condemnation for you. Tell Him "Lord Jesus, I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on you."

With Christ as your righteousness, our Lord God isn't condemning you for your sins and addictions. How could He when His Spirit testifies to us in Hebrews 10: "their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more"? How could He when His heart is overflowing with love for you? How could He when it is said of Him in Matt. 1:21-

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Like a shepherd with his cast sheep, He will save you from your sins. THIS IS WHY HE CAME. He did not come to condemn you or demand obedience, restitution and fasts so that you can be right with God. He knows we can do nothing without him. He came to save His people from their sins.

Our Abba Father isn't judging you for not having a clear vision of His Kingdom either. Ask and as He did with Thomas, He will make things plain to you. He will give you reason to believe! Before you know it, His peace that surpasses all understanding will overshadow you!

Philippians 4:6-7 (MSG) - "Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

Right believing always produces right living.