May 10. 2011 Psalm 23 (Day 2)

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

Good Tuesday, let's pray for a cure for diseases, morning. It is a wonderful, beautiful, and blessed morning here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, and I am sure it is the same at your place. Think about it, it is wonderful, for you are up and taking in air that God has furnished, it is beautiful, for if, like me, you have looked in the mirror and saw the image of God, for we are made in His image. And yes, it is blessed, for you have food to eat, or at least I did. Yesterday we had four families come for food, two ladies just cried and cried, as they said they had no food for their "kids." Well they do now, and thanks be to God for that. We are blessed each day to have food on our shelves and while we give God all the glory for it, we want to thank those of you on the line who support our ministry and the food bank. Even going on the road singing is costing a lot these days. However, God is good, and as far as singing goes, we are in our 18th year and have never, ever asked for money. By the way, you folks who come to Cedar Haven in Lebanon to hear us, we will be in concert there on May 21st at 2.00 PM.

Please pray for Art who had eye surgery last week, it seems his sight is blurry so I guess he is seeing men as trees walking, so Lord, please touch his eyes again.

Also remember this date... Saturday, July 2nd, for our annual picnic at Willow Mill Park... We are eating at noon, and I am the cook. Come early and stay late, bring your fishing pole (licenses needed) and take a worm for a swim... You need bring nothing except yourself and maybe a lawn chair. Come and meet us, our family, and our flock from the Bridges, and even some of those we help to feed. It is a big family get together and YOU ARE OUR FAMILY.

The 23rd Psalm (Day 2) Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (KJV)

How many shepherds are in your life? Before you answer, really think about it. There should be more than one shepherd, but only one Shepherd. Let's go back in time and look at a few things, let's roll back in time when I carried papers on Luce Street in Harrisburg, Pa., and the street beside my house was still dirt. I would say that the very first shepherd in my life was The Good Shepherd, my Lord Jesus, and then my mother was also a shepherd of mine, for a shepherd is one who takes care of their flock. My daddy was also a shepherd of the early years. And there were others, on Luce Street there was a playground, and we kids would gather daily and play ball and do other things. Our playground instructor was a shepherd to us kids. The gentlemen who worked with us kids who had paper routes were shepherds. When summer ended and we went off to school and when we went to our classroom we would meet another shepherd, who were and still are called teachers. We had coaches, and on Sundays we also had our Sunday School Teachers, and we had our Pastor. And Pastors, like Pastor Larry Hale, and Pastor Kevin Brown, and Richard Denison, and yes, even this old pastor, are shepherds as we have flocks to watch over. So my dear brothers, we have many shepherds, but only one Shepherd. Now as I asked all who are a shepherd, and while we all have had many shepherds, most all of us have also from time to time been a shepherd. But folks, we have only one Shepherd and none of us is that Shepherd and never will be. The Shepherd I am talking about is of course Jesus. The difference in the word, is just the large S in Shepherd. The difference between a shepherd and The Shepherd is what the one did, does and always will do, that the other shepherds cannot do.

From John 10:10 - "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." 11 "I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep, so when he sees the wolf coming he abandons the sheep and runs away. The the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." 14 "I am The Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." (NIV)

Now let's look back at some of the shepherds that I have talked about. Let's start with the first lady in my life... My mamma, and she was a really neat and faithful shepherd and she loved The Shepherd. However, as the Bible tells us, some of the shepherds run when they see the wolf, and yes, some mothers and many many fathers who are to be shepherds sort of just ran away. Some of the fathers are just not there, many never were. Some of and again I say some of our teachers who are to be shepherds of the kids work only for a paycheck and while paychecks are needed it is not the only thing that counts. And brothers and sisters, rest knowing that most of our teachers are faithful shepherds to our school kids. Some pastors are the same way, just working for that paycheck. I have been in churches where I had never heard about salvation which comes from The Good Shepherd. And some of those pastors from some of the churches are really leading their flock right into the wolf's mouth. Yes, if the flocks follow some of those pastors who are preaching hate, and gay marriage, and abortion being ok, are heading them, their flock, right to HELL!

So folks, if you follow The Good Shepherd, and pray about those other shepherds in your life, things will go a long way. And I want you to remember this... The Good Shepherd I am talking about is Jesus, and yes, He needs the help of the lesser shepherds. Think about that, folks, really think about it. And remember this... The Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want. If you follow Jesus you will not want, well, some never stop wanting, but all of your needs will be supplied... ALL OF THEM. Some are supplied by other shepherds and their flocks... Think about it folks, how many people does your flock have that help the shepherd, help your pastor who is working for The Good Shepherd, and when you are helping your shepherd, you are also working for The Good Shepherd.

Please tell me some of those who helped shepherd you, and have you been let down by a shepherd? Remember this, The Shepherd with the scars from the nails will never let you down.

Dear Father in Heaven, Dear Lord, my Shepherd and the leader of all those who shepherd under You. I want to be one of those shepherds and I want to lead people to You, not to the master of evil, so please help me with it. Help your leaders who You have seen get appointments to churches, and Lord be with them... And Lord, please send cures for diseases. In the name of Jesus, also touch Art's eyes again... In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now go forth, being a shepherd to others, be a shepherd or a leader for Jesus and you can get started by sharing your blessings. Love ya, Pastor Dan.