The Gift of Redemption When We Go Astray

Isaiah 53:6 stated: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” God was clear in His assessment of us, as humans we can be very unpredictable, unstable and unfaithful. If left to our own devices we will end up on the ‘road to perdition,’ meaning ‘utter destruction. God sent His own precious Son, the Word of Life, Christ Jesus to literally save the inhabitants of this world. You and me and many, many others. This was the most valuable Gift God had to offer as a sacrifice for the soul of everyone of us. He did it because He loved us so passionately. He created us to love Him in return. Yet, there are many, many people who chose to create their own gods, even making themselves gods and denying the Gift of God- His Son. Some of us have gone astray because we did not know enough. I was once on the crossroads of life until I met Christ and turned to Him. I have made so many missteps and taken so many wrong turns, but I realized in retrospect Jesus never left me and was watching me from a distance, waiting for me to return to Him. And one day, I did. I never looked back. Some have gone astray because of their unrenewed minds and believing the lies of the devil. Some were just victims caught up in the tide of life. Some chose not to believe and turned to rebellion and unbelief.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd and as sheep we hear His voice and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out and when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before us and (as) sheep (we) follow Him, for we know His voice. Yet, by no means will we follow a stranger’s voice, but will flee from him, for we do not know the voice of strangers. (John 10:3-5). That stranger’s voice is the voice of our enemy, the wolf in sheep's clothing.
Psalm 23 is a beautiful song written by David. It gives hope, assurance and confidence that as sheep, our Good Shepherd (Jesus Christ) takes excellent care of us. He is our Provider and Protector. He is our Restorer and He leads us on the paths of righteousness. When we are in a difficult situation and have been walking through the valley of death, we have no fear of evil because our Good Shepherd is always with us. If we should stray, we can be assured His rod and staff will protect and comfort us, and pull us from dangerous terrain. The best part is His goodness and mercy follow us wherever we go, all the days of our lives. But we must choose to believe that He is our Good Shepherd and we can trust Him to preserve our lives and be our Refuge and Strength, always ready to help in trouble. God is with those who obey Him,” (Psalm 14:5). Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! (Acts 18:9) Pass the Word of God forward to someone in need of encouragement and bring hope to the hopeless. Let them know how much God loves them and desire their love in return. God wants us to fellowship with Him and to be the God in our lives. When we share our faith it is discipleship. There are many hurting people in our world and many of them wear masks to disguise their pain and trouble. But God knows each broken heart, each broken soul and He sends people across their paths to help them but most of the time they are unaware of His Presence. “Be still and know that I AM God” is what He said in His Word, because it is the only way we will remain on the right path.

Home-work: Everyday take five to ten minutes and sit in silence, clear your mind of the chattering voices and focus on God and His goodness and His amazing love for you. Close your eyes if you can, to block out distractions. Breathe deeply in and out from your diaphragm. Think of the most peaceful time of your life and be still and listen from your spirit, your core, for God’s voice. Practice listening to God’s voice because it could very well save your life, a loved one or simply bring peace in your life. Or receive a word from Him for your future. Our spirit is always communicating with us but there is too much noise for us to hear, that’s why we need to quiet our minds from the noise.
The Bible is my foundation. The Holy Spirit is my Inspiration. God always gets all the glory. I am “the pen of a ready writer.” (Psalm 45:1 (b).
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