He Calls Shepherds; Fruit Gatherers, And Fishermen

He call shepherds to lead his people;
Fruit gatherers to be fruitful and
to gather the fruit;
Fishermen to fish for people.

"Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:

And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel." 

                                       (Amos 7:14-15 KJV)

God calls whom he will call to be his voice; to share the words of his promises and warnings to the world. He called Amos, a shepherd of sheep, to shepherd his people. God call Amos, a fruit gatherer in the orchards, to be fruitful by sharing his words of both promise and warning. Amos was not of the nobility. He was not highly esteemed. Yet, God chose Amos. 

God chose King David who was once a mere shepherd boy to rule his people. From a shepherd of sheep to a shepherd of God's people.

God has a long history of calling those that many would consider to be mere laborers to serve him fruitfully by serving and shepherding his people. He calls whom he will call and not as the world would call. He most often calls those who the rest of the world would consider unfit. He calls those whom he knows will bear fruit for the kingdom. 

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15:16)

God calls fruit gathers to be fruitful and to gather the fruits for the Kingdom. He calls shepherds to gather his flock and to protect and to lead them. He called fishermen to be fruitful by fishing for people.

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

And they straightway left their nets, and followed him."

                                                                                        (Matt 4:18-20)

If God is calling you to serve him in a particular way, don't let anyone talk you out of it. Let no one cause you to think that you are not qualified to do what God is sending you to do. God would not send you out without preparing you. He would not send you out without going with you. 

Go in peace. Serve the Lord. 

Pr. J.

False Shepherds Destroyed

In the 50th chapter of Jeremiah we read the word the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon. Babylon is about finished. God is about to destroy her and His people will turn their faces, once again, to the LORD and to the land that He has given them; to the covenant that He has made with them. They were once lost, living in exile; because of their hard-heartedness and eagerness to follow false gods, false shepherds. But, now God will destroy those false shepherds who led them out of the land He had given them.

“My people have been lost sheep;
    their shepherds have led them astray
    and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
    and forgot their own resting place.
Whoever found them devoured them;
    their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture, 

   the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’" (Jer 50:6-7 NIV)

No more! Those who say that they are not guilty, that they have no sin; those who have divided and scattered the flock will fall. Babylon will fall! The wolves in sheep clothing will fall! The Good Shepherd, Himself, will lead the remnant home.

“Israel is a scattered flock
    that lions have chased away.
The first to devour them
    was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones
    was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

"I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
    as I punished the king of Assyria.
But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture,
    and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied
    on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
    but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
    but none will be found,    
for I will forgive the remnant I spare." (Jer 50:17-20)

There are many false shepherds out there. Beware! If any prophet would put his own will and desires before the will of God, do not follow him. If any shepherd would put the ways of the world before The Way of Jesus, do not follow him. His own path will lead him to destruction and you do not want to be with him when he falls. Follow only in The Way that the LORD has prepared for you. "The LORD is our Shepherd, we shall not want. He makes us to lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside still water. He restores our soul..." (Psalm 23)

May God help us to keep our faces turned toward Him and to the Kingdom that has been promised to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J