Folding your Flock

One of the most beautiful revelations of God is that He is our Shepherd. He is our personal Shepherd and He is the Great Shepherd of His flock--His people Israel and the church. Not only is He our Shepherd, but of all the animals God created, He chose to call us His sheep—and a sheep cannot survive without a shepherd.

The Chief Shepherd wants to shepherd His precious flock through His under shepherds. He raises up shepherds to watch over His flock, the church. 1 Peter 5:1-2 exhorts the elders to “Feed the flock of God which is among you… being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” The word “feed” means a lot more than giving food to eat. The word is polmaino, which involves the full responsibility of the shepherd—leading them to nourishment, but also guiding, guarding, tending, and folding the flock.

When Jesus spoke to Peter after His resurrection, He exhorted him three times, “Feed my lambs… Feed my sheep… Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). The first and last exhortation to “feed” literally means to feed. However, the second time Jesus said these words he used polmaino, the word that means the fullness of shepherding.

I love the term, “folding the flock,” don’t you? In biblical times the shepherd folded his flock each night. He counted each one and made sure they were all in the fold, safe and secure from any wild beasts. He often slept in the opening of the fold to protect his sheep. During the day, he watched over them constantly with his rod and staff, and led them to green pastures.

God also wants you, as a shepherding mother, to fold your flock. One of the biggest things you do as a shepherdess is feed your children. That’s what sheep do all day long--eat! They rarely lift their heads from eating grass! Now do you wonder why God calls us sheep? Don’t think you are wasting your time when you seem to be preparing meals all day! This is a huge part of your shepherding.

But you do more than prepare meals. You tenderly nurture your flock. You gently shepherd as you nurse your baby and lovingly teach and train your little ones. But, you are not only a sweet caring mother. You are also courageous! You have the enormous task of protecting their minds, souls and spirits (1 Thessalonians 5:23). You are guarding them from evil—from all deceptions, delusions and the detours from God’s paths that are everywhere in this society. When the enemy comes stalking your children you are like a wild watchwoman as you grab your child from the jaws of the destroyer. That’s what David, the shepherd of Israel did. Such was his courage that He would grab a ferocious lion by the beard and rescue his lamb from its mouth (I Samuel 17:34-36).

The farming shepherd works hard and sacrifices for his sheep because he loves them. Shepherding involves laying down our life for our lambs. Dear mother, you are doing a beautiful work each day as you reveal God’s shepherding heart to your family.

Shepherding is so much part of who God is that He continues to shepherd us even in the eternal realm. Revelation 7:15-17says, “He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (polmaino) them, and shall led them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

God will never stop folding His flock. Because He is the Chief Shepherd, He will continue folding us throughout all eternity, leading us continually to greener and greener pastures and fountains of living waters. We will be totally satisfied and contented sheep, and yet always being led to more and more.

Do you notice that He is not only the Shepherd, but also the Lamb—the Lamb that was slain and who bears the marks of our salvation in His body. And although He sits on the throne, He also dwells with us and enjoys the eternal days with us. He is now, and always will be, the “dwelling” Shepherd who loves to dwell with us and be part of our lives. You also, as a shepherdess will always want to be with your sheep, to dwell with them, and to be part of their lives. Even an earthly shepherd would not take a lamb away from its mother or take the lamb out of the family flock. In the same way, a shepherd mother cannot part with her little lamb, even for a few hours. As they continue to grow, she still wants them around her to enjoy them and teach them in God’s ways.

Don’t only observe your flock. Fold them into your heart. Fold them into your secure and godly home. Fold them in to your daily prayers.

NANCY CAMPBELL

POSSESSING THE GATES
Part 2

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice:
but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn”(Proverbs 29:2)

 5. DEFEND JUSTICE IN THE GATES

Proverbs 17:15 says, “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.” We are tired of this state of affairs and God says it is an abomination. We see it happening all around us, and even in our courts. Because of lies and warped judgment, innocent parents are in jail. The humanist media loves to trap and ridicule the righteous. Justice is distorted (Isaiah 59:14-15 and Amos 5:10).

There will come a day when all this will change. The Bible tells us about “the defender of justice in the gate.” How we need men today who will defend justice in the gates. We need to train up young men in our homes who know how to defend and battle in the gates for truth and justice. Isaiah 29:21 MLB speaks of the day when “the tyrant shall have vanished; the scoffer shall have ceased; and all those intent on doing evil shall be cut off, who for a word declare a person guilty, and entrap the defender of justice in the gate, and with empty arguments turn aside the person who is in the right.”

God has also promised that He will give a “spirit of justice to him who executes justice, and of valor to those who turn back the battle to the gate” (Isaiah 28:6 MLB).

6. ESTABLISH TRUTH AND PEACE IN THE GATES

 Zechariah 8:16 says, “Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the justice of truth and peace in your gates.” Justice demands truth. Goodbye to lies. “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 12:22).

Truth and justice are the foundation for ordering our home. There will be no peace unless we first have truth and justice. We will not find men to execute justice and truth in the gates if it has not become ingrained in their lives from early childhood. Because Daniel was trained in a God-fearing home, he was ready and prepared to stand in the gates and influence a heathen nation (Daniel 2:49).

What is the result of truth and righteousness in the gates? Peace. This is what we long for, isn’t it? Sadly, we have war in the gates when we turn from God’s ways. Judges 5:8 says, “They chose new gods; then was war in the gates.”

7. CHALLENGE EVIL IN THE GATES

After being with God for 40 days and nights and receiving the divine tablets of stone which were written with the hand of God, Moses came down from Mt. Sinai to find the children of Israel had already turned from God and were worshipping a golden calf and defiling themselves with pagan revelry. Did Moses show a spirit of tolerance? No way. He was so furious he threw the tablets to the ground; he ground the golden calf into powder, mixed it with water, and made the people drink it! “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me” (Exodus 32:26).

It is time to challenge the evil that is going on in the gates of our cities and our land! Not only our land. The Bible also talks about the gates of the Lord’s house. Where are the men who will be unafraid to challenge the compromise and deception in the church? God told Jeremiah to “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings” (Jeremiah 7:1-3). Also read Jeremiah 17:19-21.

May God raise up men like Moses, Jeremiah and Elijah who will not be afraid to challenge the evil in the gates. May God raise up true watchmen who will guard the adversary from coming into the gates of the church. Lamentations 4:12 says, “The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.” What about the gates of the church?

8. GUARD THE GATES

Nehemiah 11:19 talks about 172 men who guarded the gates of Jerusalem. God has appointed 12 angels to guard each gate of the New city of Jerusalem (Revelation 21:12). If the gates of God’s city are to be guarded, what about the gates of our home, our city and our nation?

We need watchmen in the gates of our land, but it starts in the home. We must guard the gates of our home from all break-ins of the adversary—sin, deception, worldliness and mediocrity. It starts with parents who command their household in the ways of justice, and who do not allow disobedience, rebellion, lies, and deceit to go undisciplined. It will take parents who abhor evil, love righteousness, and who teach their children to do the same.

If every God-fearing family carefully guarded the gates of their home, it would filter up to the gates of our nation. It all starts with the family, which is God’s original plan. God established the family before the church and before government. Every individual family must take their responsibility to understand and execute justice in their home gates. I look toward the day when, “The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous” (Proverbs 14:19).

Isaiah 3:26 says, “Her gates shall lament and mourn” and Jeremiah 14:2 says, “Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish.” Will we have mourning in our gates or rejoicing?

Love from Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Great God and Father, I cry out to you for “defenders of justice” to be raised up in our midst. Help me, as a mother to begin training “defenders of justice” in my home. Teach me how to execute justice in my home. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I have a vision to prepare “defenders of justice” for the nation!

POSSESS THE GATES

Part 1

“As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:4-5).

Why is it a blessing to have a quiver full of children? Why will parents not be ashamed who have many children? They are training their children to know how to fight enemies. They are preparing them for war. And what is more powerful than swords and spears? Words! Words of truth!

We don’t have children just for the sake of having children. We have a purpose to raise children who know how to combat the enemies of darkness and who know how to contend for their faith. We raise children who know the truth, who will stand for truth, and who will keep on standing for truth even when everyone is trying to knock them down! We teach them to not only know the truth, but to speak the truth knowledgably and articulately.

1. SPEAK IN THE GATES

Where will our children speak? Some will speak one to one and others will speak crowds, but all must be prepared to speak in the gates. What are the gates? In biblical times they were the most important part of the city where the elders sat to administer judicial matters and kings met with their subjects. The judges and officers judged the daily matters of the people and the prophets proclaimed warnings from God. Today, it relates to the city councils, the state capitals and the White House in Washington DC where decisions and laws are made. Are we preparing children who will know how to speak with legislators and governors?

The Bible has a lot more to say about the gates of our cities and nations. Not only are we to train children to speak in the gates, but to also…

2. POSSESS THE GATES

Who are to possess the gates? Not the enemies of righteousness, but God’s people! The word “possess” in the Hebrew means “to seize, take possession of, to occupy.” In the Bible, to “possess the gates” means to take authority over the entire city. Don’t you think it is time the righteous occupied the gates of our cities and nation? We can’t have righteous laws without righteous men in government. We can’t have peace in the land unless the godly rule.

Why do we languish in mediocrity when we are meant to be possessing? “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 13:34). Also read Proverbs 11:10-11 and 29:2.

God promised Abraham that “thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Genesis 22:17). Because we are the children of Abraham by faith, it should be our vision, and the vision for our children, to possess the gates of our enemies. Rebekah’s family had this vision when they gave the blessing to her as they sent her forth to be Isaac’s bride, “Be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them” (Genesis 24:60).

3. PROCLAIM WISDOM IN THE GATES

We are not to hide the wisdom of God’s truth behind closed doors, or even in the church. We must proclaim wisdom in the chief places of the city. Proverbs 1:20-21 says, “Wisdom cries in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she utters her words” (Proverbs 8:1-7 and 8:1-3). The wise will speak in the gates, the fool will be too afraid to speak in the gates (Proverbs 24:7).

4. ESTABLISH JUSTICE IN THE GATES

The prophet cried out in Amos 5:15, “Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” It is because we have tolerance in the gates, that our nation is declining and the light of God is dimming more and more.

As God’s people we are to hate evil, not tolerate it. We are to abhor what is an abomination in God’s sight, not trifle with it. We must hate it enough that it will cause us to take action and establish justice in our courts and in our land. We must loathe it enough that we will pray and intercede. Ezekiel 9:4-6 states that God told Ezekiel to “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst.” They were the only people who escaped judgment. Are you one who sighs and cries for the evil in the land?

Love from Nancy Campbell
http://www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Oh God, please save me from assimilating into this world system and help me to intercede on the behalf of my nation. Strengthen me to raise children who are ingrained in your Word and who will be bold to speak your truth, even in the face of opposition. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am preparing children to speak in the gates!

What is an abomination to God?

Leviticus 18:22-30; 20:13; Deuteronomy 7:25-26; 18:9-13; 27:15; 1 Kings 14:24; 2 Kings 16:3; 21:2; 23:7, 24; Proverbs 3:32; 6:16-19; 11:1, 20; 12:22; 15: 9, 26; 16:5, 12; 17:15; 20:10, 23; 24:9; Jeremiah 4:1; 13:27; 44:22; Ezekiel 7:3-9; 11:21; Luke 16:15; Romans 1:25-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-11 and Revelation 21:8, 27.

Some Scriptures about the Gates of the City for you to study:

Genesis 19:1; Deuteronomy 16:18; 17:2-5; 21:19-21; 22:15; 25:7-8; 28:52; Joshua 20:4; Judges 16:1-3; Ruth 4:1, 11; II Samuel 15:2; 19:8; I kings 22:10; I Chronicles 9:19-23; 26:13; II Chronicles 8:5; 14:7; 32:6; 35:15; Nehemiah 3:1-32; 8:1-3; Esther 2:19-21; 3:2; Psalm 87:2; 147:13; Proverbs 1:21; 8:1-3; 31:31; Isaiah 29:21; Jeremiah 17:19-20; 38:7; Ezekiel 44:1-3; 48:31-34; Daniel 2:49; Amos 5:10-15; Acts 3:1-10; Revelation 21:12-21 and 22:14.

SECOND MILERS! 

“Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matthew 5:41).

As we prepared to update the address labels to send out the new issue of Above Rubies, we encountered a problem. We had to manually verify nearly a thousand addresses, right when we needed to print labels! It is a lengthy task to locate the address, go to the USPS webpage and verify it, and then change it on our data base.

Knowing the urgency of the task, my Above Rubies helper smilingly started to work. She didn’t only work from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm as we do each day in the office. She worked through her lunch hour. She shifted into a new gear—the “second mile” anointing! She kept on with the job in the evenings. She worked all through the weekend and continued the same pattern the following week. She didn’t stop until the last address was verified! I called her, “Second Mile Haley.”