PJP2 “7 PRAISES” - 161206 - SHEEP SHEEP: Savior's HELP/HOPE Extends (to us, God's) Eternal PEACE If you do a word search of His WORD for the word SHEEP....at least 198 times the word SHEEP is employed. (Just for awareness, the word SHEPHERD is employed 111 times/jaj). I find it interesting the God The Father, His Son, our Lord Jesus, and The Holy Spirit (By His Inspired WORD to the writers of The Scriptures) compares us to SHEEP several times. Does give one pause, for example to ponder a Verse such as.... ....Isaiah 53:6 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."ALL we Like SHEEP Have gone astray; we Have turned—Every one—to his own way; And The Lord Has Laid On HIM the iniquity of us ALL.".... Yes, being a SHEEP is not always a good thing. SHEEP, from what I've read, frequently get themselves into trouble, more so because of only paying attention to where the next mouthful for grazing, or quenching their thirst AND NOT being aware of the dangers lurking all around. Isn't it Good to Know that we Have A Great/Eternal Shepherd Who has Gone So Far to Even Give Up His LIFE for His SHEEP? Then there's the Birth of Jesus during the First Advent - AND the Prominence of The SHEEP (and of course their Shepherds)..... Luke 2:8-20 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."And in the Same Region there were Shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their Flock by night. And An Angel Of The Lord Appeared to them, And The Glory Of The Lord Shone around them, And they were filled with Great Fear. And The Angel Said to them, 'Fear Not, For BEHOLD, I Bring you GOOD NEWS Of Great JOY That Will Be For ALL the people. For Unto you Is Born This Day In The City Of David A Savior, Who Is Christ The Lord. And THIS Will Be A SIGN for you: you Will Find A Baby Wrapped In Swaddling Cloths And Lying In A Manger.' And Suddenly There Was With The Angel A Multitude Of The Heavenly Host Praising God And Saying, 'Glory To God In The Highest, And on earth PEACE among those with whom He Is Pleased!' When The Angels went away from them Into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us Go Over to Bethlehem And See THIS Thing That Has Happened, Which The Lord Has Made Known to us.' And they Went With Haste And Found Mary and Joseph, And The Baby Lying In A Manger. And When they Saw IT, they Made Known The Saying That Had Been Told them Concerning THIS CHILD. And All who Heard IT Wondered At What the shepherds Told them. BUT Mary Treasured Up ALL These Things, Pondering Them in her Heart. AND the shepherds Returned, Glorifying And Praising God For ALL they Had Heard And Seen, As IT Had Been Told them.".... Can't you just see this in your Inner Minds Eye.....Here's The Shepherds, minding their own business, having finally got The FLOCK bedded down for the night. The WORD doesn't tell us what time of night The Angel(s) Appear and Make The Announcement of All Time, BUT, BaBaam! IF the Shepherds were filled "with a Great Fear", just think what The SHEEP must have been experiencing! And then, after The Angels have Shared The Happening (including A Sign so the Shepherds would Not Miss It), the Shepherds decide to pick-up/head-off to Bethlehem to "See THIS Thing That Has Happened". Now, I Wonder if the Shepherds left the FLOCK in place with just minimal manning? Perhaps, though, they took The Whole FLOCK with them. We don't really know since The WORD doesn't tell us. Either way they go; They visit with The Holy Family (THF); They Shared with THF their earlier Visit from The Heavenly Host; They Become our Lord's First Evangelists ("AND the shepherds Returned, Glorifying And Praising God For ALL they Had Heard And Seen, As IT Had Been Told them.") And even John The Baptist (JTB) (our Lord Jesus' Cousin) Identifies our Lord Jesus with The SHEEP.... John 1:29 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."The next day he (JTB) saw Jesus Coming Toward him, and Said, 'Behold, The LAMB Of God, Who Takes Away the sin of the world!'".... So, God The Father ensures that we can grasp and understand that when HE identifies us as His SHEEP, He Goes So Far to Give His Only Son As The LAMB, His LAMB that would Sacrifice Himself to Cover our sheepish willfulness, Once and For All Time. Thus my Overall PJP2 Prayer for us today would be a Paraphrase of Prayer and Praise via His Holy Spirit's Inspired WORD as Recorded by the writer of Hebrews..... Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV/emphasis & paraphrase added/jaj)....O Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father God, we Bow and Worship You, O Lord, our God. And Now, Holy Spirit, May God The Father, The True God Of Eternal Peace....May He, The One Who Brought You, O Lord Jesus, Once Again Back From the dead, Ever Be With us. O Lord Jesus, You our Great Shepherd Of God The Father's FLOCK, By Your Blood Of His Eternal Covenant of GRACE, May You Equip us With Everything Good That we May Do Your Will. Holy Spirit, Work Within, Around and Through us That Which is Pleasing In Your Sight. Father God, Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus, Through You, O Lord, God The Father's Christ, To Whom Be All The Glory, Now and Forever And Ever, we Lift Up our Prayers and Praise.....Amen & Amen....jaj