Come Learn Rest Ministries

Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
~Psalm 100:3

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, a children’s book written by Laura Joffe Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond, is a about a little boy who gives a mouse a cookie and one thing leads to the next until the mouse wants another cookie to eat. Something like that happened to me recently as I prayed this verse.

It is the favorite verse of Gloire, who lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As I prayed for him, I remembered that he is a sheep of God’s pasture on another continent. I gave thanks for the people at the Christ’s Hope Care Center in his village who shepherd him and make sure he has food, clothing and an education.

Then I started praying for my two year old twin granddaughters who are very attached to their “baa’s.” These “baa’s” are soft sheep puppets that they sleep with, play with and take with them as often as they can. As I prayed, in my minds eye I saw them cuddling their “baa’s” them under their arms. They are the sheep of God’s pasture and I am thankful for their mommy and daddy who cuddle and shepherd them. (I am also thankful that when a “baa” gets lost, new ones can be found on Amazon.)

And praying for the twins reminded me of my one-year old granddaughter. Just last week, I baptized her in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and with a few grandmother tears. In the ceremony her parents acknowledged that like themselves, she is one of God’s sheep.   I am thankful they are a family seeking to live daily in God’s pasture.

As I thought about God’s pasture, I prayed for others to know how God has lovingly made them to be his people. And then I am back to praying the verse all over again.

Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
~Psalm 100:3

Books by Numeroff and Bond enrich and delight the lives of children and adults. Verses like Psalm 100:3 and others can enrich our prayer lives and bring delight to the Lord, our Shepherd!

Thank You, Lord, for making us the sheep of Your pasture.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
you have loved righteousness and hate wickedness.
~Psalm 45:6-7a

Easter Sunday is a celebration of God’s authority in our lives. We no longer look upon the cross as an instrument of death but as a scepter of the One who loves righteousness and hates wickedness. We are no longer subjected to hopelessness because Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again.

As children of God we are the subjects of a compassionate King.  Henri Nouwen reminds us that God’s authority is different. “It is a compassionate authority that empowers, encourages, calls forth hidden gifts, and enables great things to happen.”

And so it is on Easter Sunday (and every Sunday) that our hearts worship with thanksgiving at the throne of Jesus who has risen indeed.

Thank You Lord for Your forever throne.