HOOKERS IN THE BIBLE AND WHY THEY MATTER TOO
‘“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ‘ John 10:11
‘“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. John 10:11
Well, I’m in full ‘fighting sickness’ mode. Yesterday, around lunch time, I felt like I got hit by a truck. I’m battling that crackly lung sound when you breathe in too deep. I’ve made it my mission to kick this sickness in the f’n teeth.
I’m laying in bed, hands freezing, drinking a raw egg, orange juice smoothie 🍊🥚🥤. I’ll keep you posted on how the weekend progresses. However, I’ve declared war on it pretty hard. Seems I’ve switched places with Chantelle (my wife). She’s on some pretty heavy antibiotics to kick her pneumonia, which seems to be helping.
“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” — Bill Gates
For this particular verse to work, you really do need to read the whole chapter to get a bit of context. For the sake of time, I’ll sum it up.
Jesus is connecting all the dots to his disciples. He’s giving them a parable about a good shepherd and that HE is the good shepherd. They don’t get it. So, he literally explains it to them line by line. 🤔
Let me jump back into a story that came to my brain while reading this one.
You may remember in 1 Kings 3 when Solomon asks for wisdom. He became King and God asks him what he wants — he says ‘wisdom’. Pretty solid pick.
Then immediately after, two hookers come up to him to ask him a question. Yah, ‘hookers’, read your bible (1 Kings 3). They argue before Solomon — circa Jerry Springer 1999.
So, here’s what happened. They both recently delivered babies while living in the same house. One of the hookers, fell asleep on her child and killed it. She then tried to exchange the dead baby with the other to make it look like the other hooker’s baby was dead. At this point, both women come to the palace to see Solomon and argue their case.
Solomon finally had enough. He gets the sword and says he will cut the baby in half, so they both have a piece.
This is where the mother who’s child was alive — gave up. She said, “please don’t kill the baby— let her have it.” It was this act of love that showed Solomon who was telling the truth. Solomon then ordered the child to be given back to its rightful owner.
She was willing to give up her own baby for the sake of its life.
Life is pretty f’d up at the moment. However, it’s not too f’d up that God isn’t going to honor what he says. If he says, ‘I puts the sheep before myself’, well, I’ve got to go with that.
A few weeks back I heard Pastor Brian C. Houston talk about the ‘fight of faith’. To sum it up, he said, “without a fight, we don’t know really know what kind of faith we have.” It sucks, but it’s so true.
I guess these times when it hurts more we question God more. Why the suffering, why the pain, why the struggle? I don’t have any answers for that — but for me, I will become stronger because of it.
I’ve got to believe what He says and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He is the ultimate leader and it’s for our good. He’s a good father, His face shines upon me. Nothing I do can separate me from the love of God.
Take a deep breathe. Yes, God is for you too. He’s not reserved for the elite, celebrity or exclusive to the pastor. He’s there for you and you can sleep on that.
Let’s pray:
Jesus, I trust in you. You ARE looking out for me. You will provide for me. You are preparing me for something great, something different than what I’m used to. I’ve got to rest on that. I need peace today. I need rest. thank you. Amen.
