I hate thinking of myself as a sheep in a flock. Really? Me? Yes, me! Thank you God. If you are one of the sheep not in the fold He's got you covered too.

John 10:14-16

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Bible Gateway link: John 10:14-16

Today's Proverb:

Rebuke is more effective for a wise man
Than a hundred blows on a fool.
Proverbs 17:10

Proverb for today.

He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;  
He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. 

Proverbs17:5

We need as many fathers like King David as we can get.

1 Kings 2:1-3
Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying:
“I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.
And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1kings2:1-3&version=NKJV

Are you tired of always feeling empty? Your God-sized void can be filled. It is a red letter promise.

John 7:37-38
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Bible Gateway link: John 7:37-38 (NKJV)

Water spilled. Irretrievable right? Not with God.

2 Samuel 14:14
We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.
Bible Gateway link: 2 Samuel 14:14

Religions just don't get it. Even the Christian religion has trouble. It is not about dogma or rituals or rules. It's about following God. "He who made me well said to me..." just listen and do it, nothing else matters.

John 5:8-11
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”
And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.
The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’”
Bible Gateway link: John 5:8-11 (NKJV)

Ever wondered what your purpose is? God has plans we don't know anything about. He did for King David and for his line. Jesus was in that line and, as promised, His kingdom is established forever. Thank you God.

2 Samuel 7:12-13
“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Bible Gateway link: 2 Samuel 7:12-13

I didn't have a clue!!! This was my first Bible study ever and I didn't get it. Now it is one of the most reassuring sentences in my world. Jesus is the Word, and He was with God in the beginning. He is God.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Bible Gateway link: John 1:1 (NKJV)

What's your battle? I couldn't fight mine alone, I cried aloud. He saved me.

Psalm 55:16-18
As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.
Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For there were many against me.
Bible Gateway link: Psalm 55:16-18 (NKJV)

Would you recognize him? The risen Christ walked and talked with Peter but Peter didn't even know it was Jesus until his eyes were opened. Your eyes can be opened too. Expect Him at your table.

Luke 24:30-31
Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Bible Gateway link: Luke 24:30-31 (NKJV)

This was just a kid in Bethlehem, a shepherd and the baby of the family. But God had plans for David, plans to change the world forever. "this is the one!"

1 Samuel 16:12
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
Bible Gateway link: 1 Samuel 16:12 (NKJV)

No fear, no turning aside, no more empty things. Even if you have been wicked, the Lord will not forsake you.

1 Samuel 12:20-22
Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.

And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.
For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people.
Bible Gateway link: 1 Samuel 12:20-22 (NKJV)

Live!

Luke 20:38
For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”
Bible Gateway link: Luke 20:38 (NKJV)

This beautiful verse stems from Ruth's refusal to leave her mother-in-law. Because of that decision she has the honor of being the great-grandmother of David, and thus part of Christ's genealogy? It's amazing what doing the right thing at the right time can mean to the world.

Ruth 1:16-17
But Ruth said:
“Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.”
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ruth1:16-17&version=NKJV