Your flock!

“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.”

1 Peter 5:2-3 NLT -- http://bible.com/116/1pe.5.2-3.nlt

I am so blessed to have a huge "flock". No, I'm not a Pastor. I don't run a church. I do have a wonderful growing family, a group of students, a CMA ministry, and countless friends in my flock. I am charged by God to care for the people in my life. It can be challenging, grueling, and exhausting to care for the lives of others. You stress out when they stress out. You mourn when they mourn. Their personal challenges become yours. You share their blood, sweat, and tears. We need to cherish that flock. 

Our relationship with our flock is not supposed to be two-way. We are supposed to give-all without getting anything in return. As a matter of fact our real purpose is to build up those that can not help others. To serve those that can't serve themselves is our highest calling. That love and servant heart is not to dominate, but to genuinely meet the needs of others.

How we lead our flock is just as critical as what we do. Our Christian leadership is about setting an example. It's about looking inward it's about that servant heart and not a position of authority. If we want our flock to grow in their relationship with the father, we need to constantly pursue him ourselves. Our relationship, our knowledge of God is never where it needs to be.

Dear Lord, give me a heart to serve my flock. Help me to keep a check on my motives and my attitudes toward serving others. I know your love. I know your example. The sending of your son, Jesus, is that perfect example. May I work toward that type of service. I praise you for your love. I praise you for the Hope you give! Amen!

Who's in your flock?

“Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.”

Proverbs 27:23-24 NLT. (http://bible.com/116/pro.27.23-24.nlt)

Who is a part of your flock? How far is your prayer reach? Both these questions are key to your spiritual life. It's kind of like Facebook or Twitter. How many people can you have as friends or follow on Twitter? If you have too many friends or followers on social media you can't really keep up with all of them, it's easy to miss key posts or tweets. It waters down your presence in their lives. The same thing holds true for prayer. In order to pray for someone you need to get to know them. You need to know the state of your flock. When you know what's going on in their lives you can put your heart into caring for them. Obviously you can pray for someone without knowing the details. God knows. But, to petition for someone it is best to know what they are going through. 

Your flock is your family, close friends and coworkers that you are with every day. Your flock consists of those you can pray for without them asking you. You know what to pray for because you know their struggles. These people are a part of your daily prayers and you  are sincerely concerned about them because of your relationship. I have a very specific group of people, my flock, that I pray for nearly every day, they are more important to me than praying for riches or asking for things.

Dear Lord, I pray for my flock. I love them and ask you to protect them in their daily walk. I ask that you make your or presence known in their lives. I pray that protection on my direct family, my CMA family, my coworkers, my school, my community and this nation. I love you Lord because you first loved me and sacrificed your own son for me, a member of your flock. I am humbled by that wonderful love. Amen!