A Shepherd's Heart

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” ~John 10:11(NASB) I seek to follow in the footsteps of The Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. I seek to offer my life in service to Him as a servant - a shepherd to those He calls me to serve. I have a shepherd’s heart and this space is dedicated to sharing scripture, devotions, thoughts, prayers, opinions and other information to encourage and challenge His family to grow in their relationships with Him.

[randolphkoch]

A Prayer for troubled waters...

Friend,

If God takes you into troubled waters, it's not to drown you, it's to teach you to swim. Heavenly Father, I praise You that through the good and the bad times You are carrying us each step of the way as our strength, refuge and shield! Keep teaching us to swim as we hold on to and look to You our true life guard Who is always on duty! Help us to by faith jump into the waters no matter how rough they may look! In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

In a humorous way, I might add that it's kind of like the movie "Finding Nemo"....Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming!

[randolphkoch]

Will you accept the challenge? #walkthewalk #walkyourtalk 

[randolphkoch]

Life Experience Reflection: How People Treat You!

Life Experience Reflection: "You teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop and what you reinforce." -Tony Gaskins

I have often learned the truths contained in the quote the hard way. Whether your young or old, we tend to condition ourselves and others regarding how they can treat us. You have to set clear boundaries and you are not here on earth to be a doormat for those who have wrong intentions, big egos, are only looking out for their own gain, are trying to compensate for their own inadequacies, are trying to appear more important than they really are those who constantly mistreat you or tear you down or simply are uncaring and unloving to you!

You don't have to take it and you don't have to be a jerk in response but you can with respect (something some people just don't have) and even love you can let others know what you will allow going forward, what you are putting a stop to now and then constantly reinforcing that. Sometimes you have to be out of your comfort zone and step it up a notch and clearly and sometimes strongly communicate these things to those who continually cross boundaries.

At this point in my life, I'm not an expert at this but I purpose to learn from my past lessons/mistakes and have a deeper resolve to clearly communicate how I should be treated by what I allow, stop and reinforce. I hope you do the same too.

Now, for those who may get their feathers ruffled and may try to jump all over me and say but "wait a minute... "Jesus was a peace loving pacifist, a compassionate and peace loving person, etc etc." "He would just simply pray things got better and be a peace loving doormat for people". Um, Well, Yes He was and is the Prince of peace, and He does love us even when we screw up royally, but if you read your Bible - you'll also see that in Love He also put some in their place too. He wasn't some pacifist or peace loving hippie that some may try to paint a picture of Him. Don't get me wrong, you have to insert wisdom here and sometimes you have to choose to not speak or address it at that moment but I guarantee you, if you continue to just be quiet all the time, it will never get better for you or the other party!

Just remember, we're all in this together and YOU are an important part of that "together" too!

#lifeexperiencereflection

[randolphkoch]

The Majesty and Power of God

Having a crazy day? 

  Need a reminder of God's power and majesty? 

  Pause for a moment and take a look at this amazing glimpse of God's creation from my home state then sing and pray lifting praises to your King of Kings and Lord of Lords! 

  The Oregon Coast: A Winter Odyssey: Video Link: https://vimeo.com/117670644

  http://www.uncagethesoul.com/gallery/the-oregon-coast-a-winter-odyssey/ (entire gallery)

#godisgood

[randolphkoch]

Rain

Some days or weeks when things are stressful and crazy (especially at work and other parts of life like overall ministry in life, etc.)...

  I find myself looking outside, (like today) when it's pouring down rain...and for a brief moment I wish I could literally run out in the rain during the hard deluge and let it wash over me and wash away the junk I've been going through... 

  ...But that's not how life works...You have to work through things in different ways. 

  I am however glad I know the One who I can cast all my cares and anxiety upon because He cares for and loves me. I'm also glad I have family and a few friends that love me and are there for me and besides the Lord....they do help "wash" the troubles away. :-) "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." - John 14:27 "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

[randolphkoch]

9 Reasons why people aren't singing in worship

Some of you in the church may sadly blow this off as it doesn't fit into your philosophy, or as harsh as this sounds...maybe you don't care, or something else but I've observed and experience over the years many of things the author outlines.

I wonder if in the current state of church affairs (Specifically the church in US) if some of the "modern" worship leaders will be courageous enough to #1 read the below linked post (even if you don't agree), then #2 honestly pray and seek God about this, dare I say...#3 actually listen to the wisdom in your congregations, and #4 then adjust where necessary to steer the congregations back to genuine worship?

This isn't really a matter of style or traditional vs. modern worship rather it's a matter of the heart and leadership/shepherding as well as everyone who attends desire to worship God in song genuinely and completely. Worship in Song is very important part of the life of the church so we ought to honestly and continually "check and adjust" to make sure we're on course.

Here's the link to one of the article that have been posted on this topic: http://blog.ncbaptist.org/renewingworship/2014/06/11/nine-reasons-people-arent-singing-in-worship/

After reading the post, don't for a minute tell me that you as a worship pastor, leader, team, etc., have no responsibility in where worship is lead/what direction it takes on a weekly basis or that's just a heart issue of the congregations...yes, sometimes this is true but if people come week after week with an open heart, seeking God, seeking to worship Him in Song only to find that they are not being lead, or they are in store for a performance they cannot join, then it's not on the congregations.

It's a complete cop-out as a shepherd or leader to ignore your role because you as the worship leader, pastor, etc, set the tone, atmosphere, "the stage" if you will for authentic worship and it's cop-out to say it's the peoples problem and not yours. Yes, you can lead and set the stage and some people still won't worship it but I believe that is a very small amount of people that fall into that category while the rest want genuine worship and are looking to you to lead them toward it!

So, pray and lead them to genuine worship and if you choose not to, why are you doing what you're doing?

All these thoughts are something to prayerfully consider and if you're a leader and reading this, I hope you truly do!