When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He
said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter
was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?”
and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love
you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep." John 21:15-17 NAB translation
John is the last book of the Gospels which are the books in the New Testament that are solely focused on the 30-to-35 years that start shortly before the birth of Jesus and up-to when Jesus returned to heaven. Chapter 21 is the last chapter in John. The quotes are within 8 verses of the very end of the Gospels. They are, effectively, among Jesus's last words as he walked out the door.
While no word of Jesus is more, or less, important than any other words, as a human I perceive them as being like my wife reminding me to perform some mundane, easy-to-ignore task as she heads off to a week-long conference. "Be sure to empty the diaper pail!!!" for instance.
The humor in the passage is that, other than domestic turkeys which were "discovered" in the 1500s, sheep are easily the stupidest and most suicidal of all animals, domestic or wild.
God doesn't tell me to feed His people because they are worthy or awesome or earned it. He tells me to feed them because we are His.
So, if this blog is heavily weighted towards gardening and orchards and hunting and fishing and raising animals on pasture...there are reasons.
Truth but a hard pill to swallow. I bust my ass as a hunter and gatherer (gardener). People casually pay lip service to my work.
ReplyDeleteHow many will be begging soon? I gutted through having my shoulder rebuilt to lay my fall garden in. I’ve offered to teach others but they would rather take.
I’ve had plenty of people request venison but none want to come do the work with me.
I buy ammo knowing what’s coming and people laugh at me because they think it will be a landslide.
I will have and they won’t because of their stupidity. What does god say about that?
Noah shut the door to the arc at some point.
Looking at the New Testament, the only miracle that God did where the person who received it didn't bring SOMETHING to the table (a few fish and dinner rolls, a touch of the hem...something) was when God knocked Saul (later Paul) off of his horse with a bolt of lightning.
DeleteIf they aren't bringing something, they aren't getting the miracle.
One feeler that I have out there is a "Seed ministry". The picture in my head is to buy seeds in bulk and repackage into smaller packages in amounts appropriate for a typical garden (say 400 square-feet total). Print two labels for each packet: Planting instructions on one side and Outreach info and Bible quotes on the other.
Let churches (the outreach side) make the packets available to their congregation to evangelize. I am doing what I think I have been called to do and I still have a degree of separation from the most needy.
Most efforts fizzle. I don't have high expectations. But I am giving God something to work with and SOME might have an effect. Matt 13:3-9
That Lazarus of Bethany guy was kinda empty handed too.
DeleteI appreciate the advice. I do need to find a church. Another thing I am conflicted on.
DeleteGreat idea though
ColdSoldier, I have attended a lot of online churches for a number of reasons. I was Baptised a long time ago. Not laying any blame, but nothing happened after that. I had never heard anyone speak in tongues, let alone minister in tongues, until I found a couple of online churches. Oasis Church, which is in Ohio; and Lord of Hosts Church, which is in Nebraska. You can find both of them online. They may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I can recommend them both.
DeleteI appreciate the information. I grew up in the church (non-denominational) attending 3 times a week until I was 18 and left home.
DeleteI had a huge problem with the pastor condemning other variations of Christianity.
I’m just very cautious. I also know the Bible says “forsake not the gathering of yourselves together “. Forgive me if I didn’t get that correct.
What I do understand is demonic activity and I see it now disguised as politics. This nation needs Christ bad.
I never thought I would say that.
Anonymous, a big problem is many of today's churches have left God.
DeleteI hope you will like one of the ones I have suggested. If not, I have a couple others. I just can't attend them all at once! :)
It is all valuable, ERJ. Lots of folks are willing to pontificate. Not many are willing to actually share how to do things in the written form.
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed. :)
ReplyDeleteWe started out wanting to small farm. But then hubby got wanderlust, so to speak. He wanted to travel, so we did. Then things happened and we never did get that farm going.
I don't have the knowledge he did. I could get it from the internet, yes, but a lot of things have yet to be done to get back to where we were.
And now that he is with Jesus, I trust in the Lord to meet our needs.
You all be safe and God bless.
"So, if this blog is heavily weighted towards gardening and orchards and hunting and fishing and raising animals on pasture...there are reasons."
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us know your reasons and sacrificing a career of being an author to teach us what you have.
sam
Or, as they say on the show Letterkenny, ..."That's what we loves about you", ERJ.
DeleteMilton
As a farmer who raises both turkeys and sheep, I can confirm your observation. It's amazing how much time I spend during the day keeping the turkeys from doing suicidally stupid things. Fortunately they will be processed in about three weeks, and hopefully served on dinner tables in four.
ReplyDeleteWhen I bought my house in Tx I was gifted a pen of turkeys. G-d certainly must have been at the end of his list for the dumbest animal on earth when he made turkeys as anything other than food. But Tx has jaguars that cover a massive territory. One found my turkey pen and had a feast. Many were injured and how to be put down. Only had 2 left and we had them for the holidays. My sheep knowledge is unknown to me but I have petted one.
DeleteThanks for this. I never thought of this passage in that way. We have heirloom seeds we hand out freely to friends, and give what gardening advice we can.
ReplyDeleteSouthern NH
The parable of the sower. And the sower wasn't necessarily the harvester.
ReplyDelete