The Owner of The Sheep

Someone who is getting paid to work for a company may not have the same sense of ownership as the owner of the company. And if things get rough, they may just desert the company and move on to something else. Same with a babysitter for your children. One who gets paid to watch your children so that you, as parents, can do something else, probably won’t have the same sense of ownership and responsibility to taking care of the children as the children’s physical parents. And so they may move on to something else.

The same with many pastors of “churches.” So many of them are hired workers who get paid to do a job, but whose lives may not be invested in the lives of their congregations to where they would lay down their lives for those under their care to make certain that those under their care will get the proper spiritual nourishment that they need and that God requires that we have as followers of Jesus Christ. So many of them are not the protectors of the sheep, for they will desert them if it means saving their own skins.

And this can be shown in many different ways. And in today’s world so many who claim to be “pastors” of church congregations are not the protectors of the sheep at all, but they are those who are letting the “wolves” inside the gatherings of the sheep. And they are giving sway to worldly influences and to business practices and to marketing techniques. And so many of them are deserting the sheep spiritually by not protecting them from the wolves, but by feeding the sheep to the wolves who are teaching them a false gospel.

So many “churches” and church “pastors” have ceded to the wolves and are following after the ways of the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they have altered the meaning of “church” and the gospel message to make them less offensive and more attractive to the world so that the world will want to come to their gatherings. So many have spiritually deserted the sheep and don’t really care if the people go to heaven or to hell. What they care about is drawing in large crowds.

But Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross, and he was resurrected from the dead in order that we, by faith in him, might die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. He suffered and died on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-provided faith in him, we will no longer live as slaves to sin but now as servants of righteousness, living holy lives, pleasing to God. He gave his life up for us so that we will now be free from slavery to sin to serve God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

A Personal Example: I have had good doctors and bad doctors over my lifetime. Presently my body is having lots of pains, chest pressure, and difficulty breathing. Some medical professionals have just written me off as not worth their time, and others minimized my situation, and were very narrowly focused. And I am in process of having a series of medical tests and doctor visits. It looks like they will be performing surgery on my lung to remove a precancerous lung mass which has been troublesome for me.

But, before all this started, God provided a new doctor for me who takes a personal interest in my well-being, and who has walked with me, via back and forth communications, through it all. He is one who takes ownership. He is still human, and still subject to failure, and he definitely is not my God, but I see him as one who takes ownership and who cares about his patients and their overall health, and who is committed to his patients to help them find solutions to their suffering. And that goes a long way with me. END

So we, as human beings, who believe in Jesus Christ, need to be discerning sheep who know the difference between the “hired hands who care nothing for the sheep” and those who are committed to serving and ministering to the sheep in the ways of the cross of Christ, teaching them the truths of the gospel of our salvation, and not the lies of the enemy which so many are teaching today. For outward appearances can be deceiving, and we all can be fooled if we are not spiritually discerning via the wisdom of God.

Songs in the Night

An Original Work / December 18, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!


The Owner of The Sheep
An Original Work / December 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love