In this chapter, Sheila shares on how she received a manuscript titled: Heaven has Blue Carpet and how Sharon Niedzinkis took in a bummer lamb named Joey.
Joey came about when his mom gave birth to triplets but only accepted two of the lambs. When the third lamb (Joey) tried to approach its mother for milk, the mom would kick him out of the way. The mom would not accept the third lamb.
This could happen for many different reasons but if they leave the lamb in the pasture with the mother, she will kick it and won’t feed it. These vulnerable little lambs eventually die - maybe from starvation or from a broken spirit - they give up the will to live.
These rejected and abandoned lambs are called "bummer lambs".
The ones that do survive are the ones that are taken in by the shepherd. That lamb is then surrounded by love, nurtured, fed and watched. It sleeps by the fireplace to keep warm and is cuddled. It becomes a member of the family, so to speak, living among the shepherd's family for a while.
Once it is big and strong enough to go back out to the pasture, the farmer returns it to the flock.
Sheila shared a powerful observation ... "bummer lambs are in fact the most blessed of all the sheep in the pasture because they are the most personally and intimately cared for by the shepherd. They develop a kind of relationship with the shepherd that other sheep can't even dream of."
When the shepherd comes out to call the sheep to him, the bummer lamb runs to greet him faster than all the other lambs because the lamb knows his voice- and they have been held close to his heart. The other lambs recognize that this shepherd will feed them, but the bummer lambs understands the shepherd's love and care on a different level. “It’s not that the bummer lambs are more loved,” Walsh said. “They just believe it.”
You know the beautiful thing - we are all bummer lambs. We were lost in sin, broken, wounded. As Sheila states - "Scripture often calls God a Shepherd, with us a His sheep.
We learn to hear His voice above all the other noises of life.
And I love how she phrases this: "He looked for you, and when he found you, He scooped you up into His arms and placed you safely and securely among His own flock. You weren't an afterthought.
There are so many verses that describe the Shepherd's love for us:
Are you a bummer lamb? Know that the Shepherd is calling out to you...
All that's left for you to do is to accept the gift that Jesus is holding out for you right now.
"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10
God says that if you believe in His son, Jesus, you can live forever with Him in glory.
"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
If you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior - here is a prayer you can pray:
This could happen for many different reasons but if they leave the lamb in the pasture with the mother, she will kick it and won’t feed it. These vulnerable little lambs eventually die - maybe from starvation or from a broken spirit - they give up the will to live.
These rejected and abandoned lambs are called "bummer lambs".
The ones that do survive are the ones that are taken in by the shepherd. That lamb is then surrounded by love, nurtured, fed and watched. It sleeps by the fireplace to keep warm and is cuddled. It becomes a member of the family, so to speak, living among the shepherd's family for a while.
Once it is big and strong enough to go back out to the pasture, the farmer returns it to the flock.
Sheila shared a powerful observation ... "bummer lambs are in fact the most blessed of all the sheep in the pasture because they are the most personally and intimately cared for by the shepherd. They develop a kind of relationship with the shepherd that other sheep can't even dream of."
When the shepherd comes out to call the sheep to him, the bummer lamb runs to greet him faster than all the other lambs because the lamb knows his voice- and they have been held close to his heart. The other lambs recognize that this shepherd will feed them, but the bummer lambs understands the shepherd's love and care on a different level. “It’s not that the bummer lambs are more loved,” Walsh said. “They just believe it.”
You know the beautiful thing - we are all bummer lambs. We were lost in sin, broken, wounded. As Sheila states - "Scripture often calls God a Shepherd, with us a His sheep.
So the psalmist said,
"He brought me out of into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me" Psalm 18:19
We learn to hear His voice above all the other noises of life.
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
And I love how she phrases this: "He looked for you, and when he found you, He scooped you up into His arms and placed you safely and securely among His own flock. You weren't an afterthought.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11
There are so many verses that describe the Shepherd's love for us:
Matthew 18:12-14 If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?
And if he finds it, I tell you the truth,
he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away!
In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
Each day He gently draws me close---tenderly loving, nurturing and teaching the ‘good’ path.
Tired and weak, He lays me beside quiet waters, soothing my weary soul.
If fear and rejection appear, I turn to Father God and He cradles in His bosom until terrors pass
“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own sheep. I sacrifice my life for the sheep”
John 10:14-15 NLT.
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 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. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:7-18
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
- You're not here by accident. God loves you. He wants you to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus, His Son.
- Some think they will be punished or rewarded according to how good they are. Some think they should make things right in their lives before they try to come to God. Others find it hard to understand how Jesus could love them when other people don't seem to. But I have great news for you! God DOES love you! More than you can ever imagine! And there's nothing you can do to make Him stop!
- Only God can rescue us from our sins. He is willing to do this not because of anything you can offer Him, but JUST BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU!
- It's God's grace that allows you to come to Him - not your efforts to "clean up your life" or work your way to Heaven. You can't earn it. It's a free gift.
- For you to come to God, the penalty for your sin must be paid. God's gift to you is His son, Jesus, who paid the debt for you when He died on the Cross.
All that's left for you to do is to accept the gift that Jesus is holding out for you right now.
"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10
God says that if you believe in His son, Jesus, you can live forever with Him in glory.
"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
If you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior - here is a prayer you can pray:
"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to make me a new creation and to prepare me to dwell in your presence forever. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life."
If you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please let me know. I want to rejoice in what God has done in your life and help you to grow spiritually.
