{"id":597,"date":"2015-03-23T20:18:06","date_gmt":"2015-03-23T20:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/?p=597"},"modified":"2015-03-24T12:53:32","modified_gmt":"2015-03-24T12:53:32","slug":"the-lord-is-my-shepherd-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/the-lord-is-my-shepherd-29\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lord is my Shepherd (29)"},"content":{"rendered":"

“You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows”<\/em><\/p>\n

The Good Shepherd “anoints” His sheep. \u00a0What does this mean? \u00a0I believe that we can gain several insights about the Lord and His care for us through David’s description. \u00a0Anointing sheep is the regular practice for a good shepherd. \u00a0When the sheep were out in the fields grazing they would often get scratched by thorns or injured in a fall. \u00a0The shepherd carried an anointing oil with him in a flask to clean and treat such wounds. \u00a0It would also be used to sooth the wounds caused by fights with other sheep. \u00a0Without the care provided by the shepherd, the injuries would become worse and infection would set in and the condition of the sheep would quickly deteriorate.<\/p>\n

A Good Shepherd examines His sheep and looks for injuries. \u00a0He can tell by the behavior if a sheep may be struggling. \u00a0He notices a limp or a change in the level of energy. \u00a0He goes to the sheep and He looks it over thoroughly. \u00a0If there is a problem the shepherd cleans the injury and anoints it with the oil. \u00a0One of the most common places for a sheep to get hurt was the head. \u00a0It is the most vulnerable part of the sheep. \u00a0The body of the sheep has some extra protection from the heavy wool coat but the face and head do not have the same buffer. \u00a0The briers of the field would often take its toll on a sheep looking for some fresh grass.<\/p>\n

Our Good Shepherd knows that our journey through this life has its’ bumps and bruises. \u00a0The field has its’ thorns and thickets. \u00a0There are also other sheep in the field and not everybody gets along. \u00a0In fact, sometimes the deepest cuts and wounds can come from other sheep. \u00a0The Good Shepherd not only feeds us, guides us and protects us, but takes care of us when we are injured. \u00a0The anointing oil was for that purpose…to heal. \u00a0The oil soothed the pain of the scratches. \u00a0It brings comfort as the shepherd carefully applies it to the wound.<\/p>\n

Are you in need of some healing? \u00a0Are there some injuries that you have sustained recently? \u00a0Maybe a scratch or two from a relationship that is a little rocky? \u00a0Or even a remark made by a friend that cut deeper than you expected or they intended. \u00a0What we need is a Good Shepherd who can tend to the tears and the hurts. \u00a0Just a little oil to soothe the pain and start the healing. \u00a0Take heart…Jesus, the Good Shepherd is here for you. \u00a0Bring your hurts to Him. \u00a0He will take care of you. \u00a0Relax and experience His love as He anoints your head with oil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” The Good Shepherd “anoints” His sheep. \u00a0What does this mean? \u00a0I believe that we can gain several insights about the Lord and His care for us through David’s description. \u00a0Anointing sheep … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lenten_blog_2015","category-all_posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":604,"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions\/604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parkwood.dreamhosters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}