Jesus is Lord! Trust in Him!

"Come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand..."
Psalm  95:6-7

What does Jesus say about His sheep, the people of His pasture?
In John 10 He tells us what a good shepherd does as opposed to the behavior
of a hireling who is not the owner,
" ...The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." Vs. 11
"He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the
sheep, beholds a wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf
snatches them, and scatters. Vs.12
"He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep."
Vs.13

But Jesus assures us that He is the good shepherd as we see in John 10:14,
"I am the good shepherd and I know My own and My own know Me."

'My own know Me'
He has already explained something of the relationship between a shepherd
and his sheep earlier in the chapter -- Jesus tells us that they know
something of each other,
"To him (the shepherd) the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice,
and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out,
"When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow
him because they know his voice.  A stranger they simple will not follow,
but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."
Vs. 3-5

Notice he does not drive the sheep, but he calls each by name and they
follow him.  Does that not picture a loving trust on the part of the sheep
for the one who cares for them?  If you do not see it here, look at Psalm 23
(This is a Psalm for the living, not the deceased as some would have it.)
"The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me by still waters.
He restores my soul." Vs. 1-3 (Read the whole again and rejoice.)

The shepherd meets all the needs of his sheep -- food, water, rest,
protection and the tender care of hurts.

Our Good Shepherd did in fact lay down His life for those the Father gave
Him, that we might be reconciled to God.  Hallelujah He took it up again!
"No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.
I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.
This commandment I received from My Father." Vs. 18

There are those who do not believe Jesus is the Christ as we see in
Vs. 25-26,
"Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I
do in My Fathers name, these bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe,
because you are not of My sheep.'"

But of His sheep,
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give
eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch
them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than
all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." Vs. 27-29

Hallelujah!  All praise to Christ Jesus our Shepherd and Lord!  Amen.