By Desiree Bustamante

Declare the love of a devoted, caring Shepherd.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link. 

“Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
Psalm 100:3 New Living Translation

“Our Father, who art in heaven.” With these words from Jesus, we see who God truly is. He is our Heavenly Father and, like most earthly fathers, he wants us to talk with Him and share our thoughts, asking him to meet our needs, give us direction and fulfill our dreams. He is good and gracious and wants to shower us with His abundant blessings.  God is truly passionate and loving toward us because He chose us long before our birth to be his creation, His precious children. God calls us the sheep of his pasture for He is our faithful, guiding shepherd who adores His lambs.

We know a kind and loving heavenly Father. Jesus asks us to recognize this when we pray “Our Father, who art in heaven.” Those are such warm and inviting words that point to how God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him for anything, within His perfect will, as dear children ask their dear father. Not an impersonal, cold or indifferent father, but one who loves and cares for us and invites us to come to Him through prayer.

Acknowledge God as your heavenly father and kind shepherd, for He made you. You are His beloved child!

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado