Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem
The Names and Titles of God (Chief Shepherd)
1 Peter 5:4
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
King James Version
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Many of you already know that, in the last fifty years, I have had six dogs, not all at once. Although all six have had typical "doggie" behaviors, each possessed certain traits that were related to their breeds. They also had personalities that could not be attributed to either their species OR their breeds, but just made each one unique in his/her own way.
1. Preston: The first dog I ever had was purchased at a Pet Store (BAD IDEA!) as a 12-week old puppy. He was a purebred Samoyed, and, if beauty equaled intelligence, he would have been able to solve Einstein's Unified Field Theory. Alas, that was not the case. Preston ate a prescription bottle of Valium and ended up three days in a coma at the Animal Hospital. He survived, and was even dumber than he was before. Nevertheless, he was a gorgeous, lovable creature, and everyone loved him. He lived to the ripe old age of twelve, and dealt with Thunder-induced anxiety by locking himself in the bathroom and flushing the toilet with his nose. Since he was my first dog ever, I thought they were all like that.
2. Odie: My friend Lil was called to be a Missionary, and joined an organization whose mission was to bring Bibles into the Soviet Union. Her Overseas assignment came up, and she needed someone to give her Maltese Dog a home. Having just lost Preston due to Old Age, I volunteered. A mutual friend brought Odie to Boston from Virginia Beach, and Odie became my new buddy. He liked to ride the Harley with me, and was totally fearless. I made a little leather jacket for him, which I have to this day. He was completely different than Preston, and I began to realize that, while dogs are dogs, they are also individuals.
3. Torey: Torey was a rescued Border Collie. At first, I was surprised by her apparent intelligence, but then I realized that, if she had been given opposing thumbs, she would have taken over the planet. She watched me very carefully as I dug a ditch around the perimeter of the yard, laid an electric wire in the ditch, filled it in, and turned on the juice. She pretended to be impressed with the training program to keep her away from electric fence. Then, as soon as I went to work, she dug down to the wire and disconnected it, and made her escape. She was able to figure out locks and gates, and was so smart that I had to rethink my beliefs about animal intelligence.
4. Lynn-DAH: After the death of my husband, Mom urged me on the phone to get another dog. I was all alone in Florida, 1700 miles from the rest of my family, so it sounded like a good idea. I went to the Broward County Pound and got Lynn-DAH. She was a Black Lab/Chow mix, and a lovely dog. She was not as Gorgeous as Preston, not as Brave as Odie, and not as smart as Torey, but she was a sweetheart. When I drove back to Boston to take care of Mom, Lynn-DAH went with me. She stationed herself under Mom's hospital bed, and kept vigil over her until Mom passed away.
5. Penny: After Lynn-DAH passed, I only lasted three days without a dog. I went to the ASPCA in Inner City Boston and came home with a six-year-old brindle Pitbull named Penny. Penny was scary-looking, but a wonderful dog. She was great with kids and old people, but not so much with other dogs, so she just hung out with humans. The whole neighborhood loved Penny, and sent me condolence cards when she passed.
6. Tippy: Penny passed away during the COVID Scare, and so the process of getting another dog had changed considerably. It was no longer possible to go to the Shelter and walk around. Everything had to be done online or ZOOM calls. This was difficult for me because I have old equipment. I had to borrow my sister's smart phone to do the ZOOM calls, and had a hard time filling out forms online, but I was determined! Tippy was my choice, because of her mischievous grin and sparkling eyes. She was a breed I had never encountered before, an Australian Cattle Dog. I looked up the breed online, and I read all kinds of cautions: This dog needs acres of land, a full-time JOB, something to keep from getting bored, not good with children, too energetic for the city, needs a fenced in yard, and so on. PERFECT! LOL! So now I have Tippy. She is a handful, but not as frightening as the Internet would have it. We are Forever Friends now, and she keeps me from getting old and fat.
Now why would I be sharing all of this today? One reason is that I truly believe that God created certain animals to be our companions in work, play, hunting, survival, and so forth. God sees the End from the Beginning, and the Beginning from the End. Every creature on our planet has some use, even if it is just cleaning up the garbage. Dogs have been allied with humans since the Stone Age, providing companionship, hunting and tracking, protection, and, especially, herding sheep. I have heard that a couple of Border Collies can keep a flock of sheep safe for a whole week without supervision, but need to be refreshed and "contacted" by their human boss regularly. They may have a job to do, but they are still part of the "family". I have seen photos of a Border Collie bottle-feeding a baby lamb. That may have been a set-up, but what dog would put up with that even for a photo-op? Border Collies aren't just smart...they are "scary-smart". I saw some of that kind of thing with Torey, even though she was an urban dog and had never lived on a farm.
As smart as these particular dogs are, they DO need direction from the Chief Shepherd. If their energy and brilliance is not directed properly, they can be destructive. No matter how brilliant and independent they are, the Human Shepherd is light years above them in Intelligence, Discernment, and Authority. They eagerly await his signals to do the appointed task, and seem to enjoy their work as they get direction. Each Border Collie is an individual, but they work as a team.
The Apostle Peter calls Jesus "The Chief Shepherd". He is the one with the Authority and Discernment. He is the One who gives the signals for us to follow.
In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Shepherd leaves the 99 in order to search for the one that is lost. After raising a Border Collie, I have a feeling that the 99 were in great shape if the Chief Shepherd had left a few on patrol as He searches for the lost sheep. He could leave the flock with perfect confidence that his appointed and well-trained servants would keep the sheep protected until He returned, with the lost one that had been found.
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)
God Bless America.
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS