The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need.

He gives me rest in green pastures. He leads me to calm water.

He gives me new strength. For the good of his name, he leads me on paths that are right.

Even if I walk through a very dark valley, I will not be afraid     because you are with me. Your rod and your shepherd’s staff comfort me.

You prepare a meal for me in front of my enemies. You pour oil of blessing on my head. You give me more than I can hold.

Surely your goodness and love will be with me all my life. And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

“‘This is what the Lord God says: I, myself, will search for my sheep. I will take care of them. A shepherd will take care of his scattered flock when it is found. In the same way I will take care of my sheep. I will save them from all the places where they are scattered. I will do this on a cloudy and dark day. I will bring them out from the nations. I will gather them from the countries. I will bring them to their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains and in the ravines of Israel. And I will feed them in all the places where people live in the land.

I will feed them in a good pasture. They will eat grass on the high mountains of Israel. They will lie down on good ground where they eat grass. They will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and lead them to rest, says the Lord God. I will search for the lost. I will bring back those that were scattered. I will put bandages on those that were hurt. I will make the weak strong. I will destroy those sheep that are fat and strong. I will tend the sheep with fairness.

A person might have to suffer even when he has done nothing wrong. But if he thinks of God and bears the pain, this pleases God. If you are punished for doing wrong, there is no reason to praise you for bearing punishment. But if you suffer for doing good, and you are patient, then that pleases God. That is what you were called to do. Christ suffered for you. He gave you an example to follow. So you should do as he did.

“He did no sin. He never lied.” Isaiah 53:9

People insulted Christ, but he did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but he did not threaten. He let God take care of him. God is the One who judges rightly. Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And we are healed because of his wounds. You were like sheep that went the wrong way. But now you have come back to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. The man who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The man who guards the door opens it for him. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out. He brings all of his sheep out. Then he goes ahead of them and leads them. They follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger. They will run away from him because they don’t know his voice.” Jesus told the people this story, but they did not understand what it meant.

So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth. I am the door for the sheep. All the people who came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. The person who enters through me will be saved. He will be able to come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I came to give life—life in all its fullness.