Devotionals for the Heart: Sheep

Speaking of Sheep…
A devotional by Patrick E. Craig

Is there anything more wonderful than watching kids grow, being there when they succeed or fail, or just want to share an accomplishment? I have a granddaughter, Rebecca who danced in The Nutcracker many years ago – she played one of the little sheep and she was the one who got to whack the wolf on the nose.

Don’t we want to make sure that our kids and grandkids always get to whack their wolves on the nose? How many prayers and tears and supplications are sent heavenward on their behalf? We send them out into the world and yet we want to protect them from it. We do everything we can to teach them about the dangers and pitfalls, and still, they stick their fingers in the fan. We want to keep them safe and secure and help them to grow up and live a “normal” life, and yet we don’t understand what a “normal” life really is, do we?

Our Heavenly Father knows what a normal life is, and He understands that it is not the life to which we so desperately cling, fighting tooth and nail to have everything we want, being dragged kicking and screaming into old age and ultimately death. Our God knows that we live in what C. S. Lewis called the Shadowlands, and that the real life, the real story of humanity will begin, when He has wiped away every tear, burned up this old heaven and this old earth, and established a dwelling place for us where sin, death, and the grave will not be found.

He is so determined to see that we are able to share that life with Him that He sent a Lamb, His only Son, to hang upon a tree, and become a curse for all of us, that we might escape the curse of living for self, and enter a realm where all glory and honor is given to Him, and in return He will share all the wonder, and knowledge, and wisdom that He is, with us, His precious lambs.

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." ~John 1:29 (KJV)

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Author Bio:

Patrick E. Craig is a lifelong writer and musician who left a successful songwriting and performance career in the music industry to follow Christ in 1984. 

In 2011 he signed a three-book deal with Harvest House Publishers to publish his Apple Creek Dreams series. His current series is The Paradise Chronicles. The first book in the series, The Amish Heiress, a romantic suspense novel, was published by Patrick's company, P&J Publishing, in August of 2015 and remained on the Amazon Top 100 best sellers list in three categories for seven months.

The second book in the series, The Amish Princess, a historical romance novel, was released in December of 2016 and was on Amazon's Hot New Releases for over a month. Harlequin recently purchased the print rights for both books for their Walmart Amish series. Patrick also just released Cracking The Indie Egg—A Recipe For Publishing Your Own Book and it is available in most major digital bookstores.

Patrick and his wife Judy, make their home in Idaho. They have two married children and five grandchildren. Patrick is represented by the Steve Laube Agency.

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Connect with Patrick:
Website - www.patrickecraig.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PatrickECraig
Twitter - https://twitter.com/PatrickECraig
Amazon Author page - http://tinyurl.com/n6sfagg