Three more benedictions  …

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“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21, NASB)

I love the beautiful insight my Bible commentary brought to these verses:

“As the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ died for the sheep. As the great Shepherd, He lives for the sheep in heaven today, working on their behalf. As the Chief Shepherd, He will come for the sheep at His return. Our Shepherd cares for His own in the past, present, and future. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!”

(from The Wiersbe Study Bible, page 1809)

Father, we come with grateful hearts for the Shepherd You have given us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for the work You continue to do in our lives today to make us complete. We praise You for what You have done, are doing, and will do in the days ahead. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

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Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25, NASB)

There is so much in these two verses for us to grab hold of.

“If we want to keep our feet on the ground spiritually, walk straight, and not stumble, then we must yield ourselves fully to the Savior. He alone is able to guard us, but we must keep ourselves safe in the love of God. He is able if we are willing!

(from The Wiersbe Study Bible, page 1848)

Lord, You alone are the One who can protect us and keep us from stumbling about in our spiritual walk. We thank You for this promise of protection, and of standing blameless before You one day. We praise You for You alone are great and powerful and able! In Your matchless Name we pray, Amen.

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He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:20-21, NASB)

We must keep our hearts expecting and longing for the return of Christ. Even so, we pray for the grace of God to be upon all, drawing all people to Himself.

Jesus, Your Word reminds us of Your promise to return again. Our hearts say, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come.” Even so we pray for those who yet may not know You. Speak to them. Pursue them. May none be lost. May Your grace be upon us all, keeping us safe until your return. We pray asking these things in Your Name, Amen.

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Our Shepherd,
protects us from stumbling,
as we look forward to His return.

Photo 1: by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash
Photo 2: by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
Photo 3: by Omid Armin on Unsplash

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