Front matter
Meet the Shepherd
Before any posture, any season or any practice: who he is.
A guidebook is only as good as the one it points to. So before anything else, meet the Guide.
He knows you by name
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. He goes on ahead of them, and they follow because they know his voice (John 10:3–4). “I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14).
He lays down his life
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). He is not a hired hand who runs when the wolf comes (John 10:12–13).
He comes looking
He leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one that wandered, and he carries it home on his shoulders, rejoicing (Luke 15:4–6). “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them” (Ezek 34:11–16).
He is gentle
He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads those that have young (Isa 40:11).
He is with you
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps 23:1). In the darkest valley, the psalm stops talking about him and starts talking to him: “you are with me” (Ps 23:4). He is the great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb 13:20), and the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul (1 Pet 2:25).