What is a pastor? Well, pastor is a noun and a verb. Pastor is a person but it also is an act of doing.
Webster’s definition: a spiritual overseer, from the Latin pastor meaning herdsmen, from the word pascere meaning to feed…
Isn’t that what Jesus was? A pastor feeding his sheep. Are we not called his sheep? That is why I believe that a pastor is more like Jesus than any other man or woman of the church. A pastor is there when we need him, and he is there to feed us every week, or in some cases every day, the word of God.
You see, a pastor does not just get up and say whatever is on his mind Sunday morning. No he gets alone with God and gets quiet with the LORD and listens to what God would have him to tell us, his sheep. So when we do not agree with our pastor, we have to stop and think, are we saying that we do not agree with GOD? We have to be able to trust our pastor, because if we do not, then we will not be fed, because our hearts can become hardened and not ready to receive. Personally every time I go to church, I ask the LORD to open my heart to receive and my ears to hear what HE has to say to me this day through my pastor.
There is a big difference between a preacher, an evangelist, a teacher and a pastor.
A preacher studies the word and then shares with you his ideas of what is being said, an evangelist does his best to excite and stir you up with the word of God, a teacher teaches you how to study the word of God, and a pastor brings the food God gave to him to you. He leads you in the right direction of following the Lord, and he guides you through your troubles with counseling. He comforts you during trials in your life, and helps to bring you through them. A pastor is in fact all of the above, a preacher, teacher, evangelist and most importantly a pastor.
A pastor is on call 24/7, just like Jesus. When we listen to him we need to remember that we are listening to the Lord himself through our pastor, and act as we would if Jesus was standing there speaking to us in person.
Yes, Jesus was all of these people, but most importantly He was a pastor to all God’s sheep. He is always there to show us the way.
While reading in my devotional about when the Lord comes, the question came up, will we be ready? Well according to the word, we as children of the light will be. This is the first time I saw this scripture this way.
We are always told how Jesus will come as a thief in the night, but we are never told the rest of that scripture.
1 Thes. 5 vs 1-5… But concerning the times and the seasons brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you, yourselves know perfectly that the day of the LORD so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains of a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness…
So you see, we will not be taken by surprise if we are walking in the Light.
But then when I read on down into verse 12-13…..And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the LORD and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves…..
This is where I got that we are to esteem our pastor very highly, and be willing to hear with open ears and an open heart to receive what God has given him to feed us. The word is telling us how important it is to have a pastor in our lives.
Doesn’t that just make us want to tell our Pastor how much we appreciate him and all he does for God’s kingdom?
October is Pastor Appreciation month. Let us all tell our pastors what they mean to us and show them just how much we appreciate them.
What is one way we can show our appreciation for our Pastors?
STAY IN THE WORD!