Have you ever seen a real sheep wandering around and making the “Baa” sound that we sing about from nursery rhymes? I haven’t seen one often, but I did see a couple when I visited Iceland many years ago. The sheep are all free range and there are laws against harming them. So, they wander freely, get away from their home and “baa” incessantly as they try to find their way back to something familiar. I think that we can learn a lot from sheep and so did the prophet Jeremiah.

God’s people are compared to lost sheep, but the sheep are not all lost because of wandering away. Their shepherds, the ones responsible for leading them, has led them to the wrong place and then set them loose there. Thus, they are completely lost and can’t find their way home again. Unlike the nation of Iceland in which sheep are protected, the only protection we have against false leaders is God. However, we are only protected as long as we stay in His Word, know what it says and that way we can recognize false leaders and the trails they want to lead us on. Some “shepherds” would have us believe that the Bible doesn’t mean what it says. False! They want us to think that there are many ways to get to Heaven, and one way is as good as another. False! These false “shepherds” want us to call evil good and good evil. False! We don’t recognize the falsehoods unless we know what the truth says, and the truth can only be found in the Holy Bible.

My advice to my readers who are followers of Christ is to read, study, memorize, hold fast to God’s Word. Surely the fake leaders are everywhere these days, so you have to be aware of that in order to avoid being fooled. It’s like the bank tellers who are trained to spot counterfeit money. They know the real thing because that’s what they spend time with! Jesus is the real thing, the ONLY way to Heaven, the One who leads us on the pathway to being more like Him and the One who calls out evil and expects us to do likewise. Don’t be fooled by those who want you to take an “easier road” because that way may lead to being lost and ultimately to eternal destruction. Keep following Jesus no matter how many wolves in sheep’s clothing you encounter. In the end, you will not be a lost sheep but the found one!