Lessons from a Sheep Dog: A True Story of Transforming Love

By Phillip Keller

In this classic, modern-day parable about a man and his transforming love for his dog, Lass, bestselling author Phillip Keller paints a vivid picture of God's love for the unlovable.

When Philip Keller and his wife decide to become sheep farmers in British Columbia, Philip realizes that he needs a sheep dog to help him manage his herd. When Philip brings home Lass, the dog is anything but cooperative, and Philip considers just returning the dog to its original owner—but as time passes and the dog begins to trust him, everything begins to change.

Woven just under the surface of this simple parable, Keller presents profound spiritual truth in his story of the “worthless” animal thought to be untrainable, who ultimately becomes a magnificent and valuable sheep dog—similar to how God's love can transform our worst characteristics into blessings that serve to further His Kingdom. As Lass’s relationship with Philip begins to improve, so does Philip’s relationship with his Savior. Fractured for quite some time, he is able to restore and renew his faith as he works to train his beloved dog.

Lessons from a Sheep Dog is:

• A modern classic with over 200,000 copies in print
• A short, easy read with 7 lessons containing simple yet profound spiritual insights to grow your faith
• Ideal for use as a devotional or for study groups
• Small, giftable size perfect as a holiday stocking stuffer

A profoundly moving and challenging book highlighting the depth of trust God desires from his people, allow yourself to see Biblical truth in this classic tale of what can happen when you yield to the Master.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Apr 30, 1989
• ISBN: 9781418529772

Phillip Keller

W. Phillip Keller, born in East Africa, always loved wildlife and the outdoors. Having spent many years in agriculture research, land management, and ranch development in British Columbia, he later pursued careers in conservation, wildlife photography, and journalism. His experiences as a shepherd equipped him with the insights that are the basis for A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.

Book preview

LESSONS

FROM A

SHEEP DOG

PHILLIP KELLER

9780849917653_INT_0001_001

Royalties from this book are donated to Operation Eyesight International.

www.operationeyesight.ca

© 1983, 2002 by W. Phillip Keller

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [e-mail].

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the authorized King James Version.

Verses marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright, 1952 (2nd edition, 1971) by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Keller, W. Phillip (Weldon Phillip)m 1920-

Lessons from a sheep dog

1. Border collies—Biography. 2. Keller, W. Phillip (Weldon Phillip), 1920- . 3. Christian life—1960- . 4. Sheep ranchers—British Columbia—Vancouver Island—Biography. 5. Christian biography—British Columbia—Vancouver Island. 6. Sheep dogs—British Columbia—Vancouver Island—Biography. 7. Dogs—British Columbia—Vancouver Island—Biography. 8. Dogs—Biography. I. Title.

SF429.B64k44 1983   280'.4   [B] 82-16124

ISBN 10: 0-8499-0335-1   ISBN 13: 978-0-8499-0335-9 (hard cover)

ISBN 10: 0-8499-3130-4   ISBN 13: 978-0-8499-3130-7 (trade paper)

ISBN 10: 0-8499-1765-4   ISBN 13: 978-0-8499-1765-3 (impact edition)

Printed in the United States of America

07 08 09 10 WRZ 18 17 16 15

Contents

THE STORY:

Lass—a Beloved Border Collie

SHEEP DOG LESSONS

LESSON 1: In the Wrong Hands

LESSON 2: Set Free—to Follow

LESSON 3: Learning to Trust

LESSON 4: The Delight of Obedience

LESSON 5: The Test of Faithfulness

LESSON 6: Love and Discipline

LESSON 7: Available for Anything

About the Author

The Story

Lass—a Beloved

Border Collie

THIS IS A SIMPLE STORY about a special dog who shared life with me on my first sheep ranch. Though she bore the very ordinary name—Lass—she was in fact a most extraordinary dog. My memories of her companionship, loyalty, and love linger across the years as colorful recollections.

Even more important and precious, however, were the powerful, spiritual principles God enabled me to learn through working with this beautiful Border collie. Some of us are slow to grasp the basic truths of divine design. We cannot always clearly comprehend Christ’s call to us in simple service. For that reason His gracious Spirit often uses the common experiences of life to shed the intense light of supernatural truth upon our path.

It is the basic principle of using parables drawn from our work-a-day world to help us clearly understand the noble, wondrous purposes of our loving Father. This Lass did for me as a young man. I was only in my late twenties when she came into my life. There were searching, burning questions in my spirit then that no sermons or studies had ever resolved in me.

Yet in His gracious, generous way God used this dog to help me see what He Himself is like in character and conduct. He taught me emphatically what His highest purposes and best intentions were for me as His friend and coworker. For He does make it very clear that as His people, He calls us to special service with Himself.

As a lad I had grown up with cattle. On our land in East Africa, my father had bred the finest of the breeds adapted to the tropics. His cattle were a special joy to him: the splendid bulls that sired our calves, the sturdy oxen that hauled our wagons and worked our fields, the handsome cows that produced our milk were a marvel to the Africans.

When I came to North America to complete my university training in animal husbandry, cattle still played an important role in my career. I worked on various ranches and longed for the day when I would purchase my own spread and establish my own herd.

By my midtwenties I had been made manager of one of the most beautiful ranches in the interior cattle country of British Columbia. There I was given a magnificent, courageous cattle dog named Paddy. He was excellent with our Herefords, and saved me hours of work in handling the stock.

It was shortly after this that I found a piece of neglected ranch property at the southern tip of Vancouver

Reviews for Lessons from a Sheep Dog

[jamienast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book!