The Sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he hasbrought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." - John 10:3-5 ESV
Today, I am writing you from our porch. It is one of those days that even an Atheistmight start to question if there is a god. You know the day, 75 degrees, slight wind just to keep you cooled off, not a cloud in the perfect blue sky, birds are singing, and to top it off a Bald Eagle circled by (You know they really do soar).
We had a death in our family this Friday. One of Kim's uncles passed away verysuddenlyand very young. He was married and had 4 amazing boys.It made me think of that verse in the Bible where God tells us not to let the sungo down while you are angry.
There are two thoughts that I would encourage all of us to practice. Give a hug, kiss, and "I Love You" when parting from someone you care about.Second, if that person is not a believer, never give up sharing Jesus and His FreeGift. If you have been trying with little or no success, pray without ceasing forthe person.
Greetings!
Last week we took a look at "The Hired Hand" and what role they can play in our lives, how we need to view them, and where our trust and faith should lie. This week I wanted to take a look at the role of The Shepherd and sheep.
When reading your Bible you will come across the words Shepherd and sheep. These two words appear from Genesis to Revelation over and over. What does God mean whenhe uses these words? Shepherd has two meanings, first as the actual role of ashepherd,whose vocation is taking care of sheep. The second is a leader or ruler that takescare of God's people. Your pastor could be referred to as a shepherd. Jesus Christis our one true Shepherd. Sheep has two meanings also. The actual animal or as God'speople. Yes, you and I are sheep. Baaahhh :)
To better understand today's devotional you need to know the role of a shepherd back in Jesus' day. No, it is not a guy who drives a John Deer and yells, "Git alonglittle doggie". It was a very hard and dangerous workThe duties of a shepherd would be in the morning, leading the flock to water by calling them. If a sheep would stray the shepherd would have to find it. Then in the evening the shepherd would bring the flock to the fold, reckoning them to seeif any were missing.
Here is another interesting fact of being a shepherd in Israel. A shepherd in Israelhad names for all his sheep, he literally knew then by name. This is the imagery that John uses in chapter 10. Jesus knows your name, He knows you intimately, Hecalls you individually. If you stop and think about that for a minute, it is hardto fathom, we have an AMAZING Shepherd, don't we? You can click on the two links above to read more on the life of a shepherd.
Since Jesus is our true Shepherd, what is our role as sheep? If you read the passageof Scripture above you might notice several key points that sheep have.1. The sheep hear the Shepherd's voice.2. The Shepherd calls them by name.3. The Shepherd leads the sheep.4. The sheep will follow the Shepherd.Seems pretty simple doesn't it? But really this is what following Jesus is all about.Let's go over the points and see how they might relate to you today.
The Sheep Hear the Shepherd's Voice. To hear, it requires one to listen. Have youbeen listening to Jesus' voice lately? There is a story in the Bible about Elijahand how God wanted to appear before Elijah (1 Kings 19:9ff) God took Elijah on topof a mountain to show Himself, first came a powerful wind, then an earthquake, thenfire, but God did not appear in any of those. You would think that God would appearto Elijah in one of those mighty and powerful acts, but God did not. He appeared in a gentle whisper afterwards.Does your life have too much wind, earthquakes, or fire, so that you could notpossiblyhear God's voice even if you wanted to? I connect with God the best in the silence.What way do you best connect with Jesus? How long has it been?
The Shepherd Calls Them By Name. Once you have heard Jesus' voice, you now can heardHim call you by your name. When reading these steps, they really are steps. You cannot hear Jesus call your name, if you do not know what His voice sounds like. The more you hear His voice, the more you will be able to hear your name being called.I know in my walk with Jesus, I have said to Kim "I think it was Jesus speaking to me, but I am not sure". You see I have a hard time discerning if the voice wasmine and my will or Jesus and His will. The more you hear Jesus' voice, the more quickly you will be able to discern when you are speaking to you, or when Jesus is speaking to you.
The Shepherd Leads the Sheep. Here is a tough one for me. I like to go, go, go andit is difficult to let Jesus lead. As you get to know Jesus' voice, you will knowwhen He is speaking to you. Sometimes Jesus may tell you something that is contraryto what you want. But, we must follow His lead at all costs, even if it requires a lot of faith or patience. The sheep trust the Shepherd, they know that He willtake care of them. The sheep know that their Shepherd loves them and will protectthem at all costs. So, letting the Shepherd lead is comforting, there is no otherplace the sheep feel safe.
The Sheep Follow the Shepherd. We already covered that point a little in the sectionabove. What I found very interesting is that the sheep KNOW the Shepherds voice. Even if there are several flocks mixed together, the sheep will only follow his voice. In fact they will run away from a stranger's voice, only to find comfort and safety in their Shepherd's voice.
Our Shepherd LOVES YOU. There is nothing that you can do, to make Jesus not love you. He loves you right where you are, in the shape you are in. You do not have to do anything to change for him, He wants you just as you are. I hope that we can take some examples of sheeply living. Know Jesus' voice and follow Him, trustthat where ever He may lead will be perfect. Sure there may be peaks and valleys along the journey, but He is always with you, and if you go astray, there is nothinghe would not do to save you.Have a Blessed Week - Jim Gods411
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