John 10:27-29 -- My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
Thank You Lord, for my wife. Thank You God, for my marriage. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
It's such an adventure to spend time with the Lord each day. To be able to talk with Him in prayer and walk with and hear Him in His Word. To be in His presence and journey with Him in every day is the greatest privilege and blessing ever.
As we continue to follow Jesus He is surrounded by a group of religious leaders. They tried to deceive Him into saying something they could take to the Romans and have Him executed. Jesus instead points out they continuously choose to not believe and ignore all witnesses and testimony speaking to who He is. He tells them they are not His sheep for they do not hear His voice.
Then in today's verses, Jesus tells them about His sheep and what He, as the Good Shepherd, does for them. It is beautiful, amazing, and awesome if you are one of His sheep!
He first addresses exactly what one of His sheep actually does.
1. Hear His voice. (If you aren't in the Word of God regularly and prayer talking with Him, how will you hear or know His voice?)
2. He knows them. (You don't have a relationship with someone you don't spend time with.)
3. Follow Him. (You don't follow a stranger or someone you don't trust. If you don't spend time with someone you won't know them, you won't trust them, you won't follow them.)
Christian let's be real with ourselves for a moment. Would you honestly follow someone you don't know? If some stranger said to you, "Deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow me.", would you do any of that? You can't know someone you don't spend time with. You can't grow in relationship with someone you aren't real with and let down your inner walls. It's not enough to know about Jesus, you must KNOW Jesus.
I realize this is a HUGE thing I tend to ramble about often, but it seems to me it's the biggest, most deadly famine of all in the American Christian church. The lack of walking in His Word and in prayer regularly, which means no real relationship or getting to know or abide with God.
People will do praise stuff all day long, every day, it's easy, it's emotional, it feels good, it moves you. BUT sit down, talk with the Lord openly in prayer, read His Word, listen to Him in it, obey it, follow Him? Oh no, no...work, kids, dinner, I'm just too busy today. I'm not feeling it today. I just don't get anything out of that. I can't seem to pray. Etc……
I personally KNOW life can flat out steamroll you. It can violently punch you in the mouth and brutally rip at every second on the clock. I personally know events can happen that make it almost impossible to breathe and it continues for months on end. So, this is not some high holy pious hypocrite trying to look down his nose at others to shame them. NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I get it, but I also know you have a choice. Just like the religious authorities had a choice. They heard His words; saw His actions and miracles and they made a decision to not believe. Regardless of circumstances you get to choose each day. (Luke 9:23)
I just simply cannot understand how so many believe it's okay to not read His Word and pray each day. How so many believe it's okay to not obey His Word, to follow Him, to abide in Him, to Abide in His Word, to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). That it's somehow enough to just go to church, do some nice things here and there, then they're all set. If someone can explain to me how a relationship with Jesus works by just going once or twice a week to hear someone else tell you about Him, I'd love to know.
Jesus says in John 15:4-6 -- Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Well, this is where the journey with the Lord went today. In following Jesus and just hearing His words in explaining His sheep, we just need to slow down and use it as a mirror to see what it looks like in our own Christian lives.
Also, don't take my word for it, be the Berean, get into your Bible and see what these verses say, let God show you Himself.
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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