10:1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
NIV
What do we recognize?
Are we aware what we lay out in our speaking of tomorrow, we have either life or death? Are we aware of the importance of truth?
What should be the "stranger" to us would be someone who does not speak as we speak! They have their own agenda and it is far from God.
Thieves can come in many sizes, colors and plans. But in the normal day, life even some T.V. might turn into the thief that steals time from you when prayer might have been a better choice.
I always think about the People's Choice Awards.........and such programs that dole out awards. In that thinking, awards are good for choosing something that is helping to progress in growth. In any endeavors as in swimming, playing tennis, a golf match, or hiking, one must consider the price paid for patience. If you are the one swimming, awesome, but if you are the one watching the other swim and exercise, then the "waiting" time is ahead for you.
Seriously though, in the verse above in 13-14..........the wolf has come. The hireling has abandoned the sheep. He simply runs away. The wolf scatters the flock. Sheep are left. But Jesus laid down His life for the sheep.
I also think of the passage in Matthew 15 in the verse where the disciples have come up to Jesus and asked HIM to have the Canaanite woman to leave them alone. Verse 23 of Matthew 15 is this: But he did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, Send her away, for she is crying out after us.
Actually the woman was crying out to Jesus, "Son of David". She never mentions the "disciples".
She was certainly crying out for Jesus.
The one who really knows the 'comforter" will regard Him as so. Those who see Him as their "Healer" will call it true!
The unfolding of the passage revealed that the Canaanite woman was a woman of faith.
She recognized His portion. She knew Him to be the "Messiah". Being called a "title" nailed her faith to what she believed in her heart to be in regards to Jesus being "what she needed".
It is true and evident when the thief appears. He will steal, kill and destroy.
He will steal your time, your family, and try to steal your life. He will kill your tomorrow, kill your ideas and destroy any thing you might have regarded as a real goal for your life. The thief will not care, but take you on a ride usually in pride or such a path that ends in tragedy.
But Jesus came to bring us life. He came to remind us what was spoken over us as babes. He reveals what He told us in dreams and He gives us glimpses as the rain washes the dust of yesterday and asks of past sorrows to be completely cleared away.
Seeing through the lens of God's Word reveals the "stranger" in our lives. Through that lens, we come face to face with righteous, holiness and redemption.(1 Corinthians 1:30)
That which brings real life, will bring a refreshing to you, a breath of fresh air, if you will. The real is seeing the beauty of Jesus and how He served others. Everyone wants to make a difference in their lives. Everyone wants a name and to be known. And to succeed in peace and love of God is the greatest thing I think anyone could participate in and with for God. Jesus was Jesus! But those who knew Him as the "MESSIAH" saw Him for Who He really was.
Being a "watchman" is watching out for the stranger. It is watching and staying close much like Habakkuk.
Hab 2:1-4
I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.
2 Then the LORD answered me and said:
"Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
4 "Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith.
NKJV
This prophet sets himself to hear. It was for the correction, counsel and comfort.
One who brings a "message" will be one who has the vision and the word for the appointed time. So in humbling himself, the prophet here in this is looking for that which the Lord would speak. Either to correct or just encourage should still incite "faith".
Our Shepherd will not walk out. He remains.
Cultivate a relationship with the MESSIAH. Cultivate a prayer life for hearing. Hirelings will continue to climb over walls, come into board meetings, disrupt town hall meetings, but going with God in your heart will set you to recognize His truth and help you speak against that which speaks as a lie.
People of faith recognize others of faith. The proud come and go. But the just will live by his faith. They will hear the good Shepherd speak. They the sheep will recognize and follow His direction. Taking the oracles of God, we view life through His lens. Viewing life through the lens of God's Word reveals to us and encourages growth in us to become all that He meant us to be for the future. May the richness of this Word of God hold you in comfort. For He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Coming to Him, we are directed always to His place on the Cross and the promise of His life in and through us. Amen.
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Notice:
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Looking Through The Len's of God' Word: AVENUE OF FAITH
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