JESUS IS OUR GOOD SHEPHERD
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.
John 10:27-30 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Sheep can be very ignorant. I am told they have poor eyesight and will easily follow other sheep with little thought of the consequences.
In July of 2005 the Associated Press ran an article originally reported by the Turkish newspaper Aksam. The story was interesting because it reported the death of 450 sheep near Gevas, Turkey. It all started while the shepherds were having breakfast. One sheep walked over to a 45-foot cliff and jumps over. Then the shepherds watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff.
In the end there were 450 dead animals--those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned.
Reading that article, I wondered what made that first sheep jump? I also wondered why the shepherds watched them all jump over. Couldn’t they stop them? Did they not notice what was happening until it was too late?
While we recoil in horror at 1,500 sheep jumping off a cliff, we must realize that every day in America people jump off a cliff to their harm simply because someone else jumped first. Every day people choose who they will follow. Oftentimes people do dumb things because “everybody else was doing it.”
This is why it is crucial to choose the right voice to listen to. Be careful that we don’t allow the news, social media, the entertainment industry, or the internet to be our source of truth. God’s Word is truth. We must learn to listen to the voice of Jesus through the Bible.
In our passage today Jesus makes a claim to be one with Father God. If you continue to read in John 10 you discover the people get very angry because of this statement. For a mere man to claim to be the equal with God was blasphemy—unless it was true.
Jesus was and is the Son of God. He is our Good Shepherd Who leads us to green pastures. He is our Savior and Lord. We must learn to hear His voice and follow only Him. We must resist the temptation to go with the crowd.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit I need Your help to distinguish Your voice above all other voices. I want to follow only You. Help me to be disciplined in reading Your Word and spending time in prayer with You.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”