I am the Good Shepherd

John 10:11-15 I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd. The paid worker does not own the sheep. So when he sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. The man runs away because he is only a paid worker. He does not really care for the sheep. I am the shepherd who cares for the sheep. I know my sheep just as the Father knows me. And my sheep know me just as I know the Father. I give my life for these sheep.

I gave my life to Jesus as a teenager, but once I’d finished school, been released from that bondage as I saw it, man, there was a whole new world out there to explore. So I left home, joined the army and set about discovering life.

You wouldn’t believe how many good things were out there … and I decided to enjoy them. God? Well you see, deep down I knew the things I was doing, the way I was living, didn’t please Him at all. So I wandered off on my own, but the life that promised so much turned out to be a wilderness filled with voracious wolves and marauding robbers. That’s what happens. That’s why Jesus said:

John 10:11-15 I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. The worker who is paid to keep the sheep is different from the shepherd. The paid worker does not own the sheep. So when he sees a wolf coming, he runs away and leaves the sheep alone. Then the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. The man runs away because he is only a paid worker. He does not really care for the sheep. I am the shepherd who cares for the sheep. I know my sheep just as the Father knows me. And my sheep know me just as I know the Father. I give my life for these sheep.

There are lots of false shepherds out there. But Jesus, the one true shepherd, as powerfully as He spoke, as impactful as His words were and still are, didn’t leave things there. He proved Himself by laying down His life to save the likes of thee and me.

Jesus is the one, true shepherd. Follow Him.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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