Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…
I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The LifeEach week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM. The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead. We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them. And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.
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I AM the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own 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.
The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
I AM the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me—
just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—
and I lay down my life for the sheep.
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.
The reason My Father loves Me
is that I lay down My life—only to take it up again.
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.
John 10:11-18
This week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, our sisters have shared some insight on these words spoken by our Lord. What love and sacrifice Jesus has proven as He laid down His life for us, His people…the sheep of His flock. Here are a few highlights from the devotionals that Tina, Laura, Cynda, Ann, and Ahmee wrote to encourage us.
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In Surrender, Cynda brought our attention to Jesus’ example of choice.
2 Timothy 1:9 (NIV) tells us, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace.”
“Christ led by example. He became our example. He is our Good Shepherd—the one who cares for us and leads us to safety. He has called us. Yet the choice is ours. No one else will make the decision for us. No one is going to snatch our struggles from us. We must willingly…voluntarily…surrender our will to His and allow Him to lead us.
For me, the surrender is daily; sometimes minute-by-minute. But when I do and I trust my Good Shepherd following His lead, well, therein lies the victory!”
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In The Good Shepherd is Selfless, Tina shared the record of Jacob and his tireless efforts as the shepherd, as well as God’s love.
“If God cares enough for the sheep to have those kind of shepherds like Jacob, how much more will He care for us…? God’s love is so immense. It is so full of goodness, and will help us overcome our feelings of inadequacy. As long as we lay our feelings down at His feet, we will be able to overcome them. God loves us so much. The fact that He sent His Son to die on the Cross is evidence of His great love.”
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In Dedicated to You, Ahmee reminded us of how much the Lord loves us and is always there to be our Good Shepherd by leading and guiding and watching over us. She also asked an important question.
“God cares for us. He sent us Jesus. Jesus cares for us, and because He does, He has chosen to be our everything.
- Are you hungry…physically or spiritually? He will lead you to the food you need.
- Are you tired? He will give you a safe place to rest.
- Are you lost? He will guide you.
- Are you scared? He will shelter you.
He is our EVERYthing. There is nothing in this world that you can experience that He Himself cannot help you with. The real question is…
Will you let Him be your Good Shepherd?”
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In The Good Shepherd Cares for His Sheep, Ann also encouraged us to follow Jesus’ example and to be shepherds.
“Christ was mentioned as Good Shepherd in John 10:11-14; Great Shepherd in Hebrews 13:20; and the Chief Shepherd in 1 Peter 5:4.
We also, as His followers and believers, are shepherds. We win souls, we are shepherds of His sheep also. Others (pastors/evangelists) also shepherd the flock. Do we sacrifice ourselves for our sheep or we leave them to die of thirst? We are to take our sheep to the river banks where they can get water (the Word of God). As true believers we are to care for the sheep, and are to think about the sheep first and then ourselves.
Let us truly take care of the sheep—pray with them, feed them with the Word every day, and follow up with them—so that they should not be in any want.”
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In The True Shepherd, Laura made the comparison between how Jesus has shepherded our lives, and how parents are to shepherd their children.
“When I see that sheep, I think about how my children are my sheep. They are mine to lead and take care of until they are grown. It is my job to help them learn right from wrong. It is my job to help start their spiritual foundation. I am supposed to nurture them and help them. They listen to my voice and look to me for security and love.
Just as my children are my sheep, we are the sheep of God. We are His children. When we listen to His voice and accept Him as our Savior, we become part of His flock. Jesus laid down His life so that we may be reconciled to God and return from sin. He went to the Cross to bring us home. He is the Good Shepherd.”
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Have you had the opportunity to read through these blogposts this week? If not, I would encourage you to do so! Our bloggers have made these as well as some other wonderful points to direct us towards Jesus, Who IS The Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us.
