Day 30-The Shepherd

My Prayer: Psalm 23 (New International Version)
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

The Reading: John 9-11
John 10:2-5 (New International Version)
2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

My Thoughts: We're supposed to recognize Jesus' voice. We're supposed to know Him and follow him the way the sheep follow the shepherd. Later he says, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me...no one can snatch them out of my hand." When I read this, I think about how much security those sheep have because of their trust. How much security I have because of my faith. I rememember talking about this in one of our bible studies at work, how we're supposed to recognize the Father's voice. There used to be 2 people in the world who could call me at work and I'd get choked up, no matter the purpose of the call. With my mother, it was a little better because we talked every day anyway, but almost without fail, if my dad called me at work, a sudden homesick feeling would hit me. And for some of that time, I lived 3 doors down from my parents! I might not see them for weeks, but one phone call got me all choked up. Totally weird, but it was just something about hearing his voice. He didn't have to identify himself or even say much at all and I knew who it was. All it took was a "Hey" and I recognized his voice. I don't know the sound of Jesus' voice that well. But I really want to. I want to know the safety that comes from knowing the shepherd is here, not some thief, not some stranger, but the shepherd who wants good things for me.

Day 29-I Am

My Prayer: Psalm 89:8 (New International Version)
8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you?
You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

The Reading: John 6-8
Exodus 3:14 (New International Version)
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

My Thoughts: Tricky, right? The notes in Bible mention that here, Jesus says over and over "I am..." I think there are seven different places where he says something that starts with this phrase ("I am the light of the world") and at the end of Chapter 8, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" This is one of the names of Jesus that I've always been interested in. It really captures the eternal and god-like nature of Jesus...always has been, always will be powerful enough to do it...whatever it is. I like the song by Mark Schultz in the box. Check it out.