Praise the Lord for another day and another chance to stay on the path that leads to Him. I was sitting here waiting for my inspiration for the day. I was looking at the doors that I can see from my bedroom and there happens to be three of them. Hold on because that’s the inspiration for the day. The scripture will come from John chapter 10.
Today’s Prayer
Father, I come before you on behalf of my brothers and sister in Christ today with a grateful heart. Some of us are able to say short prayers and see immediate results. However, we must recognize that those individuals have spent considerable time in studying Your Word, in prayer and meditation, and in seeking to know Your will. In other words, they were already “PRAYED UP!” When a crisis comes, they know You! They know that they can trust You, and that You are ready to comfort, strengthen, and sustain them in their time of need. They know that You have said, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”* Father I ask this day that You would help the others to see that they too need a close relationship with You in their life. They need to spend time with You each day, and learn that You are indeed faithful to Your Word and that they can count on You! Help them Father, for You too want to be able to count on them to share Your love with others. We will be careful to give you all honor and glory, in Jesus’ wonderful name, Amen and Amen.
Let’s eat.
Three Doors
(John 10)
The Door of the Shepherd
John 10:1-5
“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
By which the Shepherd enters; The Door of the Sheep
John 10:6-8
Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me[a] were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.
Door which the Sheep are led out; The Door of Salvation
John 10:9-17
Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
1. The Door of the Jewish fold, through which the True Shepherd entered.
2. Himself the Door, through whom the sheep were led to enjoy greater privileges.
3. The Door of Salvation, through which “any man” may now enter.
Quote of the Day
The truths that I know best I have learned on my knees. I never know a thing well, till it is burned into my heart by prayer. ~John Bunyan~
WITH HOPE AND FAITH
REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION – THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY