No Safer Place To Be

John 10:27-30 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

What is our greatest need, at this very moment? I am afraid that many would begin to name the many earthly things that are thought to be needed by many of us. However, our greatest need, whether we are a Christian or not, is Jesus. It is He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The only way for us to have access to the Father is by Him and Him alone. Our Great Shepherd desires that we, His sheep, recognize His voice from among the many voices that seek to get our attention and distract us from following Him. In Jesus alone, we have the security we need. He is the One who leads us on the path that was set for us, even before we were conceived. The wonderful thing about following Him is that He never forsakes us on that path. He provides what we need along the way, and all He asks is that we focus first on His Kingdom and that we prove our love for Him by obeying His commandments. All the way, as we walk with Him, He assures us that we are safe in His hands. He will not lose a single one that belongs to Him because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, who also indwells us. He and His Father are one, and no one, absolutely no one, can snatch us out of His hands. No matter the circumstance, the challenge, or the trial, the Shepherd speaks to us and wants us to safely follow Him along the way. There is no safer place to be than to be in the center of God's will, following the voice of our Faithful and Great Shepherd.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Put It ALL On

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

It is not enough to put on just a few pieces of God's Armor. If we fail to utilize all of it, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the enemy's attacks. We must put it ALL on! That means that each day, we must put on Christ to the fullest; putting off the old man and putting on the new. Today, let others see more of Jesus and less of us, for His honor and glory.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

True Greatness Serves

Mark 10:43 But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant,

We do not count greatness the same way the world does. Before God, the one who humbles himself to do that, which is most menial, without complaining and regardless of who they are doing it for, in the Name of Jesus, is the greatest. If our God came to earth and washed the feet of sinful men, who are we to put ourselves above our Lord and Savior? God forbid that we should ever exalt ourselves above our Lord and think that we are too good to serve another, even if it means washing stinky feet. May we go forward today with the attitude of a true servant of Jesus.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

It Is All About The True Shepherd

John 10:7-10 Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

In the previous chapter,  the Pharisees excommunicated the blind man for his testimony about what Jesus did, in giving him his sight, on the Sabbath. Jesus continued his dissertation in this chapter, being very clear that the Pharisees were the thieves and robbers (children of the devil) He spoke of. Today, there are still many who are thieves and robbers who are posing as pastors and so-called spiritual leaders. There are those who proclaim that there is more than one way to God and Heaven. Many are teaching false doctrines, and using God and the Gospel for personal gain. Sadly, there are even those who would have us believe that they, as pastors and leaders, are the only ones qualified to hear from the Holy Spirit, and have become spiritual dictators. All of these are those who have come before Him, who are thieves and robbers. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the only One in Who we have access to the Father, and only in Him, and His Name, is there salvation. For those of us who are pastors and leaders, let us not forget that we are NOT the shepherds. We are the under-shepherds. We are to be pointing others to Jesus, and as John the Baptist said, we are to decrease and Jesus increase, so that others see more of Him, and less of us. One day, when we all give an account for our lives, our desire should be that we lived this life properly representing the Lord, and not as ones who lived our lives as thieves and robbers; who stole the glory from God in order to receive praise, honor, a pat on the back, riches, and fame for ourselves. This life, and our service, is about Jesus and His glory, the true Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd!

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Spiritual Blinders

John 9:39-41 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?” “If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Why did Jesus come the first time? It was not to condemn, but to save those of us who were lost. He came to bring to light the fact that we were in darkness, and on the path to eternal condemantion; our ultimate destination being Hell and the Lake of Fire. Those of us who recognized, by faith, that Jesus was, and is, Savior, called upon His Name in repentance and confession of our sins. However, just like these Pharisees, many are still blind to their own sin, because they are blinded by their own religiosity, pride, and unbelief. The only chance they have of being saved is to see the truth with their spiritual eyes, because the devil has blinded their physical eyes. Sadly, there are also professing Christians who are refusing to acknowledge the fact that they too are spiritually blind. They are believing the lies of false teachers, refusing to read, study, and see God's truth directly from it's true source...His Word. They are walking around, being friends with, and in love with, the world, putting themselves at enmity with God. We who know the truth must continue to preach the truth to every creature, and do our best to encourage our brothers and sisters to acknowledge the truth and be restored to our Lord and Savior. We must not allow our flesh, the world, or the enemy, to blind us spiritually. For the unsaved, spiritual blindness can cost them their life, eternally. For us, the saved, it can cost us eternal rewards. It is far past the time when we need to let Jesus remove our spiritual blinders so that we may finally see the truth of our current condition, and see what we need to give over to Jesus; so that we can walk the walk that we claim with our talk.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Is It Plainly Seen?

John 9:8-11 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?” Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.” Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”

This blind man's encounter left him completely changed. It was a change that was obviously noticeable to his neighbors, who had known him, and seen him in his previous state of being. A few questions for us to ponder today are, "Do those who have known me, and my state of being, see an obvious change in my life? Has Jesus been allowed to make such a change in my life that others immediately recognize that the Lord has changed my life? Is Jesus truly being praised because of my testimony for Him?" Although this was a miracle that changed this man's physical being, which was easily seen, can those around us see our spiritual change to the extent that it is as visible as any physical change that could occur in our life? In other words, have we allowed Jesus to make a change in our words, attitude, actions, and deeds, to the extent that it is undeniable that the change is beyond what we could have ever made on our own? The truth of the matter is that this kind of change can only happen if we truly surrender our life and will over to Jesus, not only as our Savior, but also as our Lord. If we want to make a true impact for God in this lifetime, we must surrender our own will and desires, and take up our cross daily. We must have a real relationship with Jesus that is intimate; one where we honestly desire time in His Word and time in prayer. However, it does not end there. We must also have a passion for living in obedience to Jesus' commands, being doers of His Word, and not just hearers. Only then will people truly see a change in us that will give us the opportunity to proclaim the glory of God in our lives; not only with our words, but with the changed life that others plainly see.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).

Are We Wasting Valuable Time?

John 9:4-5 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

We often live life as if we have all the time in the world to get things done. However, the truth of the matter is that life is like a vapor, and not one of us is guaranteed we will see tomorrow. Jesus knew His time on earth was short, and He lived focused on finishing all that His Father sent Him to accomplish. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." How focused are we in doing the work we were set apart to accomplish? Are we denying ourselves, in order to be available for whatever the Lord chooses to use us for? If God decided that today would be our last day on earth, would we look back on our life with regret for time wasted on things that did not matter and that had no heavenly value, or would we be able to honestly say that we did everything we could to accomplish as much as possible for the glory of God?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).