John 10:7-10

John 10:7-10

Therefore Jesus again said, “Amen, amen, I say to you all that I am the door of the sheep.  All who came before me are thieves and robbers.  But the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the door.  If anyone should enter through me he will be saved and he will come in and he will go out and he will find pasture.  The thief does not come except in order the he should steal and he should kill and he should destroy.  I come in order that they should have life and they should have it abundantly.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus calls Himself the door.  He is the door into safety.  But He is also the door into pasture.  He is the focus of our coming and going.  When we come into Him we can abide in Him.  When we go out we leave to accomplish His will underneath the umbrella of His power and authority.  He is the door through which we leave the world and human tradition in order to enter into relationship with the Father.  He is the door.

How does Jesus give you pasture?  What does pasture in Christ look like to you?  How is Jesus the door through which you go into the world?  What does that look like to you?a

Second Thought:

The thief comes in to steal and kill and destroy.  God created us to live, but sin steals our life away.  The Father of Lies – Satan – speaks falsehood into our minds and steals us away from life.  We find ourselves pursuing things that are not truly giving us life.  We do not find ourselves pursuing goals that are really satisfying, nor are they truly God’s goals.  If we are not careful we find that the purposes of God have been stolen away from us while we are slowly killed and destroyed.

What does God desire you to pursue?  What do you actually pursue?  Where are you being stolen away from God?

Third Thought:

Jesus came so that we should have life and have it abundantly.  There are many levels upon which this is true.  Of course, He came so that we could have eternal life.  But He also came so that this life could have meaning.  So often we get involved in the things of the world and they just don’t satisfy us.  They might give us short term pleasure, but they don’t give us life.  True life comes when we have come to Christ, laid our life before Him, and obediently make disciples in His name as He has asked us to do.  Then we have life and have it abundantly.  Then we have found true pasture.

Do you have life?  Do you have it abundantly?  If so, what does it look like?  If not, why not?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 10:11-18