I love thinking of the sheep and shepherd relationship. The sheep is completely dependent on the shepherd – the only animal that is completely dependent on man. The shepherd purchases, feeds, protects, leads and loves. Just as Christ does for us.
I love how the sheep know the shepherds voice and I have been thinking a lot this week about what it means for me to know my Lord’s voice. Do I know His voice? Can I distinguish His voice from the other voices calling my name? When I hear His voice, do I respond?
This morning I was listening to JJ Heller and heard the song All I Need – below are some lyrics that I thought appropriate.
I don't need a thing
My good shepherd brings me all
You are all I need
You let me catch my breath
Even in the valley of death
You are all I need
All I need to be complete is your love
Your blood that covers me
My good shepherd brings me all
You are all I need
You let me catch my breath
Even in the valley of death
You are all I need
All I need to be complete is your love
Your blood that covers me
There's no need to fear
Even with my enemies here
You are all I need
Even with my enemies here
You are all I need
You make a home for me
With pastures of green as far as I see
You are all I need
With pastures of green as far as I see
You are all I need
This week we will do John chapter 11 which I think is very timely since it is Thanksgiving week. Here we see Christ conquer death. Death is the blemish to the story. God created man in His own image and He created him for life. Death was not in the plan. Death is the enemy. However, death is the enemy that always wins – there is no escaping it. Death is the one thing that cannot be overcome without Christ and in this passage and through the death of Lazarus, we see Christ overcome it once and therefore Christ’s ability to overcome it for all.
Look at Jesus’ feelings when he confronts man’s biggest enemy, death – vs 33, 35, 38.
Think about the big “I AM” statement in vs 25 and 26. What does it mean that Jesus is the resurrection AND the life?
Think about why God lets Lazarus die.
Think about Mary and Martha.
Thank God for all that he has done for you.
This chapter made me think of the song "Blessings" that is playing on WBGL a lot lately. Some of the lyrics are:
ReplyDeleteWe pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
This chapter reminded me of that song because I'm sure Mary and Martha (and all of Lazarus' friends) were praying for just that - for God to bless them by healing Lazarus. And when Lazarus died and Jesus arrived "too late", they were angry. They didn't know that they were going to be blessed through this sad event. I know there are many times in my life that I focus on the current situation instead of asking God to show me his plan and trust that he is going to use it for good. However, I am very thankful that I can look back on times in my life that were difficult and see the good outcomes/changes/results NOW that have come from them.