READING: John 10:1-42, Luke 13:22-14:24
Earlier this year, I preached a message from John 10, and I told this story about our wedding ceremony when Pam and I married more than 31 years ago. As part of that service, we asked our worship leader and his wife to sing this song:
“Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need thy tender care;
In thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, thou hast bought us, Thine we are.”
I can still hear our brother and sister singing that Friday night, “Savior, like a shepherd lead us” . . . and I am reminded of what that song meant to us then:
- It was the recognition that Jesus is the shepherd and we are the sheep.
- It was our understanding that we needed His guidance, care, and protection.
- It was our confession that we would trust His leading.
- It was our proclamation that we were going to do this work together as the Shepherd led us.
Even more than these meanings, though, John 10:1-18 is a reminder to me today that He knows us by name, cares for us, protects us, and leads us—all of that founded on His willingness to lay down His life for us. And, He so miraculously changes our hearts that we recognize His voice over against the strange voices of wolves that might call us astray. He is the ever-faithful shepherd for His sheep!
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Are you listening to the voice of the good Shepherd today?
DAILY PRAYER: “Thank You, Shepherd, for leading us.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Luke 14:25-17:10, John 11:1-37