When I look at the word sheepfold, I think of a barn in a farm land with fences. He claims us as HIS and he keeps HIS sheep. Keeping us meaning there is a type of life he has called every believer to and even when we fall short, he still calls us His sheep. He loved me first and like that one missing sheep, even when I wander away from his keeping, he willingly to leave the 99 to come looking.
I read the beginning again and it sounded so stiff. Moving on. My insights are riddled with self-commentary. There are several on this journey.
Jesus coming through the door reminds of the bible verse that says “… and God became flesh”. Kind of symbolic, isn’t it? He could have come in power and displayed for all to see but the creator coming in the way he designed it to be.
Also, Only the owner can walk in through the door. Only the creator can create and be the originator of life, be in life, deliver life because only he has all rights and power to do so. The devils does not create life, rather he can’t. He knows us by name, something here will review later.
Verse 7
Here Jesus talks about what it means to be a sheep that follows the shepherd. He talks about recognizing the voice of the shepherd; an ability that only the sheep have. This parable first establishes the kind of relationship that exist between Jesus and those that follow him. The relationship is so personal and without doubt or questions, He leads and we follow. One of the ways he leads us (majorly) his words. One of the most tangible ways we listen for him is by reading and digesting the word he already gave us. Joshua 1:8, psalm119:11. The bible is essentially a believer’s manual; P.S, something can sound cliché and still be true. He wants us know his word enough that the voice of anyone or anything else sounds strange. The things we read about him, the way he lived, the actions he took, the words he said. They are essentially his voice to us and all we have to do is listen.
The Holy spirit begins to establish his words in our hearts. These words become a river of living water and as believers we begin to get leadings, nudging’s, that still small voice that speaks and ministers to us – again with the cliché. Things, we would normally not regard become apparent and as we engage the Holy spirit more, these leadings become clearer and more vivid to us.
To our human minds, it does not seem like God is interested in our lives enough to lead us even in the very steps we ought to take per time. But that’s exactly what he desires for me and for you. That we hear him loud and clear enough any time he tells us where to go, what to do, specific people to pray for, specific things to say.
Insight is something we get as we go deeper into the word. Jesus calls himself the door of the sheep. He is the way the only through which we gain eternal life. In and through and out into the new life. This new life will be full and abundant, this new life will be complete, we essentially have eternal security because we have an eternal guarantor who through his life
has vouched for us. It easy for me to skip over the word abundance and what he meant by that. Some part of me felt he was promising material abundance. I know Jesus tried to explain these saying using scenarios that anybody could understand but I still wondered if his message would have been received by the pharisee if he used plainer language. Then again it boils down to the sheep and shepherd relationship, it didn’t matter if Jesus was pouring his words like water on their brain, they were not his and they could not understand.
The thief coming to steal, kill and destroy. A popular verse of the bible the thief is representative not just of the devil but so many tools that can be abused and manipulated to keep us away from God. As I write this, my mind is fixed on what can be stolen, killed and destroyed. Our hearts can be stolen; our zeal and passion for the things of God can be killed; anything that we put our faith in, other than God can be destroyed.
I am kind of guilty of a heart that can be stolen. The pleasures, entertainment, relationships. I love music and movies and anything that gets my dopamine up and it can be a distraction from focusing on Christ I and supposed to. I know these things are there for me to enjoy but I get carried away sometimes. In this time that I am seeking a romantic relationship and having someone that cares deeply for me and vice versa, I know a deep relationship that has love, trust, values, respect etc. can become something competes with my relationship with God. Children, in fact a family that I can call my own can fall in that category.
Essentially anything that I put my faith in as something that is unshakable can be become pretty shakable pretty fast if my eyes is not fixed on God. This is my reminder; these things are great but I must wrap them all up in God. From God, I can love my family right. From God I can tell the things in my life that need to stay and the things that need to go. My prayer sometimes goes along the lines of “God help me, my spirit is small and slightly willing but my flesh weak as always”
11-30
God, the owner of the sheep, Jesus the shepherd, me the sheep. He lays down his life for me. Nothing can provide the deep connection I’m searching. A connection that goes as deep as laying of life, nothing and no one can ever provide that. Everything will fall away in end. I have been looking into investments lately and it just opened up to me how much risk we take and how much We trust in so many things without a second thought. Things we are not able to see or control. We trust more easily in that job, salary, certification and so on. I can enter a transport system, bus, plane or bicycle with a trust that the engine will run, the pedals will work, there will be no accident, all of which are not guaranteed. All these are things that will disappear in the face of the devourer, the wolf, the devil. The man who is paid to guard the sheep can vanish at the sight of the devourer. The sense of security we have can be made to vanish.
But we are his, we are one with him. That is our hope, he will not leave to be devoured or destroyed. He cares for me and wishes to bring me into his fold.
He has the power and there’s nothing I keep with him that can ever be stolen. In all his power he laid down his life willingly, he could not kill unless he let it happen. Everything I have is secure in him.
It didn’t matter how much evidence he put forward, those that are not his will only hear what they want to hear. Their blindness came from insisting that they could see. I insist on doing things myself. Delegation has been the hardest part of leadership for me. Trusting that someone can put in the required effort to get the job done. Here Christ is telling me and the pharisees that we blind and we can help ourselves and trusting him is the only option we have.
Sometimes the things that are obvious now were hidden in times past and they are revealed to those that are His. They heard the words and they saw the works yet they rejected it. If he called them gods, those that were not sanctified and did not know of Christ, how much more Christ himself.
Works are tools, they evidence that point us to faith and faith when it is fully established produces works. Many times, our actions don’t match up with what we profess. The evidence of our faith is not just in exhibiting gifts of the spirit and performing miracles which are absolutely critical, as we can profess Christians our actions are also works(evidence) that show and tell the world about who we represent. This is easier said but I trust In God to work in me, that my words and action point to my faith and that my faith produces more evidence, bigger evidence that draws people to him. He works it me to both to will and do these. It very easy to get caught up in trying to do the works ourselves. The get it done yourself mentality.
Lazarus, chapter 11: 1 – 44
There is question that I at one point or the other struggle with. Bad things seemingly happening to good people and why. The world is out of balance and bad things happen to believers and unbelievers alike. The world is not as he made and it is quite easy to cast doubt on the love God has for us. We might never really get the full picture but Believers have hope and assurance on the eventual outcome of those seemingly bad experiences; All thing works together for good to those who love God…
We don’t see the full picture and our minds tends to imagine the worst possible outcome but do we really understand pain and suffering like Christ did. The heart break he must have experienced seeing his friends, family, disciples go through all the troubles and unfortunate circumstances just like we do in life. The heartbreak and sorrow he feels even now for that child with cancer or those families in war torn countries, my own emotions are wild enough, I can’t imagine feeling for the whole world.
The death of Lazarus speaks to our state as humans without God. Physical death is something Christ had power over before his own death and resurrection. The death Christ came to conquer was a more final death. A death of the soul and spirit, A form of death that could not be restored. It is last enemy that Jesus came to defeat. He called physical death a
form of sleep, one that we can be woken from. Physical death is not final or complete. In the face of this, it is easy to lose sight of God, we zoom in on our pain and grief but he calls us to face it with the assurance only him can give. In life, whoever believes in him shall never die the death of soul and spirit. Even in death we live.
At some point, I think my writing began to sound like I have all the answers, like I’m some philosophical guru that has all the steps figured out. Like a finger wagging sermon to others to get right with God. Maybe it’s no wonder that I had been procrastinating writing this. It felt like a quiz to the book of John. Like I have to create insights and see deep into the mind of Christ as I read it again. I don’t think he is pressuring me to see what’s not there. So, I read and I see new and old questions. Jesus is calling me to something freer than that.
The state of Lazarus’ body does still speak to the state of the world, the world is bloated and it stinks. I am part of the world and Just like a physical death, the goods parts of ourselves even the best parts of souls and spirit fade away in the face of exposure to the elements of decomposition. Pain, suffering, lust, greed and so on are agents that stink up the best parts of us.
Believing in Christ brings us to the glory of God. Our contact with Christ rolls away the stone that keeps me from the light. In the tomb of this world that I am born into, I can see nothing. Preparing the body and keeping it in the tomb is my attempt to save myself. Trying to be good, trying to be perfect.
Listening to a pastor online and he touched on Jesus’ short, open prayers. Essentially, they were extensions of the long prayers he had been doing in private and as a habit. He started with thanks. I started a habit some time ago about listing or least mentioning 3 things I was grateful for every night before bed.
After his thanks his next statement was for the works/miracles point to back faith in God. And like john that cries in the wilderness, he calls us forth to a different kind of life. A life outside of the darkness and the tomb that we were born into and are used to. There is a finality to the last statements he made.
“Come forth”, “Loose him”, and “Let him go”. To me it didn’t feel like Jesus was just talking to the people around to remove the death wrappings and clothes from Lazarus. He was speaking to the spirit of death, the devil, the devourer that wanted to lay claim to the soul and spirit of Lazarus.
The death clothes that were used to bind his body for me is also quite representative of our state after accepting Christ. We are free and whole and redeemed but some times we are wrapped up in some things that don’t represent who are and our new identity. Some of these might take a bit of time for us to be free from but our freedom is full, immediate and guaranteed. I hear the finality of Jesus’ word and I sit with that reality. I am free.
Action Point:
1. Cultivate a habit and an attitude of gratitude. It rhymes. It helps me appreciate the things I have and goals I achieved. I think it has helped me keep a positive attitude on life as whole, something that I struggle with.
2. Still working on this but I promised to submit today, so second edit will complete this one.
Prayer/Affirmation:
1. “I am HIS and he loves me so much so that he gave his life for me”
2. My ears are open to hear and my mind is open to receive, I understand his word, I receive his message, I act on his leading.
3. Help me keep my heart on you, help my zeal and desire for more of you, help me keep my faith and belief only in you’
4. His spirit in me helps me understand his word. I understand the shepherd and he hear me
Question
1. It seemed Christ had a special kind of love for some of his disciples, any reason why?