“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The thief doesn’t love you, he only wants you. He only wants you to destroy you because Jesus loves you. The thief is the devil and all his emissaries. The problem is not that in various ways the enemy overwhelms us with his strength, but that we open the door and welcome him in. We too often seek the enemy thinking that what he claims to offer will make us happy. (1 John 2:15) Choosing money and the things we think it brings rather than choosing the Lord who does bring what our hearts and soul truly cry out for is a deadly poison. (Proverbs 14:12) The enemy comes to steal what belongs to God. He is a murderer whose select prey is the one who loves the Lord, but who has wandered from true love. If he cannot steal away, he will try to destroy. Destroy the peace that was gifted to us by the one who loves us. The peace is a fruit from the love of God. Peace comes as part of God’s love, but unlike the love of God which we cannot be separated from the peace of God we can be separated from. Not because He has stopped loving us and not because He has taken the dwelling of peace from us but because we have chosen other dwellings. The Lord has not evicted our souls from peace, we have decided to move it to what we think is an enticing place. We sometime think that another place, whatever it is, is more fun, more exciting or more fulfilling and we move away. Tragically sadness replaces peace. How sad to live without peace when His love surrounds us. It is not His desire for us. It is not His will. His peace and joy is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10, John:15:10)
Jesus came that we may have life and that abundantly. He wants it to overflow upon and from us. (Psalm 45:7) He wants it to be overflowing upon us from head to foot. Jesus desires peace to be in our thoughts, in our feelings and in everything we eat, drink and do. How silly to turn one’s back to Him who has done everything so that love and peace would reign in our lives. And where His love and peace are His joy also is. We want to be happy and we want to laugh. It starts with His love and peace where His joy becomes our strength. (Psalm 126:2-3) Pure love, peace and joy is ours. Since these come from our God through Jesus Christ, nothing can come between these and us. Nothing can come between God and us and nothing comes between His love and its fruits and us. Nothing, no not ever! It is only when the thief jumps the fence into our pasture because He cannot get by He who guards it, that we are vulnerable. When he jumps the fence we ought to be bleating “Jesus, help Jesus, help Jesus!” If we know Him we know He loves us eternally and He will help us. Nothing comes between Him and us. Nothing. The eternal plan is and remains to be that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son for us. Nothing can change that. Nothing can steal Jesus from us. But we can reject Him. Scripture says that no one can pluck us from the hand of God, but it does not say that we cannot walk away from it. (John 10:28-29) Scripture is full of warnings to not wander away. (Hebrews 3:14, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2) Like a foolish child who is warned not to climb a high tree but climbs it anyhow and falls to his extreme harm, or death. (2 Timothy 1:14-15) Stay close to God who is close to us, who lives within His children. (Acts 17:27, 1 Corinthians 3:16) Naturally, we all can never not have within us the evidence of our parents. God has created us and has put Himself inside of all who respond to His love. That remains, it is ours to remain with Him because He will never leave us. Never.
Life with Jesus is overflowing with His love, peace and joy. Life in Him is inherently so. Family and Friends God has loved us before the foundations of the world. (Ephesians 1:4) Let us enjoy that.
Has the thief jumped any part of the fence to hurt you, to rip at you, to try to separate you from God? Cling to Jesus. He is holding you and He will not let go so don’t you let go. He is the Treasure of treasures. Hold fast to Jesus and you will ever have Him. He is our Life. He loves us and we are a treasure to Him. Hold on to Jesus who holds onto us. Be grateful and thank Him continuously and you will know Him better and love Him more. Thank the Lord. Hold unto Jesus. Praise God always! Yes, praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
John 10:7-18 – So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Jesus said that all of those who love Him, who trust Him with everything that they are, can “go in and out and find pasture.” What a profound promise that is for us while we live here on earth and extends into eternity. This invaluable, exciting and powerful promise, what it really is, will sound crazy to both the unredeemed and also to those who never learned how to approach Jesus through the leading of the Holy Spirit. But to us who have been taught, who have learned, who listen to the loving, nurturing, indispensable Holy Spirit, do or will know the meaning of this.
It should trouble those who don’t understand the words “go in and out.” As with everything that Jesus says, He meant and means it. So considering these words, what was He talking about? Certainly He was not referring to Heaven (for this discussion, as is commonly considered, Heaven is the dwelling place of God which all who love Jesus will dwell with God). It is easy to deduce that Heaven is not what Jesus was to referring to because once in Heaven we will never walk in and out of it but shall forever dwell in the presence of God, with God. So what the pasture that we can go in and out of is not our eternal dwelling place because once there, we are forever there.
So then where is this pasture that only Jesus is the Door to, that only Jesus can open to us and that is a place that we can go in and out of? First of all it is the spiritual position of being in favor with God through Jesus. No person can enter the pasture unless in favor with God through the Savior and Master Jesus the Christ Himself “If anyone enters by me.” King David declared “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23:2) King David knew and loved Jesus.
Sure for David the Lord often brought him to green pastures during his shepherding of sheep days, but it was more than that. It was a place of rest, of peace, and of companionship with the Lord. It was a place of protection, where the Lord God, the great Shepherd, protected the earthly shepherd with His “rod and staff (figuratively).” It was a place of fellowship with God and that pasture that David mentioned is still available to us. Jesus still calls to us, His sheep, to come and rest in this peaceful place and joyful places. He still calls us to the hillsides to join the multitudes of followers and be with Him. And He still calls us to the place of solitude with Him. The Holy Spirit leads, Jesus welcomes us with open arms and the Father approves and gives His peace and approval. (Matthew 11:28-30)
The pasture is a place of being with the Lord. It is when we seek and find Him and spend time with Him. We can remember being in a quiet place with the Lord and the pure peace that enters us. You see this is a place that we here on earth can be with Him for times and at all times. During a hectic day at work. When life is full we can seek and find pasture with Him at any time and at all times. No trouble and no busyness can separate us from the pasture that today, that every day, we can go in and out of the pasture. It is being wrapped in His love from which we can never be separated. (Romans 8:38-39) As David described it is the best place. It is where we long to be. We don’t need to wait till we die and go to Heaven, Jesus made it available to us now by His saving work. So if you’ve never learned how to visit the pasture, and how to live in it, pray to the Holy Spirit to lead you. He will, He is calling to you right now. He will lead you to the Door and the door will open for you. Have a time with Jesus. Stay there as long as you desire. Leave when you have to and rush back with excitement. Once you know the way, it’s your privilege. Family and Friends, enjoy the presence of God today, it is part of God’s plan for us. Praise our God, our Shepherd and Door, praise God. Oh how good to lay down in His pasture. To rest in Him. Oh praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob withJohn 10:7-18 – So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
“So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. Who are the sheep being referred to? Are they those who have believed in Jesus and committed to following Him? Or is He the door to all the Jews? He is the way and the opportunity. Is He the door to the world? Is He the door to all? From John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” and 2 Peter 3:9 “…not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Some have said that understanding of this verse in John is not the door “for” the sheep but “to” the sheep. Certainly it is clear that Jesus died for the whole world and so all who come, and indeed all are invited, may come to Jesus who is the door and He will open and allow all who will believe and obey to come through Him to step immediately out of this world and eternally into the presence and reality of God. Each step here drawing us further into the kingdom of our God, and our steps here with Jesus are just as real, right now, as the ethereal kingdom of our God to come. The eternal journey starts with the first step through the only door Jesus and the journey never ends. Now we are here and then there, but it is all just as real and just as sure. Becoming a new creature begins by coming through the door that is Jesus. The new us learns and matures throughout eternity.
“All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.” There were sheep who already recognized the Door and there were sheep to come later. These sheep recognized the Shepherd’s voice when deep in their spirit they heard it. To them they came. Maybe they stumbled, maybe they were misled, but eventually they recognized and came. Jesus hold them secure to Himself.
“All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” When my wife and I were on our honeymoon, we were tired and traveling late. My wife, ever our navigator, was studying a map. She told me that she thought she saw a short cut. She showed it to me and it looked like we could cut miles off of our journey. We decided to try it. We soon found out that we were traveling a very dark road that traveled beside a stream, or little river. There were no lights on this windy road with sharp turns. It was dark. I tried not to show any nervousness, but let’s just say I was intently concentrating on the road while trying my best to show confidence so as not to alarm her. The Lord was our comfort as we, two relatively new converts, travelled the winding road. The Lord was telling us both that our journey would have dark times that could be scary but that He would always lead us to the light. His light. Suddenly we came around another dark bend and there was a large city with bright lights. Suddenly we were in the light. We profusely thanked God. Since then the Lord has always brought us through seemingly dark times into the Light. Now we know the Light is always ahead as Jesus leads. In fact the Light is with us even in the dark places and though we may not always see, we are always lead. How true that when a child of God comes to the door and walks through, He walks into a reality from which He is forever changed. How wonderful the change!
All who His have come through the door know that they have. Someone may say that they never went through the door, but all that have know the silliness of the statement, just silliness. I remember entering the land of light and wonder. I remember who called to me and let me in. He is the Shepherd and He is the Door and He is Jesus. He is the only way to the other side of the door. Thank you Jesus! Praise our Savior and Lord Jesus!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
by Bob with