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I Am The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” – John 10:11-15 Recently I found myself thinking about the success of others, financial security, retirement plans,…
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I Am The Gate
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:7-10 For many shepherds, the sheepfold (where sheep slept overnight) was attached to their home. So, to enter the sheepfold was to come home. As “the Gate” Jesus made it perfectly clear that He is the only means…
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I Am The Light of the World
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12 To follow Jesus means to belive in and trust Him, which leads to, as Jesus himself said, light and life. The light shows us what we could not see and guides our every step. Our part is to follow Him, to submit ourselves to His guidance, and respond to His direction. As the seasons are changing we are starting to see that it stays lighter longer with each passing day. What a joy and hopeful reminder that spring is…
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Save A Fork
I had the privilege of spending time with a very sweet lady that attends the Grief Share meetings hosted at the church I go to. She always shares wonderful stories of her life and tid bits of wisdom with me and I value her as a rare treasure. She told me the story of a young man who was making arrangements for his father’s funeral. He instructed the mortician to place a fork in his father’s hands. This seemed like a strange request and he curiously asked what it represented. The young man told him that his father had always counseled him, when eating, to save a fork for dessert…
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In Christ I Am……revived, fed and provided for.
“Arise, get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” – 1 Kings 19:7′ Today’s passage was a message that an angel of the Lord gave to Elijah after he had outrun Ahab’s chariot, a distance of almost 6 miles, and then fled for his life. He was exhausted, discouraged and physically could go no further. But the Lord was preparing him for a much longer journey, 40 days to the mountain of God. No doubt you have at one time or another experienced complete exhaustion and frustration at the events of life. There are days that you simply cannot give one more ounce of anything…
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I Am The Bread of Life
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” – John 6:35 In the Old Testament God provided manna for the children of Israel one day at a time. Each day as they trusted in God’s provision, they would gather what was required and if they gathered more than needed, it would rot. Every day we have the opportunity to see our tasks, our to-do-lists, our relationships and our schedules as daily bread from God. Whatever the day brings we can know with assurance that He has already provided all that we will need to see it…
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I Am
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” – Exodus 3:14 The phrase “I Am” in the passage above reflect on when God introduced Himself to Moses with the expression, “I Am who I Am.” This statement became a way to connect with God personally and was used throughout Israel’s history to convey that God always was, always is and always will be. In the New Testament Jesus gave seven “I Am” statements which help to teach us about His character and give us visual ways to understand His purpose, power, mercy and…
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Jesus Is The Life
We have all heard about living the American dream which usually includes a respectable job, nice home, new cars, vacations and the appearance that everything is just perfect. But the truth is that it’s just a dream. In time our beauty fades, relationships change and we can lose our jobs, homes, health and money. The storms of life can wash away our dream lives that are built on sand. Jesus told us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” He said, “I am the bread of life, I have the words…
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God’s Intervention
I had the privilege of listening to a new friend’s story about a week ago. She isn’t a believer but she said she has had definite moments in her life that she knows God was active. One was when she was about 18 years old and discovered that she was pregnant. The baby’s father wanted nothing to do with her and promptly gave her the money she needed for an abortion. Feeling rejected and ashamed she went to the Planned Parenting clinic, all alone and scared. Upon arrival she began talking with the attendant at the front desk who was very kind and wanted to talk with her about her…
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Know this love
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:16-19 Yesterday I was in the grocery store as several shoppers clamored to buy, balloons, flowers, chocolates and cards all to express their love to their Valentine. I looked at…