The Daily Guide-The Daily Devotional grow. pray. study. at The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 7 November 2015 - "The Good Shepherd, who gave up his life for his sheep"
Daily Scripture: John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, since he isn’t a shepherd and the sheep aren’t his own, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf drags them off and scatters them. 13 The hired worker behaves like this because that’s all he is, a hired worker; so it doesn’t matter to him what happens to 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 on behalf of the sheep. 16 Also I have other sheep which are not from this pen; I need to bring them, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 “This is why the Father loves me: because I lay down my life — in order to take it up again! 18 No one takes it away from me; on the contrary, I lay it down of my own free will. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This is what my Father commanded me to do.”
---------------------Reflection Questions:
Ezekiel, a prophet among Hebrews exiled in Babylon, portrayed God as a good shepherd who would “seek out the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the wounded, and strengthen the weak” (Ezekiel 34:16). Jesus picked up that image as he reached out to the lost and the strays, bound up our wounds and took special interest in the weak. He was the Good Shepherd, and in the end, he did indeed give up his life for the sheep—us.
- Jesus' shepherd image assumes a bond of deep trust. Sheep cannot care for themselves. They MUST trust their shepherd for well-being and safety. How much of the hectic pace of our lives grows from our efforts to ensure that we and those we love are safe and have a chance to succeed? How can learning to trust that Jesus has already provided eternally for the security of all the people we love (including ourselves) help us learn to rest in him, to live less hectically and with greater peace?
Lord Jesus, thank you for giving your life for me. I open my heart to you—transform my inner life, broaden my horizons, and shine out of me as I enter into your joy. Amen.
Family Activity:
Cut out a cross from an 8 ½ x 11 inch piece of cardstock or poster board. Gather magazines, scissors and glue. Talk about the meaning of the cross and how it reminds us of Jesus’ love for everyone in the world and that even though we don’t know everyone’s name, God knows each one of us by name. Cut out pictures of people from different ethnicities and cultures from the magazines. Include men, women, boys and girls, families of different types, and a picture of your family. Glue the pictures on the cross. Commit to praying for the people in the pictures and the groups they represent. Pray for yourselves, too. Thank God for Jesus and for His incredible love for all people.
---------------------Insights from Clif Guy
Clifton Guy serves as the Director of Information Technology at The Church of the Resurrection.
(Something has interfered with the delivery of Clif Guy’s blog for today. Until we receive it, we share a post that Pastor Steven Blair wrote in 2011 about the Good Shepherd.)
Is the life you are living sustainable?
I was asked this question a few years ago and find myself returning to it repeatedly. Is the pace of your life draining you? The responsibilities? The desires? Can you keep all this up or are these rhythms and behaviors stealing your life away?
In John 10, Jesus lays out the job descriptions of a good shepherd. The good shepherd gives life to the sheep, and an abundant life at that. Abundance here does not mean a bunch of money or an elevated status. The abundance refers to the sheep being protected and cared for. The Good Shepherd wants this for the sheep.
Jesus wants good things for us. In contrast, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. If it gives life, it is from Jesus. If it steals life, it is from the thief.
Are there things in your life that are stealing life away? There may be some things which appear good which are actually more thief-like than Jesus-like. Jesus wants to protect us from over-work, poor boundaries, wrong priorities. Jesus wants strong relationships for us with both family and strangers in need.
Are you pursuing this abundant life? Is the life you are living sustainable?
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Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
(Something has interfered with the delivery of Clif Guy’s blog for today. Until we receive it, we share a post that Pastor Steven Blair wrote in 2011 about the Good Shepherd.)
Is the life you are living sustainable?
I was asked this question a few years ago and find myself returning to it repeatedly. Is the pace of your life draining you? The responsibilities? The desires? Can you keep all this up or are these rhythms and behaviors stealing your life away?
In John 10, Jesus lays out the job descriptions of a good shepherd. The good shepherd gives life to the sheep, and an abundant life at that. Abundance here does not mean a bunch of money or an elevated status. The abundance refers to the sheep being protected and cared for. The Good Shepherd wants this for the sheep.
Jesus wants good things for us. In contrast, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. If it gives life, it is from Jesus. If it steals life, it is from the thief.
Are there things in your life that are stealing life away? There may be some things which appear good which are actually more thief-like than Jesus-like. Jesus wants to protect us from over-work, poor boundaries, wrong priorities. Jesus wants strong relationships for us with both family and strangers in need.
Are you pursuing this abundant life? Is the life you are living sustainable?
---------------------
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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