Hey everyone it is good to be home! We arrived home from our great time together today at 4:20pm. We are all very tired, because we were "going" and "doing things" non-stop!!! Wow! We cannot wait to tell each of you about it! I hope that all of you will be in Sunday School tomorrow orning and DONT FORGET about the REALLY COOL Dinner on the grounds "BBQ" Tomorrow Evening!! It is going to be great! See you in the morning!
John 10:1-6
1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
Alright! Do you get what Christ is talking about? If you don't, well, don't worry, neither did they, but if you do understand, GREAT! You are ahead of the ball game! Let me explain what this is talking about and then you let me know some great applications!
Sheep are DUMB! Do some research, it is amazing how DUMB sheep are! and we often times act just like them! It is so wonderful that we have such a wonderful shepherd!!!
Let me explain: These verses tell us that we cannot get to heaven any other way other than following the shepherd. You see, the sheep follow their shepherd, so that they will be protected from the evils of life... How do they follow the shepherd? They know his voice!!!!
We also should follow our shepherd to protect us from the evils of our life, and to keep us from Hell! How do we follow our shepherd, by learning His voice, and knowing His voice... Then when He speaks to us, we will listen!! How does He speak to us? Through His Word!!!!!
I am so glad that you are getting to know the voice of your shepherd right now! Keep up the good work!
11 comments:
YES FIRST!!
The trip was AWESOME!!!. Thanks once again Pastor Lee for bringing us to Orlando, I had a blast! and this u do not know i almost burned down my hotel room! I will explain on Wed. About whenever I am going to the Wilds w/ Calvary its not this week but the week after. so in about 2 weeks!! Oh and guess what! I didnt miss the family reunion. I came in about the middle. Its a bummer. And I'm about to pass out I'm so tired!
Ok enough talking about my problems its devotion time!!
We are the sheep and the Lord is our Shepard. We know the voice of the Shepard because we know whenever He is telling us His will or not, sometimes we want the opposite but He has everything planned out and set in motion for a reason. And another time we can listen to Him is by DOING OUR DEVOTIONS @ DOYOURDEVOTIONS.COM. We have to listen to His voice and respond respectfully.
Heyyyy Pastor Lee and Katie =]
Thanks for bringing us to Orlando! It was a blast. I cant believe i got on that water slide! My back still hurts...everything about teh trip was soo funn =]
Devo: God compares us to sheep because sheep are stupid and if left to themselves would perish.They need a shepard to watch them. This is why Jesus calls himself the shepard because he guides us n leads us n without him we would perish. =]
Yeah the trip was amazing Im so glad I went and not even going was fun it just cool to have such a close youth group that everyone knows each other and I don't know how to say it its just fun having such cool kids in the youth group. The only thing I didn't like was when Josh pushed me out of the bed and when I tried to get back on he wouldn't move because he was died asleep and i had to sleep on the floor with a little tiny blanket next to the a/c which was so cold.
I think this is saying that you can't win your way to heaven you have to hear him and accept him into your life. You can just work for it by doing good deeds even though it is good to do that thats not how you get into heaven he is the only way there is no other way.
Only listen and trust him not the devil even if he sounds convincing it doesn't matter only listen to Jesus like when you don't want to listen to sum one you just shut them out thats what you should do the second the devil tries and tells you something
Wow it sounds like you guys had a great time I wish I could have been there. Anyway so its funny how we are analagous to sheep in commparison to god. We are dumb and often times don't know where to go, who to trust, what decision to make. So the passage is telling us that when we don't know follow his voice. We've got to spend some time in prayer and listen to what he has to say.
Man I miss home.
ok...i didnt get 2 do these yesterday cuz i was at my aunts house playin r u smarter than a 5th grader...&...im...NOT=[...lol which kinda goes2show we r perdy much dumb-lol-
So i TOTALLY understood what the passage was sayin b4 i read what pastor lee put...
it basically says there is 1RIGHT way in2 the sheppards house(heaven)there is NO other way...not the window, the chimny, attic, or even the back door(not by bein good, doin good deeds, "believeing" but not showin it)
the doorkeeper(Christ/God) will let the right ppl in2the home(heaven)so not only does christ play the sheppard but ALSO the doorsmen...
We come in as the sheep cuz we're not smarter than 5th graders-lol- & have NO IDEA WHAT WE'RE DOIN, & w/o the shepherd 2 herd us & provide 4 us...we'd perish(as gabby said)we'd have no sense of direction or anythin 2 protect us from outside dangers(not know what 2 do/believe/trust/etc in life, & hed protect us from the evil)
How we KNOW its him & his voice???BY GETTING IN THE WORD!!!That's all...the word IS the truth &we can trust it's christ & not satin cuz he DOESN'T speak the truth...
The key 2 life, shelter, survival, & all around protection, is 2 follow or shepherd by simply gettin in his word & doing as it says...it's the "sheeps" survival guide-lol-
k...im gonna go finish off my Ben&Jerry's Phish Food 4 breakfast *rubs tummy* =] & get ready 2 go hang w/Amanda 4 the day!!!goin 2 the buffet w/her & her fam & then 2 her place 2 get ready 4 her youth group!!! She's gonna sing 2night!!!
o pastor lee...next wed. night or even mornin, my aunt & uncle from my old place wanna check us out=]they've got sum questions 2 so b ready=]
& YES...that IS puppy eatin a lollipop=]
This passage has a lot of symbolism! Christians are the sheep, Jesus is the shepherd and door, the people that try to get saved in some other way besides through Jesus are the theives, and the sheepfold is Heaven.
If you try to get in the sheepfold some other way then the door, it won't work because you have to go through the door. So if you try to get to Heaven some other way then through Jesus, it won't work. Jesus is the only way! Once you are a Christian, Jesus goes before you and protects you from any harm. You just have to follow Him like sheep follow thier shepherd.
What God is trying to say here is that we are just like sheep , because sheep won't go in the right direction without thier Sheperd . And we ,the sheep ,won't be going in the right direction without our Sheperd , God . So if we decide to leave him we don't know what is going to happen to us . We should always stay with God no matter what !
- Grace Lockhart
O MY GOODNESS PASTOR LEE!!!
Amanda's youth...2night...i CANT even come CLOSE2describin it...im SPEECHLESS...
It's SOOO dif than ours yet the same...2night was SOOO POWERFUL &...*takes deep breath*u just had 2 b there!
I got 2 c Amanda in rehersals & she is a good singer, we also sang flyleaf in the car on the way there-lol-
I've got pastor brians # & i think u should call & get 2gether w/him & talk about band stuff & how 2start us 1...they have 1 & it's AMAZING!!!& he said sumthin bout him & other youth pastors gettin 2gether the 1st thur, of every month & talkin bout things & makin activities & stuff(kinda like what u do w/sunshine sumtimes)
&what u have in mind 4our youth group 2become, is what they almost r & u said u wanted ideas on how 2 get there...he's the man & those meetings r it!!!
I learned SOOO much 2 night i dont have nearly enough time or the words 2 do it justice...but 1 of the songs was bein played while a woman talked & it had alot of us in tears...even me...who doesnt cry much...amanda was down at the alter(as well as over 80%of the kids in there) & we cried 2gether & prayed...
but it wasn't like ANY OTHER TIME...(the cryin, ur thoghts, etc)it was dif & there was sumthin SOOO special about 2night...i cant describe my thought process of what i was thinkin cuz i thought SOOO much...& it was a simple message & simple things that were said, but they had such a HUGE impact on me & every1else!!!
& me & amanda r goin thru the same struggles w/givin everythin up, sum of hers r dif than mine, but MOST the same & we know EXACTLY what eachother's goin thru & we dont have 2 say a word we just...KNOW!!! &i think 2night...i think God wanted me2go...
cuz 2night touched me like NO OTHER IVE EVER EXPERIANCED...it was the message...it spoke STRAIGHT 2ME...it was about struggles & lettin go...about how God doesn't want what u can DO...he wants YOU...he doesnt want 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999%of ur heart...he wants ALL...& that alot of ppl go 2him2give him our sins & burdons(4him 2 take away) & be there 4 when things r bad...but he doesnt want JUST that...he wants u 2 come 2 him even in the good...he wants US...ALL OF US...& what i said NOWHERE NEAR GAVE 2NIGHT JUSTICE...i tried...
but 2night made me realize...amanda is SOOO special 2 me & i think cuz me & her r strugglin w/ALOT of the same issues&our destructive past...i think he brought us 2gether 4 a REASON...not just ANY reason...sumthin SPECIAL...BEYOND our wildest dreams...i believe he brought us 2gether 2help eachother out &b eachother's guidence...i KNOW he wants us 2 make a difference...not just any difference...aHUGE 1!!!
I've been prayin day-in-day-out 4 sum1...a friend like her...sum1 2 help me out & hold me accountable...&he delivered her...She's SUCH a blessing 2me & i realized that 2night when we held eachother's hands&put our heads on eachothers shoulders & cried...every amen we said in unison when sumthin SOOO true was said...our IDENTICAL answers when sumthin was asked...She's ment 2hold me up & im ment 2hold her up...&i believe we'll rise 2gether 2 make a difference in SOME way or another!!!
u wanna talk about a GREAT GODLY friend...she's it...u guys...it's ppl like HER we gotta surround & consume ourselves with...not the 1's who r gonna hurt us or tear us from god...
we must TRULY deny OURSELVES b4 we can TRULY accept Christ...we need 2 quit givin him just a PIECE of us...he wants the WHOLE thing...it's not enough just 2 get in the word, do good acts...what he wants is what NIKE says...JUST DO IT!!!2night we talked about how 2SURVIVE in a world that is FALLING...JUST DO IT...Don't listen 2burger king(have it UR way)no offence amanda-lol-(she works there)the only way is 2show it...
its not enough2"believe" & walk around...like...bein 2faced...like that bottle of water...clean on the OUTSIDE but NOT on the inside...we need 2 b clean in & out...like pastor lee says...we need 2 b HOT ON FIRE...not luke warm...where i KNOW is where MOST of us stand...i know ur sick of hearin it...but SURRENDER UR ALL...NOT parts...
look...I did it, & it brought me an AMAZING(yes...its so amazin it gets a G...u no, cuz i never put G's at the end of my words...) friend im SOOO blessed2have in my life who holds me accountable...i have a TOTALLY new outlook on life, im happy in SOOO many ways, i have a boyfriend who cares ALOT & ISNT like others& is the kinda guy ur rents want u 2marry & have kids with!!!THAT DIDN'T JUST COME ON IT'S OWN!!!
When i put ALL my trust in Christ & gave him my ALL...i got ALL this...& just like Jesus sad 2 the man under the tree...if u think THIS is amazin...wait til u see what's 2 come!!!i've JUST begun & look at how blessed i am! If i continue...what am i sayin IF 4???...AS i continue 2 stay faithful, he'll bless me in SOOO many other ways...
i know u guys r scared2 say goodbye 2 things or ppl...but it's worth it!!!i gave up sumthin i've been accostumed 2 for TEN YEARS!!!(i wont say)u can do it!!!
Theres only 1 way in2hell & there's NO exit...i love ALL of u guys 2death, & DON'T wanna c u fall short of the glory of GOD...give it up...take a leap of faith...Christianity is all about in havin FAITH right...if u have enough faith 2believe in GOD...than have believe that the guy u have faith in wont let u fall!!!
like this passage says w/the shepherd...there's ONE way in2 the house & that's thru the shepherd himself...after all Christ has done...givin up sumthin is the LEAST we can do...
GOD BLESS EACH & EVERY1OF U!!! & i pray that he gives u the strength & courage 2 overcome ALL burdons...& help u w/anythin that pops up...w/christ on ur side ur still gonna face challenges...but w/him on ur side...u can just ignore them & overcome ANYTHIN that stans in ur way...u can do ALL things thru christ who strengthems u...as long as u...
JUST DO IT-lol
i love u all &may god b w/all of u...goddnight taters
LOVE, brooke
PREACH IT SISTER!!! :)
here we go, im almost all back on track ((:
well id like to start off with HEYYYY
not all sheep are dumb,
my name means little sheep.
so thanks (:
Ive totally heard this stuff before so for once i have a little idea of what im saying.
Why wander off like a stupid sheep when you have the ultimate sheperd to follow? Following Gods instruction for our life keeps us out of harm and satans traps just like a real sheperd does with his sheep.
Us being so simple, should follow the wise one(God) because He knows so much more than we do and the reasons behind our misunderstandings.
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