Category: Daily Devotionals

MOMENT OF RECOGNITION

The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  John 10:3

In every love story, there is a moment of recognition where one soul sees into the soul of another and finds a place to rest and call home.  For many, it can be on the very first meeting.  A look, something said, the sound of a voice, it’s familiar and the stirring is deeply felt. It was that way for Jesus and many of His followers.  Someone would hear His call and leave everything to follow Him.  Like all love stories, these moments are personal, characterized by tenderness.

Matthew was a tax collector.  While in the middle of a work day, sitting at a tax booth, he looked up to see Jesus stop in front of him.  He said, “Follow me!”  Matthew got up from the table and never looked back.  There was instant recognition of the shepherd’s voice.

On another occasion, Jesus walked down a road and called up to a man in the tree.  He called this lone sheep by name.  Zacchaeus.  The surprised man in the tree responded instantly and received Jesus joyfully into his home.

Jesus also went in search of certain sheep.  One day, He went into Galilee to find a man named Philip.  The call was the same, as was the result.  “Follow me,” Jesus said.  And he did.

Mary, at the tomb of Jesus, didn’t recognize Jesus until He called her by name.  “Mary.”  Her instant response was, “Rabboni.”

When my last breath is drawn on this earth and I open my eyes on the shores of heaven, the thing I look forward to most is hearing Jesus welcome me home – by name.  None will have said it quite like him.

Your voice can be heard in Scripture, deep in my spirit in prayer, in the sounds of nature.  Oh Lord, even now, your voice fills my soul with rest and assurance.  I am yours.  Amen

THIEVES IN THE SHEEP PEN

“Truly, truly, I say to you, He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.”  John 10:1

This conversation with the Pharisees took place after Jesus spat in the dirt, made a small portion of mud, and used it to cure a man’s blindness.  The religious leaders He was addressing had just demonstrated their heart, or lack of, for this blind man who had not seen a thing from birth.  They denied Jesus’ validity, attempted to point the man’s faith in the opposite direction, and then threw him out of the temple for his testimony.  It was clear that they had no heart for him, a sheep in their fold.  This man believed Jesus and came to  know his true shepherd’s voice. Continue reading “THIEVES IN THE SHEEP PEN” →

SINNING INTENTIONALLY

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.  John 9:41

It’s a humbling thing to look back into your past, see the ways you sinned, but then say…”I didn’t know better.  Oh God, forgive me.”  Though there was sin, there was not the guilt of knowing the truth and intentionally turning the other way.  Intentionality incurs a more severe responsibility.   Continue reading “SINNING INTENTIONALLY” →

BELIEVING

“And, who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”  Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”  He said, “Lord, I believe.”  And he worshipped him.  John 9:36-38

True believing in Jesus is to see His glory, repent, and worship Him above all else and all others.  It is to make Him my supreme treasure.  To sin is to value something above the value I place on Jesus. Continue reading “BELIEVING” →

WHAT COMES OUT UNDER STRESS

They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?”  And they cast him out.  John 9:34

Did the Pharisees really know the implications of what they were saying?  I doubt it.  They were simply indignant that an unlearned beggar was challenging them about the most controversial subject of the day.  Jesus.  In their arrogant rage, words tumbled out.  And lest I doubt that Satan uses the mouths of even religious people, their comment goes far to prove it.  When people are threatened, if their roots aren’t deep in the Word, statements that directly violate the kingdom abound. Continue reading “WHAT COMES OUT UNDER STRESS” →

OUT FROM UNDER THE RADAR 

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.  Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.  John 9:13-14

    Not only was it forbidden to heal on a Sabbath, it was also forbidden to make mud.  The making of mud would indicate that something was in the process of being built, therefore work was being accomplished.  Jesus could have just spoken a word to heal the man’s sight.  He didn’t.  He made a series of choices to perform this miracle in a most public way.  Instead of leading the man to a secret place, away from public view, he touched his blindness in front of spectators.  Instead of taking a prudent shortcut, he made mud and clearly violated the Sabbath Law.  A lot was at stake in the ways He chose to carry out this healing.  The message of the kingdom was to be declared.  That wouldn’t be possible choosing to live under the radar.  Continue reading “OUT FROM UNDER THE RADAR” →

NO TIME FOR COASTING

 

We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  John 9:4

 

I begin every day praying the Lord’s prayer; first in English, then in Hebrew.  I find that when all is said and done, the Lord’s prayer is sufficient to start my day.  That shouldn’t come as a surprise, since when asked how to pray, Jesus taught His disciples that prayer.  I’ve prayed it so much that most every part of it makes my spirit tremble at the profound nature of the request.  I used to quote it by rote, now each phrase is a longing. Continue reading “No Time For Coasting” →

ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”  John 9:4

    I don’t know if the blind man heard this conversation or not.  I hope not.  It never feels good to know that others might be discussing our trials.  Human nature predicts that there will be voyeurs who talk about our situation rather than pray for us.  Some will claim to know the reason for our struggles.  They might conclude that: 1.)  It’s generational sin.  “What do you expect?!  Her father was like that!”  2.) It’s personal sin.  “She’s getting what she deserves.  Don’t you remember what she did in 2001?”  3.) It’s testing.  “She’s weak in her faith and this must be God’s way of testing her.”   Continue reading “ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD” →

STUDY IT OR FEEL IT!

And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from his birth.  And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born bind?”   

    Engaging my heart rather than my head is always the more difficult choice.  To discuss something analytically feels much safer than to subject myself to the world of feelings.  Emotions are often unpredictable and hard to manage.  Thoughts, I can control, for the most part.

    The disciples saw a blind man, known in that town as one who had been blind from birth.  All a congenital blind person could do in that time in history was become a beggar.  Instead of feeling his plight, the disciples question Jesus about the theology of his suffering.  It was much easier to discuss his situation rather than invest themselves enough to enter into his life. Continue reading “STUDY IT OR FEEL IT?” →