Cattle
drives that we see in movies show the riders driving the cattle. However, sheep
are not driven, but led. They know their shepherd and willingly follow Him.
Jesus instructed us that His sheep hear and recognize His voice, and that He
intimately knows each one of us as we follow Him (John 10:27).
Jesus'
makes us, His sheep, lie down in thick, green pastures; He leads us to clear,
clean water to drink; if we go through the shadow of death, He is with us; goodness
and mercy follow us all the days of our life; and we will dwell in His house
forever (Psalm 23).
However,
if we continue to sin, we do not belong to Him (1 John 3:9). When He convicts
us of our sin, and shows us that He knows the secrets of our heart, we will either
walk away from Him or fall on our face in repentance and worship (1 Corinthians
14:25).
We
cannot find eternal life on our own, even by reading God's Word or by doing
good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is only as we trust in the Gospel of Christ,
and He knows us in a personal union that we are saved and sealed by His Holy
Spirit (Matthew 7:21-23; John 6:27).
Then we are able to trust in Him for our salvation and walk in His
ways. We reap His blessings continually and enjoy His presence within us
(Colossians 1:27). These spiritual truths allow us to see His divine Truth, such as the fact
that we are not of this world, and that Christ in us is our only hope of glory.
When
we belong to Jesus, His Spirit replaces in us our sinful attitudes and habits
with His spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). God strengthens us in our inner
being by His Spirit, and makes known to us the glorious riches of His mysteries
(Ephesians 1:12-13, 3:17; John 5:39).
These
spiritual truths allow us to see His divine Truth, such as the fact that Christ
in us is our only hope of glory. Then we are able to trust in Him for our
salvation and walk in His ways. We reap His blessings continually and enjoy His
presence within us (Colossians 1:27).
As
children of God, we address Him as our "Abba Father," because He sent
the Spirit of His Son into our heart. Even in times of persecution, God's
Spirit within us sustains us and also gives us the words to speak when our
beliefs are challenged (Galatians 4:6; Matthew 10:19-20).
Prayer:
Father
God, when we accept Your Son, Jesus, as our Savior, we have peace with You and
pure fellowship with Christ through Your Spirit (1 John 1:3, 7). We rejoice in
the fact that although it is always possible for us to get tangled up in sin
again, You give us complete salvation - if we choose to walk in it. You also
bless us with freedom from our flesh, the world, and the deception of the
devil.
Thank
You that if we love You, and obey Jesus' teachings, then You will love us, and
Your Trinity will come and make Your home in us (John 14:20-23). Just as You
and Jesus are one, You are in us as well, which make us one with You too. Jesus
will return for us, so that we can abide with Your Trinity for eternity (John
14:3, 17:15, 24). Thank You for protecting us from Satan's lies while we remain
on this sin-filled globe, and for giving us Your intimate presence in our heart
(John 17:15).
Thought
for the Day:
At
the moment of our salvation, we are crucified with Christ, and it is no longer
we who live, but Christ who lives in and through us; then during the remainder
of the life that we live on this earth, we live by His faith in us, because He
loves us and gave Himself for us.
-
Galatians 2:20
