said the cowboy to the wife

“it’s true.”

“What??” was her reply

“Sheep really are faithful followers.”

The cowboy had moved their small flock of sheep from the lower lot to the upper pasture. The sheep fearlessly journeyed through the noisy lot full of things that scare sheep. Swing sets, sandbox, picnic tables, corral panels and yet…… they faithfully followed the cowboy without hesitation…

John 10 shares much about the Good Shepherd and His sheep.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd described three characteristics of His sheep:

• they hear His voice
• they follow
• they shall never perish

In my 13+ years of public education I worked under four different administrators.  Each one lead differently.  One a dictator, another more free bird style, the other two shared similar qualities but one stood out.   Directions were explicit.  Expectations were clear.  Do your job.  Do it well.

I find comfort in knowing what is expected of me.  As a teacher, I listened to and submitted to the authority of my principals.

As a believer, I am instructed to listen &  follow Him.

How can something that sounds so simple be so hard?

How can we hear His voice?  How can we know that we know the voice we hear is His??  There are soo many voices.  So much noise.  Life is loud.  Kids are LOUD.  Work screams. Social media SHOUTS.  How can we hear Him in the midst of it all? We must get ALONE WITH HIM.  What does your alone time with Jesus look like?  Just this year our boys are old enough to understand and be trusted to leave me be during my quiet time.  They KNOW unless they are bleeding, throwing up or on fire  NOT TO DISTURB me during my quiet time.  We use that slogan A LOT here..feel free to try it at your house -it works. We are self employed and we home school.  We don’t do well with schedule or exact times. We are more routine driven.  Meaning we do things in the same order each day verses an exact time.  The boys know breakfast, momma’s quiet time, morning chores, teeth and devotion so it doesn’t matter if we start at 7,9, or 11 ?  For years I fit my quiet time in when I could.  It was pathetic and my walk proved the same more days than not.  To hear from my Lord I must HAVE A STANDING APPOINTMENT ALONE WITH HIM-DAILY..Without it – I am no good.

What does it mean to “follow Him”?  It means just that.  Follow Jesus.  Remember the childhood game, “Follow the Leader”..it’s that except it’s not a game.  It’s real.  It’s life.  To “follow Him”  is to speak as He speaks.  Love as He loved. Serve as He served.  How can we know how He spoke, loved and served??  We MUST GET ALONE WITH HIM…study Him.  Read about Him.   (see above paragraph)…  But I’m scared.  and what about _____? and _____? and _______?  God is faithful.  If I could reach through this screen I would tell you of the countless times that Jesus has carried me, rescued me, saved me from emotional ruin.  Financial derailment.  Some really yucky, scary stuff.  I promise.  He is good.  He is trustworthy.  FOLLOW HIM.  You won’t be sorry.

What is “…they shall never perish.”??  It’s life eternal.  For real.  A life that never ends IF we choose to FOLLOW HIM.  I once heard the story of a man with a looonnng rope.  One inch of the very, very, very long rope was painted red.  The rest of the looonnng rope was not painted.  He said the red part is this life.  Our work, money, play, all the suff we do and stay in such a wad about and then -there is the rest of the rope.  It represents eternity.  Eternity is forever.  For those who have trusted in Jesus, sought His forgiveness and surrendered their life for His – “..they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My Hand…   My Father and I are one.” John 10: 28b;30

A life that can never be taken away..one that will never perish can only be found in Him.

Jesus, the Son of God.  The Good Shepherd.  The One who came so that we could have eternal life.

Please get alone with Him.  Follow Him, surrender to Him as best you know how..Let today be the first day of the rest of your life with Him.

love y’all