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Jul 182010
 

John 10 is part 4 of the John Study I really enjoy! Why? Because the words of Jesus give abundant life!! Jesus want to be our good Shepherd. He takes care of his sheep. And who are the sheep? We are!!

I hope you are learning about the One who give life to the fullest!! Join me and read John 10 and find out how you can have abundant life in Him!!

John 10 (Good News translation)

John 10I Am the Good Shepherd

1 Jesus said, “I am telling you the truth: the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who goes in through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him; the sheep hear his voice as he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out. 4 When he has brought them out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow someone else; instead, they will run away from such a person, because they do not know his voice.” 6 Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what he meant. 7 So Jesus said again, “I am telling you the truth: I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All others who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life – life in all its fullness. 11 “I am the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep. 12 When the hired man, who is not a shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away; so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hired man runs away because he is only a hired man and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me. And I am willing to die for them. 16 There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17 “The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I may receive it back again. 18 No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do.” 19 Again there was a division among the people because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon! He is crazy! Why do you listen to him?” 21 But others were saying, “A man with a demon could not talk like this! How could a demon give sight to blind people?”

I and the Father Are One

22 It was winter, and the Festival of the Dedication of the Temple was being celebrated in Jerusalem. 23 Jesus was walking in Solomon’s Porch in the Temple, 24 when the people gathered around him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? Tell us the plain truth: are you the Messiah?” 25 Jesus answered, “I have already told you, but you would not believe me. The deeds I do by my Father’s authority speak on my behalf; 26 but you will not believe, for you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than everything, and no one can snatch them away from the Father’s care. 30 The Father and I are one.” 31 Then the people again picked up stones to throw at him. 32 Jesus said to them, “I have done many good deeds in your presence which the Father gave me to do; for which one of these do you want to stone me?” 33 They answered, “We do not want to stone you because of any good deeds, but because of your blasphemy! You are only a man, but you are trying to make yourself God!” 34 Jesus answered, “It is written in your own Law that God said, “You are gods.’ 35 We know that what the scripture says is true forever; and God called those people gods, the people to whom his message was given. 36 As for me, the Father chose me and sent me into the world. How, then, can you say that I blaspheme because I said that I am the Son of God? 37 Do not believe me, then, if I am not doing the things my Father wants me to do. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, you should at least believe my deeds, in order that you may know once and for all that the Father is in me and that I am in the Father.” 39 Once more they tried to seize Jesus, but he slipped out of their hands. 40 Jesus then went back again across the Jordan River to the place where John had been baptizing, and he stayed there. 41 Many people came to him. “John performed no miracles,” they said, “but everything he said about this man was true.” 42 And many people there believed in him.

 Posted by at 4:28 pm
Jun 222010
 

Have you witnessed any Christian miracles? Today miracles still do happen and I want to share one that happened recently in Turkey. Dan and Devri Wickwires, who are missionaries, share this story:

Several weeks ago, a family from Toysa were told that if someone needed healing they should visit our church, the Batikent Protestant Church in Ankara. The family was concerned for their 40 year old relative, a man mentally disturbed and habitually walking the streets as a crazy man.

The man was filthy with a long unkempt beard, urine stained pants, and fingernails over an inch long. He could not talk, he was not in his right mind, and he had been in this condition for about 5-6 years. The relatives asked our Pastor if there was anything he could do to help. Our Pastor said, “Jesus can help, but you must believe that He can help.” The relatives said, “If we didn’t believe He could help would we have come 5 hours to see you?” Our Pastor then gave the man a long hug, placed his fingers in his ears and prayed for him. When he finished praying the crazy man surprised everyone by asking, “Why did you put your fingers in my ears?” He could speak!

Later, for the first time in 5 years the man was able to tell them his name. A week later the church received a phone call from his relatives saying that the man was now cleaned up, no longer wandering the streets, and still in his right mind!

The interesting thing is that the day before this family came to our church; the missionary pastor had just made a motorcycle trip to their town to meet with another seeker. When the family of the healed man learned this they asked the missionary pastor to visit them also!

We are praying that God will use the testimony of this man’s healing to open up the people of Toysa to the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

There are many Christian miracles today. God is the same yesterday, today and forever! In the Gospel of John, there are numerous miracles that Jesus did. (The first one is seen in John 2 where Jesus turns the water into wine at the wedding in Cana)

The greatest miracle of all was when Jesus came to this earth in human form so He could die for our sins!! (See John, Chapter 3, verse 16) Don’t you want to know Him?

 Posted by at 4:29 am
Dec 312009
 

Are you looking for a new beginning? Then you have come to the right place! This blog is to help you have a new life! There is new life if you look at quotes from Jesus Christ.

In the book of John, Chapter 6, Jesus says,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. “I am the bread of life.”

Wow! What great news. Jesus has life for you and me!

In Matthew 16, Jesus says it is costly to follow him.

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.“For whoever wishes to save his Or soul life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

Jesus also speaks about a new spiritual life. In John 3, Jesus says,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born Or from above again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

But God also demonstrated his love. In John 3, Jesus says,

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His Or unique, only one of His kind only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Do you want a new life or a new beginning? Then pray and ask Jesus to come into your life. If you believe it with your heart, He will wipe away your sins and give you a new life!

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, Or there is a new creation he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

If you prayed this prayer and want help getting to know your Savior and friend, contact me today and I will help you start a book of John study.

Get the gift of life and have a new beginning in Jesus!

 Posted by at 5:45 pm
Nov 302009
 

Why do you celebrate Christmas? Jesus is the reason for this season! December 25 is the day we  celebrate the birth of Christ. Here is a great video that shows what Jesus did for you and me. Do you want to know Him? Join me and let’s work on a John study together.

Merry Christmas!

 Posted by at 11:56 am
Nov 232009
 

Do you know the purpose of Thanksgiving? The tradition of Thanksgiving is a time to focus on God and thank Him for His blessings. This tradition dates back almost four centuries in America! It is from the Pilgrims that we get our current tradition of a Thanksgiving that includes prayers to God and a meal with family and friends.

As children, we are told the story of the Pilgrims at Thanksgiving.They arrived in America in December 1620 and experienced a harsh winter of extreme hunger and starvation in which half of them died! The following summer, the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest. Pilgrim Edward Winslow affirmed, “God be praised, we had a good increase of corn and by the goodness of God, we are far from want.”

The grateful Pilgrims then declared a three-day feast in December 1621 to thank God and to celebrate with their friends. Ninety Wampanoag Indians joined the fifty Pilgrims for three days of food and prayer. (Some of the food included shellfish, lobsters, turkey, corn bread, berries, and deer.) This celebration was America’s first Thanksgiving festival. It was the origin of the holiday that Americans now celebrate each November.

The first national Thanksgiving was proclaimed in 1789 by President George Washington. After President Washington, national Thanksgiving proclamations were sporadic. By 1815, state governments had issued no less than 1,400 official prayer proclamations, almost half of which were for days of thanksgiving and prayer.

Then, in the first half of the nineteenth century, Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale began to lobby for a national Day of Thanksgiving. For nearly three decades, she contacted president after president until Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of that November.

Over the next seventy-five years, presidents faithfully followed Lincoln’s precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day, but the date of the celebrations varied widely. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt celebrated Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November and maintained that date year by year throughout his presidency. In 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving holiday.

So, what is the purpose of Thanksgiving? To thank God for His blessings! Have you thanked God today? In John 6, Jesus thanked our Heavenly Father when he ate food. Not even Jesus, the son of God took food for granted! We don’t have to wait for a holiday to thank God. We can thank Him every day!

To get the complete history and purpose of Thanksgiving, visit Wallbuilders.

 Posted by at 4:05 pm
Nov 082009
 

Do you wonder about life and eternity? Life is eternal – scripture (the Word of God) says it is. Many times you may watch sci fi movies about mortal beings that live forever and they are hundreds of years old in the story.

Life is a little like that. You and I will live eternally. Not here on this earth! Typically humans live 75-85 years and we die because our bodies are decaying.

But our souls don’t die and we live for eternity.

So you ask the question, “How can we live forever? How can life be eternal? And what scripture is there to stand behind that statement?”

That is why this blog was put together. To study the book of John that you might know the assurance of eternal life.  Email me so I can help you study the book of John or read my other web pages and find out how life is eternal! Scripture will show this to you and you can come to know God’s free gift of salvation!

 Posted by at 8:17 pm