John 10:9-11; “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
John 10:14-18; “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.” (ESV – all emphasis mine)
John 10:27-30; “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”
John 14:6; “Jesus said to him; I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Acts 4:12; “And there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.” And also Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
There are more and more folks who are saying that the Bible is nothing more than a collection of ancient fables, and not the Word of our Heavenly Father. Some are saying that my Jesus was just a good prophet, but not the Son of God as the Scriptures plainly state. Sadly, Satan and his demons are working overtime to try and convince as many people as possible that these false sayings are fact. As with Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, the devil’s lies are accepted over God’s pure and holy Word by many people.
We may think this would be a major worry of the Father; however, none of this is a surprise to Him. In various places in the Old and New Testaments, we’re told of what would be taking place near the end of this age. Jesus Himself said that in these times, there would be more people on the road to destruction than on the pathway to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14).
Even though our God could compel us to worship Him in any manner, shape, or form He might designate, He lovingly allows us to choose for ourselves whether or not we receive and accept the free gift that His Son provided for us. Jesus suffered a terrible agonizing death on our behalf so that, once and for all, we would have the perfect blood sacrifice. Never again will the Father accept the blood of animals, which was only a temporary measure, to begin with (Hebrews 10:4).
As our Savior said in John 10:18, He willingly allowed Himself to be our sinless blood sacrifice. He took the punishment that I deserve, and in its place, provided a pathway to be with Him in paradise forever.
Hank Williams wrote and released a song in 1949 titled “Jesus Died For Me.” It has been recorded by numerous others, yet his recording is my favorite.
1.) When everything goes wrong, and it seems all hope is gone, I remember how my Savior died. He died there on the cross so this world would not be lost; Jesus died for me long ago.
Ref.) Jesus died for me long ago, on a hillside far away. He was tortured and slain, God Bless His Holy Name; Jesus died for me long ago.
2.) What pain He suffered there, the Holy One so dear, so that you and I could live. I’ll try to repay for His sufferin’ on that day; Jesus died for me long ago. (ref)
3.) As He hung there all alone, His life’s blood almost gone, He never stopped praying for me. So I’ll follow all the way, and live with Him some day; Jesus died for me long ago. (ref)
One note: in the second verse, Hank wrote, “I’ll try to repay for His sufferin’ that day.” Some may say that this would be trying to earn or buy our Salvation. However, Ephesians 2:8-9 plainly states, “for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”
Our “payment” is to receive and accept the gift the Savior gave us, and to call on Him to forgive us of our sins, and to be our Shepherd forever (Romans 10:9-13). That’s it. No special deeds or donations will ever be acceptable.
We want to live for Him, even though He knows that we will sin as long as we’re in this human form. He was the only “human” to live a sinless life on this earth, even though He experienced temptations like we do. We have been provided a path to forgiveness when we do sin, and that’s found in 1 John 1:8-10. Our goal is to try to eliminate habitual sin from our lives. The only time we will be truly sinless is when we receive our forever immortal bodies, and a mindset such as our Savior has.
Once we are a part of His flock, Satan and his demons will do everything they can to cause us to fail. Our goal is to pray for strength to resist temptation; and when we do sin, to go to the Father and admit the sin and ask His forgiveness. He promises He will do so.
There was a story about Satan seeing a Christian down on one knee, and that person’s head was hung low. Satan figured he had an easy victim, so he started to approach with all kinds of temptations. However, just before he reached the person, he heard the words, “Amen, Father,” and the person stood up. Satan retreated into the shadows.
One thing we never want to do is to try and take the devil on all by ourselves. No matter how strong we may believe we are, he has had a whole lot of time to perfect his methods. When we feel weakness coming on, that’s the time to ask the Father to help us overcome them.
We have been given signs about the end of this age, and every one of them is present at the same time for the first time ever. The devil knows his time is limited, so he’s pulling out all the stops. Now, more than ever, we need to read God’s word daily, and pray without ceasing, as given in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.
There is a downside. As stated earlier, Jesus knew there would be more that would turn away from Him than would call on Him. He and the Father will force no one to call out to be saved. It’s an individual free-will choice that each of us must make. Those who refuse to ask Jesus to be their Savior will have a reservation at the Revelation 20:11-15 White Throne Judgment. At that point, there is no forgiveness, no pardons, no limited sentences. It’s forever in the lake of fire.
We do not know the day or hour that the Trumpet of God will sound and there will be a shout from an archangel. All who have truly received and accepted Jesus will be taken up to meet Him to keep us from the coming tribulation/wrath. That will be a time that no one needs to go through, but we must accept the free gift before that call. Today would not be too early to become a member of “one flock, one Shepherd.”
The Rapture is the next major prophetic event that takes place just before the entrance of the ultimate antichrist. With all the signs in place, and according to Luke 21:28, our deliverance is very near. This isn’t something anyone needs to gamble with. The loss could be devastating. Be sure of your eternal destination. Call on the Savior today, and your reservation will be confirmed.
Come, Lord Jesus!