1 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:13,039 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture, 2 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: a Calumning Scripture Center devotional podcast designed to help you 3 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: end each day with God's word in your mind and 4 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: on your heart. Right after this short word from our sponsors, 5 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: will reflect on tonight's scripture, John chapter ten. Tonight's scripture 6 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: reflection is written by Peyton Garland and read by Lea Gerard. 7 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: John chapter ten. Very truly, I tell you, Pharisees, anyone 8 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, 9 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: but climbs in by some other way is a thief 10 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: and a robber. The one who enters by the gate 11 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 1: is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the 12 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: gate for him, and the sheep listened to his voice. 13 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 1: He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 14 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: When he has brought out all his own, he goes 15 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,320 Speaker 1: on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because 16 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger. 17 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: In fact, they will run away from him because they 18 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: do not recognize a stranger's voice. Jesus used this figure 19 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he 20 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: was telling them. Therefore, Jesus said again, very truly, I 21 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All 22 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but 23 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate. 24 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 1: Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come 25 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes 26 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come 27 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: that they may have life, and have it to the full. 28 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down 29 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not 30 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: the shepherd and does not own the sheep, so when 31 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and 32 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flop and scatters it. 33 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: Man runs away because he's a hired hand and cares 34 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I 35 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:14,079 Speaker 1: know my sheep, and my sheep know me, just as 36 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: the father knows me, and I know the Father, and 37 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:22,080 Speaker 1: I lay down my life for the sheep. I have 38 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 1: other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I 39 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, 40 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The 41 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: reason my father loves me is that I lay down 42 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: my life, only to take it up again. No one 43 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: takes it from me, but I lay it down of 44 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, 45 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: and authority to take it up again. This command I 46 00:03:54,800 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: received from my father. The Jews who heard these words 47 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: were agan divided. Many of them said, he is demon 48 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him? But others said, 49 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: these are not the sayings of a man possessed by 50 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? 51 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: Then came the festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 52 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: and Jesus was in the temple courts, walking in Solomon's colonnade. 53 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, how 54 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: long will you keep us in suspense? If you are 55 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: the Messiah? Tell us plainly, Jesus answered, I did tell you, 56 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: but you do not believe the works I do in 57 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: my father's name. Testify about me, but you do not 58 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep listen to 59 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 1: my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I 60 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:07,600 Speaker 1: give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No 61 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, 62 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: who has given them to me, is greater than all. 63 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: No one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 64 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: I and the Father are one. Again, his Jewish opponents 65 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, 66 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: I have shown you many good works from the Father. 67 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: For which of these do you stone me. We are 68 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: not stoning you for any good work. They replied, but 69 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:43,600 Speaker 1: for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God. 70 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law 71 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: I have said you are gods? If he called them 72 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: gods to whom the word of God came and scripture 73 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: cannot be set aside? What about the one whom the 74 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: fathers set apart as his very own and sent into 75 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: the world. Why then, do you accuse me of blasphemy? 76 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: Because I said I am God's son. Do not believe 77 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: me unless I do the works of my Father. But 78 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: if I do them, even though you do not believe me, 79 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: believe the works that you may know and understand that 80 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: the Father is in me and I in the Father. Again, 81 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. 82 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,720 Speaker 1: Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place 83 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,600 Speaker 1: where John had been baptizing in the early days. There 84 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: he stayed and many people came to him. They said, 85 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: though John never performed a sign, all that John said 86 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: about this man was true, and in that place many 87 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: believed in Jesus. What's so endearing about Jesus is that 88 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: he goes before us and behind us as we follow him. 89 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: He promises in Psalm twenty three that goodness and mercy 90 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: follow us. His fullness encapsulates us on all sides. What 91 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: peace this springs. But to access this gift, our faith 92 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: must be active. Following God is a conscientious choice that 93 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 1: requires us to move forward. It only works in the 94 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: present tense of our physical, mental, and spiritual being. That's 95 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: the beautiful but raw truth of free will. It grants 96 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 1: us choices. It lets us know that the Good Shepherd 97 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: is there, his gate flung open for us to come in. 98 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: But as John ten three says, the sheep must come in. 99 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: The sheep must choose to step into Jesus's richness, trusting 100 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: that he will keep them safe within the fold. This 101 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: trust requires obedience, though it means that the sheep not 102 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: only hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, but follow 103 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: his lead. Will the sheep always obey, of course, not 104 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: will the sheep delay due to fear. Absolutely will the 105 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: sheep stray, yes, and often. But the beauty of following 106 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: the good Shepherd, even when following him means failing along 107 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: the way, is that he never leaves his own behind. 108 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: He's a gentle, nurturing, attentive, forgiving, protective father, unwilling to 109 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: let his sheep be a bay. He has sacrificed far 110 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: too much to leave a single one behind. Father, grant 111 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: us the courage to trust that you are far more 112 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: than we could ever have imagined. That you stay with 113 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: us and love us with a love that only the 114 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 1: good Shepherd can. May we lean into your voice, obeying 115 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:32,959 Speaker 1: without a second thought, knowing that your ways are best. 116 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 1: May we give feet to our faith and continue moving forward, 117 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: believing that your goodness surrounds us and will lead us home. 118 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: Just as the Psalmist proclaimed, we want for nothing. Lord, 119 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: let us hold firmly to this truth and live in 120 00:09:53,240 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: the freedom and joy it brings. In your Holy name, Father, God, Amen, 121 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: how did tonight's scripture speak to you? Share your thoughts 122 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: in the Your Nightly Scripture Forum discussion. Thank you for 123 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: listening to your nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture was read from 124 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: the New International Version by Biblica. All rights reserved. If 125 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: tonight's episode blessed you, be sure to follow the show 126 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts so your next nightly scripture is ready 127 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: when you are. Your Nightly Scripture is a production of 128 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: Life Audio and Salem Media. Thank you and we'll see 129 00:10:53,520 --> 00:11:02,680 Speaker 1: you tomorrow Night, No Long