Monday 1-7-08

Greetings Internet Campus,

Welcome to Monday! We are going to make a little change here on the devotional blog. From now on, the daily devotionals will tie in directly to last weekend's message. For example, yesterday, Pastor Garland spoke on the Shepherd in our new series...thus, this week we will be talking about Shepherding and how to follow Christ...

I hope you like the new format and pray that it will help us as we try to live out the lessons from the weekend.

Today we're going to look at what a Shepherd is.

John 10:11-13 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

Shepherds are willing to lay down their lives to protect those that are under their care. Today, as you start this week...reflect on that. You serve a Savior who was willing to lay down His life so that you don't have to spend eternity paying off the debt that sin causes....separation from Him and death. Isn't that amazing? It is the cornerstone of our faith...

Sometimes we might be tempted to believe that Jesus takes care of us like the hired hand in this passage. We might falsely think that He protects us because of what we do for Him....what we provide for Him. We might think...if I read my Bible...go to church...etc....Jesus will love me more. That simply isn't true. Jesus loves us, protects us, and laid down His life for us because of His love for us. His love and care is unconditional and complete. He is the only Shepherd we will ever need.

Challenge for the Day: In your journal, write down today's definition of Shepherd. Every time you start to feel anxiety today...remember that you are being protected by Someone who died for you...and let God handle what is troubling you.

Pastor Brian