Enter the Door

 John 10:9
I am the door: by me if any man enters, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

There are many who will claim that there is more than one way to have eternal life, to have life more abundantly. Religions throughout history have pointed people to a way of life that will bring peace and life. Jesus says that all these religions are false, and are like thieves and robbers, deceiving people to follow them. To the Pharisees, He tells them that He alone is the true way to God. Following all of their forms and rituals will not bring fullness of life. Christ is the only gate (door) that a sheep can use to find pasture to feed and live life to the full. Those who listen to His voice and respond to His calling will be saved. There are many voices out in the world that call, and Satan will do all he can to lead the sheep to follow him, but those that heed God’s word, listen to what God has to say and follow it, will find that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and Life. Don’t be fooled by those who say there is more than one way. They have been deceived and the devil uses them to destroy life. They are out to steal and rob your soul. Follow the voice of Jesus, heed His calling and enter the door that leads to green pasture.

He Knocks at your Door

 Rev. 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
The iconic visual of Jesus knocking on the door has been illustrated by hundreds of artists through the centuries.  A simple Google search will show that in almost every picture there is no door handle on the door. The knock is soft and gentle. I can imagine Jesus speaks as He knocks, “Hello, anyone home? Can you hear my voice? Can I come in? I would love to sit down with you, have fellowship with you and dine.” We live in a culture that once feared and regarded God’s word, but now, Jesus is put on the shelf and treated as a relic of the past. Self sufficiency and self reliance is the mantra of humanistic thinking. “You don’t need God's help, you can do it!” Positive thinking is a good mind set, but outside of God it is vain. Jesus knocks, and desires to be the center of your life,  the hope that keeps you going and believing that all things will work together for good.  He is knocking at the heart of your door, wanting to have communion with you. Only you can let Him in, He will not enter uninvited. Don’t allow the worldly things of this world to crowd out the voice of Jesus. Listen, and open the door, and break bread with the one who loves you.

The Still Small Voice

1 Kings 1912  And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Life is filled with a lot of noise, and we are in need of finding a place where we shut out the world and the

 clamor. The world vibes for our attention and keeps us from listening to the still small voice of God. The responsibilities of work, the amusements and entertainment of life, and everyday conversations with others. All are part of life, and are good and acceptable, but if not put in their place, they can keep us from hearing the voice of God. We need to find our cave, open our ears and hearts, and hear what God has to say to us. It is here that we find solace and begin to know God in an intimate way.

I Am Well Pleased

Mat. 3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus laid down His God powers to become man and live and walk this earth as a human being. And in all points was tempted as a man, but without sin. The God-Man lived His life to please the Father. At no time did Jesus use His powers to serve himself, but always to serve others. He could have turned stone into bread, called the angels from heaven to destroy those who meant Him harm, but he choose to live and suffer as a man. The voice from heaven affirmed the work that Christ and it pleased the Father. Each one of us has a calling from God to fulfill that which is well pleasing to Him. We but need to listen to His voice and follow His will. May we also hear from heaven those words “My son, my daughter, I am well pleased with you.”

Hear The Voice of God

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

To truly hear the voice of God one needs to be a follower of Jesus. God speaks to all of humanity to entreat them to be followers, but the intimacy of fellowship and communion with a God that is divine, comes from living close to God. He will speak to us anytime and anywhere, but we can hear Him better when we are able to shut the world out around us and take time to get alone with Him. Finding a trysting place, to shut out the things that beg for our attention is not always easy.  We can hear His voice and know His desire as we read His word and meditate on His truths. We shall know Him more intimately as we listen and follow His commands. 

The Voice of the Lord

Psalm 29:4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

God’s voice speaks to all men to come unto Him for His yoke is easy and the burden is light. No matter where we live or where we go the voice of God can speak to us. His voice speaks when we are in a crowd of people or alone in a solitude place. His voice can come like a bolt of lightning or like the settling mist of the morning dew. I long for the day when His voice say, “Well done my faithful servant…enter into the joy of the Lord” Many today do not hear the voice of God, they have allowed the things of this world to captivate their attention. But God is faithful, and He will give everyone an opportunity to open their hearts and listen to His voice. I love to hear Him speak, through the reading and preaching of His word, through the lives of others, and His Holy Spirit that quickens our mind and heart to hear what God has to say. 

Talking to God

2 Chron 6:19 “Have respect therefore to the prayer of Thy servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee:”

Basically, prayer is just talking to God. When we say, “I’ll be praying for you”, we are telling that person that we will talk to God about them and their needs. Prayer implies that there is a relationship established. It is not likely that we would be approaching strangers and start up a conversation. That is not to say that we never do, but it is not something we normally do. But, if we see someone we know, we visit and talk about what is happening. Having a relationship with Jesus, gives us an open door to talk to Him at anytime of the day. Continue always in prayer is to continue to speak to Him no matter where we are or what we are doing.  Depending on our needs, this conversation with God can take on different facets as we enter into conversation. God desires us to come to Him and make our needs know, He hears our voices as we lift them up heavenward. It is good to take time out of the our busy day to talk to God, putting aside the busyness of our day and just have an intimate talk with Him. May we always have an open heart and listen to the voice of God and take time to stop what we are doing and have a quiet visit with the lover of our soul. 

I Am The Door

John 10:9 “I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”-

To enter into the Kingdom of God one must pass through the door. Heaven’s gates are open only to those who have right of passage. Many will attempt to find their way to God through some other way. They will claim that the way to eternal life and peace is to be a good person and treat people with respect, others will say that as long as you are sincere in your worship to a god, you will be allowed to enter into heaven. Those who don’t want to offend anyone, will say that their are many ways to God and that Jesus is not the only way. There are those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but require that getting through the doors of heaven one must follow all the rules of the church, rules that were man written. Jesus is the only Shepherd that stands at the door of heaven’s gate and all who desire to enter into the shepherd fold must do so through Christ. For those who enter, they listen to the voice of the shepherd and desire to obey His word. It is a witness of God  that the sheep know their shepherd because they hear His voice and follow. All who refuse to listen and follow do not belong to the Shepherd. They are pretenders and they will be revealed as the black sheep in the day of judgment.