John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
     Jesus is the Door and the good Shepherd in Jesus’ parable. He’s a good shepherd because He will do whatever it costs to save His sheep—even to laying down His life. He is prophesying what He will do to save us and give us abundant life. God’s love: the sustained direction of the will (He lays) toward the highest good (salvation) of others (the sheep) no matter what the cost (His life). What a good shepherd we have!  We are His sheep. We are saved!  We are loved! Jesus, You are good indeed!

Live to Love Scripture Encouragements

Live to Love Scripture Encouragement John 10.11

1 John 2:11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
My guess is that most of us have tripped over something in the dark. That’s the scene John painted in this verse as he described those who have hatred in their hearts for a brother or sister. When someone walks in darkness, he can’t see where he’s going—namely, to Judgment Day when he will give an account of his life to Jesus. John said he’s not only walking in the darkness, he is in the darkness. 
Jesus described the person who walks in darkness as someone who also has the darkness in them. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matt. 6:23). When we live for self, we are consumed with the darkness of unbelief—the lack of faith in God. That inner darkness is revealed on the outside by a hatred for one’s brother or sister. Jesus taught that those who live in the inner darkness will eventually be thrown into the outer darkness (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). 
Presently, we who live to love with Jesus as walking in the Light because we have the Light of His life dwelling within. With Jesus, we are the outer light to those who are in the darkness and therefore walk in darkness. As long as the darkness in them is the “light” or the guide to how they live, they cannot see His love revealed in Christ or in us. However, at any point, God can open the eyes of their hearts to see His light. There is still hope for them as long as the outer light shines. We pray for God to open their eyes to the Light of His love in Christ and in us as we live to love them with Jesus.

The one who hates is in darkness

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
In Matthew 17:5, while Jesus was speaking to Peter, James, and John, "a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!'" This is the image portrayed in this verse, except the witnesses of chapter 11 are the cloud of witnesses whose ministries are not completed until we walk in faith to the end of our lives. God is collectively speaking through their testimonies, “These are my beloved sons and daughters in whom I am well-pleased. Listen to them.” Remember 11:6, “Without faith it’s impossible to please God”? We are surrounded by not only the people of Heb. 11, but also by other people who have been faithful examples to us in our lifetimes. These surround us like a cloud surrounded Jesus and His disciples. God speaks to us out of the cloud of witnesses. What does He speak?
First, every one of those examples of enduring faith had to lay aside every encumbrance, weight, or baggage that hindered them from pressing on in faith. Where did that weight come from? It came from not drawing near to God for grace and mercy. Think with me about Heb. 4:16. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Notice that the grace and mercy are conditional. One only receives grace for a trial if he or she draws near in faith. If one doesn’t draw near and abide in Jesus, then the storm in life becomes baggage because there’s no grace given. You’ve experienced this. You’ll notice the baggage you have accumulated on life’s journey comes from events or relationships where you didn’t abide in Christ and get grace to trust and love. So those events are now trigger points in your life. They are encumbrances to faith working through love. The only way you can move on is to lay those events aside by bringing them to Jesus and acknowledging that they are His to use for His glory in your life. All of the cloud of witnesses had to do this. How do they lay these encumbrances aside?
That leads us to the second thing: God speaks through these witnesses. To lay aside the encumbrances, they had to also repent of the sin of unbelief that easily entangled them and which also easily entangles us. Let me remind you of my working definition of unbelief. Unbelief looks at what we can see, experience, and desire on the earth. In contrast, faith focuses on God and His promises. Bitterness, unforgiveness, doubt, depression, discouragement, and hypersensitivity are all the consequences of unbelief—baggage that we carry because we didn’t draw near to the throne of grace to receive grace and mercy in time of need. 
Third, God calls us to also run our race that God sets before us with endurance. Faith recognizes humbly that everything that happens in life comes from God, so the faith of Christ might be displayed for His pleasure and glory in our lives. When we draw near to God with a humble heart and receive well the hardship and suffering that God allows in our lives, we can then lay aside the baggage that comes from the proudness and hardness of heart that develops due to unbelief. Then we can run with endurance for the rest of our lives. 
What baggage are you carrying from the past or present storms of life? You can lay them aside today and get free to run in love with Jesus by confessing you failed to abide in Christ in those storms and thanking Jesus for forgiving you of unbelief. Turn to Him now and give Him those events and relationships to carry. He carried them for you on the cross so that you may be free to live to love with Him. Listen to God speak from the cloud.

Listen to God speak from the cloud

This is the monthly blog by Norm Wakefield from www.livetolovewithjesus.com. To love like Jesus loves, one must believe and think the way Jesus believed and thought. This month, Norm, unpacks the first of three foundational truths that Jesus believed that are the bedrock of loving with Him.

Listen to God speak from the cloud

Norm Wakefield

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