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 10:15-17 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them," He then says, "And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
What is your view of Scripture? Is it like the author of Hebrews, who when he reads the Scriptures, reveres it as the testimony of the Holy Spirit? Today I want to encourage you with this great reality. As we live to love with Jesus, we have the testimony of the Holy Spirit as our source of authority, hope, encouragement, and guidance. 
Every time a Scripture comes to mind to encourage or guide you as you love, you are receiving the word of God. As we think through all that we are faced with in life, we can test our thoughts and attitudes by the Holy Spirit’s revelation contained in the Scriptures. Will the Holy Spirit testify that what I am doing and saying is of God? 
Remember, when we come to stand before God on the Day of Judgment, it will be the witness of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures that will either testify against us or for us. We want to walk in the truth. What is the truth? A definition I have used for decades is this: Truth is what God sees, says, and does. The Holy Spirit gives us an explanation of the truth through the inspiration of the Scriptures. 
We can’t walk in love with Jesus if the testimony of the Holy Spirit isn’t abiding in us. Jesus told His disciples, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” Jesus’ words recorded in John 15:7 are the witness of the Holy Spirit, just like the words of Jeremiah 31 contained in these verses. 
May we walk in love with confidence that we are walking in the truth. I encourage you to honor and revere the Scriptures. Read them often. Memorize them and meditate on them. Let the word of Christ richly dwell in your hearts so that the fruit of the Holy Spirit may be evident for the glory of God.

The testimony of the Holy Spirit

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.

The testimony of the Holy Spirit

Norm Wakefield

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