John 10:11-15

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.¹² The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. ¹³ This happens because he is a hired man and doesn’t care about the sheep. ¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, ¹⁵ as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. I lay down My life for the sheep.”

Praise God that we worship the One who laid down His life for His flock! Yes and Amen! Even more, Jesus stated that He holds the right to lay down His life on His own and the right to take it up again because the Father has given His this right! Neither human hands nor principalities can take this right away! The powers of this world thought the cross was the end; they believed they won – that hope was forever lost. However, mighty God – our Shepherd willingly laid down His life for His flock. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, He sealed the gift of eternal life and fulfilled God’s kingdom purpose to restore and revive His people! The true character of a good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his flock. A bad shepherd believes the flock exists for his purpose alone. Keep your eyes open to the spiritual truths and wolves in sheep’s clothing! The Bible beams with Christ’s character defined in terms of Altruism! 

Psalm 145:7 states, “They will give a testimony of Your great goodness and will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.” Knowing that the one and only true God sent His Son as our good Shepherd, which included laying down His life for His flock should make us all want to “joyfully sing” of His righteousness. Even more, verses 9-10 state, “The Lord is good to everyone; His compassion rests on all He has made. ¹⁰ All You have made will thank You, Lord; the godly will praise You.” Dear brothers and sisters, the good news of our faithful and loyal shepherd should ignite joyful singing and spontaneous praise – why – because He is worthy! Again, prayerfully mediate on this passage and record what the Holy Spirit is trying to teach you.  

I am thankful for our good Shepherd- Jesus! He continues to watch over His flock as He is alive and well. He holds the keys of death and He is worthy of praise and honor. When confronted with the gospel, does your spirit leap in joyful song and spontaneous praise or do you find yourself stagnate and lukewarm? Oh dear friends, you can either be hot or cold. Do not believe the lies of the devil. Christ warns of this very thing in Revelation 3:16, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” There is no need for further clarification. Today is the day! I choose to be on fire for Christ! Where do you stand at this very moment? The good shepherd is waiting for a full commitment.

P.S. I am thankful for a God-fearing, praying spouse. Today’s passage was inspired by my dear wife, Aimee, who sharpens me daily. The Holy Spirit is speaking, and my personal prayer is that I am always listening. I want to be but a vessel in sharing His goodness and word as the Spirit leads. I am thankful for a spouse and inner circle that ignites a Spirit-filled life – ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

Thankful,

Christian Armetta