smelly, fluffy farm animals

Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.- John 10:7-10

i think we give sheep a bad rap... because we are humans, we seem to think that we, of course, are far smarter than a farm animal- i mean, we created the iphone and democracy for goodness' sake! but are we really? are we wiser than a sheep? if you read verses 1-6 you might understand what i am saying a bit more "but they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” they do not recognize a stranger's voice.


  i am little ADD, it is extremely difficult for me to sit in a restaurant (or any other place for that matter) and give my full attention to the people i am dining with if other conversations are happening... it is hard for me to focus for extended periods of time- it is hard for me to listen to the voices that are familiar. i was reminded this week that there is a bigger problem... it is not just the voices in a restaurant that distract me- i am listening to a voice far stranger. 

my friends and i talk a lot about being lied to and how to fight the lies. it is my husband's mission statement. it is our marriage mission statement: 'to find and destroy the lies that cause people to worship themselves so that they can know God and His intent for them'. (i promise the sheep thing will make sense soon, if it doesn't already..) 

i know this post seems a bit disjointed, but i promise there is a point. bear with me here. i want to talk about sheep again....

when i was in high school, a close friend of mine presented a sermon about farm animals; i think the title was 'are you a sheep or cow'. we all laughed, of course. it stuck with me; it is still with me 10 years later. did you know that a sheep can hear and recognize their shepherd's voice among many others and will run to him? if you, as a shepherd, were to stand behind one of your sheep and yell, that the sheep would immediately run to get behind you. this makes the parable in John 10 make so much more sense... the sheep know their shepherd's voice. they will never follow a stranger...because they do not recognize a stranger's voice

i want to be more like a sheep- not just figuratively. i am desperate for this, for the Bride of Christ to know no other voice than of her Love- the One who laid His life down for her. i want to be so focused and in-tune with my Savior so that i cannot be lied to- you can't be lied to if you don't listen to the voice of a stranger. 

if you are reading this, i want to encourage you to find His voice in the crowd. when you hear it, run to Him. i know there will be times when you are not sure- i had many of those times this week. seek out the voice of your Love and try to drown out the others. if you cannot do it yet, i will fight for you as I am sure Christ is. 

hold on to a truth that you know so that you can find the voice that is speaking it. my truth this week was the Christ was my perfection and my friends fought for me so that i could hear His voice speaking far more than that.

Lord Jesus, restore my focus on You alone. I pray that You would fight the lies in all of us and close our ears to strangers. Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice, protection, and love. Help us become more like sheep so that we can follow you without distraction."