Lose Your Life for My Sake

Acknowledging God

All Glory and Honor

John 10:11-18 The Message

11-13 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.
14-18 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”

For Reflection

Jesus was equivalent to God. Because Christ sacrificed his life, we are asked to sacrifice ours.  Some die for the love of God in Christ. They first died to their old self-centered life and were re-born into a new life in Christ.  Because of Christ, we can become equivalent to Christ, not in substance, but in form. Thus, we are saved from ourselves and reconciled to God.

Pray

Pray that you will worship God and follow Christ.  Pray that you will take on the cloak of Christ, die to your old life and mature into a new life in service to God. Pray that you will seek opportunities to become like Christ, a God collaborator.

Forward to a friend