The Good Shepherd

John 10

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

"What is a sheep?"

One of the world's foremost sheep ethologists defines a sheep as a "Defenseless, wary, tight-flocking, visual, wool-covered ruminant (Cud-chewing animal)

We are all familiar with the reputation of the sheep. They are dumb, mindless, and wandering. It begs the question, why would Jesus refer to his followers as sheep? While we may not fit the wool-covered (Some men are the exception) Cud-chewing description, the other adjectives seem to be a perfect fit. We are defenseless, we are wary, and this is why it is imperative that we learn the voice of the "Good Shepherd."

The scripture urges us to "Stay Alert" (1 Peter 5:8) for the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion." While the sheep are defenseless on their own, they remain protected in the presence of the good shepherd. The more I grow and mature the less confident I feel about my ability to do anything great apart from the shepherd, he is "the gate," he is my protector, he is my defense, he knows me and I know his voice, he lays down his life for his sheep.

He wants us to rely on him. He is calling us; do we recognize his voice? He lays down his life, are we willing to do the same?

I leave you with 3 ways to know the voice of the good shepherd...

1.) Stay close (James 4:8)

2.) Stay in the fold (Hebrews 10:25)

3.) Keep your eyes fixed forward (Phil. 3:13)

-What are you doing daily to recognize the voice of the good shepherd?

Daily Bread

Psalm 105:3-5

New Living Translation (NLT)

³ Exult in his holy name;
    rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
⁴ Search for the Lord and for his strength;
    continually seek him.
⁵ Remember the wonders he has performed,
    his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

The Lord is reminding me daily of the importance of "continually seeking him."  So many times we have so much going on around us that our times with the Lord seem to be moved to the back burner.  If we have time we may read or pray for a few minutes at the end of the day, if not we push it farther down the calendar until often times we go weeks without spending time in the word or in the presence of God.  I shared a thought a couple of weeks ago on Twitter that really stood out to me in reading through the Lord's prayer with my family.  Jesus said, "pray like this,"  and in that prayer model he instructed us to ask God for our "daily bread."  I am convinced more than ever that if I am going to stay near  the heart of God and stay in the middle of his plan for my life that I need to be searching for him and his strength continually.

In the body of Christ there are so many who are spiritually anemic because they are not being filled with the all-important presence of God.  In the same way our bodies begin to grow tired and deficient our spirits become weak when we fail to take in the proper "spiritual nutrition."  We need our daily bread in so many ways, we can't continue to grow and move forward if we are relying on yesterday's intake.

I know that we are busy, I know that we have schedules, but I also know how desperate we are as a people for the presence of Almighty God.  I think Bill Hybels says it best in this excerpt from "Too Busy Not to Pray."

“If you lower the ambient noise of your life and listen expectantly for those whispers of God, your ears will hear them. And when you follow their lead, your world will be rocked.”
― Bill Hybels

Let your world be rocked today by the all-consuming presence of God.  What you can accomplish when you daily relinquish control to him will be nothing short of miraculous.

Counter Culture

^{Hebrews 6:11-12
11} Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. ¹² Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.


-Spiritually dull and indifferent may sound like a common occurrence in the lives of most Christians.  There are most certainly times of peaks and valleys.  There are those moments when we feel as if God is close enough to touch, and then there are those times when we feel he is a million miles away.  


The truth in the words of Hebrews are some of the most poignant when it comes to the strategy of fighting those "desert" experiences in our walk with Christ.  It is easy to find ourselves discouraged when we look in the mirror and remember every spiritual flaw.  It is easy to feel dry and empty when we think of all of the disappointments that we have experienced.  The writer of Hebrews proclaims that to avoid these moments of being "Spiritually dull and indifferent" we must "keep on loving others as long as life lasts."


It turns out that the believer who takes the focus off of them and places it on others stays sharp and filled with vision to accomplish the things God has called them to.  If we want to stay strong we must go against the grain of our culture; they long to be fed, they want to boost their resume's, and they are constantly climbing to the top of the ladders of success.  The word of God says that to become the greatest you must become the least.  The word of God says that God opposes the proud but he lifts up the humble.  The word of God says if you want what is best for you then you can't constantly look in the mirror, but instead look in to the eyes of others.


Where are you looking today?

The Gift of Grace

Ephesians 2:8-9

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

The gospel is over-scrutinized, over-debated, and in many cases over-thought in many circles.  If you were expecting a deeply theological post surrounding the tenets of faith this might not be your cup of tea, but  the gospel is made simple by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.  You were saved by grace because you believed.  It is no reward for the good things you have done, instead it is a gift from God so you can't take credit for it.

If you are anything like me you probably tend to compare yourself to others so you can feel better about your shortcomings.  It is natural, we don't want to be the worst, we don't want to be the most out of shape, we don't want to have the most inexpensive car or home, we often find comfort in the flaws of others.

What is so powerful about the gospel is that it totally breaks down the walls of comparison.  No one is greater, no one is stronger, no one is more deserving; instead all are on a level playing field as recipients of a free gift called grace.  You don't have to stack up, you don't have to be first in line, you don't have to be first in your class; in the eyes of God we all needed a remedy and it was freely given in the form of the person Jesus Christ.

If you are wondering if you are worthy; you're not.  If you are wondering; do I deserve the blessings of God; you do not.  This amazing grace is  a gift, we don't deserve it, and we can't earn it.  What I love the most is that no one can boast about it.  From the greatest to the least, we were all in the same perdicament, and even still God loved us enough to send his son, not as a reward for the "good things we have done" but as a gift.

One Accord

The unity and support that have been shown over the last two weeks concerning our AHOP family have been nothing short of miraculous.  Phone calls, e-mails, and social networking have sky rocketed in an effort to lift up Baby Judah and the Robinson family, and it has been an absolute eye opener to the power of prayer.

It has me thinking about the church and how it would take on a new identity if we prayed with this kind of "fervency" and frequency on a regular basis.  What if the airwaves were being bombarded daily with prayers for the church, its people, and the community we've been called to impact? What if thousands of people began to be unified in their focus of seeing God move in a way like never before?  These are hypothetical questions at the moment, but I believe that what we have experienced recently is establishing a foundation of prayer.  That moniker was God-given, and I believe more than ever before we must live up to our name, "A House of Prayer."  Prayer moves heaven, prayer changes things on earth, and maybe most powerfully, prayer changes perspective.  When we grow closer to God, suddenly external circumstances become less daunting, our troubles may be big, but our God is greater.


Acts 2 ¹And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.


-The church was desperate for God to move.  Every thing they had known was in question and they were surrounded with doubts.  In response they did the only thing they knew how to do and that was to pray; God responded by changing the course of history.  Are we desperate for God to move?  Are we willing to be in "one accord"?  Are we ready to plant ourselves on our knees and proclaim that we will not move until God shows up?  We serve an infinite God, let's begin to bombard heaven with big prayers, and may God prepare our hearts for the transformation that will take place.  

If God is for us...

^{Romans 8}

³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³² Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^[o]) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

There is not much that anyone could add to Paul's words written to the Romans, but I will  try to encourage you with this reminder; "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."  Despite your feelings of insecurity, despite destitution and danger, and even despite death, we have victory through Christ.

Today you could be facing the toughest battles of your life and the enemy would have you believe that trials in this life come from God or speak to his absence.  Allow the Holy Spirit through the powerful word of God to encourage you today; he loves you; and there is nothing that can change that.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

*God is for you today, if you are anything like me you probably need the occasional reminder.  If you feel like the obstacles in the path are larger than you can handle on your own then you are correct.  You were never meant to face them alone.  God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Seek him, spend time with him, experience the vast nature of our God; when you see the greatness of our God it is much tougher to see the greatness of your trials.

#Godisbigger

Actions speak louder than words...

1 John 3:16-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁶ We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister^[a] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.


-Pastor Greg Delaney shared from this portion of scripture as we shared in communion on Sunday, this morning I was led to this portion of scripture as I prayed over my family, and as soon as I turn to Bible Gateway I see that the verse of the day is none other than 1 John 3:16.  I don't know about you, but when I see and hear from the same portion of scripture several times in a two day period I am certain that God is trying to tell me something.


"We know what real love is."  Millions of people are searching for the very elusive, "True Love," and as followers of Christ we have everything they are so desperate to find.  John tells us that since we understand real love that we should also give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.  Whether it be through generosity or compassion the church should be living the way Christ taught us, and that is to see others as more important than ourselves.


This is not an easy spiritual concept.  I dare say that all of us struggle to consider someone else and their needs to be more important than our own.  This is why we need to hit our knees and ask with humility and desperation that God would give us a heart transplant; that he would deposit his heart in to the church.


Later on in that portion of scripture John speaks a very powerful six words.  He states that "God is greater than our feelings."  We are self-centered and egotistical, but God is greater than our feelings.  We are lazy and unmotivated, but God is greater than our feelings.  We are proud and closed-minded but God is greater than our feelings.  He is bigger than our faults and inabilities, and he wants to use us to bring his love to the masses.  The only way we can accomplish great things for Christ is if we understand that he is greater.  


Love with his love, share the way he shared, let our actions show that we belong to the truth; and let the truth change the world around us.

A Way of Life

^{1 Corinthians 12}

²⁹ Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? ³⁰Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! ³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

   But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Paul tells the church that everyone wasn't going to operate in the same gifts as everyone else.  Some were meant to do miracles, some were prophets, some would even have the gift of interpreting unknown languages.  He also encourages each of them to earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.  What I love is that after speaking of all of these amazing gifts, he goes on to say, "But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all."

1 Corinthians 13

Love Is the Greatest

 ¹ If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.  

In Paul's letter after referring  to these amazing gifts in the body of Christ, he makes certain that everyone clearly understands, that the greatest gifts mean nothing without love.  God's will for us is made plain; love people.  Love until it hurts, invest until you are bankrupt, cry, pray, and give, to see that others experience the love of God.

-We may sing, preach, and prophesy, but without love our voice will go unheard...

God Offers Comfort

Fresh off the heels of Pastor Anna's message on Sunday I am reminded of God's grace and overwhelming presence in times of our frustration.  It seems as if everywhere I turn the Holy Spirit is reminding me that we were never promised smooth sailing on this earth, but we were promised that we would never have to navigate the storms alone.

This morning on "Bible Gateway's Verse of the Day" was yet another reminder of God's faithfulness when we are at our weakest.



2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“[God Offers Comfort to All] All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”


What really grabbed my attention from this portion of scripture is how the comfort from the Holy Spirit is not only meant to encourage us, but to empower us to offer comfort to others.  We are going to face trials, we are going to be in over our heads, but in the middle of it all God is thinking about us; and maybe even more powerful than that is that God is thinking about all of the people your story is going to make an impact on.


Find comfort in our "merciful Father" today, and once you are back on your feet get moving and give that comfort away.  There is a desperate world waiting to hear your story.

"Another" Advocate

John 14:15-17
 ¹⁵ “If you love me, obey^[d] my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,^[e] who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.


In Max Lucado's book, "Fearless" he gives an empowering explanation of this advocate that Jesus promises.  He describes the word preceding "advocate" in this portion of scripture, and this word is "another."  Of course we understand this word as being a replacement, but Lucado helps us to understand that another in its Greek origin actually means "another like the first."  


We don't always understand the Holy Spirit and all of its functions, but we can be encouraged by this simple thought today; Jesus didn't promise merely a substitute when he went back to the father, instead he promised an advocate that was the mirror image of himself.


We don't have the honor of walking with Jesus in the flesh, but as believers we literally have the same power of God living inside of us.  In the middle of the storm, the Holy Spirit says, "Peace, be still."  When our faith is flailing, the Holy Spirit encourages and empowers us to stay strong.  




^{Ephesians 1:19-20
19} I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.


We have an advocate with the Father, and he was not sent as a replacement, but as God, in us.  Whatever you face today remember the "incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him."

Secure Investment

In finance we always hear of diversifying;  we want to have stock options, we invest in 401k's, we are constantly watching our mutual funds and lipper averages all in an effort to assure financial security.  It turns out that investing in eternity is about putting all of our stock in to one "account" and that is the kingdom of God.  I have been thinking along these lines as I take a look at our calendar and realize how bombarded our schedule truly is.  I am sure you can relate; church, school, soccer games, pta meetings, and making dinner just to name a few.  The Lord has been challenging me to make certain that I don't become so busy that I lose focus on the things that are truly important.  Eugene Peterson makes it really plain for us to understand in the Message:

Matthew 6:33

The Message (MSG)

 ^30-33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

When we invest our hearts and lives in to our relationship with God then he has an amazing way of putting the pieces of the puzzle in the proper order.  Where are you investing your life today?

On the eve of "Ahop's Got Talent"  I am truly amazed at the gifts and abilities of God's people within our church.  In every area there are people being raised up to carry the torch of ministry at Ahop.  It begs the question; what are you doing with what God has given you?  You are not an artist by accident.  You don't have the voice of an angel to simply fill your shower with heavenly tones.  You weren't blessed with the hands of a skilled craftsman so you could build bird houses in your garage.  God has placed specific skills and abilities in to his people with flawless design.  What we do with those talents is up to us.  Paul urges the Colossians to "work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  When we use our talents to honor our creator then and only then are we operating in the way our maker intended.  Think of ways you can use your God-given abilities this week to honor God and enhance the lives of others.


Romans 12:6-8

As the amazing crew continues to remove and tear down the remnants of Ahop's future home, it reminds me of the Spiritual renovations that are often necessary in the heart of the believer.  Of course we want to be brand new.  We all love the word "upgrade."  Whether it be a new phone, a bigger television, or a new vehicle, we all want the latest and the greatest.  When it comes to becoming spiritually renewed we often have to remove the old.  We have to remove our old way of thinking, we have to remove old habits, occasionally we have to move on from old relationships.  Christ promises new identity in him, and there is no upgrade that can match that.  As you remember Ahop's endeavor in your times of prayer consider what God is trying to renovate in your own life.  He has tremendous destiny in store for our church and for its people, let's keep our eyes on him and he will bring us to the land he has promised.

AHOP Super Sunday

This is an exciting time to be a part of AHOP.  We are on the verge of tremendous transformation in more ways than one.  We are thankful that you and your family have chosen to call A House of Prayer your home church, and our commitment is to offer the very best in spiritual development for people of all ages. We are only a couple of  days away from the Super Bowl, and I know Pastor Brooks has a tremendous message in store.  If you've never been a part of baptism at AHOP, especially on Super Bowl Sunday, you haven't truly lived.  It is going to be a tremendous weekend, and there is the matter of the big game as well.  This is the first of many posts from A House of Prayer, stay tuned for devotions, sermon teasers, and encouragement from our pastor, and enjoy "Super Weekend" at AHOP.