Eyes on Jesus – Page 10

{Day 16}: The Door

October 16, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.

They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” John 10:7-9

Previously, in this series, we’ve spoken of other ways Jesus identified Himself–as the bread of life and the light of the world. Now we come to another of His “I AM” statements, where He tells us He is the gate. Some versions say, I am the Door.

Obviously, in this passage, we the people are the sheep. Does that make you squirm a little, too?

I have little personal experience with sheep, but I tend to think Ewww… Sheep are smelly, stubborn, stupid creatures, which follow blindly.

Then again, maybe we relate to sheep more than I thought.

One of the earliest Bible verses I learned was Isaiah 53:6~We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

The thing is, Jesus knew exactly what was in a sheep. And a man. And a woman.

He was still willing to be the Door for us.

I heard a preacher tell a story about the sheepfold and the entry gate. There was one entrance into the fold, and there wasn’t typically a gate or door at the entrance. So the shepherds would lay there in the doorway to protect the sheep at night from intruders like wolves or from storms or maybe even night wandering…sheepwalking? Don’t quote me on that last part.

The shepherds became the door of the fold. By laying down there at the entryway. For their sheep.

Jesus does this for us. He provides for our needs. He protects us from the evil one. Yes, trials and suffering come whether we are His sheep who listen to His voice, or not. But the enemy will not overcome us or snatch us away from Him.

As the Door, He’s not about trying to keep out the Black Sheep. He’s about sacrifice, about laying Himself down for us.

As the Door, He’s not about sheltering or withholding life. He opens the door, and we’re free to go out and then come back home.

May we always find ourselves at home in Christ.

But when we stray,

May we quickly find our way to the Door,

The Open Door who welcomes wanderers home.

{Day 15}: Love Your Enemies

October 15, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

Welcome back to 31 Days of Love in Red Letters.

I should admit, this is one of those weeks for me.

I think it’s called Post-Vacation Stress Disorder or something. It’s not pretty. I don’t know which end is up, basically. I’m still not sure which day we’re on. Laundry has taken over my upstairs hallway. It keeps multiplying.

I have so many little projects in the works, that some moments I have no idea where to even begin. This is a heavy week of school, because we missed a week when our co-op was in session. Now I remember why that was such a bad idea. 🙂

Something’s gotta give, so today, I’m keeping things here extra simple and just sharing a short passage.

Simple, except that these may be the hardest of Jesus’ words to follow in the whole Bible.

Jesus pretty much says: You’ve heard from people, that you should love one way. But I’m telling you to love a very different way. The way your Father loves. Perfectly.

Read these words from Matthew 5~

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

“He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

“If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

So there you go. Love others, period. Even–or especially–those who do you wrong. Because your Father loves this way.

He actively loves those who love Him back, and those who don’t. He wants us to do the same.

Another place we find His love in red letters.

Wishing you all a happy hump-day! It is Wednesday, right?

~Angela

{Day 14}: Of Light

October 14, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Do you ever read passages like this and think, but what does that mean to me, today? To us who believe?

In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:4-5)

Jesus is the “Light of the World” to me. I believe He is everything He says He is. But the bigger question? Is He my Life and my Light?

When God rescued the Israelites from slavery, and brought them out of Egypt, He showed Himself as the light on their way, day by day.

By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13:21-22

By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take. Nehemiah 9:12

The Lord went ahead of them, and yet His presence remained with them.

His light guided the way.

He told them when to move and when to stay.

He led them to the exact places He had for them to take.

In these ways, He was light and also the way to life for Israel.

In these ways, Jesus is our light, showing us His love and the way to life. Giving us His light. Making us light like Him.

May we live our days as children of light.

{Day 13}: Before Wheat Bellies & Grain Brains

October 13, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

Happy Monday morning, friends. Welcome back to 31 Days of Love in Red Letters.

I hope you’re ready to grab this week by the horns and do it up right. Me? Not so much. We vacationed at Disney World last week, with the kids. SO much fun.

But after the dozen-hour ride home this weekend, I’m coming down from my family-fun high. My Introversion is flaring up again. I’m afraid this week might grow its own horns, grab me against my will, and toss me around a bit. Just a hunch.

Before we jump into Scripture, let me ask you. Have you ever tried to cut bread out of your diet completely? And by bread, I mean crackers, tortillas, pitas, and other forms too. I’d guess nearly all of us have at some point. Bread has been written up and called out more times than I can count. In many opinions, bread and bread-related items are the great enemy of good nutrition and a healthy body.

It’s hard for us to give up though. As soon as you think you’re over it, somebody serves up warm pitas with fresh hummus at a family gathering, and Next Week flashes like neon lights inside your brain. You think, there’s always tomorrow. Because warm pitas. True story.

Nonetheless, other than for the love, it’s not a problem for us to stop eating bread. There are plenty of other even better options to fill our hunger.

It wasn’t that way in Jesus’ time though. They didn’t live in a food culture like ours, with overflowing marketplaces and restaurants beckoning on every corner. Food was not a hobby.

The people of Jesus’ day actually needed bread.

Obviously, they feasted. But not the modern Western way. Not all the time. They ate much less than we do, from what I gather. They went without sometimes too.

Jesus walked the earth before all the wheat bellies and grain brains. Bread was the most important part of their diet, and many existed on bread alone. They knew how important it was and appreciated its value.

Bread gave life. Bread sustained. They considered it almost sacred, and knew who provided bread for them daily.

Remember manna, the bread from heaven? While the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, God provided manna every morning. While manna was a miracle from heaven, it wasn’t the true bread of life.

In the 6th chapter of John, Jesus speaks with crowds who have followed him to the other side of the lake. They ask Him for a sign to help them believe and remind Him of manna. He tells them the Father has something much better than manna for them.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

A few verses later, Jesus again says, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that comes down from heaven…” (verses 48-51)

Jesus is the most important staple of our lives. Needed daily. In abundance. For life.

Oh Lord, give us this day our daily bread…

To start from the beginning of this series, click here.

{Day 10}: Waves of Grace

October 10, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

Welcome Back to Day 10 of 31 Days of Love in Red Letters! To begin this series at the beginning, click here.

When I started this blog in October 2012, I called it Waves of Grace, because God was in the process of showing me His grace for me everywhere I could possibly look. Today I offer one of my earliest blogs, entitled Even Waves Are Made of Grace:

From the FULLNESS

of His grace,

we have all

received

one blessing after another.

John 1:16, NIV

If you look through our travel scrapbook (from the days when I had time to scrapbook), you’d notice a theme. We’ve been to a lot of beaches. And we love them all, or at least this girl loves them all. My husband cares about rideable waves and surf zones.

I’m just there to take it all in~let the waves lull me into a blissful, relaxed state, and take a daily run down the beach. When I get to run down the beach, instead of down the road, I feel like I could keep running FOREVER…or approximately 5 miles, whichever ends first.

So what does John 1:16 have to do with the beach? According to my buddies Walvoord and Zuck, even waves are made of grace. Actually, what they say (in The Bible Knowledge Commentary) is that one blessing after another come to Christians “as waves continue to come to the shore.”

The Amplified version of John 1:16 says,

For out of His fullness (abundance)

we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with)

one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing

and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift.

Grace, blessings, gifts–all these roll in constant, as waves to the seashore. I think of standing on my favorite beach under an ever-changing sky, staring out over miles of blue I can’t see the end of, the waves like background music.

But this is not the way life feels from day to day. Rare moments of stillness or glimpses of beauty don’t trip me up. It’s the days I feel I’m running hard through sand that sticks, swimming tangled up in seaweed toward shore. And I admit, I don’t persevere through these gracefully.

Earlier this week, I filled my husband’s ears with just how hard this is (my life), when the kids won’t listen and I have so.much.to.do.it.hurts, and the calendar is packed, and there’s only so much time. While delivering this speech, I didn’t think about power in the waves I love so much or blessings that are mine.

He kindly led me away from the emotional ledge I sat on, and later, my Bible reading challenged me with the way Jesus handled problems. In John 6, the disciples had a huge, hungry crowd to feed and only a tiny amount of food to feed them. But BEFORE Jesus fixed this problem, he did one thing I easily forget.

He gave thanks.

I don’t know that I swim less tangled or run less hindered, but when I stop and give thanks–not only as a pre-meal ritual, but rather a constant recognition that all is grace and from the Father’s hands–I start to see the graces more clearly. I receive them.

Is this it? This small thing, all the difference between walking down the beach focused on thick, difficult sand or gazing out at sun-sparkled, glorious waves of grace?

Thank you for joining me for #31days. Now go out and weekend well!

If I can pray for you for any reason, please contact me at angela@angelaparlin.com.

See you Monday!

~Angela

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{Day 16}: The Door

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{Day 15}: Love Your Enemies

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{Day 14}: Of Light

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{Day 13}: Before Wheat Bellies & Grain Brains

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{Day 10}: Waves of Grace

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