It’s easy for Christians to fall into a rut: Church is a thing you do, prayer is a box to check, and faith seems far from “the real world.” This fall we let Jesus himself confront our ruts. “Do you believe this?” he asks (Jn. 11:26).
To believe in Jesus is to experience him. It’s more than logic, argument, and doctrine. It is intimate knowledge of God himself. This fall, let Jesus himself speak to you in his seven “I AM” statements in the gospel of John. How is he changing you? What response is he inspiring in you? To believe in him changes everything.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ponder
Today we ponder the I AM statement: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Think about your favorite door – your house, your church, a favorite old building, etc. Ponder all the things that doors do – protect, guard, welcome into a home . . . . How is Jesus a door for you?
Word
John 10:14,16
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me … they will listen to my voice”
Meditation: Known and Loved by Jo Saleska Lange
For me, there is nothing so life-giving as a long conversation with a good friend. A few weekends ago, my best friend from college flew in from Los Angeles for a short visit. After our babies were fed and asleep, we left them behind with our husbands and walked to a wine bar in my neighborhood. We sat out on the patio beneath the string lights, sipped our wine, and poured out our hearts to each other late into the night.
It had been months since I’d had a one-on-one, kid-free conversation with a friend, and I hadn’t realized just how badly I ached for that kind of deep connection. Humans are created with a need for close relationships, and to feel truly known and loved by another person is one of the most sublime feelings in the world.
As John 10:10-18 reveals, Jesus deeply desires a personal, conversational relationship with each of us, too: “I know my own and my own know me,” he says. “… they will listen to my voice.”
What stands out to me in these verses is the emphasis on knowing and listening. Yes, I believe Jesus as my Lord and Savior, but do I really try to know him personally? Do I listen to his voice when he speaks?
In her book Discerning the Voice of God, Priscilla Shirer points out that God’s tendency to speak directly to his people is what distinguishes our Christian faith from pagan religions. She writes,
“[The] conversational nature of our relationship with the Almighty makes our faith unique. It isn’t based on rules or regulations, on rugged pilgrimages to make, or sacred rivers to bathe in. The foundation of our faith is on sweet fellowship with God, who clearly, biblically, wants our relationship with Him to be both intimate and interactive.”
In this season of my life—a season of dirty diapers, runny noses, marker stains, and sleepless nights—I often feel anonymous and lonely. But as I meditate on the Scripture for this week, I am reminded that Jesus the good shepherd is always near, that he knows me personally and loves me deeply, and that if I have the ears to listen, I will hear him speak.
Dear Jesus, Thank you for knowing and loving me. Help me to make space in my life to hear and recognize your voice—through Scripture, through prayer, and through the mouths of other believers. Amen.
Prayer
Jesus, you said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” I often feel left outside, far from you. Bring me in. Welcome me into the home of your presence. Be my door, for you alone are my security. Amen.
Benediction
The Lord preserve us from all evil; the Lord preserve our souls. The Lord preserve our going out and our coming in, from this time forth, and even forevermore. Amen. (Ps. 121:7-8)