Day 11

09 Feb Day 11

The Good Shepherd-The shepherd who lays down his life

WRITTEN BY: Stephen Vogel

Scripture: John 10:11 NLT– “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.”

I encourage you to read through John 10:1-21 to get the full context of the verse above.

Observation: A shepherd protects their flock of sheep because he/she cares for them. It is his/her job to rescue them from any harm and to provide for them. In this way, Jesus has done just that in sacrificing his life to rescue us from our sins.

Application: Have you ever had somebody ask you to sacrifice something that you really love? My wife and I are opposites in a lot of things, one of which is our opinions of video games. I love video games (perhaps too much) but my wife isn’t such a fan. Whenever a game comes out that I want, I have to have it! Within the past year, God has blessed us with a house and a baby on the way. However, that means finances are tight. The new Pokémon game was coming out and I had to have it but it wasn’t in the budget…my wife said I would have to sacrifice getting it because it wasn’t in the budget. (She was definitely right and the more reasonable of the two of us.) I was like, “Sacrifice!?! No way!” I say all that because as hard as it was for me to sacrifice a stupid video game, God sent Jesus to be sacrificed for our sins. Having only one kid (for now), I could never imagine doing this; watching them go through pain but it was all for a greater good!

God sent Jesus to rescue us from our sins because he is the Good Shepherd! God cares about you, even if you feel like nobody else does. He loves you unconditionally and is searching for you while you are lost. The Good Shepherd will search for you even if he has ninety-nine others; he cares about every soul! A shepherd leads his sheep and that is exactly what God does for us. He leads us into a rich and satisfying life with him! No matter how far we wander away or how distant we feel from God, he is always there beside each of us! He encourages when nobody else does. The parable of the lost sheep is a great read, it dives further into how much you are cared for! You can find it in Matthew 18:12-14 or Luke 15:1-7.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, I am able to live a new life. The fact that God would send his Son for someone like me is something I will never wrap my head around. That was just the starting point though, God has blessed me in many ways and it starts with listening to the Good Shepherd! He has brought me out of an addiction and into a life full of love and hope with an amazing family and church community! Now, I am able to help shepherd others that may be lost with addiction into a relationship with God and allow God to work love and hope into their lives! I encourage you to be the light and let God flow through you to help others!

Prayer: Dear God, I thank you for being my Good Shepherd! Though all are like sheep and wander away, you are always there to guide me back into your arms. I thank you for sending your Son to die for my sins and rescue me from a life apart from you! I pray, God, that I listen to your voice daily so that I do not stray. I thank you for being my rescuer, and that you are a good, good God! Amen.

Stephen Vogel/Plugged-In J-Teamer

Stephen has been going to The Journey for eight years and currently serves on the Plugged-In team at the Hockessin location. Stephen has a beautiful wife, Alyse, who is about to give birth to their second child. You can normally see his red-headed child, Finley, running around Hockessin on the weekends. Stephen loves to connect within the men’s J-Groups at Hockessin, where iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). In his free time, he likes to play video games and basketball, and dive into anything science-related.

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Next Steps:

Join us tomorrow for Day 12!

Look further into what a shepherd looks like in Psalm 23.

Listen to “Good Shepherd” by UPPERROOM and spend some time in worship.

Get connected in a J-Group! The men’s group I am in has impacted my life so much! The support and prayer has been such a blessing.

If you struggle with addiction, there is this Recovery J-Group to walk with you through it

Reflect and thank Jesus for his sacrifice and evaluate any areas of your life that you could sacrifice for more of God!

Go through Plugged-In and start serving on a team, sacrifice your time to help others in need…YOU WON’T REGRET IT!