For Reading and Meditation:      Luke 9:18-27Suppose a tiny seed had a will of its own and decided to save itself by refusing to be buried. It would abide alone. It would save itself but would not save others. When it decided to be buried and die, then the result would be a golden harvest. Take a mother: she goes down into the valley of the shadow of death to bring a child into the world. When the child becomes ill, a loving mother forgets herself and spends her strength to give everything she has to the child. The spirit of self-giving is the most beautiful thing in life. Through it life rises to the highest level. "The extent of the elevation of an animal and of course any free moral agent," said Pascal, the great French Christian and philosopher, "can be infallibly measured"by the degree to which sacrificial love for others controls that being." Here is a law by which life may be evaluated and judged. When the sacrificial spirit is absent from life, that life is of the lowest kind; where it is perfectly embodied, that life is highest on the scale of being. Is this law to be found in God also? I believe it is. If this law holds true on earth but is reversed in relation to God, then laws are meaningless and the universe is without a Head. Then the highest in mankind would be better than God. But such is not the case. God is not a disappointment. The cross shouts out to all who will hear that the universe has a sacrificial Head. O Father, how could I know that there is an unseen cross lying in Your heart unless You had shown me by the outer cross raised up on Calvary? Such revelation is almost too much for me to comprehend. Yet it is true. My gratitude will just not go into words. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>John 12:17-26</li><li>John 10:11</li><li>Romans 5:6</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Jesus liken Himself to?</li><li>How did He illustrate sacrificial love?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (v. 24) 

For Reading and Meditation:      John 10:1-18I said yesterday that I subscribe to the supervisal inspiration of the Bible. I believe God led the minds and hearts of the writers of Scripture to go to the right sources for information, to come up with the required data, and in the process protected them from exposure to error, deceit, or imposture. He supervised them in their research, in their reporting, and when He spoke directly to them He was there also to make sure that they received clearly the message He wanted to convey. Ian Macpherson puts this truth most powerfully in his book The Faith Once Delivered when he says: "As in the mystery of the Incarnation, God linked Himself to humanity, so in the mystery of the inspiration of Holy Scripture, God made use of human channels, yet He never surrendered His Divine authorship or permitted the Book to become the word of man rather than the word of God." Another writer, H. O. Mackey, put it like this: "Who built St. Paul's Cathedral? So many masons, carpenters, iron-workers, carvers, painters - and then there was Wren. He was not a mason, or a carpenter ... and never laid a stone. What did he do? He did it all. He planned it, inspired it with his thought." Mackey does not intend to dishonor the workmen who toiled hard and long, but simply to make the point that in the final analysis St. Paul's Cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece. Who wrote the Bible? Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John, Peter, Paul, and many others. But whose book is it really? It is God's. O God, it is the entrance of Your Word that brings light and the neglect of Your Word that brings darkness. Help me to expose myself more and more to that light, so that I may walk through life with a sure and steady tread. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Revelation 22:12-21</li><li>Deuteronomy 4:2</li><li>Deuteronomy 12:32</li><li>Proverbs 30:5-6</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What was the conclusion of the writer of Proverbs?</li><li>What was John's warning?</li></ul></div></div>

"... and the Scripture cannot be broken ..." (v. 35) 

Beloved, are you in the fold of Jesus? Are you numbered with His sheep? Are you feeding and resting among them? Jesus presents Himself to us this morning, in a very lovely character; He says, "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD."There is no other shepherd so good or so great as He. He has the tenderest affection for His flock. He affords them His powerful protection. He finds them plenty and suitable provision. He gave His life to redeem them. He sends his spirit to sanctify them. He is preparing a place in heaven to receive them. He will eternally dwell among them and bless them.Oh, how great is His goodness! He is indeed abundant in goodness and truth. He says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." What glorious security! What honour is conferred on the flock of Jesus! GOOD SHEPHERD, keep us near Thyself.Never let us wander, no, not for a moment; but may we be always delighted with Thy love.The least, the feeblest of the sheep, To Him the Father gave; Kind in His heart the charge to keep, And strong His arm to save.

Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.

The Believer's Daily Remembrancer

I am the good Shepherd. - John 10:11

The Bible is fairly full of tokens of God's marvelous care for His people. During Israel's forty-year trek through the wilderness, they ate food from heaven (Exodus 16:4), had an unfailing supply of water (1 Corinthians 10:4), and were equipped with shoes that never wore out (Deuteronomy 29:5).It is the same in our wilderness journey. To prove this, our Lord reminds us how His care for us is so much greater than His care for birds, flowers and animals. He speaks of sparrows, for instance. He provides their food (Matthew 6:26). Not one of them is forgotten before God (Lu. 12:6). Not one falls to the ground without Him (Matthew 10:29), or, as H. A. Ironside said, "God attends the funeral of every sparrow." The moral of the story, of course, is that we are of more value to Him than many sparrows (Matthew 10:31).If He clothes the lilies of the field more beautifully than Solomon was ever attired, He will much more clothe us (Matthew 6:30). If He makes provision for the care of oxen, how much more will He care for our needs (1 Corinthians 9:9).As our High Priest, the Lord Jesus bears our names on His shoulders - the place of power (Exodus 28:9-12) and on His breast - the place of affection (Exodus 28:15-21). Also our names are engraved in the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16), a fact that inevitably reminds us of the nail wounds He sustained for us at Calvary.He knows the exact number of the hairs of our head (Matthew 10:30). He numbers our tossings at night and keeps count of our tears in His book (Psalms 56:8 RSV).Whoever touches us, touches the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8). No weapon formed against us can prosper (Isaiah 54:17).Whereas the heathen carry their gods on their shoulders (Isaiah 46:7), our God carries His people (Isaiah 46:4).When we go through the waters, the rivers or the fire, He is with us (Isaiah 43:2). In all our afflictions, He is afflicted (Isaiah 63:9).The One who guards us neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalms 121:3-4). Someone has called this characteristic of God "the divine insomnia".The Good Shepherd who gave His life for us will not withhold any good from us (John 10:11; Psalms 84:11; Romans 8:32).He cares for us from the beginning of the year to the end (Deuteronomy 11:12). He bears us even to old age (Isaiah 46:4). In fact He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). God really cares!

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"He careth for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

John 10:1-18SHEPHERD is a very rustic name for Christ, and yet as used in the Scriptures, it is wonderfully rich in its suggestiveness. In the Old Testament there are many allusions to God under this figure of a shepherd. The twenty-third psalm is a Bible classic. Perhaps no other portion of the Scriptures is so widely known, or had had such a ministry of blessing in the world, as this rustic little psalm. The ancient Christians found in the name "shepherd" a beautiful interpretation of the character and word of Christ. In the catacombs at Rome no other picture is so common, as that of the Good Shepherd.The tenth chapter of John's gospel is so full of great teachings, that only a few leading suggestions can be pointed out. At the beginning of the chapter attention is called to the sheepfold. Applied in a spiritual sense, the fold is the shelter which our Good Shepherd provides for His sheep. The sheepfold is an enclosure surrounded by a wall into which in the evening, the shepherds lead their flocks, committing them for the night to the care of the under shepherd, who guards the door. In the morning the several shepherds come and knock, and the porter opens the door, and each shepherd calls his own sheep, which know his voice and come out to him. He then leads them out to the pasture for the day.The fold is enclosed by a wall. A wall means defense and shelter. The Bible says much about God's keeping of His people. We are not told, however, that the Lord builds a refuge for them - but that He Himself is the refuge - the divine love and power being a wall of protection between His people and all danger. The safest place in all the world for the sheep of Christ - is in the place of confidence and obedience. We have but to obey our Shepherd, staying within the fold, to have His protection. We have only to do God's will, to go where the Good Shepherd leads, to abide where He puts us, in order to be sure of divine defense.The shepherd's love and care are individual and personal. "He calls His own sheep by name." It is easy enough for us to understand how an Eastern shepherd may know each of his sheep by name. His flock is small, and he can readily know each one. But when we think of the millions who are in Christ's flock, it seems strange to us that He should know and call each one of all His by name. Yet the truth is made very clear in the Scriptures. It is as easy for our Good Shepherd to know each of His millions personally, as for any human mother to know the name of each one of her little family of children. There is great comfort in this teaching. We are not lost in the crowd. Love always individualizes its object. We cannot love a crowd - we may pity a city in distress, as after the horrors of an earthquake, and yet not know one person in it. But if we have a brother, a child, or a friend among the sufferers - we know the one. Our Good Shepherd loves each one of His own.<div class="center-it mtb10">A little child of poverty, who had been adopted by a kind man, said he was glad to belong to somebody. It is pleasant for us to know that we belong to Christ. He speaks of His sheep as "His own." They are His own, because the Father gave them to Him. "Yours they were, and you gave them to me" (17:6). They are his own because He gave Himself for them. "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). They are His own, further, because they have voluntarily given themselves to Him. It is very sweet to think of ourselves in this way belonging to Christ. The words suggest love, closeness of relation, tenderness of affection.</div>The Good Shepherd presents Himself also as the Guide of His flock. He "leads them out." "He goes before them, and the sheep follow him." He does not drive them - He leads them, and they follow Him. They love Him and also trust His guidance. They know that they are safe wherever He takes them. Sheep need to be led; they have no such instinct for finding their own way, as most other animals have. Set certain kinds of dogs down anywhere, miles from where they have been staying before, and they will find the way home by instinct. You cannot lose a dog. But a sheep cannot find its way anywhere. The same is true of human souls. They get lost very easily, and are willful and wayward. They need to be led, and without the divine guidance never could get home. But if Christ leads, we who are His sheep must obediently and cheerfully follow Him. The reason we have so many troubles in life, and get so often into difficulty and danger - is because we do not follow Him as we should.Not only are we to follow Christ - but we are to follow Him only. "A stranger will they not follow - but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." This is always true of sheep. A stranger's voice frightens them, and even when he calls them by their right names, in imitation of their shepherd's voice; and they will flee from him, rather than come to him. They know His voice to be strange, and will not answer His calls. It ought to be so with Christ's sheep, too. They should know when the voice they hear - is not really their Shepherd's, and should not give heed to it.Voices of strangers continually fall upon the ears of young Christians, especially of inexperienced Christians. There are many temptations which would lure them away from the fold, into paths of wandering, ending in ruin. There are false teachings which seek to dishonor Christ and make His believing ones love Him less and trust Him less confidently. There are solicitations of pleasure which lack the note of purity and truth - voices of the stranger. There are invitations to things that appear to offer gain, to promise reward - but which, in reality, have only loss and hurt and ruin to give. Everywhere the voices of strangers are heard, and, unfortunately, too many are willing to listen to these voices. Those who do - are lured away, often into peril and destruction. We need to be sure that the voices we hear are of the Shepherd, calling us only and always to things that are beautiful and true and good.Not only is Jesus the Good Shepherd - but He is also the DOOR. "I am the door of the sheep." A door is a way of entrance - those who come though Christ are admitted into the blessedness of God. As many as receive Him, become children of God (see 1:12). This is a Door that is always open. We need never fear coming to it and fining it shut. In the representation of heaven as a city, in Revelation, there are twelve gates, three on each of the four sides. No matter from which way we approach, we shall always find a door of entrance.When we enter the fold through Christ as the Door, we find provision with Him. "By me if any man enters in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." The shepherd looks well to the feeding of his flock. He leads the sheep into green pastures. He searches everywhere to find food for them. When one spot is burnt up with the summer heat and has no more provision for his flock - the shepherd takes them elsewhere.So does Christ. Wherever He leads us, we may always be sure that He is taking us to some good, some provision, some blessing. The Bible is Christ's pastureland, and the pasture there is always good. Wherever we open it, we find something to feed our hunger. Other books may have poisonous teachings - but every word in the Bible is wholesome food for our lives. The fields of providence are also Christ's fields. In all the common ways of life - we find food waiting for us. We may trust Christ absolutely, because we know that wherever He leads us, He is always taking care of us in the right way. When the shepherd led his flock through the dark valley, it was not to terrify them - but to get them to a place where they would find pasture. Sometimes Christ leads His people through dark ways of struggle, trial, loss - but it is always because these are the ways to some good which He has in waiting for them.The Good Shepherd loves His sheep, loves them so much that He stops at no sacrifice in protecting them and saving them. "The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep." The Eastern shepherd often has to fight battles for His flock. David tells of killing a lion and a bear in defense of his sheep. Sometimes the shepherd in defending his flock against wild animals - is himself wounded; sometimes he even loses his life in protecting them. Our Good Shepherd has wounds upon Him, and if we ask when He received them, His answer is, "In defending My sheep!"At present Christ's sheep are widely dispersed. They are scattered over all the world. But at last there will be a great home-gathering, when all the flocks shall be brought together. "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring… and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd." One of the saddest things about the church as it is in the world today - is the separation of believers into different denominations. In heaven all shall be brought together, from the north, the south, the east and west - and all shall be found at last in the one flock with the one Shepherd .

A unique type of devotional from the writings of James Russell Miller, published between 1908 and 1913.

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

John 10:1-18

Jesus the Good Shepherd

The Chief Shepherd. § I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own… My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. § I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. § I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick. § You were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 Our Lord Jesus . . . that great Shepherd of the sheep. 

As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself … As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. § I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep … I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father. § No one comes to the Father except through Me. § He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. § For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Evening Daily Light

 God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 

11 <woj>“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. </woj>

<woj>“I am<cr>1</cr> the good shepherd.<cr>2</cr> The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.<cr>3</cr> </woj>

John 10:11

 11 “I am   the good shepherd.   The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

<woj>“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. </woj>

 “I am   the good shepherd.   The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  

Bible Verse of the Day

September 13, 2023

John 10:11 NIV

Verse by Verse Bible Study

More on the web

Group of Brands