The Voice of the Good Shepherd
by Jill Southern
This passage is telling us about Jesus the good shepherd and how we respond to Him as His sheep.
On a tour in Israel the coach stopped at a coffee stop which was near to a field of sheep.
As I looked over the wall, I was excited to see the Israeli shepherd leading the sheep and calling them by name. “Mary, Abby, Salome”.
As I watched, completely enthralled, the sheep were jumping up after him, and, if sheep can smile, they had really happy faces. The coach driver was standing there, and I said to him how fantastic the scene was for me, because it was exactly depicting the message of John Chapter 10 .
I was sad that I didn’t have my video camera with me, and could only take still shots, which didn’t fully capture this wonderful scene. But the coach driver told me not to worry, as he would stop here again tomorrow on our way to a different destination.
The next day, with video camera at the ready, I ran to the same wall, but, to my sheer horror, this time the shepherd had a stick and was whacking the legs of the sheep, and they were crying and running away as he shouted at them.
I called out to the coach driver "Look what’s happening today. The shepherd is hitting the sheep. It’s awful.” But he replied, “O no. That’s not the shepherd. That’s the butcher. He’s just bought them!"
What an amazing illustration of our Good Shepherd and the butcher of our souls. Jesus said Satan only came to steal, kill and destroy us (John 10:10). We’d better believe it.
Are you being driven? Then it’s not Jesus. He leads us out, calls us by name, and we choose to follow happily.
Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for calling me by name and leading me out. Help me today to listen for Your voice, to recognise it and to never follow the enemy, but to run away from him. I’m so glad that You’re the good shepherd who laid down Your life for me. Help me always to only follow You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jill Southern is the founder of Ellel Ministries Pierrepont and directed the work for 21 years. She has recently stood down from that role but still teaches on the NETS programme and has the passion to train and equip God`s people to fully walk in their destiny and calling. She is the Regional Director for Ellel Ministries International in South East Asia and China and is also on the Executive Leadership of the ministry.
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