Author: Brian Burdett

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” – John 10:14-15

Jesus IS the good shepherd. He knows each and every sheep in His flock and we know Him. If you believe in Him – trusting that He is the Risen Son of God and your Lord, then you’re part of His flock and He is your Good Shepherd! If you haven’t yet put your trust in Him, then Jesus is inviting you to become part of His flock right now by believing in Him.

As your tender, kind, and loving Shepherd, Jesus cares for you, watches over you, protects you from the spiritual attacks of the enemy, guides you, directs you, corrects you, and nurtures you. He is intimately familiar with every detail of your life. He knows the good, the bad, and the ugly about you and He will love and shepherd you through it all.

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus already laid down His life for you. He suffered and died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. In doing that, He bought your freedom from bondage to sin and death. He suffered God’s righteous wrath for sin so you won’t ever have to. He was condemned so that you won’t ever be. Jesus redeemed you from the curse of sin and its terrible spiritual consequences. Jesus set you free and made you new by His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9

This is the ever-present, wondrous grace of God! As Christians, we will inevitably sin. We shouldn’t, but we will. We aren’t forced to, but we will. It shouldn’t be a habit, but it will happen from time to time. We mustn’t be content with it, but it’s going to happen. We must fight to crucify the sin remaining in our lives, but some days we’ll lose the battle. When that happens… when we sin, which we will… God always stands ready to forgive us.

The grace that God offers you as a gift you don’t deserve and can’t possibly earn doesn’t stop when you first put your trust in Christ as Lord. God’s grace is far more amazing than that! God’s grace continues to be available throughout your earthly walk with Jesus. Whenever you sin, simply recognize that you have sinned. Don’t argue about it, don’t rationalize it, don’t excuse it, don’t try to hide it, and don’t pretend it didn’t happen. Confess any and all sin to God, asking His forgiveness in Christ. When you do, God will forgive you every…single…time.

When you stumble into sin, don’t let your frustration, guilt, or shame leave you there. Don’t listen to the lie that God couldn’t possibly forgive “that”. Whatever you may have done, confess it to the Lord and He will not only forgive you, He’ll make you completely, 100% clean. God’s grace is sufficient to cleanse you from every sin, every shame, all guilt, all embarrassment, and any humiliation. Let it!

Take time right now to confess your sins. Ask God to help you remember them and confess them specifically. Embrace God’s perfect cleansing and total forgiveness. Allow yourself to be embraced by God’s love, grace, and mercy. God is faithful and He is just. He will always forgive you in Christ!

“Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'” – John 9:3

Living as we do in a fallen world means that there are many, many reasons for suffering and misfortune. The disciples tried to simplistically draw a line between a man having been born blind and sin by him or his parents. That isn’t necessarily how the effects of the Fall work! We do sometimes suffer because we or someone close to us sins but often we don’t. Sometimes we suffer because someone sins against us. Most commonly, we suffer because creation itself has been damaged by the fall into Sin (not because of a particular sin). From this broader corruption of God’s perfect creation comes natural disasters, diseases, disabilities, and death.

Nonetheless, God can work in and through suffering to be glorified. This man who’d lived his life in utter darkness would go on to live as a powerful testimony to the work of Jesus Christ Who opened his eyes. His story would become an extended illustration of spiritual sight and spiritual blindness, because He had been blind could see Jesus clearly when so many others couldn’t.

Many times we get hung up on laying blame or pointing fingers at the source of our suffering. We imagine that by understanding the cause or assigning blame we’ll gain some key insight that will improve our situation. Such insights won’t improve anything! What truly improves our situation is when we invite God to work in and through our suffering. When we lean into His strong presence and pray not simply for relief but for God to be truly glorified through our suffering, no matter what that looks like. When our prayers shift in this manner and we welcome God’s mighty work to be revealed through us, we meet God in our situation rather than trying to direct him from afar. There’s great healing, whether spiritual, emotional, or physical when we finally become unconcerned about root cause and instead focus on God’s glory.

“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” – John 8:58

With this simple statement, Jesus spoke volumes! Though He was still a young man in the eyes of His audience, He explained that He was, in fact ancient with a capital ‘A’. Their great ancestor Abraham had lived more than twenty centuries earlier, but Jesus said that He was perpetually present long before Abraham was born. Before Abraham was ever conceived, Jesus already was.

More than merely ancient though, Jesus says here that He is “I AM”. “I AM”, the eternal present, is the name of God (see Exodus 3:14). When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He called Himself I AM because He is eternally present. With these simple words, Jesus didn’t just say He was surprisingly old. He called Himself God. Jesus declare that He was God Himself come to earth in the flesh.

His audience wasn’t prepared to receive this truth. They immediately grabbed rocks to try and kill Him for blasphemy though they didn’t succeed. Fortunately, we stand on the other side of the cross and resurrection. We know that Jesus died and rose from the dead which makes it somewhat easier to understand and embrace the truth that Jesus is God. However, it’s still very difficult for most people.

Embrace this glorious truth! Don’t let the stereotypical pictures of Jesus as a kind looking young man fool you. He is God the Son. Your Savior has existed eternally. He is the second person of the Godhead. Present at creation, Jesus is the sustainer of the universe. He is worthy of all praise and worship. He rightly deserves to be Lord over every aspect of your Life. He is the Great I AM!

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” – John 8:31-32

A disciple of Jesus Christ not only has an intellectual belief in Him but also follows Him, living in obedience to His teachings. This is what it means to abide in His word. It’s impossible to separate genuine faith from a life committed to knowing and living the words of Jesus. While our obedience doesn’t save us (salvation is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus), if we aren’t then trying to live in obedience to Jesus then we haven’t yet truly believed in Jesus as He is – the Son of God and Lord of our life.

Are you currently abiding in Christ’s word? Are you spending time learning the Scriptures (by reading or listening to them read)? Are you spending time thinking about the wondrous truths revealed in and through Jesus? Are you growing in your obedience to His commands – to love God and neighbor, to love fellow believers, to make disciples, to deny yourself and follow Jesus?

One of the many beautiful aspects of our faith in Jesus is that abiding in His word by reading, meditating on, and obeying Scripture isn’t a burdensome chore. That’s actually where true freedom is found! Jesus is the Truth and in obeying Him, we’re set free from our lifelong compulsion to sin. He sets us free from the inevitability of eternal separation from God because of our sin. He sets us free from the finality of death by being the gateway to eternal life. He sets us free from guilt and shame by wiping our slates clean on the cross. He sets us free from the hopeless task of trying to save ourselves through burdensome rule following and dead works of the law. As we abide in Christ and his Word we discover true freedom. Are you free today? If not, abide in Him and be free!