John 10:27 "My sheep listen to My voice."
A young boy who had been blind from birth underwent surgery which the doctors were confident would give him vision for the first time in his life. You can imagine the excitement of his mother as she waited for the bandages to be removed. How would her son react the first time he saw her? The bandages came off, and the boy could indeed see. But when he looked at the woman at the side of his bed, there was no smile, no sign of recognition. It was only when his mother spoke that he smiled, and the tears of joy flowed.
You see, he had never seen his mother. But he had learned to love and trust her voice. That's the way it is with Jesus and His sheep. We have not seen, but we believe. We live by faith, not by sight. We, too, love and trust the voice of our Good Shepherd.
"My sheep listen to My voice," Jesus says. And we know that's a voice we can trust. The voice that says, "Come to Me" and "Believe in Me" does not hold out an empty promise. Heaven and earth will pass away, but not His Word. What He says is based on what He did on the cross and at the empty tomb. As His sheep, let us hear and follow that voice. It will never fail us.
PRAYER: Lord, open my heart so that I may hear Your voice and follow You. Amen.
(Taken from "Words of Promise," copyright 1996, Concordia Publishing House (out of print). For information on other devotional materials, call 1-800-325-3040.)
Today's Bible Readings: Genesis 46-48 Matthew 23:1-22
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