Hi friends! I had to skip a week due to life getting in the way but I’m back this week sharing about what God is teaching me through our online bible study. This week was another awesome week. The study is about looking closer at Jesus’s “I Am” statements. This week we studied his statements, “I am the gate for the sheep” and “I am the good shepherd”.
The first part of the study was about looking closer at sheep and shepherds. Sheep are notoriously prone to wandering, follow each other without thinking, and very stubborn. It’s no wonder we are always compared to sheep in the bible.
Good shepherds during the bible’s time were very dedicated to their jobs. They would care for their sheep very well. They would risk their lives if it came down to it to protect their sheep. This really puts it into perspective when it comes to God calling himself our Good Shepherd. He literally laid down his life for us (his sheep).
There is so much good content in this study and it’s so hard to wrap it all up into one blog post. I want to share my favorite part of this study with you guys though.
“I am challenged to recognize how important it is to bring my offering to the Lord first and in faith. But also, I want to give God my first thoughts in faith every day. I want to turn to Him first in faith as I’m thinking about the cry of my heart as well. He wants to be first and He wants me to come to Him in faith with all of my desires and daily struggles. He wants my heart. And He wants my heart to want Him.”
Woah. This really struck me you guys. God goes so far as to lay his life down and care for his sheep well because he wants our devotion. He loves us and wants our hearts to love him back. How easily I forget this.
If I am being honest my prayer and bible reading life have been slacking so much. There is a huge life change on our little families horizon and it has completely thrown me off. (I promise to tell you more as soon as I can.) I was reminded this week how important my time with Jesus is though. If I am not being filled up with his love my heart will drift and I will start desiring things of this world.
I have decided to recommit to spending my time in the word daily because I desperately need the time with Jesus. I am not even capable of loving and putting him first without his help.
\\Do you struggle with this? What are some tips you might have to keep me consistently in the word in a time of transition?
