Voice of the Good Shepherd 7-7-06

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are the Good Shepherd and Your sheep hear Your voice. You have called me as one of the sheep of Your fold. In these first moments of my morning, help me hear Your voice and Your voice alone. Help me follow You and You alone. ... "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers. ... I am the good shepherd" (John 10:1-5 and 11). Lord, how do I learn to discern Your voice from the voices of the thieves and bandits who are strangers pretending to be my shepherd and friend? ... It seems I hear You say: "My sheep know My voice because my sheep know Me. You know Me because You spend time with Me, and in spending time with Me you know My nature. My nature is love and My nature is life. My nature is truth and My nature is peace. My nature is encouragement and My nature is hope. When I come in to the gate of your heart, I come in to give you life -- abundant life. When the thief comes in, he comes to bring discouragement and death, destruction and fear. Test the voice you hear. Know Me, and in knowing Me, you will also recognize your enemy, the thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy." Yes, Lord. Forgive me for the times I have given in to deception. Forgive me for the times I have failed to test the thoughts and impressions and voices that come pressing in to my heart and soul. Forgive me for times I have confused Your nature with the thief's nature and judged Your ways as his ways. Remind me of Your nature, renew me in our relationship, refresh me in the knowledge of Your love for me and Your purpose for my life. You are my Good Shepherd. And by Your grace, I want learn and grow to be a more discerning and obedient sheep. Help me hear Your voice and follow Your lead. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, I will be preaching and teaching at Christ United Methodist Church in Fairview Heights, Illinois outside of St. Louis this Sunday through Tuesday: www.connectingwithchrist.com Then I will be joining the ministry team and teaching at Aldersgate Annual Conference of the Holy Spirit in Springfield, Illinois the rest of the week: www.aldersgaterenewal.org Please keep us in your prayers and if you can, come join us! To subscribe/unsubscribe or to order my teaching and prayer dvd's and Come to The Fountain the 3rd Friday night of every month at 7 pm for our citywide gathering for prayer, praise, and healing worship. Daily archives of my devotional: www.morningbymorning.injesus.comcd's for spiritual transformation, write to me at Messiah Ministries MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord." 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, Kentucky 40502: www.messiah-ministries.org