OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONAL 3RD APRIL 2024 WEDNESDAY ODB MESSAGE
Our Daily Bread Devotional 3rd April 2024 TOPIC: I Hear You, God!
KEY VERSE: The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. – John 10:3
TODAY’S INSIGHT
References to God as shepherd, including the well-known Psalm 23, are found throughout the Old Testament. Jacob says God has been “my shepherd all my life” and calls Him “the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel” (Genesis 48:15; 49:24).
In the New Testament, Jesus says He is “the good shepherd [who] lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11), and those who listen and respond to His voice are His sheep (vv. 3-5). In Hebrews 13:20, the author calls Christ the “great Shepherd of the sheep.” Peter refers to Him as “the Shepherd and Overseer of [our] souls” (1 Peter 2:25). As God’s sheep, we’re to listen to our Shepherd and respond in obedience (John 10:27).
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: John 10:1-11,16
1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
Our Daily Bread Devotional 3rd April 2024 MESSAGE:
Baby Graham fussed and wiggled as his mother held him in her lap while the doctors inserted his first hearing aid. Moments after the doctor turned on the device, Graham stopped crying. His eyes widened. He grinned. He could hear his mother’s voice comforting him, encouraging him, and calling his name.
Baby Graham heard his mother speaking, but he needed help learning how to recognize her voice and understand the meaning of her words. Jesus invites people into a similar learning process. Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we become the sheep He knows intimately and guides personally (John 10:3). We can grow to trust and obey Him as we practice hearing and heeding His voice (v. 4).
In the Old Testament, God spoke through the prophets. In the New Testament, Jesus—God in the flesh—spoke directly to people. Today, believers in Jesus have access to the power of the Holy Spirit, who helps us understand and obey God’s words which He inspired and preserved in the Bible. We can communicate directly with Jesus through our prayers as He speaks to us through Scripture and through His people. As we come to recognize God’s voice, which is always in alignment with His words in the Bible, we can cry out with grateful praise, “I hear You, God!”
REFLECT: How has God used the Scriptures to reveal Himself to you this week? How can you speak His wisdom to others who need comfort or encouragement today?
PRAY: I hear You, God! Please help me receive and share the truth and love You reveal to me as I read the Bible.
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Judges 19-21; Luke 7:31-50
Our Daily Bread Devotional 3rd April 2024 Wednesday ODB Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY
