LOCKED IN AND PROTECTED

Good Morning!

This morning my heart is filled with the word of God and I want to share with you what I'm reading.  It needs no other words from me.  These words hold so much power and I pray that the Holy Spirit will pour them over your heart and mind, and that you will feel the love of Jesus for you the way I am feeling it as I read it this morning!

( highlighting is done by me; the words of Jesus are in red)

10 “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. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my 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. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
¹⁹ The Jews who heard these words were again divided. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”
²¹ But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²² Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

Total Eclipse

I got up this morning and these lyrics were in my head,

Turnaround
Every now and then I get a little bit lonely
And you're never coming round
Turnaround
Every now and then I get a little bit tired
Of listening to the sound of my tears
Turnaround
Every now and then I get a little bit nervous
That the best of all the years have gone by
Turnaround
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
And then I see the look in your eyes
Turnaround bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
Turnaround bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you'll only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark

This is an old song from the 80's  by Bonnie Tyler called, "Total Eclipse of the Heart".  As these lyrics were in my head I began to think about in terms of my relationship with Jesus and all the times, as the song says, that I've fallen apart, all my tears, all the times I've been terrified and how much those times have shown me my need for Jesus.  It brought me a comforting peace to think about how Jesus has been the only one that has set me free from so much captivity.  Jesus' love is like a shadow on me all of the time!

John chapter 5:1-9 says this:

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.  In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.  One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”  The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”  Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”  And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

It says here there were many who were blind, lame, and paralyzed lying on mats.  And one had been an invalid for 38 yrs.  I'm just wondering if there's anyone reading this who has been lying on their own mat- blind, crippled, or paralyzed for 38 years.  Crippled by fear, crippled by anxiety, crippled by depression, crippled by insecurity, crippled by an unstable identity, crippled by wounds, crippled by a wall of protection you've put up, or crippled by your need for control.  The list could go on.

Jesus saw the disabled man lying there and knew that he had been there a long time. Have you been living a long time crippled?  You can be sure that Jesus sees you too.  He also knows exactly how long it's been crippling and paralyzing you, and He has compassion on you.  

The man says to Jesus that he's been trying to get healed by getting himself into the pool, but it just never works.  How much is that like us?  How many times do we keep trying by ourselves get healed?  Thinking we can do it on our own.  We think we know what will help us.  We lie on our mats hoping that someone or something will come along and help us into the pool.  Maybe it's the right person, the right circumstances, or the right job you're putting your hope in to get you up off of your mat.  The truth is those are all false hopes.   We can't get off the mat on our own. 

In those moments of my life Jesus has said to me, 

"Turnaround".  

While you're lonely, tired, crying, nervous, thinking all your best years have gone by, terrified, and falling apart.  

Jesus says "Turnaround."  

And when you turn around to see Jesus there he'll ask you as he asked the disabled man, 

"Do you want to be healed?"  

If you do...put your hope in Jesus Christ.  Jesus came to set the captive free.  Freedom sits and waits in Jesus and Jesus ONLY.  

And then get up, take up your mat, and walk...Walk with hope and peace in Jesus to free you and heal you from what keeps crippling you!  In my life it's been a process, but the key is keeping your hope always on Jesus.

Jesus Christ knows your name.  He knows your life.  He sees your captivity.  He died and was resurrected to new life, so that you too could die to sin and be transformed to new life in Him.  

Part of the definition of eclipse said this- the period of time during which such a phenomenon occurs, an overshadowing.  My prayer is that you will let Jesus do such a phenomenon in your heart and life, that as He overshadows you, a total eclipse of your heart takes place...and you get up off your mat walking freely with the peace of Christ ruling in your heart!