Acts 4:12

"Nor is there salvation in any other name, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Some times people say that Christians are narrow minded, and to that I say, your right!!! Jesus is the only way to the Father. There are not many roads that lead to heaven, there is only one narrow road.

Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me." Jesus is the Way: a travellers way, journey. Jesus is the Truth: this is truth in any matter under consideration. Jesus is the Life: the state of one who is possessed of vitality, the absolute fullness of life.

John 10:9 says, "I am the door, if any one enters by Me, they will be saved and will come in and out and find pasture." The Lord is the entrance to salvation and heaven. When we enter through that door we will be in the Lords pasture. Wow, that is where I want to be! Imagine what His pasture looks like, my needs will always be met no matter what they are.

In the bible we are compared to sheep. I can see myself in His pasture, happy, healthy and satisfied. But then I look over and see a patch of green grass off in the distance. It looks very inviting, deep down inside I hear voice telling me that I shouldn't leave the pasture. But something is drawing me, maybe there is something better over there that I am missing. So in all of my wisdom I decide that I'll just take a little jog over there, what could it hurt. As I start out, before I can leave the boundaries of the pasture, I feel a poke in my side. "OUCH" I yell. In my mind I am thinking who is poking me and why won't they stop!!! As I look up I am astounded to see my Shepherd, with His staff pointed right at me. "Why are You poking me," I ask. He tells me it's to protect me and keep me on the right path. In my mind I think, "how is jabbing my ribs going to help." The Shepherd answers my thoughts and says, "How else was I going to stop you from making the wrong decision and leaving the safety and protection of the pasture?" I say to Him, "well you could have just told me!" "Ah" He says, "but I did, in a still small voice." Oh how often I think that I know best. Why do I insist that my way is the best way and that there are greener pastures some where else? I am very thankful for the jab of the Lord keeping me in line and in His pasture of protection and safety.

Memorization

A couple of weeks ago I asked RJ to help me with scripture memorization. I am horrible at memorizing things so I thought it would be a good idea to ask for help. He can memorize quick, but sometimes has trouble remembering things. I can remember everything, but I have trouble memorizing. So we should be a good balance! :-)

So my first verse was Galatians 4:4, "But when the fullness of time was complete, God sent His Son, born of a woman, under the law." I love this verse because it points out that God sent His Son just at the right time. There were things that needed to be in place before He came to this earth to sacrifice His life for us. This encourages me to know that the Lord always has a plan, He is never late and never early. In my life certain things need to be in place before I can get married, I don't know what some of those things are but He knows. Then at that perfect time when everything falls into place, we will be able to move forward. Some times I'm tempted to ask why, but then I remember that the Lord has a plan!

My second verse was John 1:1-3, 14, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, like the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Wow, this verse is full of great stuff. It wasn't as hard to memorize as I though, because I already knew the first part. God the Father sent Jesus (just at the right time) to this earth, to live among us, His creation. He, at that time was fully God and fully man. This verse says that He became flesh (that is man) and He had the Glory of the Father (that is God). Isn't that just amazing to think about, that Jesus Who created the world would come to His fallen earth to buy us back and sacrifice Himself for ME!!!! Wow, how could I not sacrifice my life on this earth for Him and live my life the way the He wants me to. My trials on this earth, though they might be difficult, are pale in comparison the Glory of the Lord. He has shown me so many new truths for my life and situations.

I'm glad that I am memorizing these verses because the Lord is teaching me so much through them. I can't wait for my next verse!!