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Monday,
August
24,
2020
Door in Stone Row
Jim Thorpe, PA
"The
Door"
Message
summary: We encourage
you all to enter the door of Christ which is the
only way to salvation.
Podcast not prepared for this message.
"So
Jesus said to them again, 'Truly, truly, I say to
you, I am the door of the sheep'" (John 10:7).
Doors are not something we normally give a lot of attention to. But we all can appreciate the value of doors; exterior doors which keep our homes secure and the weather out, interior doors which provide privacy. Our house has twenty-four doors. This includes closet doors and a shower door as well as the doors in my barn! You would probably be surprised how many doors you have in your house, should you choose to count them!
Our only door with any real distinction is
our front door but many doors have real character.
These are doors that are
elaborate and decorative in addition to being
functional. Yesterday we
visited Jim Thorpe, a small
mountain town in eastern Pennsylvania in the Poconos
and we saw a wide variety of
very colorful doors in the village such as our lead
photo today and on the poster to the right. (Click
for larger view.)
Wherever you live you most likely have doors but we recall having a wonderful meal with a family in Guatemala nearly 30 years ago who lived in a tiny two room house with no interior or exterior doors at all. They shared with other villagers an outdoor latrine, a common faucet and a shower.
Doors are referenced all through the Bible with the first reference in Genesis 4. It was a message from God to Cain before he killed Abel, “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Among the last references to the door in Scripture has Jesus standing at the door and knocking in Revelation 3:20. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me".
Doors are not something we normally give a lot of attention to. But we all can appreciate the value of doors; exterior doors which keep our homes secure and the weather out, interior doors which provide privacy. Our house has twenty-four doors. This includes closet doors and a shower door as well as the doors in my barn! You would probably be surprised how many doors you have in your house, should you choose to count them!
Our only door with any real distinction is
our front door but many doors have real character.
These are doors that are
elaborate and decorative in addition to being
functional. Yesterday we
visited Jim Thorpe, a small
mountain town in eastern Pennsylvania in the Poconos
and we saw a wide variety of
very colorful doors in the village such as our lead
photo today and on the poster to the right. (Click
for larger view.) Wherever you live you most likely have doors but we recall having a wonderful meal with a family in Guatemala nearly 30 years ago who lived in a tiny two room house with no interior or exterior doors at all. They shared with other villagers an outdoor latrine, a common faucet and a shower.
Doors are referenced all through the Bible with the first reference in Genesis 4. It was a message from God to Cain before he killed Abel, “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Among the last references to the door in Scripture has Jesus standing at the door and knocking in Revelation 3:20. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me".
Today
let us examine a reference to the door among the “I
am” statements in John’s Gospel. In these statements
Jesus asserted His deity in describing Himself. They
are known as the ego eimi (ἐγώ εἰμι) statements from
the Greek words for “I am”.In John 10 He uses an illustration that would have been so familiar to them on the basis of observation and experience along with their knowledge of the Scriptures such as Psalm 23.
Christ said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep". Just a few verses later He stated, "I am the Good Shepherd".
In the Bible period a shepherd would build a temporary sheep pen by building a wall when staying overnight in distant pastureland. He’d leave an opening where the sheep could come and go and be safe. All that remained was the closing for the door, but there was no door. Somehow a door had to be provided in order for the sheep to dwell in security.
A good shepherd, in caring for his flock, would simply lie down across the small opening. Thus the shepherd became the door, and in this way the sheep remained safely inside and the wild beasts remained outside. Because the shepherd had become the door, there was nothing for the sheep to fear. Their protector and provider had guaranteed their protection from predators while also preventing them from wandering from the secure sheepfold and entering enemy territory. “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).
We
encourage you to enter this door of Christ which is
the only way to salvation. As one of His sheep I am
so thankful for this self-revelation of a
desperately needed provision. Christ emphasized the
statement with the repetition where He “said to them
again” and with the dual emphasis, “Truly, truly”.
We do well to listen.
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Jesus, just like
the shepherd willingly lays his life down for his
sheep, You also willingly laid down Your life for
us. You took on our adversary, the devil, who takes
people captive for his own diabolical plans. You
struck down the devil’s scheme to enslave and devour
us, and his plan for death and the grave. Instead
You became the doorway to the Father when You told
the disciples, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the
Life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”
We thank You for being the door to our eternal
salvation, when You laid down Your life for us,
through Your shed blood. Amen.The "I Am" statements of Christ in John's Gospel:
1. I am the bread of life 6:35, 48, 51
2. I am the light of the world 8:12; 9:5
3. I am the door of the sheep 10:7, 9
4. I am the good shepherd 10:11, 14
5. I am the resurrection and the life 11:25
6. I am the way, the truth, and the life 14:6
7. I am the true vine 15:1
In addition to these metaphorical "I am" statements there are absolute “I am” statements . Among the last words in the Bible is our Lord’s powerful self-declaration, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13).
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Can
Your grace set me free?
Can it break the chains that always held me
And do what no one’s done before
Throw the past away and open the door?
Can it break the chains that always held me
And do what no one’s done before
Throw the past away and open the door?
Sherry,
who was my secretary when we served a church in
northern Pennsylvania nearly 30 years ago,
responded to Friday's message about vitamins: "The
Best Vitamin For A Christian Is B1!"
Jim
Thorpe and Lehigh River Photos
Stone
row in Jim Thorpe, PA
Asa
Packer built these 16 row houses for engineers and
foremen of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
Click
to enlarge
The
Lehigh Gorge rail trail near Jim Thorpe, PA runs
along an active rail line.
Ester
was with us yesterday and we only rode about 10
miles of the trail.
This
September we plan to ride the rail train up the
gorge and then ride 25 miles along the Lehigh River
back to Jim Thorpe. See here for info.
Click
to enlarge
An
abandoned railroad tunnel along the Lehigh Gorge
rail trail near Jim Thorpe, PA.
Click
to enlarge
We
walked through the abandoned railroad tunnel.
Click
to enlarge
We
walked through the abandoned railroad tunnel and
had this beautiful view from the other side.
Click
to enlarge
Lehigh
River rafting near Jim Thorpe, PA
Click
to enlarge
Lehigh
River rafting near Jim Thorpe, PA
Click
to enlarge
Send a message to
Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2020 Stephen C. & Brooksyne
Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA