Whose idea was it to read the Book of John in the days leading up to Easter? I mean, seriously, this is getting downright painful! Yet, when I chose to read this book (oh, that’s right—that’s who it was!), I wanted to see how Jesus lived before He died. The goal, of course, is to live the same way!

But in John 10: 7-8 (NIV), the words of Jesus made me think about the choices I have to make in order for that to happen.

“Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.'”

Okay, first of all, if you’ve read this blog for any time at all, you know I’m a magnet for names, attributes, and actions of God so that I can use them on my praise walks! So, of course, I gravitated toward a new G word: “I am the gate!”

But it was the end of verse eight that got me: “but the sheep have not listened to them [the thieves and robbers who tried to lure the sheep].”

I listen to far too many voices that call for my attention and attempt to steal me away from the Good Shepherd. Here are a just a few. (As you read these, maybe you’ll identify with the temptation to listen to their cries for your attention.)

The voice of guilt:

“You sinned in the past—and who wants to listen to someone who did what you did talk about God?”

“You’re no better than the worst of your past sins.”

“You blew it. Everyone knows it. You are what they say you are.”

The voice of “stuff”:

“If you have me, you’ll finally be happy and content.”

“You need more of me to make you happier.”

“I want to be your top priority.”

The voice of toxic relationships:

“You should love me more than you love God.”

“It really won’t hurt you to just try it…once.”

“If you really love me….” or “If you’re really my friend….” (i.e., conditional love)

And those are only a few of the voices constantly vying for our attention!

But the Good Shepherd has this calm, gentle, unflustered, confidence-inducing voice that welcomes us into the gate with these alternatives to the three voices listed above:

The voice of grace:

“My grace is greater than your sin—all of it—so tell people about that!” (Based on Romans 5:20)

“My death on the cross paid for all sin!” (Based on Romans 5:8)

“You are mine. That’s who you are!” (Based on Isaiah 43:1)

The voice of security:

“A foundation of ‘gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw’ will fall apart; I am a solid, unshakable foundation!” (Based on I Corinthians 3:11-13)

“Godliness with contentment is great gain!” (Based on I Timothy 6:6)

“In me, your soul is at rest; there is no true profit in gaining the whole world but losing your soul!” (Based on Luke 9:25)

The voice of truth:

“Choose God—He will not fail you!” (Based on Joshua 24:15)

“I am faithful. I will give you strength to overcome any temptation!” (Based on I Corinthians 10:13)

“I have loved you with an everlasting love!” (Based on Jeremiah 31:3)

The sheep in John 10 have learned not to listen to the voices of the thieves and robbers but to be solely focused on the Good Shepherd’s voice. So now we have to choose—which voice will we will listen to:

• the voice of guilt or the voice of grace?
• the voice of “stuff” or the voice of security?
• the voice of toxic relationships or the voice of truth?