I AM the Door

“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9)

Hello, my friend…

We find ourselves in the middle of Holy Week – that period between Palm Sunday (when Jesus experienced His triumphal entry into Jerusalem) and Good Friday (when Jesus was crucified). This is a very active, very confrontational set of days for Jesus, for He knows what lie ahead. He had tried to prepare His followers (especially His inner twelve disciples), but they were unable to fully comprehend His words.

We have the gift of hindsight, of knowing how everything worked out. They didn’t. It is easy for us to look back and see the hand of God and how He worked in our lives in days past; however, it isn’t as easy to look forward and cling to our faith when all seems to be falling apart. Many of us are feeling that despair even as I write these words. We have prayed for healing, we have prayed for the salvation of our loved ones, we have prayed for deliverance from habits and substance abuse – yet we see little to no change. It is difficult to hold on after just so long. I wish I didn’t have to confess the same struggles, but I am human, too. Reading through the New Testament, if we listen we can hear the same struggles in the lives of Peter, James, John, Barnabas, Luke, and others. Again, we have the privilege of hindsight in their cases.

Scripture teaches us to trust in God. We are to cling to Him as if He were our life raft in the middle of the raging sea of life. Truly He Is. Given the opportunity, many of us (I would venture to say that MOST of us) could testify to how God saved us, delivered us, healed us, or otherwise came through for us before. Much like the Israelites of the Old Testament, we are quick to forget. We forget His deliverance, we forget His provision, we forget His goodness to us. Just as easily, we forget the promises He has made to us. Yet we can quote Jeremiah 55:11: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” I would remind you of the words of the prophet of old (found in Numbers 23:19): “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

These words Jesus spoke to His followers in our key text today remind us that it is only in and through Him we can find solace in our time of struggle, peace in the time of storms, strength in the time of fatigue, and healing in the times of distress. He teaches us that when we direct our steps through Him, we can be assured of protection from the enemy, rest in the middle of chaos, and sure supply in our times of need. How comforting to picture Him as our Great Shepherd! He cares for us, He leads us in green pastures, He brings us into places of provision and care. I would direct your attention to Deuteronomy 28:1-14 for further instruction.

I challenge you this Easter season – more than ever before – to reach out to Him in complete and total surrender, in honest and vulnerable faith. Claim what you need. If you need healing, what better time to appropriate the blood He shed on Calvary to accomplish that for you? Peter, himself, quoted an Old Testament passage with the understanding of Calvary: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” If you can believe for your salvation, you can believe (using that same faith) for your healing. If you can believe He died for you, you can receive His forgiveness. If you can believe He came to complete the righteous demands of our Holy God through His death on the cross, you can believe for His holiness in your own life. Jesus’ death was not a performance. His death was not a symbol. His death was not an object lesson. It was commanded by our Father to accomplish eternal salvation and life for one and all who would come to Him. There is NOTHING outside the power of that precious blood, and there is NO ONE beyond the reach of that love.

I pray each of you can enjoy the true meaning of this holy season with family and friends. I especially pray for those of you who are at the end of your rope. You are in my heart. More importantly, you are in the heart of the Father. He sees you, He wants to touch you, He wants to make all things new. I pray you can let down your guard and allow Him to come into you in a new and deeper way. May His power flow through you as you meditate on the Word of God today.

Be blessed.