Jesus: Only Savior, Redeemer

"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5)

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)

"This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:11-12)

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." (Ephesians 1:7)

A Prayer:

Thank You precious Lord, Faithful and True. You are the Great Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. Thank You for reconciling us to God, for sins forgiven and a new name written in heaven, for acceptance into the family of God, for a new and living way through Your blood. Thank You for Your love, grace and mercy. Let Your gospel be preached to the ends of the earth; bring Your lost and scattered sheep home to the fold. Let there be great rejoicing in Your house, cleansing, purging, filling of the Holy Ghost, fruits in abundance, bringing glory to Your name. You are the Lord God, Most High; Your kingdom is forever. 

"I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:1-3)

Amen.

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

Easter Devotions

Scripture Meditation: Worthy is the Lamb

The Great Shepherd and His Sheep

Jesus, our Great Shepherd, is leading us through our days and our nights. He is the One who truly cares for us and is watching over us for good. He loves us and desires that we stay close to Him. Apart from His guiding presence, we become the prey of evil that lurks on every side.

We cannot make it through life in our own strength; it is way too small. Our Great Shepherd is our Savior and Lord, who has called us to His perfect rest.

Psalm 23

The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. He restores
my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your
rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of
my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

See Also John 10:1-18 and 1 Peter 2:25

Hebrews 13:20-21

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

A Shepherd's Heart

King David, (a shepherd of sheep before God called him to shepherd His people Israel,) desired greatly to show the kindness of God to the remnant of the house of Saul. Having made an inquiry, he sent for, and extended great mercy to Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, the son of Saul. As Mephibosheth, (who was lame in both his feet,) fell on his face, and prostrated himself before David in fear, David assured him with these words: "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather, and you shall eat bread at my table continually." David also instructed Ziba, a servant of the house of Saul to work the land with his (Ziba's) sons, and servants, and bring in the harvest on behalf of Mephibosheth."
(See 2 Samuel Chapter 9)

How much more did our gracious, and merciful God do for us, when He sent His only begotten Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, and restores us to right standing before God. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. Praise God who has redeemed us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and made us partakers of His divine nature, and all that He has prepared for us now, and in the life to come, everlasting. He has given His church the ministry of reconciliation. O, how He loves the world, and is willing that none shall perish.

Jesus, upon seeing the multitudes weary, and scattered abroad, like sheep without a shepherd, was moved with compassion, and said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." (See Matthew 9:36-38)

The heart of our Great Shepherd is loving and forgiving, full of mercy and compassion, full of kindness and truth. A heart that judges righteously; a heart that wants His lost sheep to come home; a heart that wants both the young and grown sheep tended to, and fed with His teachings. A heart that desires the reaping of His harvest to be done, and His house to be filled. (See Characteristics of a Good Shepherd)

Related Bible Readings: Psalm 23; Psalm 78:70-72; Isaiah 40:10-11; Isaiah Chapter 61; Ezekiel 34; Micah 5:4-5; John 3:16 & 17; John 4:34-38; John 10:1-18; John 10:25-27; John 21:15-17; Matthew 10; Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 14:16-24; Romans 1:16; Romans 10:17; The First and Second Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Timothy; Hebrews 13:20 & 21; 1 Peter Chapter 5

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

Today's Devotion: Jesus, Only Savior

Thanks be to God for sending His only begotten Son into the world to save sinners. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is He, and He has gone to prepare a place for His children, so that where He is, there we may be also. Thomas said to Jesus, "Lord we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" (John 14:5) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

When Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) Jesus also declared in John 10:9, "I am the door. If any man enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."

Praise Jesus, the image of the invisible God, our Great Shepherd of the sheep; full of grace and truth; the Word made flesh.

From a song of Moses:

"Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass. For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He." (Deuteronomy 32:1-4)

There is salvation in no other name or means of entering the kingdom of God. "And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him, and His righteousness, it sustained Him." (Isaiah 59:16)

Adopted by God, He has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying "Abba, Father!" (See Galatians 4:6) The Holy Spirit of truth teaches us and gives us spiritual understanding—We are the holy temple of God and if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we grow in grace and are fruitful in the knowledge of Him, having become partakers of the divine nature and recipients of exceeding great and precious promises, in this life and the age to come.

"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make our abode with him." (John 14:23) "God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:11 & 12)

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent." (John 17:3)

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

Today's Bible Reading | Hebrews 13:20 & 21

See Also

Bible Verses About Peace

God's Good Work In Us