Today's Passage - John 10:1-6

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 10:1-6   "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."...     Not only did God call us to follow Him, He also leads us to follow Him by our name.  Did you know that God recognizes you?  Not only does He recognize you, He also knows you by name.  Not just a name on a directory, but He knows your complete person!  That why Isaiah 49:16 says that "I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."  This reminds me of the Chinese saying of "shining pearl on a palm" to describe the preciousness of a child; did you know that each child of God is God's shining pearl on a palm?   In the Bible, the Lord often used sheep and shepherd to describe our relationship with God.  Perhaps we might be curious: There are so many sheep out there, how could a shepherd know each of his sheep?  A shepherd actually recognizes His sheep by their weakness.  When a shepherd a sees his sheep, he knows which sheep likes to eat and is always eating, which sheep likes to talk and constantly making noise, which sheep limps when it walks, and which sheep is mischievous and needs to be drawn back by a staff.   In the same manner, God recognizes you by your weakness, hallelujah!  We can come before God just as we are and draw strength and grace from Him in our daily life.  He's our great shepherd, and He will use His staff and rod to comfort us.  He can guide us in our daily life according to His wonderful will.  He will take us to rest in green pastures and quiet waters, to enjoy God's presence there.  Not only that, we won't be afraid when we go through valley of shadow of death, because God will be with us.   Whether our circumstance is good or back, God's presence will never change!  Even when your enemies have surrounded you, God will put up a feast before your enemies.  He will fight for us so that we may proclaim victory against the enemy every day.  Brothers and sisters, did you know that your God loves you?  He is your shepherd and He knows you; He knows your name and He knows you completely!                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you and praise you, for there's no one who love us and knows us like you do.  We thank you because you know our weaknesses totally and you are willing to give us strength so that we can overcome them.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!