John 10:27 (NIV)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow
me.
The story is told of an American tourist who was
traveling in the Mid East. He came upon several shepherds whose flocks had
intermingled while drinking water from a brook. After an exchange of greetings,
one of the shepherds turned toward the sheep and called out, "Manah.
Manah. Manah." (Manah means "follow me" in Arabic). Immediately
his sheep separated themselves from the rest and followed him.
Then one of the two remaining shepherds called out,
"Manah. Manah." And his sheep left the common flock to follow him.
The traveler then said to the third shepherd, "I would like to try that.
Let me put on your cloak and turban and see if I can get the rest of the sheep
to follow me."
The shepherd smiled knowingly as the traveler wrapped
himself in the cloak, put the turban on his head and called out, "Manah.
Manah." The sheep did not respond to the stranger's voice. Not one of them
moved toward him. "Will the sheep ever follow someone other than
you?" The traveler asked.
"Oh yes," the shepherd replied, "sometimes
a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow anyone."
We live in a world where a lot of different
"voices" are calling us to follow. Materialism cries out for us to
follow. Power and prestige call out. Sensual pleasure makes its plea. It's easy
to be pulled in a lot of different directions. That is, unless we have Jesus
Christ as our shepherd. A sheep in His flock will ignore all other voices and
listen for the voice of its Master.
Whose voice are you listening to?
Dear Lord, help us listen for Your voice today. Let us
not let the distraction of this world get in the way of us hearing Your voice.
IN Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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