"But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice...I am the door of the sheep" (10:2-4,7).  There are many influences who want to tell us how we should live and ask us to place our trust in them.  However, politicians don't know your name; nor do the celebrities; nor the makers of the television adverts.  But there is someone who knows us all.  In ancient times a village would have had a large sheep pen into which all the local farmers would place their sheep for safe keeping.  Then the shepherd of a particular flock would come along to take the sheep out for feeding.  Out of the mixture of flocks, he would be able to identify exactly which were his sheep and call them out, because he knew them.  Jesus draws on this image to say that He is the God who loves us, demonstrated in the fact that He knows us as individuals, he knows your name.  As one writer says:

"I know you.  When you were being formed in your mother's womb, I knew you.  When you took your first steps, my eyes were on you.  I remember your first day at school.   When your parents split up, I was there.  When your father died, I was there with you.  In your teenage years when nobody else understand what you were going through, I know just how much it hurt.  I know your sorrows, and I know your joys.  I know how much music means to you.   I know your hopes and dreams.  I know how they treat you at work - I have heard what they say too.  I know who you really are". 

Jesus really knows us and cares for us, and so alone can be trusted - far more than any stranger!

Praise God Today: "You Know Me"

Pray Today:

• For Sarah Mason as she heads out to South Africa to work with WEC among underprivileged children throughout August.
• For Samuel and Naomi Scott as they get legally married today and have their wedding ceremony on Sunday.
• For those being interviewed each night at Chat65 to know God's help as they think on their feet and seek to articulate clear answers which share their story and make such of the story of Jesus which has changed their lives.