Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
- John 10:7-11
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
- Matthew 6:33-34
The Boilerplate
My wife took a Bible Study in 2009. She had become a Christian in 2000, and about the time that she took this class during the week at night, she developed night blindness, or at least the start of it. I would drive her to a friend’s house, and then the friend would drive her home afterwards. The focus on the Bible Study was weight loss from a biblical perspective. I don’t know if any weight was lost by anyone in the Bible Study, but a few members of that group became very good friends.
My wife passed away in March and I found her study guide as I was cleaning up. I actually found two study guides. The other study guide was from a Bible study long before committing herself to Jesus. Her answers were usually copying Scripture or turning the Scripture into her own words. This Bible Study in 2009 showed signs of how God was working in her life. It showed Christian growth.
So, instead of writing about a topic at random, I decided to write on the topics in the Study Guide, but instead of using the words of the Study Guide, I thought I would fashion the answers of her questions into a thread to discuss the topic. And I will not use any comment about other members of the group study (few, and usually prayer requests). That would be confidential. Thus, I am writing about these topics “with a little help” from my wife’s answers to study guide questions.
“Those who enter will be saved – plenty of food.”
- My wife’s ideas about the first Scripture above
Was she hungry that day? The Scripture does talk about plenty of pasture, but this Bible study was focused on weight loss. That was hard for my wife. It was not just the willpower and her sluggish thyroid. For the last twenty years, she hardly ate anything.
My wife had grown up in a family of nine children and her parents talked about not having enough to go around. While most of her siblings paid no attention to those discussions, she took it upon herself to go hungry. She knew what it was like to not eat and go to bed hungry. Dieting reminded her of that.
But my wife would read Scriptures like this and focus on God’s provision of what we need. But it goes beyond just what we need.
“Everyone who believes will have a full life and Jesus will guide us through, if we believe in Him. Our physical life will suffer if our spiritual life is not under control by God. Satan will attack the physical and damage the spiritual life.”
- My wife’s ideas on believing and trusting in Jesus
And then my wife brings in the second Scripture on her own. Besides quoting these verses, she adds.
“God sent His Son to us so that we may know the truth (God’s ways).”
- My wife’s inner thoughts
To get this knowledge of the truth, we must seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness. And once we are safely in the shelter where Jesus is the gate…
“No harm will come to you. The thief will not be there. No pain, no suffering, plenty of plenty.”
- My wife’s inner thoughts
She ended by drawing a parallel with God sacrificing an animal so that He could cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness and the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, to cover our sins. Instead of covering our sins, God washes them away, removes the stain of the sin altogether, but she makes a good analogy. There were many times in the Old Testament where parallels with Jesus can be found.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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