To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. —John 10:3

As you get to know your Shepherd, you will come to realize that when He calls you, it is always worth obeying. When He says something, it is for your benefit. If He says, “Go this way,” it’s because He has green pastures and still waters for you. If He says, “Stop! Don’t do that,” it’s because He is trying to protect you from potential danger, possibly something that is even life-threatening.

The fact that God speaks to us is clear throughout the pages of Scripture. To some, like Moses, God spoke audibly. To others, like the prophet Elijah, He spoke quietly on at least one occasion.

Often we look for the big events, the earth-shaking circumstances in which God speaks. And many times He is speaking to us, but it is in a still, small voice. We should try turning off the television, the radio, and the telephone and just listen. With all the noise in our world, with all the information that bombards us, we can hear all those voices but miss the most important voice of all. Maybe one reason we don’t hear Him is because we never stop and listen. We should heed the words of Psalm 46:10, which says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Once we have heard the voice of God, we need to follow. Jesus said, “The sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:4). The word follow means to deliberately decide to comply with instruction. It is a deliberate choice for sheep to follow the shepherd. We need to deliberately decide to follow our Shepherd, to do what He tells us to do.

When God Almighty speaks to you in that still, small voice, will you listen? Will you follow Him?

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. —Philippians 4:13

Sheep are timid, fearful creatures. Because of their very makeup, it’s almost impossible for them to lie down unless they are free from all fear. An entire flock can go stampeding off into nowhere because a rabbit jumped out of a bush.

Yet how like sheep we are! We can be afraid of so many things: afraid of losing our health . . . afraid of losing our wealth . . . afraid of losing our loved ones. In fact, sometimes it seems we can be afraid of life itself.

Certainly there are a lot of frightening things out there in the world today. Violent crime is at epidemic levels. We wonder, Will I get on a plane and have it blown up by terrorists? Will I keep my job? Will I be robbed walking down the street? Will I contract a terminal disease?

Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, will protect you and stands as your representative before the throne of God. Jesus Christ, who paid the price for your salvation, stands as your righteousness, giving you access into the presence of God. As the Scripture says, Jesus is the One “in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:12).

As believers, we can have boldness and authority, not because of who we are, but because of whose we are. Jesus is our strength. He is the one who gives us boldness. That’s one more reason why we never want to stray from His side! Instead, we want to stay as close to Him as possible.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. —Acts 7:60

It’s a funny thing how we find sleep more and more appealing as we get older. When I was a kid, I hated to go to sleep. I still remember kindergarten, with the lukewarm milk in little cartons and having to lie down and take naps in the middle of the day. Sleep is usually the last thing kids want to do, but as we start getting older, the idea of sleep becomes more attractive.

Interestingly, the Bible describes death for a believer as sleep. You close your eyes to the only life you’ve ever known—life on earth—and in the next instant, you open your eyes and find yourself in the very presence of the Lord. Scripture teaches there is no delay at all between life here on earth and life in heaven.

Stephen’s statement in today’s Bible passage indicates that he expected to enter the Lord’s presence as soon as he died.

Again, in 2 Corinthians 5:8, we’re told that following death, a believer will enter immediately into the presence of God: “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

John Bunyan said, “Death is but a passage out of a prison and into a palace.” You see, when death strikes a Christian down, he or she falls into heaven.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. —Romans 12:2

With the world the way it is today, with things getting darker and darker and going from bad to worse, it seems to me the only way to live these days is as a completely sold-out Christian—not as a fence-sitter trying to blend in, but as someone who says, “I want to walk with God and live a real Christian life.”

Paul said that his determined purpose in life was to know Christ (see Philippians 3:10-14). What is your determined purpose in life? When you get up in the morning, what do you live for? What are your goals? What are your priorities?

If you don’t have a goal, you’re in serious trouble because, as it has been said, if you aim at nothing, you’re bound to hit it. Can you say with Paul, “My determined purpose in life is to know Him”? I hope so.

Think of the way that God used Paul. He had led countless people to faith, established churches out on the frontiers of his world, and wrote letters that we regard today as the very inspired Word of God. Yet Paul realized he had so much to learn and so far to go.

It’s hard for us to think that someone like Paul would face the struggles and temptations we all face. But indeed he did. How much more should we be saying that we need to change radically in this coming year? We need to become more like Christ in this coming year—and don’t let anyone pull the wool over your eyes . . . all of us have a long, long way to go.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord. You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. —Psalm 4:6–8

Only humanity has a longing for meaning in life. I can assure you that my dog doesn’t sit around pondering the reason for his existence. He won’t be looking back on his life and saying, “You know, I tried it all as a dog. I chased cats. I drank toilet water. I tried bones. But deep inside of me, there was a void.” Dogs don’t think that way. They mainly think, Food . . . sleep.

Dogs, you see, aren’t made in the image of God. But you and I have been created in His image. We are living souls, designed to know God and to live above this mundane existence that we call life. From the time of our birth, we have been on a quest, and the answer to all of our questions is found in a relationship with Him. God can give us pleasure that far surpasses the puny, fleeting pleasures this world offers. And the good news is there is no hangover in the morning. There is no guilt that accompanies it. As Psalm 16:11 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” There is pleasure in knowing God, not in chasing after happiness.

I have discovered that I never will find happiness by chasing it. But what we will find is that as we chase God, if we will, as we pursue God and walk with Him, then one day we will realize we became happy people. Happiness doesn’t come through actively seeking it but by getting our lives into proper balance. Happiness and joy are the byproducts of that balance.

It’s like the Lord Jesus said. If you seek God and His plan first, everything else in life—including happiness and peace—will fall into place.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! —Psalm 63:1–3

When I travel, I take my laptop with me to work on my messages. But often I must work off the battery, so whenever I have the opportunity, I will plug in to the nearest electrical outlet. Why? Because my battery runs down and needs a recharge.

Sometimes that’s the way it is for us as believers. We come to church and get plugged in spiritually. Then we try to run off that energy all week long. We don’t realize we need the power of Christ at all times, in every situation, every conversation, every circumstance in which we find ourselves. In other words, we need a constant power source. We need to be plugged in all the time.

In Psalm 63, David was praying, “Lord, I want to walk with you all the time. Yes, I have seen your glory in the sanctuary, but I want that all week long.”

I can’t help but think of the prophet Elijah, who became physically, emotionally, and spiritually depleted in his warfare with the enemies of God. An angel of the Lord found him curled up under a bush in the desert, wanting to die. The angel provided him with some bread, let him rest, and then woke him up for another heavenly meal. The angel said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you” (1 Kings 19:7). We, too, become run down and spiritually depleted. And God has a wonderful meal waiting for us every day in the Word of God, served by the Holy Spirit Himself.

Elijah needed to plug in again, and so do we. We need to make time for God and His Word in our day. Sometimes that means just grabbing it where we can. Read some Scripture verses when you get up in the morning. Listen to some worship or a Bible study on your way to work or school. Take the moments where you can find them to plug in and stay tapped into all that God has for you.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. —1 Corinthians 9:24

There are some events in the Olympics that don’t interest me at all. When it comes to track and field, however, I really sit up and take notice. I love to watch the runners—whether it’s relay races, long distance runs, or the short sprints. (Probably because I ran track in high school.)

During a recent Olympics, I was watching one of the long distance events. One of the runners started off back in the pack. Gradually he moved up toward the middle. With about four laps to go, he suddenly broke ahead and took the lead. I thought, Is he going to make it? Could he possibly win? But it wasn’t to be. In those last laps he fell back again. The next thing I knew, he was in second place, third place, fourth place, fifth place. He didn’t even win a medal.

I know what it’s like to be in the last lap of a race. You’re giving it your all, but your legs feel like rubber—as if you have no control over them. They feel like they are burning inside, and it’s so difficult to just keep running, let alone reach for a burst of speed.

The apostle Paul often used athletic terms to describe what it is to be a Christian. In today’s opening passage, He wrote about running in such a way as to receive the prize. He told the Ephesians that he had finished his race with joy.

Let’s not quit running our race. Let’s run to win a prize. Let’s finish with joy. In a normal race, we know where the finish line is. We know how many miles or laps we have to run to finish the contest. But when it comes to life, you and I don’t really know when we will round that last bend or run that last step. Even though we think we have a long way to go, we might be right at the tape. What an encouragement to live each day for Jesus as though it were our last.

Run well today. Reach for the prize.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. —James 1:2–4

It would be nice if we could see the trials in our lives as options, as electives. It would be convenient if we could say, “I’m going to skip the trials course.”

But the fact is, we don’t have that option. Trials will come into the lives of every believer. Notice that James says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” The phrase various trials could also be translated “many-colored trials” or “trials of many kinds.” In other words, no two trials or experiences are necessarily alike.

You will be tested. The question is, will you pass or fail?

We must remember that God never tests us without a reason. God’s ultimate purpose is to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. God wants to produce a family likeness in us. This means that some difficulties and testings will show us immediate results, while others will produce long-term ones.

There are times when I can emerge from a trial, look back, and say, “I learned this when I went through that experience.” But there will be other times when I come through a difficulty, and all I will be able to do is shake my head and say, “What was that all about?” I may not be able to tell you (at that moment) what I have learned.

But what has happened, maybe unnoticed by me, is that I have become a little bit more like Jesus. He has worked in my life to mold me and shape me into His own image. It may be hard or impossible to point to definitive results in our lives after a time of pressure, setbacks, or testing. Even so, we can know that God is in control. And we can know that His ultimate purpose is to conform us into the image of His own dear Son.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

We Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.—2 Corinthians 3:18

When two people have been married for a while, they start becoming like each other. This has happened with my wife and me. We know each other so well that I can start a sentence, and she can finish it. She knows what I’m thinking, even when I’m not saying it. I’m just amazed at her intuition. But I can usually read her as well. Having been married for more than three decades now, we’ve spent a long time together.

This is even more the case when we have been spending time with Jesus Christ. We become like Him, “a chip off of the ol’ Rock,” we might say. This is God’s ultimate plan for every Christian—to make us like Jesus.

We see this in the life of Peter. He was burned by the enemy’s fire when he denied the Lord. But when touched with the Spirit’s fire at Pentecost, he became the new-and-improved Peter. The same thing that happened to him can happen to you. The same power is available to every believer. That’s because when someone has been with Jesus—and by that I mean, when they spend time in the Lord’s presence and spend time growing spiritually—they will become more like Him.

Before you ever made your appearance on earth, God chose you. God knew there would come a day when you would put your faith in Him, and He chose you before you chose Him. And what is His goal for you? His goal is that you might become like Jesus.

Many of us know and can quote Romans 8:28—the verse that starts, “And we know that in all things God works for the good. . . .” But the verse that follows, Romans 8:29, is every bit as important. Here are the two verses together: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (NIV).

We are being shaped and conformed—sometimes through our hardships and trials—to be more and more like God’s Son.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013