I Know My Sheep and My Sheep Know Me

I want to take a closer look at one of  the promises I quoted in my last post.

I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. (Jn 10:14-15)

The inspiration behind this blog comes from a very challenging verse in Matthew chapter 7.

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who isin heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?”  Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me you eveildoers.” (Mt 7:21-23)

I see a connection between these two verses.  Both verses talk about being known by Jesus. In John 10, Jesus tells us that He knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him.  In Matthew, Jesus says He doesn’t know these religious people who have done great things in His name.  Doing religious works in the name of Jesus is not the same as knowing Him and being known by Him.

We can perform many great and seemingly meaningful works in the name of Jesus and be refused entrance into the kingdom of heaven!  The standard Jesus uses for someone entering the kingdom of heaven has nothing to do works.  We get into heaven because we know Jesus and He knows us. So, what exactly does it mean then to know Jesus?

Let’s go back to the above passage in John.  Jesus tells us that as the Good Shepherd, He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. He goes on to say this relationship is similar to how Jesus knows the Father, and the Father knows Jesus!  OK, so when our relationship with Jesus is as intimate as the relationship Jesus has with His Father, then Jesus will agree that He knows us.  Simple to say, but is it even possible to know Jesus with that kind of intimacy?

By our own efforts, it is impossible to know God intimately.  But the beautiful thing is that He wants to be known by us!

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord. (Jer 29:13-14a)

Seeking with all our heart, sounds like what Jesus described as the first and greatest commandment: “Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Mt 22:37-38)  God wants us to know Him, but it requires great effort on our parts.  It takes ALL our heart, ALL our soul, and ALL our mind. Please note it does not say with ALL perfection.

The Apostle John, who recorded Jesus’ words about being the Good Shepherd, also tells us how we can be certain that we know Jesus.

We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands.  The man who says. “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.  But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.  This is how we know we are in him:  Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1Jn 2:3-6)

I love the continuity of the Scriptures!  John tells us that obedience to God is the key to knowing that we know Him.  Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 7, quoted earlier in this post!  We know Jesus when we obey Him and when our life looks like His.

Do you even know what commands Jesus wants you to obey? Are you just following the traditions of your church or the words of your pastor without ever reading God’s Word for yourself?  Seeking God with all your heart requires effort.  Get to KNOW Jesus through His Word.  Then let Him get to know YOU as you talk to Him in prayer about what you have read.

The promise is that Jesus lays down His life for His sheep –

sheep that He knows intimately, and sheep that know Him personally.

Commitment

Commitment

That word meets with great distaste and discomfort these days. It is a word that can make me very cynical of our current culture in North America.  In politics, candidates pledge a commitment to do something when they are elected to a place of power, and then after the election they present any number of excuses to not follow through on that commitment. 

Less than half of North American marriages last, with most breaking up within the first 5 years.  I've heard of weddings performed today with the vow “as long as love should last.”  No commitment there! These statistics don’t include the great number of people that choose to live together without getting married.  Many women, longing for commitment, decide to live with their boyfriend in an arrangement they hope will eventually lead to a marriage commitment. Others don’t want to be bound by a commitment, enjoying the “freedom” to leave the relationship whenever they no longer feel that it is working.

In many cases parents are not committed to their children.  The tales of child abuse abound.  Parents physically or sexually assaulting their own flesh and blood!  There are also so many parents that simply abandon the family.  Many children grow up not knowing their father or mother because the parent left and never came back.

Children are no longer committed to their parents.  This culture espouses entitlement and rebellion rather than respect and obedience.  The tales of senior abuse by family members is almost as prevalent as child abuse -- sons or daughters stealing from their elderly parents as they “manage” the finances.

Employers are certainly not committed to their employees, thus employees are always looking elsewhere to find a better place to work.  Big corporations spend millions on advertising to make it look like they are committed to the customer, but in reality they are far more committed to increasing their already enormous wealth.

So, you can see how I can become cynical.  Do you have anyone you can fully trust to be committed to YOU? Is there anyone that really cares about you through your ups and downs?  Is there anyone who will walk through the valley of divorce, of cancer, of death of a loved one, of aging?

I have some GOOD NEWS for YOU!

There IS someone committed to YOU, and His name is Jesus!

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)

Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified…because the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deut 31:6)

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mk 10:29-30)

I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. (Jn 10:14-15)

Soak in these promises and know that if you belong to Jesus, these promises of never-ending commitment are yours!  If you don’t belong to Jesus, read the gospel of Mark (in the New Testament of the Bible) and get to know Him. He wants to offer you this same commitment.

Serenity Prayer

rsdt

Click here to go to my online store to purchase items with the Serenity Prayer.


I am guessing that if you have found this page, you are facing some big struggles in your life. 

I want to encourage you that God is bigger than your biggest problem.  

But more than that -- God CARES!  

He cares about your hurts.  He cares about your life. He cares about YOU! 

How do I know that?  Because I have faced many huge hurts in my own life and God has brought me through them.  More than that, I know because Jesus, God's Son, died for me and for you. When Jesus started His ministry, He read a Scripture from the Old Testament and announced that He was the fulfillment of that Scripture.  Read below why Jesus came.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners, 

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor...
to comfort all who mourn,
    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.

(Isaiah 61:1-3) 

Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted.  

                 Are you broken today?  

                                 Let Jesus bind your wounds.

Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the captives.  

                 Are you captive to alcohol, drugs, food, pornography? 

                                 Let Jesus set you free.

Jesus came to release the prisoners from darkness.  

                 Do you face the darkness of depression? 

                                 Let Jesus bathe you in His wonderful light!

Let Jesus fill you will joy, and peace and praise 

so that there is no longer room left for the pain, mourning, despair and depression!

Please check out these other posts.
The Complete Serenity Prayer
Romance
Outlandish Love

You may also find my notes on depression helpful.  Check out the Depression Tab at the top of the page.
You are more than welcome to contact me here.  If the link doesn't work, email me at commonlawwithjesus@gmail.com 

Freedom - Rerun

             I have a few different posts that I am currently working on.  The Biblical research is taking a bit of time.  So, until I have those ready to post, I have decided to share with you another of my earlier posts. Enjoy and be challenged by Jesus!

Freedom

   In the last post, we looked at John 8:31-32.  I indicated that this time we would look at the freedom Jesus promises.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

When you read that, you may be thinking – “slavery was abolished in my country a long time ago, and I am not a prisoner, so I don’t need to be set free.”  That is what those who were listening thought.  Let’s continue in John 8:33

                They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone.  How can you say that we shall be set free?”

                Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Do you need to be set free?  Perhaps you are thinking “I’m not much of a sinner; I haven’t murdered anyone, I haven’t cheated on my spouse, I don’t cheat on my taxes.  I don’t have anything to be set free from.”  Well, the Apostle Paul addresses this attitude in the book of Romans.  Let’s take a look at chapter 3 verses 10 and 23.

As it is written:  “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless”  … For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

There isn’t any room for misunderstanding.  Paul makes it extremely clear that every one of us is a sinner.  Every one of us needs a Saviour! 

                We started this discussion in John chapter 8, where Jesus tells us that we learn the truth of salvation by holding to His teachings! How well do you know His teachings?  It is pretty hard to hold to something you are not familiar with.  I have a 15 year-old son who periodically gets itchy to learn about driving. He has a Driver’s Handbook and I’ve seen him reading it a few times.  When he turns 16 do you think he will get his driver’s license just because he wants to drive and he has looked at the manual from time to time?

NO WAY

! In order to get a license he needs to hold to the rules and laws that are given in that driver’s handbook.  He needs to know and follow those laws in every driving situation.  In a similar way, we need to know and follow Jesus’ teachings in every aspect of our lives in order to find the freedom He promises.

                Do you have any idea what Jesus considered the greatest sin?  Was it murder – there are many Christians who spend a lot of time and money to eliminate the crime of abortion because it is murder.  What about sex outside of marriage? Many young couples who get “caught” through a pregnancy are treated like they have committed the worst sin.  What about homosexuality?  The way many Christians campaign against it, you would think it must be the worst of all sins.  The apostle Matthew records a very long denunciation of one group of people.  Jesus tells this group, “Woe to you,” seven times.  He calls them “snakes and vipers.”  Who was he talking to?  It wasn’t murderers, nor those with sexual sins.  He was speaking to the most religious people in all of Judea! 

                I am assuming that most of the people reading this blog consider themselves religious.  Read Matthew 23, and examine your own life to see if Jesus is speaking to you. 

·          Is Christianity a burden you bear because you are supposed to or is it a delight to know the God who created you?

·          Do you serve others in order to get attention or praise?

·          Are you more concerned about what people think of you than what God thinks of you?

·          Do you hold to some religious traditions faithfully, even though they contradict the Word of God?

·          Is the style of worship or music more important to you than unity within God’s church?

·          Do you pride yourself in your financial giving, yet fail to give Jesus your heart?

·          Are you different at church than when you are home or at work?

·          Do you live in North American luxury without any effort to spread that wealth to the millions of people who are living in a mud huts, starving to death?

·          Is church more about the latest fashions, or the quality of the preaching than about your relationship with the Saviour and His people?

·          Do you read every good spiritual book out there and participate in many Bible studies, acquiring great knowledge about God and Jesus, yet your life looks no different from those who don’t know Jesus?

·          Do you spend all your time with people who think and act like you, rather than sharing Jesus’ message of freedom with those who know they need it?

We are all sinners.  Those of us who are religious are often guilty of the greatest sin – knowing about Jesus without knowing Him and living differently because of that relationship.  Jesus identified that as hypocrisy.  Hypocrisy is the number one reason that many people far from God want nothing to do with Christianity.  I’ve had to take a hard look at some of these in my own life this week.  Let’s stop pointing at others because of the obvious sin in their lives, and start pointing to the sin in our own lives.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:9)

Freedom comes from holding to Jesus’ teachings and through confession of the sin that IS in our lives!  What sins do you need to confess and give to Jesus so that you can receive His freedom?

Eternal Commitment

This is my new logo!

A good friend in my Monday morning small group showed us a beautiful photograph her husband made her for Christmas.  I have wanted to copy it since I first saw it.  They gave me permission and so here is my version. 

The ring, which has neither end nor beginning, symbolizes God's eternal nature.  The ring is made of gold as a representation of how precious we are to God.  The ring is most often used as the symbol of a covenant relationship -- and God wants to share such a covenant relationship with each one of us. 

When the light of God's presence shines upon that symbol of God's covenant with us, we see a heart -- an emblem declaring that the basis of our covenant with God is love.

The ring is placed on the Scriptures, the story of God's romance with us, and the statements of His covenant with us.  On the specific page of Scripture we see the depiction of Jesus' death on the cross.  His sacrifice in order to have each of us as His Bride cost far more than a wedding ring.

Jesus is eternally committed to you in sacrificial love-- 

have you accepted the covenant to be sacrificially committed to Him in return?

The Perfect Gift

            Last weekend was Mother's Day.  If you are a mother, how did you celebrate?  One friend shared that she had her favourite breakfast.  Another received a beautiful photograph of her two youngest children.  What would be the perfect Mother’s Day gift?  A hand-made card, a beautiful necklace, a wonderful dinner at your favourite restaurant, a cruise?

            For many years I have found Mother’s Day to be one of the loneliest days of the year.  My marriage broke up eight years ago.  My two boys are both on the autism spectrum.  There are numerous jokes about men and boys not thinking about special days.   With autism this is magnified.  When the boys were in grade school, they would usually make something for me at school.  Once in a while it would actually come out on Mother’s Day, but usually it was some time later.  Even that stopped a few years ago.  .  It was painful to strive so hard to do my best at being their mom, and to have no acknowledgement – no card, no gift, not even a “Happy Mother’s Day!”  Usually there was nothing special about the day at all. We would at least go. out to dinner so that I wouldn’t have to cook or clean up.  I was certainly guilty of feeling “poor me.”  I know that is not how God wanted me to feel, but my heart was closed to His message of love.

            This year had some similarities.  There were no cards and no “Happy Mother’s Day!”  However, God saved me from falling into the pity party of past years.  Christopher and some other boys in his Asperger’s class have been getting together periodically at school to play various role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. One of the parents offered to get them together on a weekend. Two weeks ago was the first gathering and it went very well.

            This weekend my oldest also came along.  Caleb has been so disabled by anxiety that he hasn’t even been to school for more than a year.  When he was younger the only future I could see for him was in some sort of prison or institution, as I figured he would seriously injure someone by the time he was 16.  Praise God that didn’t happen!  However he is still a long way from functioning in society. He rarely leaves the apartment he shares with his dad. 

            The boys played for about 3 hours and everyone had a great time!  This was the first time in Caleb’s life that he spent 3 hours with peers and enjoyed the entire time without any meltdowns!  Caleb turns 18 next month!  While the boys were inside gaming at the dining room table.  I was outside with adults enjoying adult conversation.  This, too, was a real treat because I am usually hovering nearby to put out any fires before they turn into meltdowns.

            I am still glowing from the joy of receiving the perfect gift!  That gift was not material.  It was far far better!  It was the gift of seeing my child have victory in an area that has truly caused him so much pain over the years!  It was the gift of seeing my child really happy – at peace with the world.

I will extol the Lord at all times;

His praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the Lord;

Let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the Lord with me;

Let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord and he answered me;

He delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;

Their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

He saved him out of all his troubles.

(Ps 34:1-6)

Have you ever received the perfect gift?  If not, what would be your perfect gift? PLease sahre by leaving a comment.

The Story Behind this Blog-- rerun

OK, I'm behind again.  I had a phenomenal weekend with a close friend of more than 20 years.  She came to Ottawa for a visit.  We had girl time at the spa, getting manicures and pedicures -- something neither of us have done more than a couple of times.  We saw/heard my son play bassoon in the school board's All-Star band, and saw/heard Michael W. Smith in concert. We went to a Ladies Night at my old church and saw a speaker that we have also known for over 20 years! The week after that awesome weekend was super busy as well, and now I am so run down I just am not able to write.

But God is a God of grace.  I was getting down on myself for getting behind again.  Yesterday I received an email from someone who was very touched by the post on Perfectionism that has been up all week.  She needed that post and may not have seen it if I had been on schedule!  So, the writer of these blogs is not able to maintain a perfect schedule -- but God is able to make the schedule perfect!

This is a re-post from a few months ago...

The Story Behind this Blog

My sister-in-law, Janine, is a woman I respect and admire tremendously.  She has a heart of gold, does an amazing job parenting her two kids, and has a successful music career in classical voice. She checked out my blog and provided the comment below. I decided to share her comment and my response, because I understand that many (or maybe most) of the people reading this blog may be coming from a similar place.

"Hi Cindy, You are making some very good points. I went to a Women in Faith weekend this fall and my small group is reading "Laugh your way to grace"; both of these pointed out how great it is to include humor in our relationships with others, and that humor can help us to bring in more disciples as well. You might consider adding funny anecdotes, even funny things that your kids say, experiences you've had, etc. It makes it more informal and for me, more inviting. Just a thought. Keep on keeping on! Have a terrific week!"

That is fantastic advice.  However I have a couple of problems with delivering that here in this blog.  First, Janine’s husband (my brother) got his share and mine of the humor in the family, leaving me with a very serious disposition.  Second, the message God has put on my heart is not a funny one.

            So, here is the story behind this blog.  Over the past few years the challenges in my life became too much for me to handle, so I now am blessed with opportunities for respite – a chance to get away from the challenges and refresh and recharge.  This summer I was enjoying some respite at the home of my dear friend Lisa, in Hamilton.  We have been very close friends for over 20 years.  While there, God burdened my heart with the following Scripture.

“Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?  Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you.  Away from me you evildoers!' (Mt 7:21-23)

There isn’t anything humorous about this message.  Jesus says that MANY who believe in Him will be turned away from heaven.  Not a few, not some, but MANY. These believers include people who have performed miracles in his Name and have driven out demons.  These believers were religious, and yet Jesus tells them He never knew them.

           

            Many people that believe they are going to heaven will die only to discover they were wrong.  God wants this message delivered to those whom He loves, so they can respond to the true message of salvation – but so many messengers are interested in making the gospel inviting at the cost of not delivering God’s full message.

           

            As my heart began to comprehend God’s pain over this truth, His message continued. I received a constant flood of Scriptures, which I was madly trying to type fast enough to keep up with the torrent.  I was still up at 2:30 in the morning typing away.  This is not at all normal for me. I have struggled with chronic fatigue for 15 years -- I am never awake at 2:30 in the morning.

            I came home from Hamilton with only the beginnings of God's commission on my computer.  Less than 2 days later, I had broken my right ankle by simply stepping wrong. All my plans for the summer were smashed because I was unable to drive – including plans to visit Janine and family.   God gave me sign after sign that He was giving me time to finish compiling the message. He had put on my heart.  I shared my experience with my small group, and they asked to be included in it.  Over the next several months I shared the message (basically an organized chain of Scriptures) with my small group.  All of us experienced wonderful and exciting transformation from what we learned and shared together. 

            This blog is a stepping stone to sharing that message with a wider audience. This blog is not really designed to meet the needs of non-believers.  It isn’t seeker-friendly or terribly inviting.  However, what I present here comes directly from the Scriptures.  I pray that you will be able to know with certainty whether you are on the wide road or the narrow road – based on the full message of the gospel.  Do you have religion or do you really have Jesus?  On Judgment day are you certain He will know you?  What do you base that on – a quick prayer, a family history of being Christians, a legalistic obedience?  This blog, and more so the book I am writing, will present the whole truth of what the Bible says about this topic. I am not the judge, just the messenger. I will post some Scriptures about grace and the peace and joy that come when you understand and respond to the entire message of the gospel. However, there are already a lot of messengers sharing those messages.

            I don't know why God gave me this call, but I believe to the depths of my soul that He did give it to me. I have learned about spiritual gifts over the past few years.  Two  years ago, God made it clear that He has given me a gift with His Word.  I have memory problems in every area of my life, yet I can remember His Word.  During every Bible study or small group God gives me relevant Scriptures to share. I have used deep Bible study to address my clinical depression, long before I knew anyone who knew anything about spiritual healing. I used to be incredibly arrogant, thinking this gift was by my own study and effort, but I now humbly acknowledge that it is a spiritual gift from God.  At this time, He has called me to use this gift in a very specific way to build up the body of Christ.

            In the first three centuries of the Christian church, the church grew by leaps and bounds, in spite of terrible persecution. The early Christians (disciples) multiplied even though they knew they could be killed for their faith.  Today Christians in Communist and Muslim countries follow Jesus in spite of imprisonment and torture.  The numbers are growing in spite of a message that guarantees incredible difficulties.  In North America the Gospel is presented in comfortable and inviting ways with little or no mention of hardship.  Our North American churches are dwindling and closing their doors as people leave in droves.  Something I encourage you to think about.

Perfectionism

By the time I was 18, I had decided that all Christians were hypocrites.  Their lives were often morally worse than mine, and it would all be “forgiven” when they went to church on the weekend.  We had religious groups condemn my family for various things including playing cards, drinking coffee or wine, and allowing the girls to wear pants.  I saw no power in their lives, and realized their families were just as messed up as my own,  If their god did exist, I didn’t want anything to do with him. 

In my first year of university I actively persecuted Christians.  I told them the Bible was written hundreds of years after the events it claimed to describe and that the miracles had no more truth to them than Roman or Greek mythology.  Of course, I had never read the Bible.  I had only read the lives of people who claimed to follow the Bible.  Their lives did not inspire me in any way to want to read the Bible – instead I wanted nothing to do with the Bible, the God it talked about, nor those who claimed to live by it.

Just before my 19^th birthday I started a summer job working at a photo lab.  God introduced me to one of His followers who was not a hypocrite.  In a story too long to share in this post, my boss showed me love and humility that I had never seen in anyone, ever.  After a particularly difficult incident at work which my boss handled with incredible calm, she came the next day and apologized to me and the other staff.  I couldn’t understand the apology, as I thought she handled things well.  Her response got my attention.  She said that she was trying to imitate Jesus and He wouldn’t have had the attitude she had that day.

After that, I started going to a small Bible study group.  I have been going ever since.

I brought my hatred of hypocrisy into my Christian life. I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a hint of hypocrisy in my own life. For many years I thought I had to be perfect to influence anyone for God.  I knew that I had been so turned off by people not living what they claimed to believe

I thought my great marriage would show people God’s power.  My marriage ended 8 years ago.  I thought my well-behaved kids would express the power in my life because of my relationship with God.  I have two boys on the autism spectrum.  Good behaviour was rare for many many years.  I thought I had to have everything working in my life in order to show that I wasn’t a hypocrite.  God had to really break me – to bring me to a point of absolute brokenness – a place where I realized I could not measure up, ever.  I could never live the perfect Christian life.  I could never be the perfect Christian. I couldn’t even get close.

I had missed the lesson of my own conversion.  It wasn’t my boss’ perfection that got my interest.  She showed that she wasn’t a hypocrite by her humility – not her perfection.  I am finally free of that perfectionism.  I know I can’t be perfect, but I also know I don’t have to be.  Instead I have to be real., open, honest.  I need to admit that I don’t measure up. That is not to say I just let sin rule in my life – No Way! I do my best to live a life that brings glory to God. By His power and grace I have changed a lot in 27 years, but I am still very broken.  I still need a Saviour. 

That Saviour has not made me perfect, rather He has set me free.

Saving Faith

 

I apologize for getting behind on my posts.  I'm still fighting some health issues.

 Listen to a message from Jesus about the Day of Judgment.

          “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 
          Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
          “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 
          And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

          “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
          “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 
          Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

(Matthew 25:31-46 NKJV)

Is Jesus teaching that we are saved by works?  Not exactly.  James, the brother of Jesus, explains this a little further.

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?  Can such a faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17 NIV)

Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (Jm 2:17)

A saving faith is evidenced by good works of love and compassion.  It is not the works that save a person.  We are saved by faith in the grace of God.  However, James informs us there is “saving faith” and “dead faith.”  Saving faith produces the love and compassion of Jesus within that person, and leads to eternal life.  Dead faith produces religion and self-righteousness and leads to destruction.

Examine your life next to the Scriptures.

Can Jesus see the evidence of saving faith?