Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He 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.” (John 10:1-10 NIV).

I have had a lot of “window time” over the holidays driving from Tennessee to Texas and back. There were lots of different sights that sparked an idea for a devotional. The first to come to mind takes me to some of the things we saw in New Orleans. I know that’s not the direct route at all! However, on our way home Mary and I wanted to see Aaron’s house and tour New Orleans. So we went by way of Baton Rouge and spent the day in New Orleans. Of course we did a lot of “tourist” stuff. Even though it was a cold rainy day we had a great time sampling some of the finest food and sights of the city. On the way out Aaron took us by car to tour the areas hardest hit by Katrina. Just as you have heard or seen in the media, much of this area is still abandoned. However, popping up in a few spots are some new homes being built to withstand future storms. It was as if a flower had begun to bloom in the midst of destruction. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been instrumental in planting some of that hope. They have been working since 2006 to rebuild in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, pledging millions of their personal dollars and raising much more. That’s making hope real.