THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

August 12, 2020

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

This morning the biblical story of the Good Samaritan has been on my mind. This summer, it seems as if God has been teaching me this lesson; and about the importance of obedience in being a good neighbor.

In Luke chapter 10, verses 25-37, we read this story. One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking Him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus answered by asking a question in return: "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?"

The man responded, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself."

"Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you shall live!"

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied with this story: A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. A priest came along, but crossed to the other side of the road when he saw the man lying there. A Levite then came by, and upon seeing the man lying beside the road, he also crossed to the other side.

Then a Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he had compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn. There he cared for him, and when he left the next day, he gave the innkeeper money to care for the man. He told the innkeeper if the bill ran higher than what he had paid, he would give him the money upon his return.

Jesus than asked, "Which of these three men would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?"

The man replied, "The one who showed mercy."

Jesus said, "Yes! Now go and do the same."

Jesus wasn't saying that we were to only give aid to someone lying beside the road who had been beaten and left to die; but was using this as an example of what it meant to show compassion and love your neighbor. He also gave this parable to show that the religious man wanted to limit who his neighbor was, and thus justify himself. There was hatred between the Jews and Samaritans. Jesus used this in his story to show that everyone is our neighbor, even those who may be considered an enemy.

So many different examples came to mind as I was thinking about this story.

The summer that I turned 15, my mom was very, very sick with colon cancer. She had had numerous surgeries, radiation, had a colostomy, and was in a lot of pain most of the time. We lived in a small house without central heat and air; instead having a wood stove and box fans as our heating and cooling system. One day a pickup truck came down the road and Daddy went out to see what the man wanted. It was someone who had lived in the community for many, many years. Although my parents knew him and his wife, they were merely acquaintances and not close friends. As far as I know, they never attended church. In fact, the man had been hurt by a church and it had caused him to become bitter. But my dad had always shown him a great deal of kindness. The man had bought a brand new window air conditioner for our home, because he thought that it might help to make Mama more comfortable.

When I was in my early-20's I drove to Texas by myself to go spend some time with my sister and her family. I had followed an aunt and uncle part of the way, because they were on their way to visit family. This was before cell phone popularity. I was maybe 20-30 minutes from my sisters home when I had a tire blow out on a busy interstate. I was scared! There was nowhere nearby to call for help. Trucks and cars would fly by me and honk, with no one stopping to help. I was getting the spare out of my trunk, when a car went by, pulled over to the side of the road, and backed up to where I was. It was an older couple on their way to a wedding. He was wearing a nice suit and she had on a really nice dress. He changed the tire for me and wouldn't take any pay for it. His wife told me that they had daughters and if one of them was in need, they hoped that someone would be willing to stop and help them.

A few years later, I was still single and was driving home from visiting a sister in Arkansas for the weekend. It was dark and I was only a few miles from my house. The roads around where I lived were 2-lanes, with lots of hills and curves. It was a Sunday evening and that particular stretch of road was pretty isolated at that time. I came down a hill and at the bottom was a small bridge that went over a creek, before going straight up another big hill. I saw a young lady standing in the middle of the road, waving her hands and jumping up and down, trying to get my attention. It was either stop or run over her. She was crying and asked if I could give her a ride to the closest place where she could make a phone call. She was from a town from another area of Missouri and had got into the car with a man, thinking he was taking her home. They ended up there, parked down in the woods, and she had managed to get away from him and ran up the hill for help. I took her to a gas station, where a deputy sheriff worked, and got her help. They kept the store opened until her dad was able to come pick her up. I had left and gone to the home of someone, who was also working as a deputy sheriff at that time, so he could go check on her. He told me that over and over again she kept saying, "Please tell that lady thank you for helping me!"

This summer, God has nudged me to mow for a particular neighbor. They are elderly and he has been in the hospital or rehab for the past few weeks. Their children are busy helping them and/or working, so have told me several times how much it helps them to have me mow. This morning, I felt that nudge to mow the front yard of our neighbor on the other side of us. The wife had told Jon that both of their mowers had broken.

There are many, many different ways in which to love our neighbors. There are many, many different ways in which to show mercy and compassion. Sometimes it may require time and finances, much like the story of the Good Samaritan. Sometimes it may cause us to get out of our comfort zone and do something that we aren't very comfortable doing. It may require us to get outside in the heat and help, when we'd rather be indoors in the air conditioning. It may not be fun or glamorous. It may require us giving up time that we'd rather be spending doing other things. Perhaps it will be us having to give money that we had saved up for something we really wanted. We may have to get hot and sweaty and dirty.

We never know how loving our neighbor may encourage them or be an answer to their prayer. Showing mercy and compassion may be what they need in order to turn their heart more firmly to God. But it also helps us grow in our relationship with God, because we are obeying one of His greatest commandments.

A few days ago I was cleaning out the trunk of our car, because I was getting ready to go on a short trip with my sister. I heard out neighbors grandson call out to me and come limping across the yard between our houses. He lives with them and had been left at home for a short time by himself. His grandmother was working, he had still been asleep so his grandfather had left him at home for a little while. The grandfather was nearby and the grandson knew how to get in touch with him if he needed help. The boy is probably 10-11 years old. He had awoken and been playing with his Rottweiler puppy, and the rambunctious dog had made big scratches on his ankle and foot and it was bleeding. I think he was probably a little scared. He called his grandpa to tell him what had happened. I had him sit on the tailgate of our truck and cleaned the wound, put antiseptic on it, and big bandaids. He was so grateful! By the time the boy got back to his house, the grandfather pulled in. I told Jon that us helping the grandson must have meant a lot to the grandfather, because he called to thank us and then has thanked us 2-3 other times when we've been outside.

In a world filled with so much hatred, strife, rioting, discontent, evil, etc..... let's be the light of Jesus that shines in the darkness around us. We don't have to participate in the ugliness of the world, but we can be messengers of hope and share the love of Jesus. It may not seem like much, but if each of us would love our neighbor and show mercy and compassion in obedience to the Word of God, we really can make a difference.

In the parable Jesus asked the question, "So who was the neighbor?" It was the one who showed mercy to someone in need. It doesn't have to be only to those who live next to us, but to anyone whom we come in contact with who needs mercy and compassion. In loving our neighbors, we fulfill one of the greatest commandments given to us by God!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Sometimes it is hard to get someone to overcome a first impression. It might take dozens of examples to correct it. After all, it is much harder to admit to being wrong than to ignore one or two examples.

Many people have gotten a first impression that christians are judgmental and unsympathetic. Of course it isn't true. Anyone calling themselves a christian, but condemning others is a hypocrite (Matthew 7:1-5). And anyone claiming to love God, but hating a brother is a hypocrite (1 John 4:20).

It may take dozens of kind acts by several christians to convince someone that their first impression was wrong. So don't be disappointed if a single kindness doesn't turn someone around.

ON THE MENEWE:

Breakfast Casserole

Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Unroll crescent rolls and press into the bottom of the pan, pressing seams together to seal.

Brown sausage, drain.

Mix together cooked sausage, cream cheese, and 1 cup shredded cheese. Spread mixture over crescent rolls in pan.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper until well blended. Pour over sausage mixture. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake 25-35 minutes or until center is set.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My sister's 8-year old grandson came to visit her (they live next door to one another) recently. They were talking about the cost of things and he told her, "$12.50 would be a good deal for a life." She told him that's true -- that she would pay $12.50 for him.

He then said, "I'd pay a quidillion for the whole family.... including cousins. Grandma, I'm saying that with a qi, not quadrillion, with a quad.

My sister asked, "Well, if you had to pay that much for just one person, who would it be?"

He stared down at the floor and wouldn't look at her. "Well..... I would have to say Jax!" (His cousin, who is also his good buddy!)

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Let your love for God change the world, but never let the world change your love for God. - Stacy L Sanchez

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org