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

September 23, 2020

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you."

Then verses in Psalm 139 tells us that God knit us together in our mother's womb.... that our frame was not hidden from Him when we were in the secret place (the womb).... that God's eyes saw us when we were unformed. In fact, verse 15 tells us, "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

As believers, we love those verses that remind us of how precious we are in the sight of the Lord. It's amazing to think that God knit us together while we were in the womb, and even had every day of our life recorded in His book.

But what about the wicked or those who we disrespect and dislike? What about the dishonest politician who is deceitful or those in the media who spout propaganda? What about those who are hate-filled and causing riots and stirring up strife and hate? It's often difficult to think of God forming them in their mother's womb and loving them and recording their days in His book. Surely God doesn't love them as much as He does us; the faithful, kind one who is filled with goodness and loves others?!?

This past Sunday evening we had prayer at our church and were praying for our government, the upcoming election, and various other things that were related. We were taking turns praying as God brought things and people to our mind, as the others prayed in agreement. One of the women began praying for someone in the political field that is difficult for many of us to respect and love. Afterwards, God began bringing others in the political field to mind; and honestly, it was a tad hard not to cringe at the mention of some of the names brought up.

At first, it was a little hard to pray for those people; but then something began to change and faith began to grow and we began to truly believe that God could intervene in their lives and bring about change. We began to realize that God loves them, just as much as He loves us, and desires to have a relationship with each of those people.

God brought something to mind that I shared with them, to remind the story of God leaving the ninety-nine in order to go after the one who is lost. In fact, no one is out of His reach and He can cause situations to occur that brings them to a place of repentance.

Scripture says that King Manasseh was one of the most wicked kings to ever rule over Judah. In fact, he did more evil in the sight of God than any other king, and caused the people to greatly sin. That sounds like an impossible situation, right?!

But then Manasseh was taken captive to Assyria. During his time in captivity, he remembered God and truly repented. He spent the rest of his life trying to bring about change to the nation of Judah.

Can you imagine how it could shake our country and what wonderful change could happen should salvation and true repentance come to those in government in Washington DC?! If those who have used deceit and lies and have practiced corruption should repent and dedicate their lives to honesty and godliness, it could bring about revival to our land.

Nothing is impossible with God and I believe it could happen! I believe change could happen in our media where they begin speaking the truth of the news and not propaganda. I believe that people could once again respect those in authority from the national level, down to the state, on to our cities. I believe that people could once again respect and honor our police officers.

But it can only happen when God's people repent and pray.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore (heal) their land."

Do you want change in our country? Then there is something that we can do about it. God gives us specific instructions in this verse. We need to stop thinking that we can do nothing and that change is impossible. When we do so, we are limiting God and lacking faith in what He can do.

I encourage you to humble yourself, pray and seek God's face as never before, repent of sins and lack of faith and anything that may be hindering your prayers. When you do so, then God promised to answer. He promises to forgive our sins and heal and bring restoration to our land.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

We did pray for politicians who we think agree with our ideologies. We prayed that God would give them wisdom and help them to make right decisions. We also prayed they would have the strength to stand up to opposition, threats, etc.

And we prayed for politicians who we disagree with completely. We prayed that God would give them wisdom, and give them a desire for repentance. We prayed for their families and their salvation. If they were to repent, and devote themselves to God, that would be a much better victory than anything else we could imagine.

We also prayed for people with influence in the mass media, whether we agree with them or not. Honestly, there are a lot of personalities I agree with in basic facts, but I can't stand hearing their anger and hatred. We prayed they would all be honest, but in a loving, kind way. We want truth, not more anger.

Please pray for our nation, not against people. I want God to help us all. The job of tearing us down is Satan's, not God's. And I want him to cut it out.

ON THE MENEWE:

The Jordo

In a large skillet (cast iron works great) heat enough oil to cook the vegetables. After the skillet and oil is hot, put in the red and sweet potatoes, and the onion. Cook uncovered until vegetables are about halfway softened. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until potatoes are fully cooked, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

After I graduated high school I didn't have a car of my own, but needed one in order to get a job. My dad and stepmother had gotten married during my senior year. That summer she let me borrow an old car that she had, but no longer drove. There was nothing pretty about that car, but it was interesting.... and memorable! It was big, white, and faded. Instead of having a gear shift, it had push buttons. Also, my stepmother had recovered the seats at one time and the fabric had big peacocks all over it. Sometimes the car wouldn't start, but if I opened the hood and hit the battery cables with a rock, it would start. It wasn't really a car a 17 year old was proud to be seen in, but it got me to where I needed to go. After I finally got my own car, I gave it back and my dad and stepmother parked the car somewhere out in their field and I don't think it was ever driven again.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

"The wisest investments are made in the things that matter most." - Luke Lang

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org