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

December 2, 2020

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

I recently read a quote by Christine Caine that said: "Every now and then God surprises you with an answer to a prayer you had forgotten you even prayed. The faithfulness of God never ceases to amaze me. Ever."

Other times, God answer prayers that others have prayed on our behalf; and we may not even know or realize the blessings that we are receiving is an answer to someone else's prayers for us.

We have someone in our church who has struggled financially for many years. It seemed like she just could not get a break. Part of her troubles were due to others taking advantage of her, she had lots of vehicle problems, some health issues, and a long list of other things that caused her to be in poverty. She was a hard, faithful worker at her job.

For a while, it felt like she had one thing after another happening. Her vehicle was wrecked, other vehicles had issues or would stop running, and she had to depend on her dad or someone from the church for rides to work and church.

Finally, she was gifted with a really good car. Then next thing we knew, it was having problems. One Sunday when she was unable to attend church, due to not having a ride, our pastor told the church that this had gone on long enough! We, as a church, prayed that the spirit of poverty would be broken off this lady. We prayed that her car would be a good, dependable vehicle for her. We declared that everything that Satan had stolen from her would be restored.

Nothing happened immediately. But God heard our petitions, on her behalf. He heard her cries. And He answered! For probably the past month, every single Sunday, she has had a testimony of yet something else that God has done for her that week. She received money back from a bank from a repo that she had been paying on for the past few years, that she should never have had to pay to begin with. Last year she had to be in the hospital and has been paying her bill as she could. She got a check back from them saying that her bill was paid in full. She has been able to pay off other debt with this money that she has been receiving back. Literally, money that Satan has stolen from her during the past few years is being returned and restored to her! She only has one more bill to pay, then she will be out of debt!

Several years ago I was praying for someone and felt impressed to tell them that there would come a time when their children would be in church; which none were attending at that time. I had forgotten all about that, until a couple years ago I was told that some of those families were faithfully attending church.

A scripture was spoken over Jon back before we were married. I thought that the interpretation was going to mean one particular thing; but recently as I was praying, the Holy Spirit showed me how that promise had come to pass. It wasn't just meant for one specific need, but God has answered above and beyond our expectations -- and is continuing to fulfill that promise. It was far bigger than I ever imagined!

God never forgets His promises! He faithfully listens to our prayers and hears our cries. Even though things may not happen when we want or expect them to happen, doesn't mean that He forgets or has said no. We may forget praying for things in particular, until God answers and reminds us. We remember, "Oh yeah! I remember praying for that need or for that person a long time ago! God has answered my prayer!"

Something that Jon and I both greatly desire is to be 100% debt free. I prayed, often, that God would provide so that we could be completely out of debt. But when you see your mortgage balance slowly inching down... or you have car issues.... or an appliance tears up and has to be replaced.... or you have a doctor bill.... or taxes and insurance comes due.... it's easy to begin to feel as if it's impossible. Even though we know that it would one day happen, there were times when it didn't seem as if it would happen as quickly as we wanted. But God has been faithful in providing for all of our needs and has blessed us, and next year, we will be debt free! And it's happening a few years faster than we originally had planned, when we signed our mortgage papers.

God is faithful to keep His word! I'm sure that each of us can think of instances when God answered prayer. We have had those moments when He answers a prayer that we may have prayed long ago and had forgotten about. He answers prayers that others prayed on our behalf; or that we prayed on the behalf of others.

Do you know that it was about 700 years between Isaiah's prophecy regarding the birth of Jesus and His actual birth? 700 long years that the people of Israel hoped and prayed and waited and longed for a Savior to come and deliver them. Years filled with darkness, sin, rebellion, hardships, suffering and things that we don't even have record of or know about. Had God forgotten His promise? Had Isaiah misheard or misunderstood or misspoken? Hope must have felt completely lost at times and the people wondered if the fulfillment would ever happen.

But then we read four of the most important words in scripture: "It came to pass." God hadn't forgotten the words that He spoke through Isaiah. He didn't change His mind about sending His only Son to earth to die for the sins of mankind. He didn't regret making this promise and was trying to figure out how to get out of it.

God remembered the words of prophecy that He had given to Isaiah. But that wasn't the moment in time that He chose to send His Son, Jesus. I don't know why He choose to speak 700 years prior to fulfilling His Word. But there came that one pivotal moment when God chose to fulfill what He had spoke through Isaiah, and "It came to pass!"

Don't give up hope if you've been praying for something that you've not yet received the answer for. Don't feel as if your request was unimportant or that God doesn't care. His ways are not ours, neither is His thoughts ours; for His ways and thoughts are much higher than ours. God is always faithful! Hold onto faith and know that one day you, too, will be able to say, "It came to pass!"

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

There are stories all through the Bible of people who had to wait for a promise from God to be fulfilled. Moses, for example, was not just an answer to prayers by his mother, but was prophesied long before.

And after he lost his temper, he had to run away from the only home he knew, and start his life over. I assume during those many years he completely gave up on the destiny he was meant to fulfill. He probably assumed God had made a mistake, or his mother had misunderstood.

When the time was right, God called him to go and collect the Israelites to leave Egypt. When they finally got away, they were too rebellious to be given the promised land right away, so Moses had to wait with them for 40 years while they matured enough to see the promise fulfilled. That may only be a few chapters, but it's also long enough for half of them to grow old and die. It's long enough for the young children to become grandparents.

We tend to give up if God's promise isn't fulfilled in a few days, or weeks. How many of us have the faith to keep trusting for 40 years? Or 700 years? We've been waiting 2,000 years for Jesus to return. It will happen.

ON THE MENEWE:

Chicken Breast Casserole

Cut chicken breast in half (or you can use chicken tenderloins). Wrap one piece of bacon around each piece of chicken. Place in single layer in casserole dish or 9x13 baking pan.

Mix sour cream and cream of mushroom soup together; add a small amount of milk and stir.

Pour over the top of the chicken. Do not add any salt.

Cook uncovered at 300 for 2-1/2 hours.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

I would like to make a challenge to you! Once a week, between now and Christmas, intentionally do an act of kindness for someone. We all try to be kind, but my challenge is to do something for someone -- intentionally and with thought -- once a week. There are 4 weeks between now and Christmas, so choose 4 people whom you can do show love and kindness to. It doesn't have to involve money or gift-giving; although it may.

For example, my niece would like me to teach her how to make homemade cinnamon rolls. So I plan to find a day when she and her kids have some free time, then go to their home and have them make cinnamon rolls, under my guidance. It not only will teach her how to make some delicious baked goods, but we will get to spend time together.

The possibilities are endless! Pray and ask God to show you what to do and place individuals on your heart, if you can't think of anyone or anything to do. The recipients will feel blessed and appreciated; and we, as the givers, will feel good about taking opportunities to show kindness.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Love is patient; so when you are feeling impatient don't ask for patience, ask for more love. - Kris Vallotton

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org