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

February 24, 2021

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

One night last week, I had a dream. In this dream I was in an office on a conference call with a couple other ladies, both whom I have worked with in past years. At the end of the call, as one of the women was starting to hang up, this high-pitched demonic voice came over the line and said, "Loretta, I saw you in a séance last night." Both women started giggling, thinking that this was funny and a joke. Then the voice continued, "I know that when you are nervous or stressed, you doodle the letter J." My immediate thought was, "No, I don't!" I recognized that this was a demonic spirit and knew in that moment that I had to make a choice on what to do. I knew that the two ladies were unbelievers and had no interest in anything spiritual. I could keep quiet and laugh it off as a joke, in order to not offend them and look potentially foolish; or I could take my God-given authority over that demonic spirit. I immediately began speaking and saying, "I take authority over you in the name of Jesus and command you to stop! You don't know me and have no authority over me. You have to stop speaking and leave, in Jesus' name!" Then the dream ended.

The next morning as I was thinking about the dream, this is immediately what came to mind regarding its meaning:

As christians, we cannot be intimidated or scared to take authority over the enemy; even when others don't believe or won't understand or think we are foolish. We may even be laughed at or ridiculed. Taking authority over demonic spirits or tactics that Satan may try to use against us is more important than people's opinions or responses. The world will laugh at sin and the enemy's antics, and may even see it as being funny or a joke.

As children of God,we can't just stay quiet and do nothing. We must be bold and speak out against what the enemy is trying to speak against us or the church. This is something that we all have been given authority to do. We can all "resist the devil" and are promised in James 4:7 that "he will flee from you." But as the scripture also says, we must first of all, "submit yourselves to God."

The truth is, Satan and his evil spirits don't know us fully the way that Jesus does; like when the demonic spirit in my dream saying that I doodle the letter J, and me knowing that I don't. Just because the enemy says something about us doesn't make it true, so we need to be aware of what voices we are listening to.

But here's another aspect: the letter J in my dream could also represent Jesus; meaning that when I become overwhelmed or stressed or nervous I call upon the name of Jesus. But Satan likes to minimize the power of Jesus and make Him seem as if He's someone I just "doodle" about when I have nothing else to do and of no real importance. That is another lie and attempt to make Jesus seem small and insignificant, when He is truly the One whom I call upon and go to in all situations.

I want to encourage you today to not allow Satan, the enemy, to lie to you and weaken your faith. Just because he speaks lies to you, that may seem as if they could be believable, doesn't make them true. Just because he speaks lies about your family or your situation and plants doubts in your mind doesn't make his words credible.

It's time that we take the God-given authority that He has given us! We need to live a submissive life to God, then be quick to resist the devil whenever and however he attacks, tell him to flee... to go away and leave you alone. Keep your focus and eyes on Jesus and listen to what He's saying to you and what He has to say about you!!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Sadly, it is all too easy to keep quiet when we know we should speak out. We can tell others that we attend church, but may not describe our relationship with Christ. We may tell others that we know Jesus, but may not want to tell how He has impacted our lives. We may tell close friends that God helped us through a hard time, but be reluctant to tell them that He gave us a dream that taught us something critical or prepared us for something that came later.

We are the bride of Christ. A real bride wouldn't tell people she is married, but then hide who it is she is married to. In the same way, we shouldn't hint that there is a Savior in our lives, but avoid telling anyone who He is.

ON THE MENEWE:

Crockpot Tomato Basil Soup

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker or crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

Allow to cool slightly. Puree batches of soup in a blender, or utilize an immersion blender into the crockpot -- until very smooth. Serve immediately, or transfer the soup back to the crockpot and keep on low until ready to eat.

**Note: If you want to add sour cream or heavy whipping cream and blend in, it will create a creamier soup.

Garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese or a dollop of sour cream.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Recently, I was looking back through some old newsletters and found these funny incidences that happened with my great-nephew and great-nieces.

Why is it that little kids (especially little boys) seem to have an inner instinct to pick their nose? It's definitely not something that's taught to them by their parents, but a nasty habit that they figure out for themselves. When Jax was age two, he had the nose-picking thing down pat. One day, his mom saw him picking his nose and told him, "Jax, no-no!!" Jax looked at her with his big, bright, blue eyes and replied, "Yes. Funny!"

When my great-niece was three, for some reason, her parents could not keep clothes on that child when she was home. They'd dress her and turn around and she'd have most of her clothes stripped off. She stripped completely down one day and her mom told her, "Put your undies back on! We are not a naked family!" The response was, "But mom, I want us to be a naked family!"

I have another great-niece, when she was age 3, who loved wearing swimsuits, regardless of the weather outside. She and her big brother used to go to daycare, and as soon as they got home in the afternoons her clothes would go flying as soon as she walked through the front door on her way up to her bedroom to put her swimsuit on. One day it was sunny but cold outside. Her parents couldn't find her and looked outside and there she was with her swimsuit on and no coat -- but she did have on a hat to keep her head warm! She also loved shoes and would change shoes a dozen times a day. And watch out if there are other kids around because if they took their shoes off, she'd put them on. That summer we had a family gathering in Lampe and a couple other great-nieces were there and had taken off their flip flops. Lillian was wearing their shoes, and even had on two different shoes one time.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

If it's big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about.

There is nothing too big for God's power or too small for God's heart. - Craig Groeschel

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org