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

January 12, 2022

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

I rarely do this, in fact, I'm not sure that I've ever done this before. But this week I was going back and looking over some of the older newsletters that I've written and ran across this devotional, which I feel like is worth re-sharing. It was originally published in our July 30, 2014 newsletter. It is a good reminder that Jesus wants to be involved in every detail of our lives and cares about each situation that occurs. His involvement will often require a response on our part and our participation. I hope that you will be blessed and encouraged by this reminder as you read this devotional once again -- or perhaps for the first time.

In John 2:1-11(NLT) we read this story:

"The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and His disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother told Him, 'They have no more wine.' 'Dear woman, that's not our problem,' Jesus replied, 'My time has not yet come.' But his mother told the servants, 'Do whatever He tells you.' Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, 'Fill the jars with water.' When the jars had been filled, He said, 'Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.' So the servants followed His instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 'A host always serves the best wine first,' he said. 'Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!' This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed His glory. And His disciples believed in Him."

This past Sunday, the church we attend had a guest speaker from Nigeria. She used this passage of scripture as the basis for her sermon. I'm not necessarily going the same direction that she took, but there is one point that she made that stood out to me. She said, "Not only was Jesus invited to the wedding; He was also involved."

She also shared a custom from her home country that helped me to have a better understanding of this story. In her country of Nigeria, when a couple decides to get married, they don't send out invitations to the wedding. They make an announcement in church or wherever. Although there may be two hundred people who hear the announcement, on the day of the wedding there may be seven hundred people show up. The wedding is not just for family and close friends, but everyone is invited to attend. At the wedding, it is a huge embarrassment if you don't have enough food for everyone. If that should happen, it would make the groom look bad and his new bride would think that he didn't have the resources to take care of her. They also have a custom that you are to send a gift home with every guest that attends. It can be something really small, but you must give each guest some type of gift. If not, the guest will say negative things about you and you will look really bad.

Knowing that custom from Nigeria is a good illustration of what a huge embarrassment this would have been for the bride and groom to run out of wine at their wedding celebration. Their custom, at that time, may have been along the same lines of those in Nigeria today, where you made an announcement of the time and place for the wedding, but everyone in your village and the surrounding area is invited to come. This couple may have made the announcement to two hundred people, but on the day of the wedding there were seven hundred that showed up. Running out of wine was a big deal and would have made them look bad.

Jesus was there in attendance as an invited guest. He and His disciples had been asked to attend the wedding. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also present. Perhaps she was a relative or good friends with the groom or bride, and wanted to save them from embarrassment. When she heard that the wine had run out, she told Jesus. Up to that point, Jesus had not yet performed any miracles. His response was, "This is not our problem! My time has not yet come." But knowing that her son was the promised Messiah, Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do.

When the bride and groom invited Jesus to the wedding, they fully intended that He attend as their guest. I'm sure their desire was for Him to sit back and relax and enjoy the celebration. They had no way of knowing in advance that they would be in need of this miracle. And having never seen Jesus perform miracles beforehand, they wouldn't have invited Him thinking, "We'll have Jesus in attendance so if we have a lot of guest show up and run out of wine, He can do a miracle and get more for us." But when Jesus saw the need and the faith of His earthly mother, He got involved.

There are many people who are willing to invite Jesus into their life, but they don't particularly want Him to be involved. He is welcome as a guest, as long as He stays out of the way and lets them do what they want without bringing about conviction. They just want to know that He's there to keep them from hell or that He's there if they run into trouble; but don't want His daily involvement.

But each of us will face a crisis at some point in our life, and we will then have to decide if we want Jesus to remain an invited guest of if we are willing to allow Him to become involved.

Had Jesus not become involved in the wedding celebration, it would have caused a lot of hardship and embarrassment for the bride and groom and their families. But His involvement brought about a wonderful miracle that helped them save face and look good in front of their many guests.

When the master of ceremonies tasted the wine, his response was, "The host always serves the best wine first, then brings out the cheap wine later after everyone has had a lot to drink. But you saved the best until now!"

When Jesus becomes involved in our life, the result will be better than anything we could ever do on our own. He made the best wine out of pure water. He can take a plain life and make it into something spectacular.

Lastly, allowing Jesus to be involved in our life doesn't mean that we can just sit around and do nothing. His involvement means that we have to respond in some way, which will mean our involvement. The servants had to obey what Jesus asked them to do. Jesus didn't go get the water pots, fill them with water, take the glass of wine to the master of ceremonies for tasting, then distribute it to all the guests. The miracle happened when the servants obeyed His command and did everything He told them to do. They went and got the pots, filled them with water, took the glass to the master of ceremonies to taste, then distributed it to all the guests. Jesus' involvement required a response from the servants; just as His involvement will require a response on our part.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

The difference between contributing and being really involved is well illustrated by eggs and bacon. The chicken is around for the breakfast, but the pig is really involved.

Getting involved doesn't usually require a complete sacrifice, but it typically requires us to give a little of ourselves. We may need to give our time, our money, our emotions, or something more.

There may be cases when we are the diner, or the chicken. Just be willing to be the pig once in a while.

ON THE MENEWE:

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Boil chicken in large pot (water should just cover chicken), add salt and pepper; cook until chicken is tender.

Cut chicken in desired pieces (cubed or shredded); add back to pot of water you cooked the chicken in.

Add soups and seasonings, to taste.

If desired, add in the can of chicken broth.

Bring to a light boil and add noodles or dumplings. Cook until tender.

**Note: Sometimes it's not necessary to add the chicken broth, so use your discretion. It all depends on how "soupy" you want it. Everyone who makes this has adjusted the recipe to their taste. No matter who makes it, it comes out great!

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

This story is from 7 years ago! Now, this little boy will soon be 13, entering his teenage years!!

My niece has enrolled her two daughters in ballet and tap lessons. She felt like her 5-year old son needed an activity too, so enrolled him in karate. His grandma asked him if he had started karate lessons yet. He was so serious as he answered her, "No I haven't done karate, but I did watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie and that was really cool!"

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Practice the pause.

When in doubt, pause. When angry, pause. When tired, pause. When stressed, pause.

And when you pause, pray!

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org