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 2, 2022

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

"Worry is a squatter living rent free in my mind and destroying my house of faith. Worry plants weed seeds of destructive possibilities that infect my imagination with movies of mayhem and madness." - Kris Vallotton

We have all read scriptures about not worrying, but we all tend to do it anyway. At times, it seems to be a part of our lives that we accept as being normal. "Oh, that person is just a natural worrier; they can't help it." Perhaps we even make that statement about ourself.

But if it was natural and nothing could be done to change that characteristic, would scripture have spoken about it so often? When Jesus was here on earth, He knew that people worried about things, so addressed it. Other biblical writers were anointed to write about this subject, also.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Jesus was speaking in Matthew 6:25-31 and said, "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life -- whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don't worry about these things......"

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7

Proverbs 12:25 tells us this: "Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up."

Solomon, who was given God-given wisdom, wrote in Ecclesiastes 11:10, "So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy."

Squat: A building occupied by people living in it without the legal right to do so; an unlawful occupation of an uninhabited building. A squatter is what the one who is unlawfully occupying the building is called.

Going back to the quote at the beginning of this devotional, it calls worry a squatter. It lives rent-free, inhabiting my body (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit), without the right to do so. Squatters take advantage of the owner of the building or house, moving in and taking up residence, without permission, and using the space as if it were their very own. Worry does the same thing to a person. It moves in and takes up residence, consuming our thoughts as if it has the right to live there.

We, as the "owner" have to decide if we are going to allow worry to live there rent free and take up residence, or if we are going to take our God-given authority and kick it out. We have the say on what we allow to live inside of us, and have the right to kick out what is not of God and could lead to destructive thoughts or actions. We don't have to play nice, allowing things to remain that God says needs to go.

Worry is opposite of faith. If we choose to allow worry to live in our mind, then there will not be room for faith, too.

A good example of this is Matthew 6:24 when Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money." You have to choose one or the other. You cannot hold on to both and serve two masters.

It's like that with worry and faith. You can't have both, but will have to choose one or the other. If you choose worry, it will eventually destroy your house of faith. If you choose faith, it will leave no room for worry to take up residence.

The above quote also says that worry plants weed seeds of destructive possibilities that infect my imagination with movies of mayhem and madness.

What does that mean? Generally when we worry, we think of the worst possible scenarios that could happen. "What if this happens....."; and our mind can imagine all sorts of negative, destructive possibilities. Our imagination fills with various scenes (like a movie) that plays over and over again, each with different possibilities and outcomes, and none of them positive or constructive. They are chaotic thoughts and images that we dwell on.

But a faith-filled mind will imagine all of the positive, creative possibilities that God can do! It will remember what God has done in the past and prayers answered and remember what God has done for our family..... and it increases our faith as we begin to think about how big and wonderful and awesome God is. We remember the scripture that says that nothing is too difficult for Him; and we believe it with all of our heart.

The author of the quote I've been using wrote, "I want to make 'doubt' a homeless vagabond that finds no habitation in my yard of possibility."

In other words, get rid of doubt and worry. Don't let them be a squatter in your mind, but make them a wanderer where they can find no place to call home and are constantly on the move. They can't take up residence and occupy your thoughts and infringe upon all of the possibilities of faith; regardless of the situation.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

We have authority over our own hearts. We have every right to kick out demons or demonic thoughts, attitudes, and habits. But that doesn't always mean it's easy.

Sit-coms have illustrated that again and again. A teen invites a friend over while his parents are gone. The friend invites another. Eventually half the school show up, all thinking they are invited. But instead of turning them away, the one who lives there keeps letting them in. Before long, they regret it, and start trying to put an end to the mess of a party, but no one will listen and leave. They have the authority. It's their home. But they end up having to fight to enforce the authority to make the guests leave.

When we have invited fear, anger, hatred, worry, faithlessness, or whatever into our lives, we have the authority to kick it out. But we might have more fight on our hands than we expect. The longer we let it stay, the more other guests it might invite in. And the more there are, the harder it will be to get rid of them.

Just like the teen with an unruly party on their hands, they might have to rely on their parents to come help. We can call on Jesus to help. We may still have a fight and have a huge mess to clean up, but He will help get it started.

ON THE MENEWE:

Easy 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 sausage, cream cheese, and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Spread mixture of crescent rolls.

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

Bake 30-35 minutes or until center is set.

Very good and reheats really well.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to when they could discuss his use of the car. His father said he'd make a deal with his son, "You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut; then we'll talk about the car." The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer, and they agreed on it. After six weeks his father said, "Son, you've brought your grades up and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I'm disappointed you haven't had your hair cut." The boy said, "You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair, and there's even strong evidence that Jesus had long hair." Dad's reply.... "Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?"

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

A bad attitude is like a flat tire. You can't go anywhere until you change it. - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org