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

May 11, 2022

LIFE IN THE FOLD

I have just finished teaching on the book of Amos at Wednesday night Bible study at our church. The book is filled with God warning Israel of their impending judgement, due to their many sins. As a nation, they had forgotten about God and had started incorporating idol worship in with their worship to God.

God gave visions to Amos, which he then told to Israel. God would plainly tell Israel, this is exactly what your sins are.... this is going to be My judgement and your punishment. Then He would call them to repentance, over and over again; which they ignored. God would then remind them who He was.

In the last chapter of Amos, God once again told them that no one was going to be able to escape His judgement.

He said, "Even it they dig down to the place of the dead, I will reach down and pull them up. Even if they climb up into the heavens, I will bring them down. Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel, I will search them out and capture them. Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will send the sea serpents after them to bite them. Even if their enemies drive them into exile, I will command the sword to kill them there. I am determined to bring disaster upon them and not to help them."

When reading that passage of scripture, I was reminded of a similar one that David wrote in Psalms 139:7-12: "I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence! If I got up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night -- but even in the darkness I cannot hide from You. To You, the night shines as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to You."

Even though there are many similarities in these two passages of scripture, there is a huge difference between them! In Psalms, David is delighted and overwhelmed by the thought that wherever he goes, God is there! There is nowhere he can go where God's presence isn't there.

On the other hand, in Amos, it is a word of warning from God to the Israelites. "You cannot run or hide from Me! You cannot escape My judgement!"

In one, God is telling the people, "I am there!" In the other, David is talking to God and saying, "You are there!"

Where we are in relationship with the Lord determines if the words of these scriptures bring us peace or cause us to fear.

When we are in right relationship with the Lord, we want Him to be with us wherever we go. It gives us assurance and security to know that there is no place we can ever go where God's presence won't be. Regardless of what life brings our way, God will be there! Regardless of what happens in our nation or in the world, God will be there! If we sin or fail God, all we have to do is repent and God will be there to forgive. It brings an overwhelming peace to know that we are never out of His sight and He is always with us every single second of every single day.

On the other hand, if our relationship isn't what it needs to be with the Lord, then those words can cause us to be fearful or perhaps to even become angry. People can try to run and hide from God, but He's there. When they aren't living as they should, that doesn't necessarily bring peace, but causes conviction. Satan will lie and try to steal their lives and their joy, but God is always in pursuit and still there no matter how deep in sin a person gets.

We will all face the judgement of God one day. The outcome is determined by how we live our lives on earth. It has nothing to do with how good of a person we are or how many good deeds we do. It's all based on our salvation or lack thereof. When we stand before Christ we will hear Him say well done, or I never knew you. Only then will eternal separation from God happen; when the unbelievers are cast away from His presence forever.

My grandpa was a good man. He was well liked by everyone and was a very gentle, quiet soul. He was kind and friendly. Seemingly, the worst thing that he did was roll his own cigarettes and smoke Prince Albert tobacco. He faithfully attended church with my grandma; and did so for years.

When he was 75 years ago, just a short time prior to his death, there was a revival at the church they attended. During the altar service, the evangelist went back to where my grandpa was sitting and talk to him about salvation. It was only then that grandpa ask Jesus into his heart and was saved, for the very first time. Even though he had sat in church and listened to sermon after sermon, he had never made that personal commitment. How devastating and sad would it have been, had that evangelist not listened to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to go talk to my grandpa about salvation, and he facing eternity without having a personal relationship with God! I'm sure that many people assumed that he was saved, since he always attended church.

Let's be diligent about keeping our relationship with God strong and true. Let the truth of knowing that we are always in His presence, bring us peace and joy. No matter where we go or what we do or what happens in life, God is always there!

May we also pray and encourage those whose relationship with Jesus isn't where it should be or is non-existent. Let us desire that they experience the presence of God in their lives, as we do in ours.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

God is with me at my best. He is with me at my worst. He is with me while I sleep. He is with me when I'm happy, and when I'm hurting. He is with me when I try desperately to come up with something to write.

Some of those times, I admit, I don't think of His presence much. Other times, I can be desperate for Him. In both cases, He is there.

The Bible tells us many times that God wants us to seek Him. So try to spend some time each day to seek Him whether things are going well or badly. I don't want to get into a habit of only seeking Him when life is rough, or I should expect life to always be rough.

ON THE MENEWE:

Egg in a Basket

(This is a quick and easy breakfast, if you are in a hurry.)

Butter bread on both sides. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out the center. Heat skillet and melt a little butter in the pan so the egg doesn't stick. Place bread in pan, then crack an egg into the center "hole" of the bread; salt and pepper. Cook on both sides until bread is golden brown and egg is cooked to your liking. If you like the yolk more well done, use a spatula to break the yolk. Toast both sides of the round cutout in the same pan, at the same time; then eat as little rounds of toast. Melt a slice of cheese on top, if desired.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

I enjoy the memories that pop up for me on social media. Many times they are things that I have forgotten about. Recently a picture of me holding Jovie popped up from when I was babysitting her full-time. She was probably around age 3 at the time. She was sitting on my lap, with her head propped up in her hands and her elbows resting against my chest. Her eyes were closed. I had asked, "Jovie, do you want me to sing to you and rock you to sleep?" She replied, "No thanks!" She was determined to hold out as long as possible before taking a nap, but just couldn't keep her eyes opened. She always liked napping, but some days would have liked to have stayed awake just a little bit longer than her eyes allowed her.

During the 4 years that I kept her, we would nap together each afternoon. Well, I didn't always nap, but would always lay down with her. She is now 8 years old and in 2^nd grade. A while back she told me that she missed getting to stay with me every day. I asked what her favorite part of me babysitting her was and she answered, "The two of us napping together!" That girl still enjoys her naps!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Better to have a friend that can pray you through your mess

rather than one who keeps you in the mess - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org