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

July 12, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Have you ever felt spiritually "meh" or "apathetic"? You still love Jesus and are doing all the right things, but just feel no real enthusiasm. There's no passion or genuine excitement for anything spiritual. You go to church, because it's what you're supposed to do; but you feel in a rut, and there's no joy in attending. You still read the Bible and pray, but get no real comfort out of it.... and may even feel as if God is distant. If we were honest, I daresay, all of us have felt that way at one time or another.

I've been going through a season of feeling that way lately. I love Jesus! I still faithfully attend church! I read the Bible (although probably haven't been as faithful as I should be, at times) and pray. I'm still kind to others and do all the right things. But I've just felt meh.... have had spiritual apathy. I don't get excited about going to church and don't really look forward to attending. I kind of feel like, "It's going to be the same old songs... same routine... same thing we do Sunday after Sunday......" I don't get excited about reading the Bible and praying. I would say that I lack spiritual passion and zeal. It just kind of feels like it's the same thing day after day, week after week... and it's become routine and I feel very passive.

Yet I have chosen to keep moving forward on my journey with the Lord, one step at a time. I've not quit, not "taken a break" from being a christian, haven't turned around and walked away from God, haven't gone down a path to sin or gone astray. Even when I've lacked joy, enthusiasm, interest, and passion I have kept moving straight ahead. Even when I've not felt Him present, I've reminded myself that the Father is with me and hasn't abandoned me.

Probably the hardest part of this season has been keeping my attitude in check. I've found myself being negative or critical of others at times. I recognize those things in myself and have tried to overcome them. But at times it's been a struggle.

If I'm not careful, I become distracted by busyness and daily life and lose my focus on what the important things are. I take care of everything and everyone else, but fail to stop and just sit at the feet of Jesus and talk to Him and listen to what He wants to say to me.

In Luke 10:38-42 we read a story about Martha and Mary. Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Jerusalem, and came to the village where these two women and their brother, Lazarus, lived. Martha welcomed them into her home and began cooking a big meal for everyone. Her sister, Mary, went into the room where Jesus was at and sat at His feet, listening to what He taught. Scripture says that Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. It upset her that she was doing all the work, while Mary sat in the room listening to Jesus. Martha went in and told Jesus, "It doesn't seem fair that my sister just sits here while I do all the work. Tell her to come and help me." But Jesus replied, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."

Truthfully, if this story had been written about me, I would be Martha. When Jesus and His disciples came to my home, my first thought would be about feeding them. I would have thought, "They've been traveling a long ways and are tired and probably haven't had a good home-cooked meal in a long time. My gift to them will be to feed them. I know how to cook and this is something that I can do for them." So I would have gone into the kitchen, looked to see what all groceries I had available, and immediately begin cooking a big meal. If my sister was there and she didn't come in to help me cook, I probably would have reacted the same way. "I could use some help, Jesus! Could you tell my sister to come into the kitchen and help me cook?"

Jesus didn't reprimand her for cooking for Him and the disciples who were with Him. He didn't say, "I didn't ask you to feed us, so you just brought all this hard work upon yourself!" He didn't even get onto her for not coming and sitting at His feet. He didn't say words to humiliate and embarrass her in front of the others. Those are not the type of things that Jesus does!

What Jesus basically told Martha was, "You can feed us a big meal, and after it's eaten, it's gone. You are getting yourself worked up and upset and worried about cooking. Really, there is only one thing that you need to concern yourself with, and Mary knows what that is. My teachings and the words that I speak is something that will last forever, unlike the meal that you are cooking. The food will be gone, by My Words will last forever!"

I truly believe that Martha loved Jesus! She believed in Him and was a follower of Christ. As a disciple, a believer, there is a time when we need to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him and have that fellowship and communication between us. But there are other times when the important thing is to serve -- to get up and work. Both sitting at Jesus' feet and serving others are important! But we have to discern the timing for doing each.

Jesus was only going to be in their home for a short amount of time, and that was the time to sit at His feet and listen to Him teach. Afterwards, they could have a meal together, and Martha and Mary could cook and serve together.

The line in the story that stuck out to me was "Martha was distracted." In this instance, her distraction happened to be cooking. But in life, we can become distracted in numerous ways. We can be distracted by every day busyness, by activities, by family and friends, by jobs, by so many different things. We allow things to get our focus off from spending time at the feet of Jesus. We feel like we have things that we need to do, and become worried and upset about details; much like Martha. We may even occasionally think it's unfair that others seem to have time to spend with Jesus when we have so much that has to be done.

It's so important that we take time to spend with Jesus. It will make us better at serving others and better christians. Even when we may not be feeling especially spiritual or close to God, we must persevere and continue spending time with Him. When we start feeling meh.... feeling spiritual apathy.... we still do what's right and what we know is necessary.

I planted tomatoes this year and for several weeks I could see the plants growing and flowering, but there were no tomatoes. Even once they began producing tomatoes, it felt like I waited and waited and the fruit wasn't ripening so I could pick and eat it. It felt like I checked for days on end, and saw no progress. I began to wonder if they would ever ripen... or if they would rot... or perhaps I'd never have a garden tomato to enjoy. It was to the point of being frustrating and felt discouraging. All that work for nothing!

Then finally, I began to notice the tomatoes slowly changing shades from green to a light pink. I've now eaten a couple tomatoes and have 3-4 others that are ripe and ready to eat. I checked my plants and there are many green tomatoes on them right now, and some are beginning to turn a little pink. In a few days, I should have more to pick and enjoy.

Sometimes we feel like those tomato plants. We are rooted in Christ and being watered by reading the Word, praying, going to church.... but we see no fruits for our labor. We feel discouraged and disheartened. We have a choice to make: we can either uproot ourselves so that we are no longer connected to the Vine (Jesus), we can refuse water from the Living Water (Jesus) and wither up and spiritually die; or we can stay rooted in Christ and refuse to give up. Even when the birds and bugs (Satan) try to peck away at us and cause us to be spiritually diseased and to cause rot to occur in our heart, we resist him and stay connected to Jesus.

Eventually there will come a time when we will begin to feel a change taking place. We'll begin to grow and bear fruit and will enter a season of spiritual blessing and harvest. Even when we didn't feel like it, our roots were growing deeper in Jesus and we were becoming more connected to Him.

Never give up! Never feel as if you are the only one who experiences these times of barrenness and struggle. We all experience those seasons. But hold on! Things will change and spiritual growth will happen!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Several times through the Bible, our relationship with Jesus is compared to a marriage. He doesn't want to be an overbearing master, and He doesn't want to be just a friend. He wants to have a close relationship with us much deeper than that. He doesn't just want to be part of one piece of our lives. He wants to be the most important part of every part of our lives. We don't always want or feel that deep connection, though.

Relationships between people can be similar. Some of us are acquaintances, some friends, some spouses (one at a time, hopefully). And even those relationships may vary.

Imagine a newly married couple. The wife takes her new husband to a family reunion. He drives her. She walks in with him, and finds him a seat. Then she goes around to almost every person there. With each one, they catch up on details of each others' lives: marriages, deaths, vacations, etc. When she finishes, she finds her husband, and tells him it's time to drive her back home.

She has a committed relationship with her husband, but treats him like a chauffeur. She wants him to be part of her life when she would have been alone. But when there is someone else around, she wants him to sit in the corner and leave her alone. Then when she needs another ride, she wants him again.

Jesus isn't a chauffeur. But sometimes we can treat Him like one. We want Him to be part of our lives when we need Him. But when we go to some places, or spend time with certain people, or do certain things, we want Him to sit in the corner and leave us alone. We don't cut off that relationship; we just put it on hold. Then when we need Him again, we expect Him to be patiently waiting and happy to help us out.

So seek out that deep relationship with Jesus. But don't make it just on Sundays, or only when you're lonely, or only when we need something. Invite Jesus to be part of every part of your life, like a marriage.

ON THE MENEWE:

Easy Angel Food Pineapple Cake

Mix dry cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple together (that's it!).

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done.

**Other variations on this cake: Mix a dry chocolate cake mix and 1 can of Coke together. Mix a dry white cake mix and 1 can of Sprite together.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My sister, Linda, bought a used car back in her single days. The car had the hard foam dash. After owning the car for a short time, one of our nephews (who was a little boy at the time) took bites out of the dash. There was no way of repairing it, so she had to have those chunks missing out of the dash for the duration of her owning the car. It's a funny story now, but not so much at that time.

That particular nephew went through a stage of biting. He was probably 2-3 years old at the time. His parent's were pastoring a church during that time. During one service, he crawled underneath the pew and bit one of the older women on back of the leg. Back then, all women wore dresses and pantyhose. She was not happy with him!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org