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

August 2, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

I have been studying Abraham and his descendants for the past few weeks. While reading their stories there is one thing that I have noticed, which I'd like to share with you.

There are two times when Abraham told kings that Sarah, his wife, was his sister. That wasn't really a lie. She was his half-sister. But the reason that he did it was because he was afraid if he told the truth then he would be killed so that the men of the city could take Sarah as their wife, because she was so beautiful. And each time, the king had taken her into his palace intending on her becoming his wife. And each time, God revealed that Abraham and Sarah had been deceptive, so they were found out as being dishonest.

So Abraham's "truth" was based on deception in order to try and protect himself.

Next we see Abraham and Sarah's son, Isaac. He married Rebekah and they went to a foreign country for a short time during a famine. Isaac chose to do the exact same thing as his father. He was afraid if the king and men of the city knew that Rebekah was his wife, they would kill him in order to marry her; again, because she was so beautiful. The king did take Rebekah into the palace to become his wife. He then saw her and Isaac being romantic with one another and realized that they were indeed married, instead of being brother and sister. He sent them away.

This time, Isaac's deception was a complete lie, because Rebekah wasn't his sister or half-sister or step-sister. I'm not sure why he thought he would get by with this deception, since his father had tried it twice and it didn't work either time for him. I think sometimes we think we are smarter and wiser than older generations, so know how to get away with things that didn't work for them.

So what Abraham said as deception was based on truth; but his son's deception was a lie.

Isaac and Rebekah have twin sons. Jacob carries on the deception that had been practiced by his father and grandfather, only his became more obvious and worse than what they had done.

Jacob bartered a bowl of stew that he was cooking for his twin brother's birthright. Having been born first, Esau was the one who was to inherit the birthright and blessing from his father.

Later, Isaac was going blind and thought he was dying. He sent Esau hunting for wild game so that he could cook his favorite meal. After eating, he was going to speak the blessing over Esau. Rebekah overheard and convinced Jacob to deceive his father, in order to steal his brother's blessing. Isaac asked over and over again if he was Esau, and Jacob lied over and over again, saying that he was. So he received the blessing that Isaac intended for Esau.

Honestly, when you read the story, you see that God's plan was coming to pass for Jacob. Before the twins were even born, the Lord had spoken to Rebekah and told her that the older son would serve the younger. Esau made ungodly choices and had married two Canaanite women, who both caused hardships for Isaac and Rebekah. He had no respect for his birthright and was willing to trade it for a momentary moment of satisfaction. That bowl of stew only lasted a few minutes, and he was willing to give it up for something that was God-ordained and promised that would have blessed not only him, but his descendants.

Jacob was flawed, but he wasn't ungodly and had respect for the worth of the birthright and the blessing of the father. He longed for that and was willing to deceive to get it, instead of allowing God to work out the details and bring it to pass.

Rebekah and Isaac sent Jacob away to his uncle's home, due to Esau being angry and wanting to kill him. On his journey there, Jacob had an encounter with God that was life-changing. You don't see the deception that had been there previously. God's blessing is upon him and you see him prosper and his sons became the twelve tribes of Israel.

Sometimes we fail to see that something that we may think of as not being a big deal may have an affect on future generations; like the deception that started with Abraham and was passed down. Jacob had sons who struggled with lying and deception. We see it growing with each generation.

I've heard people make comments such as, "I can't help it, that's just the way things are! That's how my grandparents were.... my parents... uncles or aunts....." The truth is, with God's help we don't have to just accept those things and can change. Deception was a problem for Abraham's descendants. But Jacob chose to change, after his encounter with the Lord. He wasn't perfect and his sons had some big issues, but he chose to listen to God and believe His promises.

I have a friend whose father was an alcoholic and who died from alcoholism when he was in his 50's. She chose that she was not going to be like her father and so worked hard to make very different choices than he had and became successful. Her brother, on the other hand, became not only an alcoholic, but also struggled with drugs. His life was much more debilitating than his father's had been and he made even worse choices. When his sister tried to talk to him about it, his response was, "I can't help it! That's how dad was so that's how I have to be." Two kids raised in the same home, but they made some very different choices. The outcome of their lives has been very different, with him passing away several years ago.

Let's examine our hearts and make sure that we aren't passing on things that may cause problems for our descendants. If so, it could become worse and worse with each generation.

I've seen that happen with church. Parents attend, but choose to stay home whenever they have something better to do or are tired or just don't want to go. Then their children see church as being unimportant and as optional. Then the next generation don't believe that it's necessary whatsoever and even feel as if a relationship with God is optional.

If there is something in our life that we have allowed to be passed down from parents or grandparents that has a negative affect on us, then we need to choose to surrender it to God. Sometimes we may feel flawed and is if we are unworthy for God to use us or wonder if He can do anything good in or through us. But just as God transformed Jacob's life and kept the covenant that He had made with Abraham and Isaac to be carried on through him, He can transform us for His purpose to be fulfilled.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Last week, we wrote about unexpected changes. And this weekend, we experienced more of the same.

Saturday, I helped my brother-in-law work on some flooring. We worked for about 10 hours on it, bent over, standing, squatting, etc. And we were exposed to black mold. That much we expected.

Late in the day, we knew we weren't going to get the toilet finished, so settled on putting down the linoleum. We ran out of glue, so only finished half. With no toilet, Loretta and I chose to go home instead of getting a hotel and finishing the next day.

On the way home, a deer crossed the road, but far enough away that Loretta didn't hit it. During my turn to drive, a dog--I'm guessing a golden retriever--was in my lane of the turnpike. I slowed down, and tried to swerve to the other lane, but the dog started to run to the other lane, so I swerved back. The dog also changed its mind and turned to run back. I guess I was still going about 60mph (the limit was 80) when I hit it.

We were thankful that the car was still drivable. One headlight fixture, turn signal, and bumper were damaged badly. Part of the undercarriage broke loose, so I pulled over to remove it the rest of the way. Just as I finished, a motorcyclist stopped to ask if we needed help. I thanked him, but assured him we were done.

We didn't think of it right away, but later, we were also thankful the airbags didn't go off, and thankful that the motorcyclist didn't hit that dog. Only God knows what might have happened if I had succeeded dodging the dog, but I would be very happy to damage our car if I knew it would save the motorcyclist's life.

If the motorcyclist hadn't stopped, I doubt it would ever occur to me that our hitting the dog and taking damage could be a good thing. (Of course, I would prefer the dog wasn't hurt at all, but that didn't happen.) When something goes wrong, it may ultimately do something much better. Sometimes we might know what it is. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we can only guess. God knows.

ON THE MENEWE:

Sloppy Joes

Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often; drain well. Return to skillet.

Stir in remaining ingredients, except garlic toast and cheddar cheese. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Cook garlic toast according to package instructions.

Serve beef mixture over Texas toast. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

I was watching my nephew's kids a few nights ago. I wasn't watching the time closely and was about 10-15 minutes late putting the two little ones down for their bed time. I told them, "Uh-oh! I'm a little late getting you into bed tonight!" The next morning I got a message from my nephew's wife. She said that when her daughter woke up that morning, she told her, "Mama, Aunt Retta was just a little late putting us to bed last night. Please don't beat her up!" LOL My nephew's wife assured her that she was not going to be beating anyone up!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Our attitude greatly affects our gratitude! - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org