THE NEW EWE
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 30, 2023
LIFE
IN THE FOLDI apologize ahead of time for the length of this devotional, but this is on my heart and it's hard to shorten it without losing the message. I pray that you will read and be encouraged.
I believe that sometimes christians get the wrong idea about life. I've heard it said, in different ways, that if you have enough faith or trust God then nothing bad will ever happen to you. That leaves many believers with damaged or weakened faith, as well as many questions, when they endure hardships. Yes, God is my protector, provider, and is always with me; but I'm not promised to always have sunshine and roses. I'm not promised that my path will always be smooth and nothing bad will ever happen to me. In fact, there are many scriptures that speak to the fact that we will suffer, have tribulations, and endure hardships. But there are also scriptures that tell us how to overcome and encourage.
There was a popular gospel song, written by Andre Crouch in 1972, entitled "Through it All". One of the lines in a verse says, "If I never had a problem, I wouldn't know that God could solve them. I'd never know what faith in His Word could do."
If we never encountered difficulties or had a problem, we'd never know the power of God. We'd never experience miracles and see God at work in tough situations. Our faith would never be given opportunities to grow. We want to see God at work and be witness to miracles, but don't want to have to go through situations that require God's miraculous intervention and help.
We often don't understand why things happen as they do and it may seem unfair or more than we can handle. But if we keep our focus on Jesus and trust Him to work in our situation, then we can experience answered prayers and peace and so many other things.
I've been teaching on Joseph at our church in our weekly midweek Bible study. He was his father's favorite, which caused problems and difficulties with his brothers. They grew to resent and hate him.
I'm not sure if their father, Jacob, was oblivious to that fact or if he didn't realize things were as bad as what they were. But the older brothers had been gone for some time to watch over their father's flocks. Jacob decided to send Joseph out to check on them and bring him back a report.
Joseph traveled to where his brothers had originally gone, to Shechem, but found out that they had moved the flocks further to another place, called Dothan. So Joseph went there and found them.
When the brothers saw Joseph, they plotted to kill him, but ended up throwing him into a pit instead. A caravan of traders came by and they sold him. Joseph was taken to Egypt, where he was sold to Potiphar, who was captain of the guard for the king. A few years later, Potiphar's wife falsely accused Joseph of inappropriate behavior, because he had resisted her attempts to entrap him into a sexual relationship. So Joseph was thrown into the king's prison.
While in prison, he had interpreted dreams for both the kings cup-bearer and king's baker, who were fellow-prisoners of his. Joseph asked that they mention him to Pharaoh, so that he might get out of prison. The baker was killed, as his dream had shown. The cup-bearer was restored to his former position, but forgot about Joseph.
Joseph was there for two years, when Pharaoh had some dreams, which no one could interpret. It was at that time that his chief cup-bearer remembered Joseph. The king sent for Joseph at once, who was able to interpret the dreams for him. Joseph gave wise advice to the king, regarding the dreams and the coming famine. Pharaoh placed Joseph in a high position of authority, with only the king having more authority than him.
The result was that during the famine, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt for food... Joseph revealed his identity to them.... all their families, as well as Jacob, their father, moved to Egypt. Reconciliation and forgiveness was given and received. Through Joseph, his family was saved during the famine.
Joseph was in a place that he wasn't even supposed to be in at the beginning! His father had sent him to Shecham. He could have gone back and told his father that they were no longer there. But he went on to Dothan to find them and check on them, as directed by his father. His brothers chose to put him in a pit instead of killing him. A caravan of traders just happened to come by at that particular moment when Joseph was there. When they sold him in Egypt, he was sold to an officer of the king. He was then thrown into the king's prison, where he met a couple of the king's staff. They had dreams, which he was able to interpret. All this led Joseph to the place where God wanted him -- in a position of authority in Egypt.
Though events didn't seem fair and Joseph encountered many difficulties and years of hardship, being betrayed and falsely accused, serving a prison sentence that he didn't deserve, God was always with him. He had the favor of the Lord upon him and was blessed wherever he was. Those whom he worked for recognized that the favor of God was upon Joseph and they, themselves, were blessed due to Joseph.
Joseph was raised in an extremely wealthy family; his great-grandfather was Abraham, his grandfather was Isaac, and his father was Jacob and scripture speaks about their great wealth and prosperity. Yet through slavery, he learned how to become a servant. God didn't immediately place Joseph in a place of privilege and honor, but he had to serve in a household and in prison, have responsibilities and be under authority. He also had to learn the language and customs of Egypt, in addition to learning his other duties of service.
Through all these different difficult circumstances, Joseph saw God intervene and work and do miracles in ways that his brothers never experienced. He experienced the favor and blessing of God in ways that the other eleven brothers never did. Also, through him, his family was saved from starvation during the years of famine. Joseph experienced the miraculous providence and favor of God that he wouldn't have experienced had he stayed in his father's home in Israel.
Jon and I hit a dog on the turnpike a month or so ago, which did quite a bit of damage to the front passenger side of our car. Here's the thing, we weren't even supposed to be out that night! I had packed our bags and our intent had been to spend the night at our family property in Missouri. Jon and my brother-in-law had spent all Saturday working on a bathroom remodel at the house, but were unable to get it finished so there was no toilet. Around 8:00 or so that evening, we made the decision to head back home, which is about a three-and-a-half hour drive. About an hour from home, we hit the big dog.
Here's the thing! A motorcyclist pulled over shortly after the accident to see if we needed help. Jon had pulled over to check things out, which thankfully, the car was still drivable. Had we not been there and been the one to hit the dog that was running in the highway, the motorcyclist may have been the one who had hit it and that would have likely been a deadly accident.
Had we not had that happen, we wouldn't have gotten to experience God answering prayer and doing so many miraculous things during the situation.
We had to wait two weeks to get into a body shop, and they had told me on the phone that the initial appointment would be for an estimate, then it would likely be another couple weeks before they could get our car in for repairs. Before I took the car in on that Friday morning, I had prayed that God would open up and earlier appointment for repairs, thinking the earliest might be the following week. When I arrived, they asked me, "Do you have a rental or ride?" I was confused, because I had been told the appointment would only last about 25-30 minutes. They must have seen my confusion and told me, "We can start on it today!" What?!? That was above and beyond what I had expected, even though I had prayed, and honestly, it rattled me a bit.
Last week on Tuesday Jon had gotten a text from the body shop saying it was nearing completion. I called to see exactly what that meant and the man who answered the phone told me that expected completion date was on Friday. So I spent the entire evening figuring out a plan for us being able to turn the rental car back in on Thursday morning and who could pick me up and borrowing a vehicle Thursday evening until pick up of our car on Friday.
Wednesday morning I was going with my nephew's wife to OKC and we were backing out of her drive when Jon text me saying, "Our car is ready!" I was shocked! That afternoon when we returned, she followed me to drop the rental car off. Because I was able to take it back a couple days early, I got a refund of $111 as well as the $300 required deposit. Then I was able to pick up our car. The man who handled our car told me that the parts had all come in earlier than expected, which wasn't normal. God was with the entire process of us getting our car repaired and we saw His hand throughout everything that happened.
Honestly, I'm thankful for the incident that happened. I'm sorry about the dog; but I'm so grateful that we got to experience seeing God do such an incredible work in that entire situation!
Remember the lyrics that I quoted earlier? Here is how that verse begins: "So I thank God for the mountains; and I thank Him for the valleys; and I thank Him for the storms He's brought me through." Then the verse ends, "If I never had a problem, I wouldn't know that God could solve them. I'd never know what faith in His Word could do."
When you face difficulties, look for the blessing. Don't focus on what all is wrong or the negative or the bad things, which is so easy to do; but look for the favor and blessing of God in the midst of your situation. Then give God thanks and tell others what He did!
JON'S
PERSPECTIVE:Who defines "fair"? It seems very common for people to define "fair" based on what we think it should be. We use examples of things that are or aren't "fair" to help clarify the definition. If we are really trying, we'll consider each person's viewpoint before deciding what is or isn't fair.
Then, if we aren't careful, we tend to judge God for how "fair" He is toward us.
Genesis 1:3~4 says, "And God said, 'Let there be light', and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness." Most translations (including mine) use the words light and darkness. But the Hebrew words there can also mean right and wrong, or good and evil, or righteous and evil. Because He didn't create the sun till verse 16, I tend to think He was creating righteousness and evil in the first day.
In either case, God decides what is righteous and what is evil. He defines what is holy, and fair. And then He judges us based on what He decides. Not the other way around.
We may look at Joseph, and think being sold into slavery wasn't fair to him. But God knew that Joseph would also be rewarded and honored above everyone in Egypt and the new nation of Israel, except for the Pharaoh. He decided that it was fair that Joseph would have to endure years of humility as well as enjoy years of honor.
We don't usually see all the aspects of our own lives, either. We also can't see how we affect the lives of others. God decides what is fair for all of us from His own perspective and His own definition. But, thankfully, He doesn't always give us what is fair. All in all, I would rather receive forgiveness, mercy, patience, and love.
ON
THE MENEWE:Potato Cakes
This is a good way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.
1-2 cups of mashed potatoes. Add in 1 egg and stir.
Add in pepper and garlic powder. Can add in some paprika, if desired.
Optional -- you can also dice up onion really fine and add in, if you want.
Stir in some self-rising flour (or regular flour); enough to thicken so they will hold together when frying.
Heat some olive oil on griddle or frying pan.
Place potato mixture by spoonfuls on hot griddle.
Cook until browned on one side, then flip.
After flipping, use spatula to smash down some.
Cook until browned on second side, then serve.
THIS,
THAT AND THE OTHER:I'm writing this on Monday, August 28th. Today would have been Mama's 91st birthday. That seems a bit surreal, because she passed away in 1981 at the age of 48. Mama has been in heaven for almost as many years as she lived on earth. I truly don't believe that time in heaven is the same as it is for us on earth. I base that upon the scripture in 2 Peter 3:8 which says, "You must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years as a day." Those in heaven don't feel the pang of separation; neither do they miss their loved ones on earth or feel as if they are missing out being with family and all that happens. With all my heart I believe that when I get to heaven, Mama (and Daddy) will see me and it will seem as if there was no separation between us at all.
It also seems a bit surreal that when Mama passed away Ronald Reagan had just been inaugurated as US president for his first term. People didn't have cell phones or home computers -- there were no laptops or iPads or other electronic devices. I think our home phone may have still been on a party line. Daddy and Mama only had four grandsons at the time. Only two out of five daughters were married.
Our family has grown by leaps and bounds since that time! Looking at our little country home where we were raised and where Mama and Daddy lived for many years, I often wonder what Mama would think about everything her daughters have. Our houses all look big and really nice, compared to hers. She never had a dishwasher, microwave, carpet in the house, or a garage to park the car in. There was no central heat and air in the house; only box fans and the last year or so of Mama's life a small window A/C unit that a man in our community bought for our us, which only cooled the living room. Most of her clothes were homemade.
When I look at everything I have, it makes me realize how times have changed in the past 42-plus years and how blessed my sisters and I are. We all have much more than our mama ever had. But I'm thankful for the lessons and qualities that she instilled within us all. We all love the Lord and have a deep faith; we all have a strong love for family; my sisters and I are all good cooks like Mama was; and my sisters are all such a good mother and grandmother, like our mom was. I think that Mama would be incredibly proud of us and our lives and would have loved all her sons-in-law; she would have been so incredibly proud of her grandkids and great-grandkids and would have doted on them and been such a wonderful, loving grandmother.
THOUGHT
TO PONDER:The Bible is like a stepladder.
It helps us see things from a different perspective and that changes everything. - Luke Lang
OUR
HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:We love you!
Loretta & Jon