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
March 13, 2024
LIFE
IN THE FOLDI get my nephew's two kindergarteners and their cousin, who is in 1st grade, on the school bus in the mornings. I go to the home of my nephew and his wife and wait with the kids until the bus picks them up.
One of the kids' very favorite things to do is to take turns opening the front door in the mornings. I'm not even sure how that got started! But we have our morning routine. I have an alarm set on my phone and when they hear it, they know it's time to get their backpacks on and go wait at the front door. They aren't allowed to open the door and go outside without my permission. They are trained and do this well! Then they'll either ask or tell me whose turn it is to open the door. Sometimes this leads to an argument between the three of them, because they all think it should be their turn. I'm not sure why this is such a big deal, but it is!
There have been a few times when the argument starts to escalate and I'll tell them to step back from the door - that it's my turn to open it! Oh my!! The good thing is, it makes them stop arguing with one another; but the bad thing is, they do not like it when I do that and will begin arguing with me! Their response (especially the 1st grader), when I tell them that it's my turn, is, "You can't open the door! You are not a child!!"
My reply that you do not have to be a child in order to take a turn opening the door is not well received! In their young little minds, it should only be a child that opens the door in the morning when it's time to go out to the bus. Since I'm obviously not a child, then I should not have a turn and cannot do that!
The truth is, I am well capable of opening a door - I do so when I arrive at the house each morning. This may seem silly that this is so important to them, but on the flip side, it can teach them some simple lessons. It can teach them the importance of taking turns. It can teach them that if they argue and can't agree, then no one gets a turn. And it teaches them that they can't just run outside when it's time to go, but need to wait until an adult says it's okay and goes out with them.
There is going to come a time when they will mature in this area and be able to go outside by themselves and wait for the bus; but not for another couple years or so. My 11-year old nephew, who rides another bus and attends the middle school, is old enough to do this without any supervision. These kids need to mature and grow up a bit before being left unattended.
Life and spiritual growth is a progression for each of us. We can't look at others and think because we're not like them or unable to do the things that they can, then we aren't spiritual or unqualified or incapable of accomplishing what God asks us to do. God will work with us at the level where we are today, then as our faith grows, He will give us more responsibilities. At each stage of maturity, God will meet us at that level.
I've been studying and teaching a bible study on the life of Gideon in Judges chapters 6-8. Israel had gone through 7 years of being oppressed by the Midianites, because of their evil and turning away from worshipping God. Finally, things became so bad that they called upon God to help - and He did!
The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, as he was hiding in the bottom of the winepress threshing his wheat so the enemy wouldn't see him and steal it away from him. The greeting was, "Mighty hero (warrior), the Lord is with you!"
I'm sure that Gideon didn't feel very much like a hero or warrior in that moment; and he even questioned if the Lord was with him. His reply was, "If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about?" He felt as if the Lord had abandoned them.
The Lord told Gideon to go rescue Israel from the Midianites - that He was sending him.
Gideon didn't feel qualified to do this! He replied, "How can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!"
God assured Gideon that He would be with him and that the enemies would be destroyed.
Read the story... but different times throughout the story, Gideon needed assurance that it really was God sending him and that this was really what he was supposed to do. God was patient with him and each time answered and proved that yes, He had indeed called Gideon to do this.
In fact, the night that they were going to face the Midianites, God once again gave Gideon assurance that He was with him. He told Gideon to get up. If he was still afraid to attack, go down to the camp with his servant and listen to what the Midianites were saying and he would be greatly encouraged.
Gideon slipped to the edge of the camp and overheard two men talking. One of them had had a dream and was sharing it with the other man. The other man's response was, "Your dream can only mean one thing! God has given Gideon son of Josh, the Israelite, victory over Median and all its allies."
When Gideon heard that, he bowed in worship to the Lord. He was then ready to respond and fight.
I love it that God was so patient with Gideon and gave him the assurance that was needed at each step. He does the same with us!
Sometimes we forget that God has called us each to be unique and has a special work that only we can accomplish. We aren't to try to be like someone else or we'll end up failing. It's like trying to walk in someone's shoes when they aren't the right size and don't fit.
In the New Testament, Jesus asked Peter to follow Him and be His disciple. Peter was a regular guy - who made his living by being a fisherman. He had no training and this was all new to him. But I love the transition and growth we see in Peter. When Jesus was arrested, Peter tried to be a warrior and was willing to fight those who had come to take Jesus. But he hadn't been called to be a warrior and lead an army like Gideon had been. In fact, when Peter cut the ear off one of the men, Jesus healed the man's ear. Then Peter denied being a follower of Jesus and knowing Him - then ran off in shame and guilt, because he had told Jesus that he would never leave Him or deny Him. But later in Acts we see a different Peter who had matured and grown greatly in his faith! We can read a sermon that Peter boldly preached on the day of Pentecost, where 3000 believed and were baptized as a result. We then see where Peter begins a miraculous ministry of preaching and healing the sick. In fact, in Acts 5:15 we read where people were healed when Peter's shadow would pass over them.
He came a long ways from being a rough and tough fisherman to being a bold preacher filled with so much power of God that people were healed from his shadow. It was a progression.
We need to not only be patient with ourselves and allow God to work in us and be built up in our faith in Him and see maturity happen; but we also need to be patient with others and give them grace when they may mess up or do things that we don't understand.
When God calls us to do something it may be easy to doubt when others say, "You can't do that, because....." Perhaps it's our own thoughts that tell us that we can do it and why. More likely, it will be Satan telling us why we shouldn't listen and obey. He doesn't want any of us accomplishing anything for the Kingdom of God! But when we say yes to God, He will instruct us and teach us in the way we should go and will give us direction for each stage of maturity we will go through.
Remember the example of the kids telling me that I can't take a turn opening the front door because I'm not a child? Next time you feel the urging of the Holy Spirit to do something, think about that. Don't allow others to disqualify you because of their perspective. It may be selfish reasons that they don't want you to obey. You know in your heart what you need to do, and you can have the assurance that God will be with you each step of the way.
JON'S
PERSPECTIVE:At the Bible study Loretta mentioned, I started thinking about how the guard must have felt when his ear was cut off.
I'm sure it was much like modern police facing a small group of enemies with the plan to arrest their leader. As soon as Peter pulled a blade (I'm not sure whether it was more of a big knife or a small sword), the group became rioters. The guards probably went on the offensive, prepared for a quick but bloody battle.
They did fight long enough for one guard's ear to be cut off. But then something shocking happened. Jesus bent down to the ground. In the heat of battle, that seems like a foolish thing to do, making Himself an easy target. But He picked up the ear. Then He got close enough to the injured guard to reach the side of his head. The guard also behaved very strangely. He didn't fight off Jesus, and didn't attack Him. He just let Jesus come close and touch the lost ear back to his head, and accepted the healing.
I've never been certain whether the guards were Israelites (as the tabernacle guards probably were) or Romans (as the city guards probably were). Either way, this guard was probably confused and stunned that the man they planned to arrest had healed him. And then went willingly. This was someone they were told was evil, and an enemy of God and all Israel. But He proved Himself to be good and peaceful.
The guard probably had one of the greatest testimonies to share after that. I wish more was written about him.
ON
THE MENEWE:Greens
I got this recipe from my nephew's wife -- who got it from one of her co-workers. This is very good!
Boil smoked turkey legs in enough water to cover them (add water as needed). Season the water, in the pot, as desired. (She uses cajun seasoning, garlic, onion, and powdered chicken bullion.) Cover the pot and cook until the meat falls off the bones. Once the turkey falls off the bone, remove the bones and shred the meat. Place the meat back into the seasoned water/broth.
You can use either mustard greens or collard greens. Wash them really, really well! Then strip them from the stem and rip them up into pieces. Add your greens to the pot; cover and let it cook until the greens are tender.
**Season the water when cooking the turkey legs. Taste after everything finishes cooking and add in more seasoning, if needed.
THIS,
THAT AND THE OTHER:When my great-nephew started pre-K, he had a difficult time adjusting. On his second day of school, his mama picked him up in the afternoon and he told her, "My heart broke in two today." She asked why and he responded, "I wanted you and you weren't there, so my heart broke all the way in two. But you don't need to take me to the doctor for a needle (shot) to fix it!" Hard to believe that little guy will be 15 in a few weeks!!
THOUGHT
TO PONDER:If you want to do the work of God, pay attention to people. Notice them.
Especially the people nobody else notices. - John Ortberg
OUR
HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:We love you!
Loretta & Jon