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

April 10, 2024

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Did any of you watch the eclipse this past Monday? My nephew's four children were out of school for the day, so we were able to watch it together. They range in age from five to fifteen. They were so excited and I had bought the special glasses for us to all wear. We all enjoyed watching the various stages of the eclipse. The kids would play for a bit, then put on their glasses and check things out.

Where were are in Oklahoma, we got about 95-percent coverage. Looking through the glasses, you could only see a tiny sliver of the sun when the eclipse was at its peak. For just a few minutes the temperature dropped a bit and it grew windier. But I was a bit surprised at how light it still was outside with such a small sliver of sun showing.

I was later in contact with another nephew's wife, who was at a location in Arkansas that was in the direct path of the eclipse. She said that at the peak, it got super dark out like nighttime, for about three minutes.

What a difference between total coverage of the sun and 95-percent coverage. Even though it seemed as if only a sliver of sunlight was showing, it was more like a cloudy day, not darkness.

In Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah is writing about the hope of the promised Messiah. He writes, "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine."

After Jesus began His ministry, He was teaching and told the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

Imagine, if you will, Jesus being the sun -- that bright light. The moon covering the light is the sin and evil of the world. They ignore the light and try to cover the brightness, yet the light remains. Jesus is that light that can never be extinguished, regardless of those who walk in darkness. Even though they may have total disregard for God and want to live life to please themselves, the light of Jesus still shines brightly.

John 3:19-21 tells us this fact: "God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they were doing what God wants."

John writes in 1 John 1:5-7, "This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God, but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Regardless of how dark the world may seem, we have to choose to remain in the light and not give in to the darkness around us. There is life and hope and peace and joy when we live in the light. We are cleansed from all of our sins, by the blood of Jesus.

Not only is Jesus the light, we are called to be lights in this dark world.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Sometimes it may seem as if the darkness is so much greater than the light of the true believers, so what good can we actually do. But much like just that tiny sliver of light from the sun, during the eclipse, was enough to give off enough light so I could see everything around me; we can be enough light to show Jesus to those around us who have need of Him. We don't have to be big and important and seen by many; but just each do our part to shine, and it will be enough to impact the lives of others.

Stay close to the light, which is Jesus! Remember that He can never be extinguished and will burn brightly and consistently, regardless of how dark the world may become.

And be the light of Jesus to those around you! May we all allow Him to shine through us, and never let our light grow dim or be hidden or extinguished.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I would like to share some interesting details about eclipses in general.

There are lunar eclipses and solar eclipses. Eclipses aren't all that uncommon. In fact, there may be several eclipses in a single year, both lunar and solar. Sources vary in what they describe as "how often eclipses happen", mostly because there are more than two different types. Lunar eclipses may be total (no sunlight hits the moon directly), penumbral (every part of the moon is partially shaded by the Earth), or partial (some is partially shaded; some is not). So some tallies include/exclude different types. Lunar eclipses seem more common because if the moon is shaded, half the world gets to see it (weather permitting). While solar eclipses are only seen by a small part of the Earth (again, weather permitting). In fact, many are only visible from oceans for most of their paths.

If the moon was any smaller or further away, we wouldn't ever have a total solar eclipses at all, anywhere. There would be partial solar eclipses, just not total. If it was larger or closer, the total solar eclipses would cover larger areas and last longer, but would not be as spectacular or interesting. Long before in-orbit telescopes, scientists used total eclipses to observe the outer edge of the sun; that would be impossible with a larger or closer moon.

If the moon was any larger or further away, we would never have a total lunar eclipse. If it was smaller or closer, it wouldn't be as spectacular or rare.

There is only one distance and size for the moon, so it perfectly fits inside the Earth's shadow, and so it perfectly blocks the sun.

Our moon is 5^th largest in the solar system, not beaten by much, and only by moons around Jupiter and Saturn. It is also the perfect size to create tides which are important for a lot of ocean life, without creating other problems.

There are many other details about the moon I won't bore you with. I just want to illustrate how the moon is more perfect than simple, random chance would suggest. Just further evidence for Psalm 8:3, "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place..."

ON THE MENEWE:

Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescent Breakfast

Brown sausage; drain. Mix cream cheese into the sausage.

Press a can of crescents in bottom of an 8x8 pan, sealing the seams.

Pour sausage mixture evenly on top of crescent crust.

Top with the remaining can of crescents, pressing seams to seal and sealing around the edges.

Bake according to the instructions on crescent can.

When browned, cut into squares and serve.

Double ingredients if you want to make a 9x13 pan.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My nephew's kids are learning in school how many syllable words have. A while back, we were getting ready to go outside to the bus and the little boy said their cousin's name (who gets on the bus with them) and said, "Her name has three syllables." I told him good job -- he was right! His sister was standing there and I could tell she was thinking. Then she said, "Aunt Ret-ta! Your name has three syllables!!" I thought, well she is technically right; my name does have three syllables in it, so no need to correct her.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. - Corrie ten Boom

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org