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

May 29, 2024

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Our home is located on a busy street. We keep our grass mowed and looking nice. I have flowers planted in front of the house, and we have pretty trees in the yard. We don't have any junk or trash lying around; but keep things looking nice and clean.

Every single time I mow... and often when I take the trash cart to the curb.... or when I go out to get mail... I find where someone has thrown trash into our yard. It is a huge pet peeve of mine! It is very disrespectful and shows that people don't value the property of others. I pick up some type of trash out of our ditch or edge of our lawn at least once a week -- usually more.

If we were hoarders and had junk piled around our house, or didn't mow our lawn and left fallen tree limbs scattered about, that would make more sense why people would think it was acceptable to litter. If that were the case, they might think, "What's one more piece of trash?!" But that's not how it is!

I often find beer cans/bottles, fast food bags and wrappers, and other types of cans and paper containers. I've found a dirty baby diaper, gloves, and random articles that were tossed out into our yard. Cigarette butts are often lying at the end of our driveway or around our mailbox, which were tossed out of windows.

It irritates me that I have to clean up someone else's mess, simply because they are too lazy to drive a short ways down the street and throw it away at the gas station (which can be seen from our home!), or leave it in their vehicle until they get home and then throw it away in their own trash can. It frustrates me that they feel as if they have the right to toss their garbage into my yard and expect me to pick up and throw away their trash for them.

We worked hard to buy this home and pay off our mortgage. We pay to have our lawn sprayed and fertilized, so that we will have pretty grass. We are diligent about keeping our grass mowed and do weed-eating. We are proud of what God has blessed us with and are good stewards with this home that He has entrusted to us.

This can be a lesson for us spiritually. We do all the right things and strive to keep our lives free of sin and make Jesus our priority. We attend church, read our Bible, pray, treat others with kindness and show love, and faithfully serve the Lord. We may struggle at times or sin; but we are quick to repent and get back up and continue to move forward. Even in life's difficulties, we cling to Jesus and take comfort from our relationship with Him. We work at keeping our hearts pure and keep putting one foot in front of the other and follow Jesus; even when we don't understand situations or become discouraged or perhaps even go through times of spiritual dryness or feeling complacent. We don't give up and are determined to hold fast to our faith in God!

Yet there are those who try to throw their trash into our lives. They show very little or no respect for our relationship with God. They dishonor our commitment to live for the Lord, and are those thorns in our flesh that poke and try to get us distracted.

Perhaps they try to tempt us to partake of sinful activities that we no longer do. Maybe there is a sin or stronghold that we struggled with in our past, but have chosen to repent and surrender it to Jesus; yet those old friends try to draw us back into that old lifestyle.

It may be those people who seem to take pleasure in causing offense. They speak words or act in ways that cause hurt and reactions that are ungodly. We may pick up that "trash" that they keep throwing at us; but it seems like it's not long before we find that they've tossed more our way.

I used to have a hard time telling people no, because I didn't want to hurt feelings or felt obligated or didn't want anyone to think badly of me. I have learned, with age and maturity, that sometimes it's best to say no. Sometimes people will take advantage when you say yes all the time; and it prevents them from maturing and taking responsibility. And I'm not obligated to do things, just because someone wants me to -- or someone doesn't want to do it themselves.

An example: There was a lady who willingly took on a responsibility. She liked the notoriety of others seeing that she had taken this on and saying what a good person she was because of what she had done; yet she really didn't want the burden of what this responsibility truly meant. She expected others to step in, anytime she asked, and took advantage of their help.

I was sent a message by someone, who had been helping out regularly, saying that I was going to be getting a call asking for my help. The person sending the message was going to be gone for a week, so the other lady was looking for someone who she could ask for help during that time.

My response to that message was basically that I don't mind helping out my own family tribe when needed; but didn't want to get mixed up with helping this other lady, because I already knew that she would take advantage.... then that would just end up making me really aggravated at her.... then I'd have to repent.

I wasn't willing to allow someone to throw their trash in my yard, so to speak. Meaning, I already knew the situation and that this lady had a reputation for taking advantage of others and stirring up trouble (throwing trash); and I wasn't willing to open up my heart and life and give her a place to dump her garbage. I knew that my response would be aggravation and I would likely say things that would be ungodly and unkind, then I'd have to repent for my words and thoughts. So no, I'm not going to give that person a lawn to throw their trash in.

Sometimes we may have people throw things in our life that we didn't ask for or that was unexpected. But other times, we need to lock the gate and say no trespassing and not allow them to have entrance to our lives; especially when we knew their reputation and know ahead of time that they will take advantage and make us angry. That's okay! Sometimes being kind means that we allow others to figure out things on their own and not to try and put their responsibilities on us. They need to find that place of dependency on God and asking Him for help for themselves; and they will only do so, when others stop doing everything for them.

That doesn't mean we stop loving them. That doesn't mean we stop showing kindness. But sometimes the kindest and most loving thing we can do for someone is to bring them to a place of seeking God and realizing that they need Him. They need to come to that realization that they need to clean up the trash that's been accumulating in their own life; and the trash that has been overflowing into the lives of those around them.

Lastly, we need to make sure that our own heart and life are clutter-free and that we aren't tossing our trash into the lives of others. It's easy to see it in others and become aggravated and upset when they are tossing their garbage into our lives. But we need to take inventory of our own selves and make sure that there isn't anything that is overflowing into those around us that is causing them to sin or be offended. Don't litter into the life of others! But that can only be done, if we have repented and allowed God to clean up all the trash in our own life and washed us clean.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

As I started reading Loretta's portion, I thought she was heading a different direction. But she didn't, so I will.

As she mentioned, becoming saved isn't really about us cleaning up our own hearts, or even cleaning up our own actions--at least not alone. Jesus does the majority for us. We have to participate in the process, but it's too much for us to do alone, especially when we don't always know what needs cleaning. It may take hours, months, or maybe years. But with God's help, we can each see our hearts cleaned up.

Then we mess up. We bring some old trash back into our lives again. Hopefully it is something small and minor. But it needs cleaned up again. And again, and again. It seems like the easier way would be to simply keep our lives and hearts clean. But we don't always achieve that.

Fortunately, God is quick to forgive, and slow to anger. He will always help us again, to clean up and get back on track.

ON THE MENEWE:

Bean Dip

Mix refried beans and taco seasoning together and spread in a 10-inch baking dish.

Mix softened cream cheese and cheddar cheese together and drop by large spoonfuls all over the top of the bean mixture.

Cook in 350 oven for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and take a table knife and cut through the mixture well. This mixes it all together well. Put back into oven and cook until cheese is well melted.

Garnish with your favorite choice of toppings: green onions, chopped tomatoes, olives, additional cheese, etc.

Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chip or Fritos.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

This week I would like to ask for special prayer for the family of my niece's husband. You may have seen the story on the news about Davy and Natalie Lloyd, who were missionaries in Haiti and recently were killed by gangs there. Davy's mother was a cousin to my niece's husband.

Davy's parents have been missionaries there for 20-25 years and raised their children in Haiti. After getting married in 2022, Davy and his wife joined his parents there as missionaries. They were young -- Davy was 23. The airports had been closed in Haiti due to the gang activity and trouble in that country, but had recently opened back up. The mom and a daughter had flown home to the states to attend the college graduation of another daughter and son-in-law. The dad had flown recently; and this son and his wife were scheduled to fly to the states very soon. They thought that the gang activity had calmed down some and things were showing an improvement. Davy and Natalie were leaving a youth service at their church when they were attacked by a gang. They managed to get to his parents' home and get in touch with his parents to let them know what was happening, before losing phone service. The family later found out that their son and his wife had been killed; as well as another man from their church.

The family is, of course, devastated. Please pray for them, as well as the family of Natalie. Also, pray for the church and staff and children home that they worked with there in Haiti. Pray that this gang activity will cease and that peace will come to the people there and that God would send a revival and there would be many salvations come from this.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

In the book of Joshua, she was called "Rahab the prostitute."

In Matthew, she was Rahab, the great-grandmother of Jesus.

God changes labels and rewrites stories. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org