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

October 16, 2024

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Psalms 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship."

For that last line, other versions say, "The skies proclaim the work of His hands;" "The firmament shows His handiwork;" "the sky above proclaims His handiwork."

Jon and I both love looking at the sky: sunrises, sunsets, cloud formations, etc. It's so incredibly amazing to see how it can change from one moment to the next. The colors and the way the light of the sun reflects on the clouds is absolutely beautiful.

This past week, the sky has been gorgeous as I've driven to my nephew and his wife's home to get their two youngest on the school bus. The sun has been a huge round red orb just above the horizon, reflecting pinks and reds on the surrounding clouds. It's hard to find the right words to describe the beauty. But then I watch the sky begin to change as the sun changes from red to more orange and the clouds begin to disperse and move and the colors fade away.

This past Thursday evening when Jon and I were driving to Bible study, we were seeing "pictures" in the cloud formations. Did you ever do that when you were a kid; lie on the ground and look up at the clouds to see what shapes they looked like? Perhaps it was an animal, angel wings, an object, etc. There are times when I still will look at the clouds and see formations. Jon and I have fun doing that sometimes.

On the drive home, our main topic of conversation was how beautiful the sunset was. The colors and how the sun was peeking out of a hole in the clouds and outlining other clouds was astounding!

One evening last week I began seeing some of my friends on social media post pictures of the Northern Lights, that were being seen in various midwest states. That's something that Jon and I would both love seeing! We went outside to look and saw the possibility of a little red and green in the sky; but with there being so many city lights and trees and houses surrounding us, it was difficult to tell for sure. The pictures I saw that friends had taken was astounding!

Everything that we see in the sky is the work of our Father, the Creator of all things! Science may try to find explanations for everything that is seen, but the truth is, none of it would happen without God.

Isn't it amazing that God would care so much for us that He paints the sky for our enjoyment?! He could have just made a solid expanse of solid color that was plain; but instead, He creates colors and cloud formations and stars, sun, and moon. It doesn't just happen, but God is involved in every detail of the heavens.

Psalms 8:3-4 says, "When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers -- the moon and the stars You set in place -- what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?"

I love that description that the sky is a work of God's fingers!!

The beauty of the heavens surely does declare the glory of God! It shows His handiwork -- the work of His fingers.

It's not only the beauty in the skies that God creates, but we can see His handiwork all around us. Look at all of the varieties of flowers and plants and trees. Look at the mountains and meadows and waterfalls and oceans. All the various varieties of birds and bugs and animals that we see. It's all due to the workmanship of God.

If that's not enough to show off God's workmanship, look at all the people surrounding you. Each person is unique and one of a kind!

Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God's handiwork... His workmanship... His masterpiece.

Have you ever looked at a spider or snake or bug, which seemingly serves no purpose and wonder why it was ever created? Sometimes it seems as if their only purpose is to cause harm, or they have no value at all, yet God made them.

There are those people whose only purpose seem to be to cause harm, or it looks as if they have no true value. Yet God created them. Not only did He make them, He loves them!

The remainder of verse 10 says, that we are "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

The prior verses say how we can accomplish the purpose that God placed us here for. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

We can't be good enough to accomplish the works that God created us for. It's only through salvation and allowing Jesus to lead and guide us and work through us. God prepared each individual for the purpose of having relationship with Him, but there are those who fail to accomplish their purpose and choose instead to go their own way and do whatever pleases them.

In a world filled with so much ugliness and strife and fighting and devastation, it would be easy to focus on those things. It is often easier to point fingers and cast blame at others and look for the negative. That doesn't bring glory to God or bring about peace. It causes anger and fear and hatred. It gets focus away from God and real needs. It steals our joy.

Instead, let's see God in all things! Pay attention to the sky each day and see the beauty of the work of God's fingers. See God in the creation around you. Look for the good in people and see their value and good; seeing God at work within them. Even in devastation situations or disaster, look for God and you will find Him. It may be through a miracle that happens or in an act of kindness. But when you seek God, He is always there!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Several times in the past month, we have also seen little bits of rainbow in the clouds. It doesn't always require rain to form a rainbow, but it does take just the right amount of mist in a cloud to let the rainbow show up, but not block it out. The way most clouds form, once they have enough mist to form rainbows, they very quickly become thicker and block it out.

It helps me to feel at peace when I see a rainbow. There is something calming and reassuring about them. It is a symbol that God does not forget His promises.

I'll try to avoid explaining all the physics required to make rainbows possible in the first place, and to explain how the colors in the sky show up during sunrises and sunsets. There is quite a bit to it. And many of the bits of physics at play don't seem to have any real purpose or fit any need, except to be incredible.

It is almost as if the sky itself was designed to shout out about God's glory, and show it again and again. Scripture says "His mercy is new every morning." And so are His sunrises and sunsets.

ON THE MENEWE:

Breakfast Muffins

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll out crescent rolls and cut into 24 circles with a biscuit cutter. Spray 12 muffin cups. Place cut out crescent circle in each muffin cup.

Cook sausage; drain. Sprinkle sausage on dough in each muffin cup.

Whisk the eggs; add salt and pepper. Pour eggs on top of sausage until half full. Do not overfill, to give room for expansion when the eggs cook. Sprinkle cheese on top. Place the remaining circles of crescent dough on top of each muffin cup.

Bake until browned.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

When Jon's parents first got married, Diane had very little experience cooking. Stan told her that he liked mayonnaise on his sandwiches. So the next time she made him a sandwich she brought him a sandwich made out of two slices of bread with mayonnaise as the filling. Stan asked if they were out of lunchmeat. Diane's reply was, "Oh! You wanted meat on it, too?!?"

One of my nephews and his wife hadn't been married very long (they've now been married for 20-25 years), and his wife was making potato salad for their dinner. She put the potatoes on to cook, then had to run to the grocery store. After she left the house, she remembered that she hadn't put the eggs on to boil, so called home and asked my nephew to put a couple of eggs in the pan with the potatoes. She got home and went in to check the potatoes to see if they were done. She saw something floating in the water and asked her husband what he had done. He told her that he had put 2 eggs in with the potatoes, just as she had told him to do.

He did follow instructions, only he had cracked the eggs opened first, and then added them. I'm not sure that he knew what she was going to make with the potatoes, and his mom had always boiled her eggs in a separate pan.

So the moral of this story is: be very specific when giving cooking instructions or telling food preferences to your spouse. If not, things may not turn out as you expect!!

This applies to many things. If you want the bed made, explain what 'made' means to you. If you want help carrying something, specify where to hold it. If you want "more help around here", list some specific chores.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

What if we stopped viewing sin as something we're not supposed to do,

but as something that actually breaks Jesus' heart. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org