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 21, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

If you knew that the story of your life was going to be written down for millions of people to read for many generations, would there be times when you would have made different choices than you did? I know that I would!

When we read the Bible, it's not only the good and godly things that are written about, but also the mistakes and sins and not so pretty decisions of men and women. When they were on earth, those people had no idea that the details of their lives would be recorded for all to read about their failures and embarrassments and sins. They probably wouldn't mind that people read about the miracles and messages from God they received. They wouldn't even mind that those times when they acted with godliness and made a positive impact on others were written about. But had they known that the bad would also be remembered for hundreds of years, they would have chosen to make better choices and act with more wisdom and trusted God more fully.

There are parts of my life's story that I wouldn't mind people to know about. In fact, I've shared some of my stories from time to time in this newsletter. But there are other things that I want to stay hidden and not be discussed or brought up. There are sins, bad choices, embarrassments, ungodly thoughts and words...... that I am glad is under the blood of Jesus, and want it to stay there for all eternity!

Do you know who does know our story? God! In fact, Psalms 139:16 says, "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

We can read that and think, "Well, God knows that I'm going to fail.... make mistakes... and sin. There's nothing I can do about it, so why try?! After all, He wrote my life story before I was even born."

Guess what?! God even knew before we were born that we would have those thoughts. He knew our temptations, our struggles, the crossroads when we would have decisions to make and what we would choose. But He also knew when we would repent, pray for our thoughts to be taken captive and die to self, and choose to grow in our relationship with Him.

God knew the lives we would touch, the blessing we would be to others, and how we would use our gifts to bring Him honor. He knew those whom we could minister to, as only we can do, and brought those people into our path. He orchestrates details regarding the people we meet, the conversations we have, and whose lives we can make a difference in. Not only that -- God also brings people into our lives who can bless, encourage, and make an impact on us.

Psalms chapter 37 tells us things like this: "Trust in the Lord and do good." "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desire." "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you."

Verse 23 says, "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand."

Those verses should give us encouragement and hope! There are things that we need to do, such as trust God, do good, delight in the Lord, and commit everything we do to the Lord.

But look at the benefits! The Lord will give us our heart's desire, He will help us. He will direct our steps. He delights in every detail of our lives. Then there is this: Though we stumble (not if, but we will stumble), we won't fall, because the Lord holds us by the hand.

We don't have to live in shame or condemnation when we sin or have failures. We are offered forgiveness, when we repent. As far as the east is from the west, our transgressions will be removed from us -- that's a promise from our Father! We don't necessarily have to share every detail of our life to others, but we can share the goodness of God and the great things that He has done for and in us!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

A lot of people have a difficult time understanding the Psalm 139:16. Or they choose to misunderstand it. Knowing that God knows our right and wrong decisions we will make kind of sounds like we aren't really making those decisions, so some people try to justify that their wrong decisions aren't their own fault. But that's not what the verse says. It says He knows our future, not that He forces what our choices will be.

Suppose you buy a lottery ticket for this week. And then I tell you that you won't win. If you don't win, does that mean that I was the one who made you not win? Of course not. Honestly, I wouldn't know for certain you wouldn't win. I only know that the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of my being right. But just because I know that doesn't mean that I've taken away your chance to win or not win.

God does know what we will do in each situation. That isn't because He made the decisions for us. It just means that He knows us even better than we know ourselves. But it is still up to us to make decisions.

And remember: if you are trying to justify a decision, no matter what tactics or even verses you use to back it up, you are almost always trying to justify something you already know is wrong.

ON THE MENEWE:

Greek Tortellini Salad

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to package directions.

Drain and rinse with cold water.

Place the tortellini in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, red onion, and feta cheese.

In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until salad is well coated.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

This salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My niece's daughter, Jovie, is 11 and just finished 5^th grade. She has absolutely no interest in sports; much like her Aunt Loretta!

This past week was the kids last week of school. One day, I went to pick up Jax, who was a sophomore and was exempt from all of his finals, except for one. As I was waiting for him, in front of the office, Jovie and her class came in from outside. They had just finished PE class. Jovie ran over to give me a big hug. I noticed that all of the kids, as well as the coach, were all red-faced, hot and sweaty..... except for Jovie. She was cool as a cucumber! I asked why everyone was hot and sweaty, except for her. Her coach walked by about that time and said, "That's what I want to know!" After he walked on by, Jovie told me, "Well, I really don't understand sports that much!" She later told me and her mom that she was team captain, so apparently, she thought that meant that she didn't really have to play. I'm sure she did just enough to look as if she was participating, to keep the coach from asking questions. Again -- sounds a lot like her Aunt Loretta!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Endurance isn't about being strong all the time.

It's about trusting God when you're tired, showing up when it's hard,

and knowing there's purpose in the pressure.

His grace will carry you. Keep going. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org