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

June 11, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

I recently read this example about needlessly worrying, instead of leaving things in God's hands:

A man was struggling along the road with a heavy load. His back was bent from the weight, his steps growing slower and slower. He wondered if he would make it to his destination. But then a wagon pulled up beside him. The driver called, "I'll give you a ride, friend." The man gratefully pulled himself to the seat and the driver continued his journey. After a few minutes, the driver turned to the man and said, "Why don't you get rid of that heavy load? Put it in the wagon box." The man shook his head. "I couldn't do that. It's enough you give me a ride. You shouldn't have to carry the pack, as well."

It's obvious that it didn't matter if the heavy pack was in the mans' lap or in the back of the wagon; the load amount was the same. The main difference was, the man holding onto it only wore himself out, unnecessarily, when he could have chosen to rest and put it in the back.

1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety (cares) on Him, because He cares for you."

Psalms 55:22 says, "Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall."

Jesus is speaking in Matthew 11:28 and tells us, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Philippians 4:6 says, "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done."

What is the result of us praying, giving our cares/burdens to the Lord? "Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

We don't have to carry our burdens all by ourselves! How many times do we pray about those things that burden our hearts, then instead of leaving them with Jesus and trusting Him to take care of them, we take them back and try to figure out how we can "fix" them?

Regarding the example I first gave, Jesus is the one who says He will help us and give us a lift. We are glad for the break, but instead of accepting the promised rest that He says He will give, we sat there holding onto our heavy load.

I've been guilty of that more times that I'd like to admit! But I'm trying to learn to put my faith and confidence in the Lord and fully trust Him.

Perhaps we even think, "Lord, it's enough that you are with me! You don't need to carry my heavy load, too!" But we read in His Word, that He wants us to give our cares to Him! He wants to be involved in every detail of our life. We aren't bothering Him when we surrender our cares to Him.

One of my favorite hymns is "Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus". It begins, "Tis so sweet, to trust in Jesus; just to take Him at His word. Just to rest upon His promise. Just to know thus saith the Lord."

The truth is, we can take Jesus at His word. We can trust Him. We can rest in His promises. He will never fail us and never let us down.

Things may not always go as we want and we may not always get our way, but God's plan is always for our good; even if we don't understand it at the time.

Another verse says, "I'm so glad I learned to trust Him. Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend. And I know that Thou art with me, wilt be with me to the end."

I love knowing that Jesus will be with me every second, of every day, until I draw my last breath on earth! Upon that last breath, my life will really only be beginning, as eternity with my Heavenly Father begins. Whether on earth or in heaven, I never have to be out of His care!

The chorus says, "Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. How I've proved Him o're and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus. O for grace to trust Him more."

I'm sure if we think back over our life, we will be able to see the faithfulness of God. We will see the prayers He has answered, and how He protected us. We can be reminded that He is trustworthy. We can be encouraged in the goodness of God.

But that last line says, "Oh for grace to trust Him more." I'm sure most of us have those moments of struggle with fully trusting Jesus. We want to, but then keep trying to take things out of His hands and figure out how we can take care of it on our own. He will give us grace to trust Him more.

Do you need rest? Do you need peace? Are you feeling heavy burdened or weak? Jesus is asking you to lay those burdens and cares down and trust Him to take care of them. When you surrender those things to Him, then you will experience that peace that surpasses all understanding!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I've heard one toddler after another saying "I can do it." or "I can do it myself." Some of those times, they can. But a lot of times, they really can't. They just see other people tying their shoes, and think they should be able to do it, too. Or carry something too big for them, or whatever. When that happens, adults have two options: 1) tell them to stop; 2) let them try. As long as they won't break something, I'm more a fan of 2. If they try and succeed, they have gained a little independence. If they try and fail, they learn their limits, and learn to rely on the adult a little longer. They will usually humbly say, "okay", and let the adult help. True, it might result in shoes so knotted they have to be cut loose. But that's not every time.

I think God does that with us many times. He wants to help us. But we "can do it myself". When we're taking on too much, we probably look as abstinent as a little kid. But if it gets too much, He is always there, when we say, "okay", and give it over to Him.

ON THE MENEWE:

Breakfast Muffins

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll out crescent rolls and cut into 24 circles with a biscuit cutter. Spray a 12-count muffin tin. Place cut out crescent in each muffin top.

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

Whisk the eggs in a bowl; salt and pepper, to taste. Pour eggs on top of sausage until half full. Do not overfill. Sprinkle cheese on top. Place the remaining circles of crescent dough on top of each muffin cup.

Bake until lightly browned.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

A few days ago, I ran across this memory from 2017. Reading it made me laugh, because I had just had lunch with them that day. Jax is now 16 and Jovie is 11, and they truly love one another, but during the entire time I was with them, he was being the typical big brother picking on her and she was getting irritated at him. I told them that when they got older they'd be best friends; which they weren't so sure about, at the ages that they are now! I may have to remind them of this memory I ran across!!

A few days ago I was watching Jax (age 7) and Jovie (age 3). We were at the house of my sister, Janie,who is their grandma. I was doing home-school work with Jax, and Janie was working with her son and another student, whom she worked with a couple days a week. During their morning break, Janie allowed Jax to go to the neighborhood park with the two older kids. Jovie was upset that she was left out and had to stay home. She laid down in the floor by the front door crying, with big tears running down her face. She told me, "I need my brother!" I told her that he would be back soon.... they wouldn't be gone very long. She said, "But I need my brother now. I'm lost without him!!" It was a little funny, but incredibly sweet, too!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Healing does not mean the damage never existed.

It means the damage no longer controls our lives. -unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org