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

August 27, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Several years ago, a nationally known video store had the slogan: Be kind; rewind. That was when video rentals were on VHS tapes.... long, long ago. It was an attempt on to help the video store operations run more smoothly by simply asking their customers to please rewind their VHS tape before returning it. They began charging a $2.00 fee to customers who failed to rewind, before returning their movies. This helped the company out, and rewinding a VHS tape was simple and only took a very short time for the customer to do, after watching the video.

Being kind is something that many people fail to do in our society. I'm not saying everyone, because there are a lot of truly kind people in our world. But in a culture where people's tendencies lean towards selfishness and looking out only for themselves, if often feels as if true kindness is rare.

Really, is this something new? It may seem new to us, because it's evident during the time that we are living in. But this seems to have been a problem way back in biblical times in the Old Testament; as well as in the New Testament. I think it's something that every generation, since the beginning of time has dealt with; and likely, each generation has felt as if the problem is bigger for them, than it ever was for anyone else.

Solomon wrote about kindness in Proverbs.

Proverbs 11:17 "Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you."

Proverbs 19:17 "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done."

Proverbs 31 talks about the virtuous woman; or a wife of noble character. Verse 26 says, "When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness."

Zechariah 7:9 "This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another."

There are, also, verses in the New Testament that speak of kindness.

Ephesians 4:32 "Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

Colossians 3:12 "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."

There are many other scriptures that speak about how we treat others and how we are to behave as believers. They don't necessarily use the word "kindness", but we can't do those things without being kind towards others.

For example, Galatians 6:9-10 says, "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone -- especially to those in the family of faith."

We can't be a blessing to others, at every possible opportunity, without showing kindness.

Another scripture is 1 John 3:18. "Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions." Another version says, "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth."

God not only tells us to be kind, but He leads by example by bestowing kindness upon us.

Romans 2:4 says, "Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from you sin?"

Another scripture is found in Titus 3:4-7. "When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of His grace He made us right in His sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life."

Our Father is kind to us when we are sinful, messed up, acting ugly, have a bad attitude, selfish, thoughtless, and get into the same messes over and over again. Why? To turn us from our sin! He is kind and loving and patient and tolerant with us, when we least deserve it; which for some of us is more often than it should be. It's not because we are righteous and good. It's because of His great mercy and kindness and grace!! Not only that, He makes us right in His sight so that we may inherit eternal life. And we think it's difficult to show kindness to those whom we don't like or don't agree with or who hurt our feelings?! Let's follow God's example of unconditional kindness. The purpose of His kindness is to turn us from our sin and give us eternal life. He loves us so much that He wants to spend eternity with us! Our purpose of kindness should be to show the Father to others and be a light in a dark world.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

How might we behave differently if Jesus was standing next to us?

We might be kinder to strangers, for one. From everything we can read about Jesus, He was obviously very kind to everyone except the hypocrites. And even them, He hoped to save. He cared about everyone, including the same people who would crucify Him.

If Jesus was standing beside us, we could remember it all the time. That would make it easier to be kinder and show love and compassion to others, even strangers, and even those that would like to crucify us. But we don't really see Jesus standing beside us every day.

But we can (and should) feel His presence in our lives. Ideally, we should feel His presence all the time. That may not come right away, but it should eventually.

ON THE MENEWE:

Cheese Log

Mix all ingredients together, except for the pecans. Chill for 1-2 hours.

Shape into either 2 long rolls or 3 short rolls. Roll cheese logs in chopped pecans.

Serve with crackers. Enjoy!

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Tomorrow, August 28^th, would have been my mama's 93^rd birthday. She passed away when she was 48, so has been in heaven for almost 45 years; so she has spent almost as many years in heaven as she did on earth. That's hard for my mind to comprehend! I truly believe that there is no comprehension of time in heaven and to her it seems as if she's just arrived; nor is there the pain of separation from loved ones on earth.

2 Peter 3:8 says "A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day."

No matter the number of years separating the time between Mama's entrance to heaven and the time when God calls me home, I believe that she will turn around, see me, and it will seem as if there was no lapse of time between her arrival and mine. I long to see Jesus most of all; but my heart, also, yearns to once again see my Mama!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

God works all things together for your good.

If the waves roll against you, it only speeds your ship towards the port. - Charles Spurgeon

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org