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

September 10, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

When my sister, Janie, was a little girl she was playing on the back of our dad's big flatbed truck. Daddy and one of our uncles were standing beside the truck visiting. She thought, "If I jump, Daddy will catch me!" She said it never even entered her mind that Daddy might not see her and catch her; she just trusted that he would. So she took off running and jumped off the back of the truck. Thankfully, Daddy saw her and was able to catch her. But it scared him! As a father and an adult, he knew that she could have been badly hurt, had he not seen her jump. He told her to never do that again. In her young childish mind, she didn't really understand why. She thought, "If I jump, Daddy will always catch me!"

In Mark 10:13-16 we read the story where some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him. When Jesus saw what was happening, He was angry with His disciples. He said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child, will never enter it."

This is just my perspective, but I think Jesus saw the innocent faith and trust of these children and was saying that we all need to be like that, in our relationship with Him. Even though they may have done something to get reprimanded by their parents on their way to see Jesus, they didn't think, "Oh! I have to clean up my act and be a really good person, before Jesus will accept me and want to see me!" They ran to Jesus and believed that He was as excited to see them as they were to see Him. They trusted Him.

I believe that's the kind of faith and trust that Jesus wants us to have. Even if we make a mistake and jump towards Jesus in our own innocence and trust, when that's not really what He would have us to do, He is still watching and will catch us. He may say, "Don't do that again!"; but He does so with love and patience.

The problem is, many times individuals want to do things their own way, thinking that they don't need Jesus in their lives. So instead of running towards Jesus, they ran away, then get angry when they get hurt and find themselves in a mess. "Why didn't you catch me?!" They want to place the blame on Him for not being there to protect them or keep them from sinning or prevent them from having consequences of their wrongdoing. But they never even asked for His help, nor did they want Him involved in their lives. They wanted to be self-sufficient and didn't think they needed Jesus, until things went wrong.

When we find ourselves in a mess we need to check our heart and ask, "Was I running to God or away from Him?" Even believers can find themselves going the wrong way from time to time. We may not like the trial that we are going through, or don't like the answer to our prayer because it's not what we wanted, or don't like the life situation we are in, so we try to figure another way out instead of trusting God.

People throughout the Bible found themselves in difficult situations; and some ran to God and some tried to run away.

Jonah ran away, because he didn't want to go preach to the people of Nineveh and God to forgive them for their sin. It took a severe storm, being tossed overboard, and being in the belly of a big fish for three days for repentance to come. Even then, he was angry when the people of Nineveh repented and God averted disaster. He was pouting and said, "See God! I knew you would do this!" Even though God used him to preach to the people and they repented, Jonah still had trouble running to God, trusting Him and putting His whole faith in Him.

David was mightily used of God. But he ran away from God for a moment when he saw Bathsheba bathing and had her brought to him. He sinned when she became pregnant with his baby and he had her husband killed in battle. He mourned when he had to face the consequences of his sin and the baby died. Yet David chose to repent and run back to God and once again trust Him whole-heartedly.

Peter chose to jump away from God, instead of towards him when Jesus was arrested and he was asked if he had been with Jesus. Out of fear, he chose to deny Jesus three times. Yet he chose to repent and return back to his faith. He was greatly used in the book of Acts to preach about Jesus to the people and in starting the first church. He became very bold in his faith!

Paul spent years running away from God. He was very religious and knew all of the do's and don'ts of the law. Yet it took him being blinded by a light from heaven and hearing the voice of God to repent and change his ways. He learned that it was about a relationship with Jesus and faith in God; not knowing religious law and being able to quote from the scriptures. He spent the rest of his life running towards God and fully obeying all that was required of him, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

We all have opportunities to fully trust Jesus and jump into His arms with full faith and confidence. We also have opportunities and the temptation to run away. We often have the choice to either trust Him, or trust in ourself. We obey what He asks, or we choose disobedience. It's sometimes hard, when we are going through a difficult situation and we have no idea how it's going to work out and it may seem as if things are getting worse instead of better. During those moments, Satan will whisper for us to try things our own way or lie and say that God must not really love us or care.

Even in our trust in God, we may make mistakes from time to time. Sometimes we may think God is saying to do something, but it's really our flesh and we are wrong. But I'd much rather err on the side of faith and trust in God, than to err in running the opposite direction. God is a good Father and is forgiving and is well able to get us back on the right path. He would rather see us trying to walk in obedience to Him and make a mistake, than for us to rebel and be resistant to His Spirit.

There's an old hymn that says, "Trust and obey; for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus; than to trust and obey."

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

There are many comedies that show some kid playing soccer, basketball, or football, and run full-force with the ball in exactly the wrong direction. They are so wrapped up in one aspect of their goal, and forget all the most important parts. They are so excited to finally get to do something that they do it with all their hearts, without stopping to check what it is. Sometimes, they hear the shouts of their teammates or family.

That's how Paul was in the first part of the book of Acts. He was persecuting Christians, but he thought he was serving the pharisees, and he did it with all his heart. The problem was, he was going the wrong way. Eventually, God caught his attention with a blinding light, and told him to turn around. Then, he served God with all his heart, going the right direction.

Similar applies for long distance runners, especially through woods. Many comedies also portray someone on a track team, running through a marked trail, but miss a marker, and run off the wrong direction.

Throughout history, including recently, there have been a lot of preachers or public figures who do the same thing. They get going in the right direction, but get so focused on the run that they don't notice they are off track. Maybe not the opposite direction, but off track. And sometimes, big groups end up following right behind them.

In any case, we need to stop once in awhile, and look up at the goal: Jesus. A brief stop to check our bearings always pays off.

ON THE MENEWE:

Sweet Baby Ray's Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Mix all the ingredients together and pour over chicken in crockpot. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours until chicken is pull apart tender. Shred chicken and stir back into sauce.

Can be used for sliders, salads, over baked potato or eaten alone.... however you desire.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

A few years ago, my nephew posted a cartoon that was a picture of two women -- a doctor and her patient.

Doctor: "Do you exercise?"

Patient: "Yes. I have walked with the Lord for the last 20 years."

My oldest nephew posted it in 2017 on a private family page we have on Facebook and said that it reminded him of his mom and aunts! It made us laugh!!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Before Moses led, he wandered.

Before Joseph ruled, he was forgotten.

Before Noah sailed, he built.

Before Abraham received, he trusted.

Before David reigned, he hid. - Ian Simkins

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org