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 24, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

If you've not yet read last weeks devotional, I encourage you to do so. This week is kind of a continuation of that topic.

Over the past few years, months, weeks and days there has been so much pain and destruction in our nation. Senseless shootings, natural disasters, gender confusion, division, plane crashes, hate-filled opinions and anger spewing all over social media, accusations, rioting, people thinking that anyone who doesn't agree with them are bigoted and hateful..... the list could go on and on. The value of someone's life means very little to some. If someone is murdered because they are speaking out what they deem as truth, there are those who rejoice and think they deserved it.

It makes me very concerned for generations coming up after me! Adults see no need for God, therefore, are raising their kids to not even know who God is. Self-reliance and thinking that they are well-able to do everything on their own is making for a very angry, hostile, messed up environment. Sometimes I feel very afraid and fearful for the future of the kids and youth of today. And I question if I'm making any difference in their lives and if they are seeing Jesus in me. Which then circles back to: do they even recognize Jesus in me, if they aren't being taught to even know who He is?

I pray that they will either be surrounded by strong christian friends who will make a difference in their lives; and/or they will be the ones making the difference in the lives of others. But sometimes you see so much ugliness and sin, that it becomes discouraging.

Recently, I was burdened for some young people in my life. I was feeling a bit downhearted. I was sitting at a stop light and heard loud music being played. I looked around and it was coming from the vehicle next to me. The back windshield had "Senior 2026" painted on it and a pretty teenage girl was driving. She had her windows rolled down and was bopping her head to the music and really getting into it. I was curious what kind of music she was listening to, so rolled the passenger window down and rolled up so I could better hear. She looked at me and smiled and I realized that she was listening to christian music. I wanted to yell, "Good music choice!", but wasn't sure she would hear me. When her light turned green, she looked over at me again, so I waved really big and smiled at her. She grinned from ear to ear, and I think she somehow knew that I was silently saying that I was proud of her music choice.

As she pulled away, tears just began rolling down my face -- which I wasn't expecting! I was like, "Thank you, Jesus, for giving me hope and showing me that there are young people in this world who will unashamedly listen to their christian music, loud and proud, with windows rolled down!" It was a little God-moment, where He was showing me that He was hearing my prayers.

I believe that sometimes God speaks to us in our dreams. Not every dream I have is God-given; but there are some that I can't get out of my mind and I believe that it is Him showing me something.

A while back, I had a dream that I was in a van with several people. The driver was in a doctor's office with their child and we were waiting for them. I can't remember if I knew the people I was with or not; but I don't really think I did. The sky had some blue in it, but there were dark clouds starting to roll in. I looked out the window, and far in the distance I could see a tornado. But it was moving away from where we were, so I felt like we were safe. I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to scare those who were with me. Later we were driving into a town and straight ahead there was a huge tornado heading our way, and it was destroying everything in its path. I tried to warn those in the van with me. I told them that we had time to change directions and get away from the storm. But they just sat there wondering, "Should we try to go inside a building? Maybe we should get out and find a ditch to lie in. Would it be safer to just stay where we are at?" More and more urgently, I kept telling them to please just change directions and we would reach safety, and the tornado wouldn't hurt us. I was becoming frustrated, because they heard me, but weren't doing anything about it.

This dream has gone over and over in my mind. I truly believe that it was given to me by God. As believers, we can see the destruction of sin and how it is destroying lives. Damaging storms in families, school, businesses, churches, our nation and world....... are occurring. We know that the only answer and our only hope is in Jesus! We can see storms coming and try to warn and tell others that if they will only change the direction that they are heading then they will reach safety, but they won't listen. They're more interested in their own opinions or ideas or trying to handle things on their own. Our hearts may become heavy with urgency, knowing that the only real shelter is found in Jesus, and try to direct people to Him; but they don't want to hear what we have to say. But we mustn't be silent and give up! Because of our love for them, and knowing how great the Father's love is for them, we keep trying to direct them to the safe arms of the Savior.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Last week, I mentioned someone who seemed convinced that Christians think we're better than others. And I described how wrong he was.

I haven't been accused of it directly, but I have heard people who seem convinced that Christians hate someone. Again, they're mistaken.

I have heard people who lie, claiming they are Christians, who spout hateful things. But I want to say this clearly: if they hate, they are not Christians. 1 John 4:20 says it a little bluntly, "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." Jesus said (in Luke 6:27 and Matthew 5:44) to love our enemies, and even those that persecute us.

There are verses in many places calling us to hate evil behavior. That includes hating people. So, if you hate people, please don't go around telling people you are Christian. And please don't trust people who are consumed with hatred for anyone but claims to be Christian. The two simply don't go together.

ON THE MENEWE:

Harvest Sausage Casserole

Preheat oven to 350. Combine sausage, apples, onion and beans in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk ketchup, maple syrup and ground mustard. Pour over sausage mixture and toss to coat. Spoon into a baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Stir before serving.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My sister and brother-in-law bought me my one and only bicycle, for my birthday, when I was probably around eight years old. They had bought it at a yard sale, then painted it and put a new banana seat on it. I learned how to ride it, but was never really very good. I was always kind of wobbly and had plenty of wrecks. I lived on a rocky dirt road so everywhere I rode was rough riding. So, of course, whenever I wrecked, I would land on rocks and skin my knees. One time, I even ran into a big tree in our front yard.

Several years ago, when I was still single, some friends called and asked me to meet them at a nature park close by and go bike riding with them. I told them that I hadn't ridden a bike since I was a kid and they assured me that it would come back to me. I was horrible!! I couldn't keep it going straight and was wobbling all over the bike path the whole way. I think I scared them more that I did myself. I was pretty proud of myself for not wrecking though. Needless to say, they never asked me to go back riding with them anymore after that!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life.

And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 1 Peter 3:15

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org