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

November 5, 2025

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Romans 8:24b says, "If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it."

How silly would it be for Jon and I to keep saying, "We really hope we can get our house paid off so we can be out of debt;" when we already have it paid off and are already out of debt? If we said, "We hope we get to go on vacation to the west coast this year;" that would be pointless, due to the fact that we already took that trip back in September.

For many, many years I hoped and prayed that I would one day meet the right man and get married. But once Jon and I said our wedding vows, I no longer needed to hope for that, for it had come to pass.

So, as the scripture says, we if already have something, we don't need to continue hoping for it.

Verse 25 says, "But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently."

There are things that I have been praying for that the answer still hasn't come, so I must keep on praying and holding onto hope. I must wait patiently and confidently, knowing that God is faithful and I can trust Him.

I don't continue asking God for things that He has already provided for me. I don't intercede for those people who has already received their miracle or who have submitted their lives to Christ. I give God thanks and praise for answered prayer; but I no longer have to hope for those things that He has already worked out.

Hope is: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen; a feeling of trust; grounds for believing that something good may happen.

When we lose hope in a situation or in a person or in God answering a prayer, a feeling of despair fills our heart and mind. Lost hope results in giving up. It may be us giving up on our faith in God... or giving up on God caring about us or ever answering. It may be us giving up on ourself or giving up on a family member or close friend. It may be seeing our nation as hopeless and giving up that anything good will ever come to pass.

Lost hope can become dangerous grounds. It can result in a severed relationship with God or with family or both. It can cause us to see ourself as being worthless with no chance of redemption or change. It can cause our mind and attitude to focus on the negatives, which often causes us to become difficult for others to love or want to be around. People without hope lack peace and joy is missing from their heart.

In Romans, the scriptures preceding this speak of us waiting with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us. We long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. That future glory will happen either upon death or when Jesus returns for His bride and the believers are raptured from this earth.

We hold onto hope that one day this will come to pass. One day all the suffering and trials and tribulations and persecution and sickness and hardships that we have to endure in this life on earth will come to an end. We will have glorified bodies that will never hurt or suffer pain or disease or have achy joints. We will never know crying or sorrow or sadness again. No fear or worry or concerns. No bills or money issues or inflation or career stress. No hatred or racism or bullying or killing. No harsh or hurtful words spoken. No anger, unforgiveness, bitterness or despair.

When a person chooses to lose hope in God or chooses to reject the gift of salvation or chooses to not believe in God, then they live with no hope. There is no hope for the future. There is no hope for anything beyond this life on earth. They live each day with nothing to look forward to. The goal of heaven and being forever united with the Father is not there. It's like running a race with no end in sight, only turmoil and hardship and whatever bits of joy they can find here on earth. There's no real purpose.

But for the child of God who holds fast to their faith in God and fully puts their trust in Him, we have hope! We have the hope of eternal life. We have the hope of one day being reunited with loved ones who are waiting for us in heaven. We have hope of one day having our Bridegroom come for us, and we will go see the place that has been prepared for us. We know that life on earth is short and whatever we endure is not forever. We know that this race we are running will have a prize at the end, for all those who endure until the end. We hold fast to hope!!

We know that one day our hope will become reality! When that happens, we will no longer need to hope for it to come to pass. We now wait patiently and confidently for the time when we will see Jesus face to face and our eternity will begin. But the day will come when we will no longer need to hope, for we will have everything that we have waited and yearned for!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Satan practices the same principle. He doesn't have to bother struggling or fighting to claim souls that are already lost. So, if you can see Satan attacking you and trying his best to separate you from God, it's because he knows he doesn't have his claws into you. You must be doing something right, and he can't stand it.

ON THE MENEWE:

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

Mix cake mix and pumpkin together. Add chocolate chips or cinnamon chips, if desired.

Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

When my nephew was a little boy, he was a tad ornery and in trouble every single day. One day he told his mom, "I didn't get in trouble all day long!" It was such a rarity that she told him, "I'm going to bake a cake and we're going to have a party!" And they did. Now this nephew has a little boy who is in trouble every single day and a tad ornery!!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Jesus loves you more than the devil hates you. - Jack Blansit

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org