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 30, 2017

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

Many times, especially in the church, when we speak of healing, our minds automatically think of physically healing. And truly, Jesus is our Healer and does heal all of our sicknesses and diseases. We have often heard and quoted the scripture from Isaiah 53:5 that says, "But He was pierced for our rebellion (our transgressions), He was crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed (with His stripes we are healed).

But we often don't consider that Jesus also wants to heal our soul and spirit. Psalm 41:1 says, "As for me, I said, 'O Lord, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.'" Then in Isaiah 61:1 and also again in Luke 4:18 we are told this: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted; to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners."

There are many who have experienced deep hurts in their life and have been wounded, but they fail to allow Jesus to heal those areas, for various reasons. Perhaps they feel as if they should be strong enough to be able to handle it alone; perhaps they are embarrassed to admit that their soul needs to be healed due to sin, whether it be past or present; perhaps they feel as if the wounds in their soul and spirit are insignificant compared to what others are dealing with; perhaps they have a spirit attached to those wounds that prevents them from admitting that they need help; and sometimes people form an attachment to their past hurts and wounds and have grown comfortable with them, so have trouble letting them go and allowing God to heal them. There may be times when the need for personal inner healing isn't recognized.

Recently, a close friend had an infection that attacked their body very quickly. Over a period of two days it went from something that was very small to something that was very large, painful, and deep. This person ended up being hospitalized and had to have that place, that had grown from the size of a pimple to 4-6 inches long, lanced; and the doctor found that it was over 2 inches deep. He had to drain as much of the infection as he could. In the days since, that wound has had to be kept opened so that it can continue to drain in order for it to heal from the inside out. It has been painful and uncomfortable; but in order for it to heal completely and correctly, this is what needs to be done.

At times we may not have dealt with hurts or offenses or disappointments or anger or bitterness or any number of things; and it caused our soul to become infected. We can try ignore it or put a bandaid on it, but until we allow God to come in and lance it and allow all the old "junk" to drain out, then complete healing can never come. We may feel better from time to time and think that we've dealt with it and have a handle on it, but then it keeps coming back up over and over again, letting us know that it's still there affecting us. Only when we allow God to come in and "do surgery" - cutting us open to reveal what's inside and ridding us of those abscessed places -- can we begin to truly heal. He will pour in His oil of healing and bring complete restoration.

Psalm 34:18: "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."

Psalm 147:3: "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

The loss of a close family member or friend can often cause our hearts to be broken and can crush our spirit. We may feel as if God let us down or disappointed us or could have prevented their death. We may allow anger and bitterness to seep in, and we blame God for taking them from us. After all, He is God and could have protected them or healed them, right?! I don't claim to understand God and His ways or His plans. I don't know why Mama had to die when she was 48 and I was only 15. I don't understand why He allowed her to suffer from cancer for so many years. It doesn't make sense. I don't understand why my brother-in-law died from a brain tumor, when he was in the prime of his life and had a very effective ministry. He was very involved in deaf ministry and had a burden and heart for the deaf and was well-loved all over the world. There seems to have been no one who has come along and taken up the ministry for deaf missions that Jimmy was doing. It doesn't make sense.

But what I do know is that God is near to those who are brokenhearted and He heals them and binds up their wounds. He saves the crushed in spirit and restores them. Even in the midst of grief and loss, God is always nearby, ready to bring healing and restoration. But first, we have to admit that our heart is broken and allow Him to minister to us and bring healing. We will still miss those who are gone, but we do so with a healed soul and spirit instead of brokenness and bitterness.

Recently, God gave my sister, Janie, a small glimpse into heaven. She saw Mama and Daddy standing in a field of poppies, holding hands. They looked to be about 30 years of age and Mama was being playful and they looked so young and happy. She realized in that instant that they didn't know how long they had been separated from their family, for to them is seemed as if they had only arrived in Heaven. She realized that time in Heaven is not the same as it is on earth. For us five girls, it seems as if they've been gone for a really long time; especially Mama. But time is not on a line as it is on earth, but it kind of circles and crosses over and is not the same whatsoever. So I believe when we arrive in Heaven, they will not even realize that there has been a separation; because that's how God created Heaven to be -- no separations, no sorrow, no loss, no broken-heartedness.

There are also people who may have suffered some type of trauma in their life; many times during childhood. It causes them to have many issues later in life, and they may not even understand why. Perhaps it causes them to be obsessive about things, causes them to mentally develop slowly, cause them to not be able to trust and they go from one relationship to another, cause them to put up mental or emotional blockades, cause anger issues, and many other possible consequences all due to past personal trauma. God desires to bring healing and break them free from the circumstances of traumatic experiences. He wants to deliver and heal and set free! And I know that He can and will! I saw this happen personally recently and it was amazing to witness!! The young teenager involved was completely healed and set free and said that their mind felt clear and their trauma was gone. They were also baptized with the Holy Spirit at that same time and it was life-changing!!

Today if you have an area of hurt, anger, bitterness, offense, rejection, brokenness, trauma, etc. in your life you have to make a choice. You can either hold onto it and continue to feed it, allowing the infection of it to spread to other areas of your life; or you can allow God to cut it open and pour in His oil of healing and make you whole. You can continue through life with a sick and broken soul and spirit, or you can allow God to bring restoration. You can hold onto whatever it is that is making your soul and spirit to be weakened and sick, or you can choose to let go and allow God to bind up your wounds. You can choose pain or peace, brokenness or wholeness, soul sickness or healing. God is patiently waiting for you to surrender to Him and allow Him to heal you!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

When someone has a piercing injury, especially in the gut, or near a vital artery, it can be very dangerous for them to remove whatever caused the injury. If it tore a major artery, the person could bleed out very quickly if it's removed. Or it could fill a persons abdomen with poisons from inside the intestines. Or it might tear more on the way out than it already did. In those cases, it is best to keep whatever injured them where it is, and try not to move it at all till paramedics arrive, with blood available to replace what might be lost.

But eventually, almost anything that invades the body needs to be removed before the healing can start. A splinter, for example, isn't removed, you may form a boil or scar over it, and it could take weeks or months for it to work its way out again.

The same goes for other, deeper injuries. The source of the injury must (almost always) be removed. But that doesn't always mean that it should be yanked out carelessly. It might take a long time of help and prayer.

ON THE MENEWE:

Make Ahead Muffin Melts

12 whole hard-boiled eggs; peeled and chopped

2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

1 cup (real) mayonnaise

12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce

6 whole English Muffins, split

Combine chopped boiled eggs with all other ingredients (excluding the English Muffins). Fold together gently. Cover and store in the fridge overnight.

Spread on English muffin halves, then broil for 3-5 minutes or until hot and bubbly. (Don't set them too close to the heating element and watch to make sure you don't overcook.)

Serve immediately.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

I've been watching Jovie, my 3-1/2 year old great-niece a few days the past couple of weeks. She is at such a fun and cute and entertaining stage and I am loving spending time with her!

Last week I noticed that she had a new floor mat toy that she was playing with and I asked if it was new. She told me no, she had had it for a "wittle while". This was the remainder of our conversation:

Me: "Where did you get it?"

Jovie: "Jesus gave it to me!"

Me: "Really?! How did He do that?"

Jovie: (very matter of fact) "He just came down from Heaven and brought it to me, then went back to Heaven!"

I didn't try and correct her! I thought, we allow kids to play make believe and entertain ideas of the tooth fairy and Santa Claus bringing them money and gifts. Why not let her believe that Jesus, who is very real, could bring her good gifts?!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

God is usually waiting on us far more than we're waiting on Him. -Shawn Bolz

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org