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

May 20, 2020

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

There is a quote by Shawn Bolz that says, "If you just looked at what social media would've put out about David, you wouldn't have liked David; because social media wouldn't have told you why God liked David."

Can you imagine what social media would have written about David? He didn't follow military protocol by running out on the battlefield to slay the giant.... so the Philistines should sue the Israelite army. David's father should sue King Saul for allowing his son to face Goliath, when he lacked training and proper protection and weapons. David is just an arrogant, prideful young man wanting attention. When David and his men were hiding in the cave, he should have killed Saul when he had the opportunity. He was being a coward for not killing Saul when he had the chance. God brought Saul to the cave and David refused to take advantage of what God placed right in front of him. Marrying multiple wives?! He was setting a bad example for the Israelites! He must have a sexual addiction. He should be impeached! Getting Bathsheba pregnant, then having her husband killed?! He should resign as king and be sent to the battlefield himself and put on the frontlines like Bathsheba's husband was. How prideful that he thought he could have any woman he wanted, then get by with having her husband killed! He just thinks he's above the law!! Serves David and Bathsheba right for their son dying!! Did they really think they could get by with her getting pregnant before marriage without everyone finding out.... we'll share it and make sure everyone knows?! Oh here is a funny cartoon meme about David and Bathsheba.... let's repost it. Oh my goodness, did you hear about Abishag? David is old and can't keep warm, so they brought in a young virgin girl to lie by his side to keep him warm! Likely story!! Dirty old man!

If those type of comments were the only ones that you heard about David, would you have respected and liked him? Would you have felt as if he were trying to live above the law, because of being king, and needed to be punished for his misconduct? Would you have felt that he was arrogant and prideful? Reading the above comments, what would there have been to like about David?

Would you have been jumping on the bandwagon to sign a petition to have him removed from office? Would you have been joined in posting "funny" or degrading memes or reposting other people's opinions about him? Would you be sharing the ridiculous farce news stories about David, thinking it was humorous? Perhaps posting your opinion, or reposting what others wrote, about David needing to be imprisoned for having Bathsheba's husband murdered? Would you have labeled him a pervert for allowing a young virgin girl to come lie beside him for warmth when he was an old man nearing death?

Be honest! If everything you knew about David was what was posted on social media, what would your opinion be of him? Would you, also, be posting your opinions and judging him for what you had heard about him?

From what I see posted on social media today, I'm of the opinion that David wouldn't have been very well liked, nor would he have been very well respected. People are quick to speak their opinions about everything.... and I do mean everything!! They share news stories without researching to even know if they are truth; or if someone had a vendetta against them and were trying to ruin them. They share pictures and news stories about people, not thinking about the shame or embarrassment that it causes their families. They post opinions about any subject that is popular at the time, thinking that they are right and everyone that doesn't agree with them is wrong. Most times, they share whatever thought pops into their head, without first thinking it through and asking themselves, "Is this post necessary, beneficial, needful, hurtful, offensive.... could it potentially cause someone hurt or embarrassment or to feel shamed... does it need to be said on social media?"

"What would Jesus do," needs to be more than just a saying; but needs to be practiced in all areas of our daily lives. Perhaps we also need to ask ourselves, "What would Jesus say?" If it's not something that He would do or say, then we need to refrain from doing so, also.

Jesus would never say or do something that would shame or embarrass or humiliate someone. In fact, when the woman caught in the act of adultery was brought before Him, Jesus never condemned or shamed her in front of the crowd. If Facebook had been popular at that time, He wouldn't have posted her picture with a story about her sin. He wouldn't have created a humiliating meme or post about her life. He wouldn't have posted her picture saying, "If you see this woman, keep your sons away from her! She is a pervert and needs to be watched!"

What was Jesus' reaction? He was teaching a crowd of people in the Temple when this happened. The teachers of religious laws and the Pharisees showed up with this woman in tow, putting her in front of the crowd. They didn't care about embarrassing or shaming her. They were using her to try and trap Jesus, so that they would have grounds to accuse Him. "Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do you say?"

Jesus knelt down and started writing in the dirt with His finger. They kept demanding an answer, so Jesus stood up and said, "The sinless one among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Then He stooped down and continued writing on the ground. Then the woman's accusers heard this, they began to leave, one by one.

I started by writing what the world would have said about David, in light of some of his deeds and sins. But what did God have to say about David?

In 1 Samuel 13:14 (NLT), the prophet Samuel is speaking to King Saul and says, "But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of His people, because you have not kept the Lord's command."

In Acts chapter 13, Paul is preaching and says in verse 22, "After removing him (Saul), He (God) raised up David to be their king. He also testified about him and said, 'I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do My will.'"

How could God call someone who messed up so many times a man after His heart? David did things that deserved punishment.... more than once! So how could God say this about David?

First of all, it's because of God's mercy and grace! Mercy is when God does not give us what we deserve; grace is when God gives us what we do not deserve.

Whenever David sinned, he genuinely repented and turned back to God. He had a heart to do right, even when his actions didn't always line up and he failed. Yet He had a continual hunger for God, he sought God, he had a passion for spiritual things, and he tried to please God. He was never led away by idolatry or worshipping other gods as so many other kings did; but stayed true to the one true God.

Read the many Psalms that David penned. David had a heart for worship, he had a heart to please God, and he had an intimate relationship with God. He knew God in a way that many never experience.

So perhaps a person's life is not about their failures or how many times they sin; but about how having a heart for God and repenting when they do fail.

What people say about us can have a detrimental affect! It can cause wounds and scars. It can make us feel unworthy, guilt-ridden, condemned, hopeless, and as if we have no value. Words hurt! Making jokes about someone hurts. Laughing at someone's expense hurts.

I encourage you to be careful what you write or post or say or laugh about regarding another person. It doesn't matter if you know them or not; don't post on social media or repeat something that is is degrading or hurtful to someone. Even political things.... don't post satires or hurtful things; even if you feel like the person deserves it. God sees them and loves them and wants them to have a relationship with Him. If the church and christians align themselves with attitudes the same as the world, who is going to be a light to those individuals? Let them see a difference in godly people!

Stop, pray and ask God what He is saying about individuals and how He would want you to pray for them. Don't get caught up in "doing your duty" to post things that are detrimental and hurtful to others; even when you think they deserve it.

Think about David! Think about how God perceived him, then be like Him and learn to see the best in others. God's perception of David wasn't the same as other people's would have been, had they only been looking at his failures. God's perception wasn't the same as those who brought the woman whom they'd caught in the act of adultery. He saw them with grace and mercy; and really, isn't that how He sees each of us!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

We see a lot of public warnings, notices, and news on social media. We get details about important events, who to watch out for, who we should never trust, and who has done anything wrong. We get warnings to help us and to help others.

But all of that information is just gossip. Oh, it may be phrased in a way to make it sound helpful or good. But deep down, it's just gossip. It's easy to see it's gossip if someone says, "Guess what: Mary is pregnant! She isn't married, and got knocked up!" It's a little sneaker if someone says, "I feel so sad for Mary's family. They need a lot of prayer, now that she is unmarried and expecting." It's still gossip. A more modern version might be, "Please share often. Mary's family needs prayer. They need to find the evil man who took advantage of their daughter. We need to get this creep off the streets." But it's still gossip.

We can tell ourselves that it is about protecting ourselves and our friends and family. Of course we forgive others and trust God to protect us. But we're just protecting ourselves, too.

Jesus knew the heart of Judas. He didn't rely on gossip or warnings, but knew exactly what Judas felt with no doubts. But He still let Judas manage the money for them all.

Jesus came to the world to spread love, peace, and forgiveness. Gossip came to the world to spread fear, anger, hatred, and arguments.

ON THE MENEWE:

Easy Oven Chicken

Melt one stick of butter in casserole dish in oven. Dip chicken in flour to coat, then roll in butter. Place crushed cornflakes and Panko bread crumbs in a Ziplock bag; add the shredded Parmesan and shake to combine. After rolling the chicken in the flour, then butter, coat each chicken tenderloin in mixture, then return to casserole dish; laying in a single layer. Press mixture into chicken until fully coated. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Too often, people tend to believe that there is nothing that they can do to help others; especially during times of pandemic that we have been living through. But that's not true! Each of us have things that we can do to make a difference and help out someone; not just when times are difficult, but at all times.

Here are just a few things that Jon and I have done -- just to give you ideas. I have been doing all of my grocery shopping online, and each time I place an order I contact Jon's mom to see if there is anything that I can pick up for her. The independent living where she lives has been on lock-down, so she can't get out; but I am able to drop grocery items off on a cart placed right inside the front door. Our next door neighbors are in their 80's. When Jon sees the man outside, he often will go out to visit for a few minutes to check on them. After a recent surgery on his toe, they called to ask us to take their trash cart to the end of their drive for them; which we did for a couple week. Another evening they couldn't get a jar open, so called to ask Jon if he could help them. My nephew raises pork and beef, and we buy all of our meat from him. It is quality meat and we help him out; so it's a win-win for both of us. When we got the siding replaced on our home a while back, they had to take our house number down in order to do the work. It was old and not very attractive, so we chose not to put it back up. I have a friend whose daughters make metal art, so I contacted them and they are going to make a metal plaque with our house number on it. They are excited for an opportunity to do more metal work and it will give us something nice to put up to display the house number.

Sometimes it's a matter of looking around to see what someone nearby may need, and taking the time to meet their need. Other times it may be us needing something and contacting a family member or friend who can help us out; which in turn helps them.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

You grow when you choose to step out in faith rather than hold back in fear. - Christine Caine

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org