Father, as I come to sit with You this morning, I realize this is probably going to be the quietest part of my day. Once it gets rolling, it won’t stop until I get home about an hour before bed. I ask for Your strength, wisdom, and love, not just to receive but also to give. Amen.

Matthew 18:10-14 (<<click the green)

(Over the course of my adult life I have read and listened to (via CD) the Gospels many, many times but I have to admit that this time through has been extremely challenging. It brings to mind Jesus’ larger group of followers who after a particularly challenging discourse stated, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” And after some more challenging discourse, “…many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” And here I join Peter as he emphatically exclaims, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:60-69)

I am so glad I am part of the Lord’s flock! Aren’t you? Regularly I ask myself, “Where would I be if it wasn’t for the Lord in my life?” I can only imagine the misery I would be in. How lost I would be…

There is absolutely no way that we can possibly ignore the fact that our world is full of lost sheep. Every single individual that walks the face of this planet was created by God. He loves them all – no exceptions, no exclusions, no ifs, ands or buts! Jesus proclaimed,

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17, emphasis mine)

But how do we pray? How do we live out our life in Christ? We are perfectly content to interact with sheep who look like us and act like us and talk like us and think like us. …but what about those who are different than us? Not just a little but a lot! What about those who are not only different but quite often are in opposition to us? Do we pray for them? Do we live our lives searching for opportunities to touch them for Your glory, Lord?

Lord Jesus, may this seep into and permeate my heart and soul. May I never be able to escape Your love for Your lost sheep – regardless of where they stand, with or outside the flock. Amen.

July 24th, 2018, Tues, 6:40 am