Are You a Sheep - or a Goat?
"Who, me? I'm not a sheep; nor am I a goat," you say... but our Lord tells us we are indeed one or the other. (Matt. 25) If that's the case, dear ones, let's START SHEEPING - if we aren't already, that is. And of course if you *are* 'sheeping' (please forgive my made-up word, but I kinda like it), whatever you do, don't stop now!!!
What's 'Sheeping'?
Let's see what the Lord has to tell us about sheep:
The Sheep and the Goats
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
"I am THE way, THE truth and THE life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6)
"My SHEEP hear my voice." Are you listening?
What about the goats?
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Dear people, Jesus did not come 'only' to die, but "that ye (us!!) may have life, and have it more abundantly." He came to show us how to live! We live NOT by doing whatever it takes to please ourselves or surround ourselves with luxury, believe it or not -- people who do *that* He refers to as "dead in their sins"!! --
WE LIVE BY DOING WHATEVER WE CAN TO HELP OTHERS!!!
Think about it! Isn't that what Jesus did? He was constantly surrounded by others seeking His help, and He was forever helping them! The most important thing to Jesus was that He do His Father's work, His Father's will, in every situation.
"Go ye and do likewise."
The woods are certainly full of others needing help *these* days, have you noticed? C'mon, sheep, let's start sheeping! -- and to God be the glory. :-)))
Afterthought:
I'm not advocating DOING this (helping others) as a means of earning your salvation, because nothing but your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour can do that. BUT: if you have accepted Him as your King, should you not be following His lead in your daily life? The one sin He condemned more vigorously than any other, it seems to me, is hypocrisy: pretending to be one thing, when in your heart you are something entirely different. Your actions must suit your words. His did.
There's a cartoon clipped to our refrigerator door (one of several) that fits the bill just about perfectly when it comes to defining hypocrisy. It's a Calvin and Hobbes strip from October 13th some years ago. (Calvin's a little boy; Hobbes is his tiger companion). Here's the exchange:
Calvin: "Hobbes, do you think our morality is defined by our actions, or by what's in our hearts?
Hobbes: "I think our actions SHOW what's in our hearts.
Calvin stands there with a blank look in his face for a moment, then bellows angrily, "I RESENT THAT!"
Amen?
JESUS LIVES!!!
... and if you believe that, and that He's coming back as He promised - maybe it's time to take a good look at ourselves in the light of Hobbes' remark. Ya think? Cuz look at what Jesus says in Matt. 24:48-51:
"But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and shall begin to beat his fellow-slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
the master of that slave will come on a day when he doesnot expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and shall cut him in pieces AND ASSIGN HIM A PLACE WITH THE HYPOCRITES; weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth."
All together now, dear ones: LET'S START SHEEPING!!!
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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Follow ME - Home, For Life, Forever! :-)
What a fool I am! For almost two weeks now I have deferred sending out birth announcements glorifying God for the birth of our perfect little filly foal on May 21st. Whom do I fear that I should so postpone giving official praise to the God of the universe, our omnipotent Father? I hang my head in shame and sorrow, and repentance. Praise You, almighty God, and thank You, Jesus, for putting up with my fearfulness! - and for my beautiful little Follow Me Home. :-) May it be obvious to all, exactly Who the "Me" is in the name of our new farm... for You alone are worthy, and You alone do we seek to follow all our days. May FOLLOW ME FARM remind us and all who visit it, that You are the Way, the Truth and the Life; and no one comes to the Father but by You. Hallelujah!!!
P.S. - Dear little Follow Me Home died this morning (June 6th), peacefully in her stall. I'm glad I had a chance to say goodbye to her only moments before her death, and even *more* glad that I had two weeks of her company. Thank You, Lord, for the certain knowledge that I will see her again when I die! (OF COURSE there are animals in heaven! Remember the four HORSEmen of the apocalpyse? Remember "the lion shall lie down with the lamb"? Remember "a little child shall stick his hand in a cockatrice's den and not be hurt" (whatever a cockatrice is!)? Remember Paul was caught up to the "seventh heaven"? So why, if there are different levels of heaven, can there not be levels WITH animals for those of us who love them, and without for those who don't? Remember Christ is coming to take His followers to be with Him, to "a new heaven and a new earth"? What would a new earth be without animals? Why would you think that our loving God, Who has blessed us with this love here for our dogs, our cats, our budgies, etc., withdraw that blessing in the future? C'mon, dear hearts, praise Him for being far more caring than *that*!!! There WILL be animals in the world to come - there just won't be the hurtful impulses and violence Satan introduced into the world when he deceived Eve! (Remember we are told that the whole of creation in the present world is in a state of rebellion against God? That's the rebellion that is being quelled in the spiritual realm right now ... but I'm getting into deep theological waters, when all I need to do is trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding (Prov. 5-6) And rejoice in the Lord, always! Praise ye the Lord. Thank You, Father! HALLELUJAH!!!!!
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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GUEST EDITORIAL
* You may have noticed I frequently use Eddy Ministries pieces as guest editorials. There's a great reason! I have reached the same conclusions about our precious Saviour in my own life, and couldn't phrase it better myself. HALLELUJAH!!! Enjoy, dear hearts. :-) -- Doris H.
Against All Odds
by Eddy Ministries
"Because you [King Hezekiah] have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria" (Isaiah 37:21)
Have you ever had your back against the wall that if something didn't happen to change your situation, you were in Big Trouble?
King Hezekiah was one of Israel's greatest godly kings. One of the greatest challenges to his reign came when Sennacherib king of
Assyria threatened to attack Israel. The Assyrians were the local bullies like Iraq today and had conquered others in their region. They
were, however, outside of God's covenant and mocked the idea of having a God who could save them.
The world we live in today is full of wicked Assyrian kings who mock the idea of a God who delivers. Without God's help, Israel would not
overcome for their backs were against the wall. King Hezekiah saved Israel because he prayed and God moved on his behalf. In fact, God moved
so powerfully that Hezekiah did not even have to fight for the angel of God singlehandedly killed 185,000 Assyrians in the camp. The king of Assyria
then was murdered by his own sons. The lesson here is that God will act on behalf of His children if they will just call on Him. King Hezekiah sought
God's help so "that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone" (Isaiah 37:20). This is what happened and God was glorified.
God wants you to know that He is a living God and only He, not Jeff Bridges, can deliver you Against All Odds. Seek Him today and search out
His promises of deliverance in His Word for any crisis in your life. Keep your motive pure and God will surely answer powerfully like He did for King Hezekiah.
After your deliverance, give God ALL the glory, tell others about it, give thanks to El Shaddai and magnify His Name HaShem.
Copyright © 2002 Eddy Ministries. All rights reserved.
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
Great Links!
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
Keep on reigning; You're my Lord!
Sharpen my mind by Your Spirit's sword.
Compliments of NicksHumor.net
That's about it for now, folks. God bless you and keep you, one and all!
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than you. Pick a newsgroup posting or an email each week and help
that person even if you have to visit their site to find the best
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(((HUGS))) and blessings to you all,
(Mrs.) Doris E. Howie <><
Editor, OHzone E-CLIPS
