They’re the One: The Lost Sheep
Hello friends,
The Lord has been stirring the hearts of some of us at JPM to the practice of prayer. Prayer is one of the foundational pillars in the life of a believer and in the church (Acts 2:42). It’s an area that many either struggle to embrace or cease to stop (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Regardless of where you are with the practice of prayer, we hope to dispel any fears, burdens or anything that poses a threat to your prayer life.
Over the next few weeks leading up to Resurrection Sunday (yes, we can’t believe it’s already time for Easter either), we will be sharing a series of emails that will prayerfully encourage and prepare your hearts to partner with us in a prayer project called "They’re the One”.
This project was inspired by the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18 and also by an experience (or rather hundreds of experiences) Joey has had with so many over the years. You'll read about this experience and more once we reveal this project for sign ups on March 31st.
For now, let's dive in to the heart of Jesus and His love for the one:
I don’t know about you, but if I was the shepherd, I’d probably be happy that I kept track of the 99 other sheep. What’s one lost sheep here or there? I got the bulk of them, right?
This parable begins and ends with Jesus addressing the “little ones”. He is clearly referring to children and He is warning us not to "despise" them, so as to imply that this would be a temptation for us.
He goes on to say that He “came to save the lost”. Jesus is not content to sit idly. He doesn’t stop because there are possibly many of us who already recognize Him as Lord: “does he not leave the 99 and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?” He will never stop chasing the lost. No matter how small or how few or how far astray they’ve gone.
Finally, He “rejoices more over that (one) sheep than over the 99 that did not go astray.”
There is so much to pull from this parable, but we want to hone in on a few things as it relates to prayer and specifically praying for the "little ones".
Jesus values the individual.
No matter their age (the “little ones”), or how few (“the one”), or how far gone (“the lost”), Jesus will never stop loving and chasing down every last one.
Jesus rejoices over finding the individual.
When the shepherd finds his sheep, his reaction is JOY!
Verse 13 says, "he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the 99 that did not go astray."
If you zoom in on the photo of the little boy drinking from a red cup, you'll see two flies on his face. You'll also see the image of Jesus and His lost sheep. What struck me was when I layered these photos together, I noticed the two flies lay perfectly on Jesus' back. This was not intentional or planned.
God showed me how we sometimes see these children: dirty and diseased. We may want to look the other way or even cringe. But what does Jesus do? He carries them, flies and all. Luke’s account says, “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’” (Luke 15:5-6a).
This parable teaches us that just like Jesus, we should also value the individual. We should love them individually, patiently, intentionally, joyfully and with a protecting nature.
A profound way to do that is through prayer.
We eagerly anticipate Resurrection Sunday when we will officially launch the They're the One project where you can sign up to pray for a child within the JPM network.
We will reveal more practical aspects of prayer in the newsletters to come, but we wanted to begin by sharing the heart behind this project; breaking down the very parable Jesus shared that inspired it all.
We pray you receive this message and that the Holy Spirit begin to move you to partner with Heaven in whatever way He wills.
Anticipating God's goodness in your lives,
Joey & Cathy
