Today is Tuesday, February 7th, 2012; Karen's Korner #2252
Yesterday Clarion native, now resident of Mason City, Bev Downs invited several of us from Clarion to attend a monthly noon luncheon of their Christian Women's Club.
The guest speaker for the day was Jean Hofmann of Battle Creek, Iowa. She, her husband and family are sheep farmers there; he specializes in sheep shearing. So much so that he was one of two representing the United States in a world sheep shearing contest in England a few years ago.
As part of her story, Jean told of their real life experience of going to the barn to tend the sheep at lambing time. She said that particular night they found a mother and a new lamb. But they also found an orphaned lamb. "I started to make plans about having to bottle feed the new motherless lamb," she told the audience.
They also discovered a new ewe that had delivered a dead one. Since mother ewe's will only tend their 'own', it didn't help the couple's dilemma.
Then her husband told her of a new idea he had read about and he set about to test it out. He took the dead lamb away from its mother. Skinned it. Covered the orphan lamb with the skin. Placed the 'dressed up' lamb into the pen with the potential adoptive mother.
It worked! The ewe sensed 'her lamb' and claimed the newborn as her own!
Hofmann told the audience, "It made me stop and think about my coming before God at His Throne when I enter heaven. I won't be accepted by my pedigree. I will be accepted by my Heavenly Father because I am covered by Jesus' blood (His Heavenly Skin and Scent)."
God can't accept just any 'orphaned lambs'; He only takes the one that are His Own!
Hofmann invited any of us who were guests yesterday, "Have you accepted His gift of the Lamb's covering? So that we are acceptable as one of His Own?"
We each had and have a choice to make.
Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for the covering of Your love and care. Thank You that the blood shed by Your Son makes us Your Sons and Daughters. We accept His Gift of Love and Eternal Life. In His Name we pray together. Amen.
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