Job's Oppression

Job was oppressed on every side.  He lost his children, his wealth, and his health.  He had every right, according to medical science, to be depressed.   Yet Job never turned away from God.  He knew God was the answer, and he knew he would see God one day, regardless of his earthly problems.  The Book of Job is a great example of faith and how we need to maintain our faith in God, as well.  The following are some thoughts that go along with the scriptures given in my Sunday School lesson today. 

If you want to quench your thirst

then follow Jesus first. 
He will never let you tread the path alone
Or leave you on your own. 
             As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you,
            my God. Psalm 42:1
He has healing in his power
for everyone - through every hour.
Give your all to Him;
He’s your hope when all seems dim.
       But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness
       arise with healing in his wings;  Malachi 4:2a
If you want to quench your thirst
Then follow Jesus first.
He is the One that paid it all
And He’ll listen when you call.
     Their cries have been heard by the Lord Who hears His people.  James 5:4b
He died but yet He lives
He loves you and forgives.
He quenches all your thirst
When you take the time to put Him first.
         I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day
         upon the earth.  Job 19:25

Friendly Shade Hunting Humor

My “Friendly Shade”  is a little different today.  As I sit and contemplate the coming hunting season I worry that the woodlands will not be safe.  The weather has been so dry and wildfires beginning to take place in our area that the risk of fires far outweigh the joy found in the hunt.  However, putting all that aside the following is a humorous story taken from my book “Guys In Camo.”   I believe all those excited about opening deer season will enjoy the humor. 

DUPED BY A YOUNGSTER  

     Game wardens really don’t have to set up what most people call entrapment to be able to issue a citation or confiscate wrongfully obtained game related to the breaking of wildlife laws.  They are notorious for coming around deer clubs and other hunting sites at just the wrong time for most deer hunters.  All they need to do is bide their time and a lot of violations will just fall into their hands which is what happened with one game warden as he was driving along an ole’ country road near the Calhoun community. 

     The local game warden was not even looking for a wrongdoing the Saturday before opening deer season as he slowed his vehicle and prepared to pull over to the side of the road when he spotted a young boy who was dragging a deer behind him exiting a wooded area. 

     The warden spotted the boy, before the boy saw him, and by the time the boy looked up the warden was out of the truck and headed his way. 

     The game warden’s eyes narrowed as he approached and glared at the boy as he said, “Son, what are you doing?”   The boy quickly responded with, “I’m deer hunting.”  The warden then began to show his authority as he menacingly said, “Boy, deer season doesn’t open until Monday.” “No sir,” the boy argued, “it started today.”  When the warden again repeated his statement that the season did not open until Monday, the boy dropped his head a little as he thought for a second.  Then he looked up and stared the warden rather bashfully in the eye and very quietly told him, “Mister, I thought it started today, but you know I have another deer down back there in the brush.”  He pointed back behind him toward the woods he had come out of and continued,  “I guess you want me to drag that one out, too.”

     The warden shook his head affirmatively and told him to go drag out the other deer. 

     The boy quickly turned and retreated back into the woods.  As the warden stood there waiting, he soon realized his mistake and that he had been duped.  That boy wasn’t coming back.  He probably fled as fast as he could in the other direction. 

     As the warden told the story he said, “It wasn’t that the kid was so smart; it was that I was so dumb.”

A Dry and Thirsty Land

     We are living in a dry and thirsty land with no predictions of rain in the coming week. Our economy is not good either with the stock market unpredictable and banks paying very little interest on savings- we are living in a dry and thirsty land.  There is disharmony among the people with controversy over prayer in public schools and other places, controversy over being able to even post the Ten Commandments, controversy over same sex marriage, controversy over pro-life choice- we are living in a dry and thirsty land.  God told Moses in Leviticus 26 that if His people would walk in His statues and keep His commandments He would give them rain in due season.  He would give them peace in the land, and they would prosper.  The question is, “Will America wake up and follow God’s commandments and prosper?  Will they come together as “One Nation Under God?  Or will we  fall?”

Leviticus 26: 3-17

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; ⁴Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. ⁶And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. ⁷And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ⁸And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. ⁹For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. ¹⁰And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. ¹¹And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. ¹²And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. ¹³I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. ¹⁴But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; ¹⁵And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: ¹⁶I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. ¹⁷And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
    
     America has been blessed by God since it's beginning.  It has always been my belief that America was placed here for the honor and glory of God.  God has blessed us because of our being a Christian nation and because of our treatment of the Jew.  Our departure from God did not happen overnight nor in a dramatic turning away from Him.  Gradually, we substituted things in place of our allegiance to God.  Many of the things that were substituted may have been good in it's own sense.  However, you must recognize that sometimes the enemy of the best can be something of lesser value but still good..  In the midst of this crazy mixed up world we need the blessings of God if we are to stay the course and right the ship.

Payday Everyday!

    My title was taken from the book by R.G. Lee, but this is not about his life and times.  As I studied Job, he lost all he had; his children, his wealth, and even his health.  In today’s economy, many people are losing what they have; their jobs, their life’s savings, and their health.  Just as Job did, people are going through hard times.  As a banker I have helped restructure the debts of many in an effort to get them back on a financial budget they can afford.  Most of the debts that are out of control are credit cards.  When the Lord asked Satan in Job 2, “Where have you been?” Satan answered, “From going to and fro in the earth.”  Satan is still doing this today.  He does not knock just once, he continues to bang on the door to people’s hearts and minds.  If he can keep people in debt there will be no money to give to the Lord and the Lord’s work.  The guilt and stress can become a stumbling block in your relationship with God.  

   I have found that the majority of people live in the today with their spending habits.  “I want it and I want it now!”  With the advent of credit cards this has become an easy world of acquiring possessions.  However, when the bills come around and the interest rates jump up, there is no end in sight.  Some become frustrated, but do not change their spending habits.  I have seen many of my customers come back, in just a year, after I have helped them pay off credit card debts with the same recurring problems.  Then there are others who struggle along with the plan and goal they set.  They learn from the experience, they grow stronger from the experience, they worry less, they are finally able to begin to save for the time when they will be required to live on a fixed income (if they are lucky enough to have a retirement fund), and as a result ,their health might just be better.  

   So I say, unless you are fortunate enough to pay off your credit cards at the end of every month  or can resist continually charging until the debt is paid in full, resist the temptation of credit card companies sending out preapproved lines, and shred those that come to your children even before they graduate from school.  Don’t float the malls as entertainment.  Satan is “going to and fro in the earth.”  He wants you in debt. 

   If you are already in debt and want out, ask God for the wisdom and the power to resist the temptation of spending on things you don’t have to have, and establish a budget and a goal.  Most of all, stick with it. 

     Make everyday a payday!

God- You'll just have to wait!

I usually find a friendly shade and post my blog on Sundays.  Somehow, for whatever reason, I just didn't take the time to think about what I wanted to say about God and what He has done for me so I didn't post.  I could make all kinds of excuses but it would be like say telling God that I was in too much of a hurry and He'd just have to wait.   Isn't that what most of us do every day?
                                       

Hurry And Wait!

I threw the cover from my arm as I shut off the alarm;

Then jumped from my bed to get everyone fed.

I’d overslept, but still got the floors all swept.

I threw on the wash, but I was late, “Oh my gosh!”

“At this rate, Lord, you’ll just have to wait.”

I rushed into work, and said “Hello” to the clerk.

It was half past eight, and I was running late.

As I sank into my job my head began to throb,

But soon it was ten, and I threw down my pen.

It was time for my break, and that’s something I’d take.

I’d enjoy the time for it was all mine.

I had to relax, find some coffee and snacks;

Read the news and get other people’s views.

As it came to an end I had more work to attend.

“I’m in such a state, Lord, you’ll still have to wait.”

I had unopened files which I stacked in different piles.

They were enough to make me swoon, but I planned to quit at noon. 

As I looked at my watch, my task looked top-notch. 

So I wrapped up loose ends to lunch with my friends.

 Reservations had been made, and all was prepaid.

As I entered Mel’s I knew there’d be stories to hear and to tell.

The noise was loud, coming from all of the crowd.

“Lord, it’s no time to pray- not in this café.

I’m sure it’s alright to wait till tonight.” 

At the end of the day there were events to convey;

Kids to get into bed and stories to be read;

There were movies to view and mail to go through.

Time was slipping by as I began to close my eye.

I crawled into bed -fluffed up the pillow as I laid down my head.   

“Lord, it’s awful late. I’m so sleepy you’ll just have to wait?”

                                                                 Mary Crisp Jameson  

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock… Revelations 4:20

                                                                

9/11 Memorial

     9/11 or Sept. 11, 2001 is still being remembered, and rightfully so.  When I think of Sept 11, my first thoughts are that it was my mother’s birthday, but then I remember the tragic hijacking of four airplanes and the destruction of two of New York’s skyscrapers in the World Trade Center, the crashing of a jet into the Pentagon and the attempt to crash a fourth into the U.S. Capitol in Washington. D. C.   It was the brave passengers and crew on Flight 93 who decided to stop the hijackers from hurting more people and foiled the crash into the U.S. Capitol.  They lost their lives but saved our country from further destruction. 

     As we honor the heroes and the victims of 9/11 let us not forget that it was God who sent His only beloved Son to sacrifice His own life for the lives of others.    Through the sacrifice of the passengers on Flight 93 many lives were saved in the United States of America, but through the sacrifice of Jesus the world was offered a saving grace.

     I truly believe that it was God who placed those brave young men on Flight 93 just as I believe God has a plan for all His people if they will accept and have the courage to follow His plan.  When the men on Flight 93 said, “Let’s roll” they knew they would probably lose their lives and were willing to do what was needed so others would live.   In John 19: 30 Jesus said, “It is finished; and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”  for us, so we could live. 

Labor Day Devotional Thought

Labor Day has been observed for so many years most people don’t even know why.  According to Wikipedia the first big Labor Day in U.S.A was observed on Sept. 5, 1882 by the Central Labor Union  of New York.  It became a federal holiday in 1894, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military & U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike under the presidency of Grover Cleveland.  Fearing further conflict with the labor union, legislation, making Labor Day a national holiday, was rushed through Congress & signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.

 My pastor talked more on work today which gave me pause for thought.  The Bible instructs people to stay busy, to work and earn the bread they eat.  There are those who are unwilling to work but all too willing to accept free handouts.  Then there are those who do nothing but work.  As we stop and think about the work we do, remember that our work is not only to provide for our families and to have the luxuries of life, but, rather, work for the service of God.  Our work is never finished for God.  There was a free handout given for all but, so often, this is the one free handout that is rejected by man.  This free handout of Salvation was given with love.  We can’t earn it.  It is by grace that we receive the free gift of Salvation.   

   
     Jesus did the work for which He was sent
     To save His people was God’s intent.
     God allowed the torture and watched as Jesus died.
     It was for all mankind, nationwide.