Shade Tree Wisdom 7/1/13

Shade Tree Wisdom 7/1/13


       This morning’s news reports that 19 firefighters lost their lives in that fire in Arizona. That’s tragic, and there will be discussion about procedure or what else needed to be done, and important matters like that, both for now and for the future.

       But it tends to show us that things are uncertain, and often are hard to understand, or to puzzle out.

       Last time I spoke of Jeremiah. His life was harsh, and what he preached to the people was ignored and derided. Worn out by the opposition, and beaten by self-pity, he was about to give it up when he heard these words: “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you will fall down, what will you do in the jungle of the Jordan?” Jer.12,5.

       Life is difficult, Jeremiah. But are you going to quit at the first wave of opposition? Are you going to live the life to which I called you? Remember my promise to you was, “be not afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you. Jer. 1,8

       So are you going to live cautiously, or courageously? I called you to live your best. I set your feet on the Way. I called you to live with courage and to God’s glory.

       It is easier to give in, to go along, to take it easy, to drift along. But remember this Jeremiah, approval by the masses is not the way to Truth. Which promise is more likely to be kept? One a politician makes to 10,000? Or one that a person makes to a person? Truth is not arrived with statistics. Truth is often flattened to fit a slogan.

       The crowd did not dictate his message. He got that word from God.

       It strikes me we live in an age like that of Jeremiah, and it behooves us to be sure of whom we follow, what we believe and practice, and what we say. God’s Word dictates our lives, and therein lies the blessing we seek daily. May your day be rich with truth.

GPD 7/1/13