Another windy day.  There is a very large spruce tree in our lower neighbor’s yard.  While most of the trees surrounding us have their limbs blowing back and forth as the wind blows hard and then reduces, the spruce is different.

The wind will blow against those heavy bows and twirl them around.  One limb will be going one way and the next a different way, one limb will be going in circles where the next will be going up and down, or back and forth.  Meanwhile the trunk of the tree stands fast and doesn’t move at all.

It is like a dancer who articulates with his arms and legs, but his body stays upright.  It always fascinates me.

The wind was blowing clouds up from the south west, as they arrived at the tree, of course many hundreds if not thousands of feet above, they would just evaporate.  They slowly came up and then they were gone.  It happens often as our environment is dryer than the valley’s, again an interesting phenomenon to me.

I will sign off; I am preparing a whole chicken for our dinner tonight and have to get with the process.  We will have a nice salad to compliment it. 

John 1:14-17  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

¹⁵ John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

¹⁶ And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

¹⁷ For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

We have all heard the admonition, ‘Ignorance of the Law is no excuse.’  But which laws?

All of them of course and in todays’ world we have thousands of them that impact our lives every day.  Not only do we have laws handed down by legislative bodies, but we have Administrative rules handed down by appointed bodies that have the impact of laws.  THEN the courts too, make law by interpreting what the legislative body meant when creating laws.

The Federal Government has laws and rules.  The state governments have laws and rules – and it is not always the same from one state to the next.  County governments have laws and rules – and it is not always the same between counties, even those adjoining each other.  City governments have laws and rules – and it is not always the same within the same county.  In addition there are governmental entities within these cities and counties, school districts, fire districts and others that have the power to make certain rules that will impact us.

There are some laws that are pretty much universal of course, we agree that a stop sign means stop – unless you are talking about a California stop...  A red light is the same throughout the country, except sometimes you can make a turn and other times you cannot.  Murder, rape, burglary, stealing, robbery and many such crimes are unlawful in all states – yet the punishment will vary from state to state.

The laws are clear cut, or not.  Some will contradict each other and some will be rule un-Constitutional by the courts.

How in the world can a person be informed of every law that governs them? 

It isn’t entirely difficult to be obedient to the law.  Many of the laws are specific in nature and do not impact us directly unless we are performing certain functions.  If we are going to drive a car, the laws concerning that activity are clearly written down and we should read and be aware of them.

If we are going to place a building on a piece of property it would behoove us to inquire at the planner’s office to find out what the laws are; they will have the information for us.

What is required of professionals is not required of the ordinary person, it is easy for us to determine where we stand in that matter.  If we do electrical work on our own house we are not required to have a license, however, if we hire someone else to do it they are required to have certain licenses – which often differ from state to state, by the way.  The same is true of other tradesmen.

Lawyers, Accountants, Teachers, Ministers, Police Officers and others are required to have certain training, there are laws concerning their conduct and most have Professional Standards that also require certain conduct.

Violations of laws have consequences.  For some violations it is a fine, for others it can be incarceration and a fine.  Some violation costs are specified minimums and maximums, some are to be determined by the judge and/or jury.

Because laws can be diverse and complicated many organizations hire lawyers or personnel who are trained in specific functions to help keep the organization out of trouble.  They keep track of the new laws and rules and make sure the company is following them.  But, we as ordinary people, may have a difficult time trying to do the same thing.

Then, to confuse things even more, there is the letter of the law, and then there is the spirit of the law.  While the law may be very specific the authorities may decide that to follow it to the letter is not what the legislative body really meant – the spirit is to bring conformance, not punishment; and leniency should be applied to the enforcement.

God started out with some pretty simple Laws – the Ten Commandments.  They are pretty much the basis of every government, whether they want to admit it or not.  Later He gave Moses other laws of conduct concerning sacrifice, diet and other activities that when studied show both common sense and a healthy lifestyle.  These laws were also designed to separate His people from those that did not follow Him.

Later the leaders, either through judging the activities of the Jewish people, or because they wanted to control their lives and make them more worthy of God, came up with rules and traditions which they demanded be followed.

God laws were to be obeyed, there were consequences – as detailed often in the Old Testament – for disobedience.

Daniel 9:10-12  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

¹¹ Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

¹² And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

Disobedience to God’s Law brought condemnation and judgment down on the people of Israel.  They were taught the law of God, they were aware of what He wanted of them.

Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Obeying any law can be a burden, especially when it is aimed directly at the activity we are involved in. 

God’s laws were very specific to the Jew.  Disobedience took on dire consequences.  The punishment for disobedience and the corrective discipline God imparted on the people were designed to bring them back to Him – and they were, at times, very harsh.  Many times He allowed them to be placed in captivity, or large numbers of His people died a violent death due to their disobedience. 

The Jewish people were required to obey these laws, while God would forgive them, they had to give specific sacrifices – not only of money and/or animal, but within their hearts – to obtain His forgiveness.  They could never be sure that what they were doing was going to keep them out of hell fire; being placed in the Bosom of Abraham and eventually allowing them into the gates of heaven.

But when Christ came, He changed all of that.  As John told the people:  because of Christ, we are now saved by Grace.

Where before salvation for the Jew was dependent on their strict adherence to the law, where they had to work hard to obey each law, where they had to continually sacrifice and be actively involved in their hope of salvation, we are now saved by the Grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:7-9 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We do, of course have some obligations, we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we must follow and obey Him, but our salvation is assured in Him.

Ephesians 2:14-16 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

¹⁵ Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

¹⁶ And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Living under Grace does not mean we will have an easy life, neither Jesus, nor the Apostles, nor the Christians through the ages have served without struggles.  However, their, and our, spirit is secure in God through Jesus Christ.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again