Sitting down for a few minutes while my latest batch of peaches is processing – for 30 minutes.  I have another canner or so to do and lots of tomatoes today and tomorrow.  Pizza sauce sounds good about now.

Teresa brought over some grocery sacks full of grapes, nice and sweet.  We will juice those either later today, or tomorrow, depending on how the tomato processing goes.  We can juice the grapes on the stove, while we are cooking the tomatoes and reducing them – that will take several hours.

Last night we enjoyed tomatoes and cucumber salad, steamed green beans with bacon and Ken’s steak.  Good meal.

It is plenty smoky outside.  We have a couple fires in the gorge and one in Estacada, but the wind is from the east and it ‘should’ be blowing it down river – but isn’t. 

My prayers go up for the many families that are facing loss of property.  It also reminds me of frustration every fireman and police officer experiences when there is a disaster, large or small.  There are always those that want to get a look, they cause traffic hazards and make it difficult for everyone.  Makes you want to take and shake them and try and get them to figure out why they ‘have’ to see.

If they are that interested, they can join a department and be of some assistance instead of an annoyance - and a danger!  Yeah, one of my pet peeves!  

Acts 19:10-12     And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

¹¹ And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

¹² So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

And

Mathew 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

God is faithful.  Christ was faithful to God and to His people.

The apostles and many in the early church were faithful to God, to Jesus and to their mission in serving Christ.  Paul served God for about 20 years after His conversion.  He was faithful in his message and in his life.

Because of their faithfulness we have learned about God and Christ and we are saved.  Now, it is our turn to continue God’s message so that others will come to know Him.

Faithful.   Trustworthy.  Consistent. Dependable.  True.  Authentic.  Reliable.  Responsible.  Honest. Constant.  Unceasing.   Continuous.  Unfailing.   Lasting.  Certain.  Believable.  Proven.

All words describing faithfulness, and the manner of a person’s life we value as individuals.  We want to trust the person who has our interests in their hands.  We want to believe what they say is true.

How do we know if they are indeed any of these?  We know by the consistency of their actions, they can be depended upon to react in a given way under a given circumstance.  We know by the results of their work, it is done correctly.  We know in a crisis they will looked out for us.

I take my car to Rich, my mechanic, because I know he will do the very best he can – and he expects his employees to do the same – to get my car running well and safely.  He has proven himself to me and I trust him. 

Faithfulness is extremely important.  We value faithfulness in a person’s attitude towards their jobs, their family, their friends, there church, country.  They don’t stop caring just because circumstances has caused a problem, you can count on them standing strong and not wavering in their desire to ‘do the right thing.’

People watch others.  They learn what makes them ‘tick.’  They can use that to undermine the person by ‘pushing buttons’ that will make them angry or not do their best in whatever task they are assigned.  Some have the gift of reading people easily and can manipulate a person’s responses to what they want, not necessarily what is best for the person or the situation.

Predictable is a term most of us do not like to have applied to us.  It implies that we can be manipulated.  It implies that others have power over us and we cannot change that, it implies we are weak; that we can be used.  We don’t like those implications.

But being predictable is also a good thing; especially if it means that people can depend on a positive response.  If the boss hands a project over to a predictable person usually it is because he appreciates the manner in which they accomplish the task.  

We all use other’s predicable traits.  We knew at an early age how to manipulate mom and dad or a sibling.  We learned how certain people reacted under given circumstances so we played to getting what WE wanted out of them, by using their patterns to get what we wanted.  Some are better than others, of course, but everyone does it to a degree.

As we walk our Christian walk, people are watching us.  We may not even know they are watching.  We go about our daily lives and we show by our actions what kind of a person we are – the actions are more telling than the words we use.  How we react under stress tells people a lot about how we walk with God – either in faith, or we back pedal. 

People will test us to see if we are faithful in our walk with Christ.  An officer that served on the City Dept. for about 6 years before I came on board paved the way for me.  Some members of the department tested his resolve as a Christian.  They watched the way he dealt with other people.  They would invite him to parties where alcohol was the main ingredient.  They would deliberately use foul language around him to see if they could get a response.  They would use pranks to test his anger.  He held true to Christ – and because he did, they didn’t even try to persuade me.

If we respond as Christ would have us do under stressful circumstances people notice.  They WANT to believe that we have the answer.  They WANT to believe that Christ can make a difference in a person’s life.  They WANT us to show them Christ in OUR lives.  They want us to be predictable in our service to Him.  They want to know if we back up our talk by the proper actions.

They want realism, if they are going to give their trust to God, then they want to be assured that it is worth it.  They want to know that it isn’t just a feel good thing; they want to see that accepting Christ makes a difference in the way a person deals with situations and with others.

That is why it is so important for us to focus on God, each and every minute of the day; to be continually in touch with Him.  Not as a fearful, cowering I don’t want to make a mistake way, but in confidence that He will guide and direct our paths.

We are going to make mistakes, and most people will forgive those mistakes if we are honest and faithful to Christ.  On more than one occasion – indeed probably hundreds if not thousands – I have had to apologize to someone for my failures.  I have been forgiven many times – and there are times because of that honest I am sorry, I have been able to witness in a more effective manner to a person.

Faithfulness is not always easy.  It is something that requires determination and understanding that it is a long term activity. 

When it comes to faithfulness to God, it is a lifetime commitment.  But as a result of that faithfulness we become more effective servants, executing God’s Will in our lives. 

We want God to know we are dependable, that He can predict what we are going to do when He gives us a mission.  That we, like Paul, will stay the course, being faithful to Him and not be dissuaded. 

Later, Art :-)    

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