I was reading the water supply reports from The Natural Resources Service of Oregon today.  The report shows that moisture levels in the mountains are about normal – however, the snow pack is as low as 10% of normal – and that is a genuine concern.

The moisture has allowed reservoirs to fill up and those people dependent on that source for water will not be too adversely affected.  However, with snow packs so low the rivers and stream flows will be low which will impact those who depend on those flows for their needs.

Not to mention, dry tundra in the forests and grasslands.

I couldn’t be a farmer.  These men and women who work hard tilling the soil have my admiration.  These people and their work ethic, not to mention their products, are what made this country great.  However, they can work hard and have the crop ready for harvest and something happens – and something can happen along each step of the way.

The seed doesn’t take, so they have to re-seed, expensive.  Insects and animals can partake of their fields and destroy everything.  Weather is a HUGE factor.  Too much rain, not enough rain, rain at the wrong time all can be a destructive force.

Freezing temperature can destroy a crop even before it has a chance to start.

In our area we have to major crops, cherries and wheat.  Late in the year rains can damage both, but one will suffer when the other doesn’t because they require the moisture at different times.

If it rains during cherry harvest it can destroy the cherries – especially if it has been hot.  The water sets in the small dent where the stem connects to the cherry.  The cherry cannot properly deal with the water and it literally explodes – you can hear it.  Helicopters, wind mills and wind generators on trailers are often used to get the water to evaporate and not hurt the cherries.

But at this time the rain is good for the wheat.  HOWEVER, after cherry harvest the rain is good for the cherries, but it can ruin the wheat which must start drying for harvest so it doesn’t mold.

Yet, men and women, generation after generation, work hard at the business of farming, and provide a means for all of us to eat.

I don’t think I could handle the pressure.  Can’t imagine sitting in my house and hearing the cherries explode, or watch the hail decimate my crop, or the sun destroying the seedlings and just looking at dry dusty ground.  Can’t imagine watching my cattle freeze to death as over a 100,000 did a couple years ago, or can’t find enough grass and water as often happens in summer.

May God keep them strong. 

Mathew 22:37-39  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.

³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The bottom line, of course, is if these two commands are followed, which are the base of all others, then we cannot help but serve God and please Him. 

Simple.

We cannot love God until we understand who God is; we cannot serve Him until we know what He wants; we cannot know what He wants without studying His Word.

Simple.

We cannot love our neighbor without first loving God.

Simple.

So, why is it so difficult for us?  Why do we struggle, some of us on an hourly basis, to obey these two commandments?

Simple, satan.

Adam and Eve walked, talked and worshiped God in a place He created especially for them.  They were fine until Adam chose to listen to Eve, who chose to listen to satan and they fell from the Grace God had given them.

They were banned from the garden and forced into hard labor.

God did not abandon them, He ‘simply’ chastised and punished them for their sin.  Unfortunately, once they sinned, satan knew the weakness in the human being, the weakness of free will.

In almost everything we do we have a choice.  Now, there may be consequences we do not like in making the choice, but it is ours to make.  There are times we are faced with ‘bad’ choices, none of which are comfortable, but we must make it – and not making it is also a choice.

In almost every business and certainly within the public sectors I have been involved in, there are Policies (what must be done) and Procedures (how to do what is required) dictating what one must do in ‘almost’ any given situation.

Planning, trial and error, experiences from others, acceptable practices and unacceptable practices are all considered when the writing and implementation of how we do business.

The boss tries to take everything into consideration, what may happen in any situation and write up what he wants done if these things occur.

Some are simple such as the way you greet customers, how you write up orders for sales, how they are processed, etc. just everyday business that is done in an organized manner so everybody is on the same page.

Some are based on what the Federal, State or local laws require, or regulations from their entities.

Some are very specific, based on one task building on another and if it gets messed up the product won’t work.

Some are very specific, based on safety; if you do ABC you are safe, if you do ACB it becomes unsafe.

One of the things I liked about Law Enforcement is the freedom to make decisions.  There are policies and procedures, there are laws governing our actions, there are safe and unsafe ways of doing things.  However, in most assignments we have the freedom to choose how we address the problem, what steps we take, do we issue a ticket, make an arrest, give a warning, etc.

Working within the guidelines, we have a great deal of latitude and freedom to do our job and that is necessary to be able to get control of any given situation.  While tools and procedures are necessary it doesn’t take an officer’s ability to use his brain away from him.

Before Christ, God had some specific things He wanted the Jews to do.  Dietary laws, sacrifices – what they were and how they were to be performed, even the building of altars and temples were explicit.  Add to that were expectations of the leaders, both of the church and the Jewish government that had to be met – some were tokens of servitude, many, we now know, were by men trying to subjugate the congregation for their own interests.

But Christ changed many of the requirements, based on His authority as the Son of God and the fact that His sacrifice was the fulfillment of many of those commands.

The Bible, the Word of God, is God’s Policy and Procedures manual.  Anything else written is based on man’s interpretation of those in the desire to help the Christian live a holy life.

Many of these are indeed helpful for a Christian to live a life dedicated to God; it gives them some additional guidance and a helpful base of understanding.

Unfortunately, some of those people do not have our best interests at heart and, like the Jewish leaders in Christ’s time, have their own agenda – and it is not what God intends to happen. 

Every law enforcement agency has as their mission statement something like, ‘Protect and Serve.’  Everything else is built around that statement.

God’s Mission statement, for Christians, is:

Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

And  Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

All employees of any business are expected to know the policies and procedures, know what to do when they need to do it.

It is the same for Christians, we are expected to know God’s Word and how to use it.

As in veteran employees and their policies and procedures, we become more familiar with His Word and we are more effective in our daily life.  We are more comfortable in following Him.  We are more confident in Him and in our ability to serve Him.

There are always times that a person must go back to the manual because they encounter situations that are unfamiliar; however, for everyday living we can use what we know and get the job done well.

As Christians we need to read our Policy and Procedures manual every day.  We are reminded of who God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit is and how God wants us to serve Him.

When we take God’s mission statement for Christians to heart, when we become more and more familiar with His Word and Holy Spirit we can:

Proverbs 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

God has specifics, we need to understand them AND accept them, understanding those and in our service to Him He allows us to use our own personalities and abilities – He just maximizes them.

Christians come in many varieties, while there are many ways to serve Him and each person is gifted with a unique gift, it must always be tempered with actions that are in accordance with God’s Word.

Later, Dad :-)

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