Carla’s garden is producing.  We have been having fresh cukes and tomatoes for the past few days.  She has located a soapy formula (supposed to be organically made and thus can be used on organic plants) that seems to be working on the pests in the squash, so hopefully we will have a few more of those to enjoy.

This year we have far more hummingbirds than we have had in the past, it is like watching mosquitoes as they dart back and forth.  We cannot begin to count them all they are so fast, but we estimate we probably have as many as ten.

Thus far, they are still sharing; although a couple are trying to exercise territorial rights to ALL of the feeders it isn’t concerning the others all that much....

‘twill be another hot day today, but we are told we are in for a tad bit cooler weather next week temperatures for the next few days will be in the high 90’s, while after that we will see low to mid 80’s, much better.

Ephesians 6:5-6 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

⁶ Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

I had a conversation the other day with a person whose work place forbids discussing religion and they feel they can’t project Christ as they should.

These verses came to mind and I got to thinking about that this morning.

A good Christian is also a good employee.  They give a day’s work for a day’s pay.  They honor their employer with their loyalty and hard work.

We have, for the most part, the freedom to choose who we work for, if we disagree with their philosophy we can try to convince them to change and if unsuccessful we can quit and find another job. 

However, we can also influence who we work for and our fellow employees by being a hard, honest worker and working at the height of our abilities.  Our dependability and attitude can make a big difference in gaining people’s confidence and open doors for us to share Christ – even in a Christian hostile environment.

Obviously the job we choose shouldn’t be one that deliberately opposes God’s Word and commands for the way we live in our life.  If it is illegal or immoral we don’t want to have anything to do with it.

If the business is openly hostile to God’s Word then we really do want to evaluate our association with that business – and, unfortunately, we are finding more businesses becoming fearful of following God’s Word and implementing policies that forbid us talking about Christ.

Government is probably the largest employer that has forbidden Christians to testify while working – and to some it could include off-duty activities if the person’s affiliation with government is mentioned.

So what is a Christian to do in these circumstances?  Obviously we need them in government employment to insure honesty and fairness in serving the people.  Businesses need Christians for the same reason – it helps to have someone with a conscience working.

I realize it has been several years since I was employed, but the lessons I learned, I think, are still valid in even today’s world.  I shared this with the person.

There was not much doubt that once I accepted Christ I believed in Him.  It didn’t take much for me to testify of Him.

There was only one time I can remember where I actually violated my own philosophy of being a good employee and instead witnessed to another about Christ.  Many of you have heard that story, but for those of you who haven’t:

I was working for Safeway’s in Bend.  I worked the graveyard shift from 2300 to 0800 and our job was to stock shelves.  One night there were just two of us working. 

He was a newer employee and knew that I was a Christian.  We started talking about Christ.

I felt so impressed that I had to witness to this man I stopped working.  We talked for hours, he knew the Word of God far better than I did.  I was a relatively new Christian and he could quote verses that talked of salvation – yet, he denied there was a God.

He was majoring in psychology in college and said that he had grown past the need for religion.  While I don’t recall all we said, I knew, at the time, that conversation, that night, was critical.

The next morning my boss severely scolded me for not getting the job done, and I deserved it.  I offered no excuses – because there really wasn’t one he would understand.

I was off the next two days.

The next work day I found out that the fellow employee I had been talking to, had committed suicide later that same day.  He had gone to an out of the way county road and put a hose on his tailpipe and put it in the window.

I then realized why God had laid the burden, for that conversation, on my heart; He was giving that person one more chance to come to Him.  While I was sorry that he didn’t and I had sympathies for his family, I never felt that I had any reason to feel guilty about my role in his life.

Even back in the early 70’s, when I became a police officer, we had to keep ‘religion’ out of our professional life.  Kinda.

Everyone knew I was a Christian.  I was fortunate, I had a Christian brother who had already paved the way for a lot of backlash for being a Christian, he was a good cop and well respected for his work.  They had given him a hard time early in his career, but he stood fast.  It made life easier for me around the station.

I frequently wore my uniform to church services – on days I had to work - and more than once I stood in front of the congregation in a leadership position in uniform; either preaching or teaching.  Today, that may not have been allowed.

I worked hard and I didn’t witness unless a door was opened for that witnessing.  As I gained rank I was very cognizant of the fact that if I had the appearance of preaching Christ to my subordinates they could feel undo pressure to please me – or become angered and complained to the Chief, thus undermining my testimony.  Later, that did happen to my friend, he was verbally reprimanded.  It worked out, but it reinforced my decision to be careful.

But people knew I was a Christian and several times I was given the opportunity to counsel and pray with them.  There were even times when I was answering disturbance calls that I was asked to pray with them – not always agreed on by both parties – and when that happened I didn’t.

I had always been vocal about who I was in Christ, especially away from the job.

As an elected official – Sheriff – I tried not to influence my employees other than my conduct (which they will tell you was not always Christ like.)  But, there too I was often given an opportunity to show them the love of Christ.

I had no hesitation as the Sheriff of proclaiming Christ in uniform and in public forums – even though I was cautioned against it because it would anger some of my constituents – and it did.

It was a different era, but if elected tomorrow I would do the same thing.  However, we all see those that proclaim Christ are looked on as idiots, or radical, or unyielding and untrustworthy to carry out ‘society’s demands’ and they get pummeled by the media and others opposed to God’s intervention, in any form, in their lives.  And, unfortunately most do not get elected – BUT they do have an influence and who knows what happens in the minds and hearts of those that listen to them, the Holy Spirit can use even those times to bring others to Christ.

Today we find the enemy working harder than ever to get Christians out of anything to do with public service – or any job for that matter.  Christians are being asked questions by some that seem to want their counsel, only to find out they were setting them up so they could attack them and try and get them fired.

And it is working.

So what do we do?  We have to eat, we have to work to eat and the conflict is becoming country wide – but are we forced to compromise our position in Christ?

Another often mentioned story:  A friend of mine worked for Bonneville Power, they do not want people talking about religion.  Yet, he stood out and his Christianity was well known, even though he didn’t discuss it unless asked.

One of the ways he showed his righteousness was when a dirty joke was told among fellow employees in his presence, he would follow it up with a clean one – which was often funnier than the first one.  It became common knowledge that he wasn’t afraid to be one of the ‘guys’ but still give them an example of what a Christian is – after a while the dirty jokes stopped, his didn’t.

Some of us would object or walk away – and that is okay too – but he chose this way to show others Christ.  And it worked.

Each of us has a relationship with Christ that is the same as others, yet, uniquely ours.  The Holy Spirit can do wonders when we rely on Him, and not on ourselves, when it is ‘okay’ to witness to others.  That may come at the expense of our job, but He will let us know.

We can also take the examples of many brethren that are living in a very anti-Christian environment where to even carry a Bible is grounds for imprisonment, not to mention talking about Christ.  They rely on God.  Yes, some have to go underground to preach Christ, but the amazing thing, even under that kind of oppression, Christ’s church is growing because the Holy Spirit is working.

Prayers are more earnest, the Bible is not taken for granted and these people, tried by ‘fire,’ have proven to others that God’s Word and Jesus’ sacrifice are real.  Thus hearts are more open for His Holy Spirit to work.

IF we remain true to God, do what we know is right, we can be an effective witness to others, just by ‘being’ a Christian.  HE will do the rest.

Later, Art :-)

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