Thursday, July 23, 2015

Getting the house back in one piece.  I had to laugh this morning as I started to step over an obstacle we used for a gate that we had placed to keep Wanda for getting to the cats.  I had taken it down.
I always wondered about the comments on how sheep would jump over something and those behind would continue to jump in that spot even when the obstacle had been removed – guess it proves I am one of the sheep!
Ozzie is out and around crying out for her kids, wanting them to know the big bad dog is no longer with us.  They should be, and I think are aware, but thus far are still leery about coming in.
Blaze announced to the world this morning that he had taken back his domain and he was once more king of the world.
Dynamics in animals are not all that much different than ours.  It is interesting and often fun to watch interactions between them – we had no incidents of violence, although there were a few threats for which we had to referee.
William and Rose are doing well at the fair, wish I could be down there with them.
Rose has a Grand Champion on her doe and a Reserve on her auction goat.
William’s auction goat developed a rash just before fair time and he couldn’t bring her.  He did receive a blue ribbon and best in show on his market goat.  He also earned a couple blue ribbons on his photographs.
Bit easier for ma and pa this year, the young’ns are older and pretty independent now so they are doing all the work.
When Rose first started showing their trailer was out away from the main group, (4-H families tend to be long term people so they have a lock on the position of the trailer and when someone who has been their longer is no longer involved, they can move up to their spot.  The longer you are there, the closer you are to the grounds.)
Now, because a long time participant who was a coworker of Ken’s is no longer there, Ken got his spot – right next to the gate from the camping area to the grounds. (They like having a police officer close by just in case) and it makes it a lot easier to take care of the animals. 
Since every camper goes by, you see lots of people and can talk with them, the bad thing is you sees lots of people and think you have to talk with them.  But Ken and Wendy enjoy it.
John 5:39-40 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
 The Bible is the Word of God.  Through those words we learn of God’s Nature.  We learn how He created the World.  We learn how He condemns sin and will chastise and punish those that continue in their sins.
We learn of the history of the Hebrews, how they became HIS chosen people and the dictates He commanded of them.  We learn how He protected them in great conflicts when they came to Him with an open heart and reliance on Him.
We also learn what happens when a nation turns away from Him and the severity of the offense they have committed.
We learn how to praise Him, how to worship Him, how to serve Him, how to grow in Him and how to ask of Him.
We learn what is expected of us in dealing with Him, with fellow Christians and with those in the world.
We read about the men and women who, even though in great danger themselves served God and because of their brave and unselfish acts the Jews were saved from annihilation.
We read how He looks at our heart and from this He uses us based on our trust, faith and love of Him.
We learn of the prophecies fulfilled; when we read the Bible it speaks to us, it comforts us, the words encourage and propel us into even greater service to Him.  We learn that God is God and we are but His child, saved by Grace – only because of His great love are we able to communicate with Him.
We read of Jesus and how He fulfilled the prophesies about the coming of the Messiah.  We learn on how He taught, how He led others, how He made them Disciples.
We learn of the transformation of common men and women into great leaders of the Christian faith and how they strived and often struggled to build a strong foundation on the corner stone of Jesus.
We learn He cares for us, He listens to our fears, He wants to cover us and protect us from the enemy of our soul.
We learn that there is an evil in this world, that satan is wanting to destroy God and all He stands for, including us.
We learn that through the centuries people have followed satan, but in the end God was always victorious; so we have hope today.
We gain a better understanding of our responsibility to God and man.
But the Bible is not salvation. 
“for in them ye think ye have eternal life” 
“ ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. ”
The Bible directs us, we learn of the process needed to have salvation, but the knowledge is worthless if we have not accepted His Word that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, the Mediator between Him and us.
Men have studied God’s Word for centuries, yet have not been saved.  They praise it as a great book of literature, they talk about how Jesus was a great teacher, they may know many of the nuances of God’s Word, but they aren’t saved with that knowledge.
A person may study to be a doctor; he may know all about the body, how it works, how to protect and heal it, but if he doesn’t do anything about it the knowledge is valueless.  If he hasn’t gone to the next step of actively using his knowledge and applying it he isn’t a doctor, he is just a theorist – one who may have all kinds of ideas, but doesn’t act upon them.
It is the application of God’s Word concerning Christ that we must USE in our life not just read.
God speaks to us through His Word, through our prayers and sometimes through other people – but until we accept Christ it is meaningless.  It is just another history book; it is much more than that of course, and we can be thankful that He chose to put into writing His Words so we can draw strength from them.
We can rely on the Word of God for truth, perfection, discipline, teaching, reflection, assurance but, only acting on that understanding, by accepting Christ as our personal Savior, are we saved.
Later, Art :-)
From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again

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