There are times I wonder if I have just lived a life, and made no difference.  Then, I receive a call or e-mails that lift my spirit, just as I seem to need them.

For instance, about the time I wonder if I should continue to send these out, someone, who I may not have heard from in quite a while tells me how much my struggles have helped them, or have given them some new insights into God’s Word.  AND I am given new insights from them (and sometimes correction!)

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Cliff Hill.  He retired from Law Enforcement, effective the 28^th.  It was good to hear from him and how well he is doing.

Cliff was one of our Resident Deputies.  He was a dedicated law enforcement officer who garnered great respect from the residents and the rest of us.  We could always count on Cliff to do the right thing.

Two things came to mind as I remembered this young man; the first was relayed by a citizen: 

Highway 26 goes through the western part of Wasco County.  One of his responsibilities was to patrol that area and stop speeders.

For those of you not familiar with the road, it is wide, much of it high desert and there is almost nothing for miles – one time I was with my brother-in-law and we traveled for over an hour at 55 miles an hour and never left the county – and once leaving the city of Warm Springs didn’t get to another populated area for half again that long.  Not an unusual tale here in Oregon where we have wide open spaces.

It is the main road between Portland and the Central Oregon area of the state, a major recreation area – and consequently almost as heavily traveled as an interstate highway.  We had a number of fatalities on this road because people were going way too fast.

We formed a traffic safety team to rectify that, and they did.  When they weren’t on, and they had time to work the highway, the Resident Deputies patrolled it – we went from about 10 fatalities in one year (can’t remember the exact number) to zero within a couple of years.

People would get on that highway and just let the car fly – one such person was from New Jersey.  He was driving well above the posted limit.  Cliff stopped him.

The man begged for clemency – he was from New Jersey, in a rented vehicle, and wasn’t used to such wide open spaces. 

As he continued writing his ticket Cliff said, Yep, that is why we have speedometers here.

Through the years I honestly can’t remember of a complaint against Cliff from a citizen.  I do know we got some compliments, but the one that stands out involved a retired Sheriff.

Cliff stopped him, giving him a warning.

Later that weekend I was at a function where the Sheriff was also invited.  We were talking and he couldn’t say enough about his impression of Cliff.  His professionalism and his demeanor were outstanding, according to the Sheriff, he predicted good things from this man – and he was correct.

He has earned his retirement and I wish him well.

AND, I will continue sending out these tomes.  The decision to read them is yours – and as always – comments are appreciated.

Exodus 12:15  Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

I was reading a verse that referred to this one, this morning.  The number seven is used often in the Bible, 7 day week (6 days of work, one day of Sabbath) but what struck me this morning was the Hebrews had to cast out all leavening from their house prior to the first of the seven days.

Then they had to eat unleavened bread for seven days.  We know that unleavened bread – at least what I have eaten – doesn’t have a lot of flavor, part of which is because there is no yeast.

So, it is a bland bread, nothing most of us would want to eat as part of a regular diet.

Regardless, that was the command.  Those that believed Moses was telling them what God wanted, obeyed, those that did not, didn’t.

What if they snuck out and ate a slice of bread from the market place?  What if they got halfway through and decided that this was foolishness, what does their having to eat unleavened bread have to do with their freedom?

The answer, of course is clear, they would have been cut off from God and would have suffered the same fate as the Egyptians.

God would have not accepted ANY excuses. 

Then I thought about Noah, Genesis 7:4  For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

Noah spent, from what I understand, over a hundred years building the ark to the exact specifications God had given him.  I have heard that there was no rain before that time; the mist surrounding the earth and the water from below the earth was sufficient to grow crops and meet the people’s needs – I have also heard that that may or may not be accurate, nothing really clarifies that one way or the other.

What is obvious, though, is that man had never seen such a flood as was to come.

Noah did all he was told, he built the ark, he gathered the animals into the ark and the door was shut, by God.  He then sat there in the ark, for seven days.  What was he thinking?  Did he become nervous and wonder if all those years were wasted, that the derision he endured from his neighbors was accurate?

Seven days.

They waited seven days, before they saw God’s promises being fulfilled.

I am one of those that is a ‘bit’ impatient.  I want, what I want, now.  If it doesn’t come when I think it should I go looking for it or figure I probably shouldn’t have it.

All too frequently I have prayed for something, once, twice, several times and then, figuring the answer is no, stopped praying for it.

In our house, no, means no.  Not maybe, not let me think about it; it means don’t ask again.

There are times that God does say no.  Sometimes that is not clear until later, but how many times have I given up before the ‘seventh day?’  How many times was I at midnight on the sixth day and then by stopping I missed God’s blessings or healings?

The Hebrews either obeyed, or didn’t.  When it came time for the judgement they had to say, I did, or I did not do as commanded.  There was no grey area, it was one way or the other and both had severe significances – the one to freedom, the other death.

In today’s world we think we can excuse ourselves from wrong doing by blaming others, or circumstances or whatever we can find – just so we can deflect the blame from us – or at least minimize the consequences.

Obeying God sometimes makes us look foolish to the world. 

And we don’t like to look foolish.

We may follow and obey for a while, but we become tired of the distain, or we don’t see anything happening, so, we give up. 

These two verses, plus many others that come to mind, remind me that God works on His own calendar.  He is not rushed, He is not concerned about how we may be ‘embarrassed’ by His leading, He only cares about obedience.

In the scheme of things seven days isn’t all that long.  But the message is clear, God will do things on His own time, and disobedience will not be acceptable.

The Jewish people could have been in the Promised Land forty years before they actually went in – they disobeyed God and those adults that were part of that decision never saw the Promised Land.

John 16:23-24 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

²⁴ Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

There are conditions of course, and they are enumerated elsewhere, but we know that if our heart is right with God, the things we ask for will bring glory to Him.

Sometimes, however, we HAVE to ask over a period of time – it may be days, weeks, months or even years, we all know the testimonies of those that have prayed for a friend or family member, only to have it come about after many years of prayer.

The Bible is full of stories that show God’s love and mercy – it sometimes takes years and even centuries for His promises to be fulfilled.

There are many reasons why God may choose to wait before He answers our prayers.  Sometimes, I think, He just wants to know how bad we really want it.

Later, Art :-)