I may not know about today or tomorrow, but I know the One who does!

Made it to Tuesday and it is another day here in the neighborhood, on this September 13, 2011. I suppose we all should be happy the superstition landed on Friday the 13th and not just the 13th or we would all be wringing our hands every month. Joking only. I have been surprised over the years at the number of people who are superstitious. Even among the family of believers. I've even heard preachers say something and then pronounce a 'knock on wood' comment on it. Maybe it was just a figure of speech. I do hope so. It has been ingrained into our psyche from our earliest days and I will be the first to admit that the knee jerk is there when the black cat races across in front of my bumper. Thankfully, it is only a fleeting thought as faith always supersedes silliness. But it is sad that some folks, even believers, still read their horoscope each day, for fun they say, but when they act upon what they read, well, that's another story entirely. The New Testament writer, James, thought to be the half brother of Jesus the Christ, he said that believers should seek each day with an appreciation for the Lord's will. ("Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”  But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil." Chapter 4:13-16) That's where our confidence comes from, when we say it and mean it,  'Thy will be done.' 

We offer thanks to God that the most significant exposure from the recent wildfires here in this area has now been greatly reduced. This was accomplished thanks to the tireless efforts of local firefighters, volunteers, and units that have come from all over our country. Many residents, displaced for 8 days are more, are now beginning to be able to get back to their homes. Our county lost eight dwellings and another fifteen structures. Compared to the huge potential for loss, this is a small number, however, for those who have lost all their belongings, it is about as huge as it gets. Thus far, we have had no loss of human life in our area. The loss of homes in neighboring counties has been much greater. The huge fire that raged for days up near Bastrop, Texas goes down as one of the most destructive in our nation's history. I've seen those faces on the news at night. It puts a knot in the belly just watching. We are blessed to have both firefighters and law enforcement people in our local fellowship. Many of them have been on the front lines throughout this great challenge, often working with little or no sleep. I pause to recognize their efforts as well as to offer a prayer for their safety and well being.


I can tell you this. We, like most places, go through periods of fire danger each year, but no one would have ever predicted this season's destructive fires. It had never happened before. This has been some summer and it's not over yet. We have a day sometime next week with an over 50% prediction of rain. Next week folks. I've never heard so many people talking about that day. With all due respect, they have trouble with next day but folks are rallying behind a prediction for next week. This shows how desperate we are here in these parts for rain and it also tells us how dependent we are as people. We've always prided ourselves on being pretty much able to take care of our own business, reliant, and sufficient. Hurricane Ike helped strip away any sense of our being able to take care of business by ourselves. God would have every person to know that we need Him. We need Him in our personal walk for salvation, and we need Him in our daily walk to help us through the unexpected challenges that will, that's right folks, that will come into each life. May we find this truth early and not late is my prayer for this Tuesday. May God bless each one. Amen.    .....More later.