Oak and Mushroom

Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods.  I could eat them everyday and not get tired of them.  They have such a delicate, earthy flavor that there is no way to substitute them.

It has been said that to grow mushrooms all you need is darkness and a little manure.  Let me assure you, however, that it is much more complicated than that.  Mushrooms are extremely particular about the compost they grow in.  Environmental factors such as heat and humidity have to be just right.  It takes a specially trained farmer to make their compost productive.  And in just a few short days a mushroom can develop and be sent out to market.

An oak tree, however, is another story.  It begins with a seed that lies dormant in the ground for months and months.  When it has finally germinated it starts as a tender shoot that must endure the harshest of elements to survive.  Year after year is lives through flood and drought, wind and snow, heat and cold, yet still it grows.  Because of all the harsh elements it grows to be strong and mighty.  And it isn't until decades later that it begins to provide benefit to all that are around it.  But those benefits can continue to be reaped year after year.

So which would you prefer to be?  A time tried and tempurature tested oak tree or a simple pop-it-in-your-mouth mushroom.  One is a simple fungus that is here today and consumed tomorrow.  The other is a beautiful, majestic organism that lives, gives shade, provides a home for animals and displays beauty year after year.  But it is important to note that such a rich blessing can only come out of the harshest of elements.

Matthew 7:24,25 says, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."  For all of us the winds will blow and the rains will come.  The devil will make sure of that.  But God has provided the rock, Jesus Christ.  Through Him we can find our foundation in the storm and as a result be a blessing to others for years to come.

Getting to the Mountaintop

At times I have struggled with God over things in my life that seem unfair.  Decisions that were made for me without regard for my feelings, my family or my finances.  Situations where if it had been someone else of equal stature and position a different process and deference to their opinions would have been employed.   One thing lead to another and I found myself far from where I wanted be.  My life seemed barren and unproductive.  I cried to the Lord, "Why me?"  But He never answered.  He just continued to lead me along the path.  I trudged along at times even half-heartedly.  But He didn't scold me.  He just continued to lead me along the path.  At times I grew weary and faint wishing there were a different way.  But He never pushed me.  He just continued to lead me along the path.  But each and every time I sought to know His heart and to grow closer to Him, He has lovingly reminded me, "My child I will be with you, my grace is sufficient for you.  For my strength is made perfect in weakness."  And that has been enough to see me through to see new heights on the other side.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 says:
17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

Now it seems to me that people, including myself, want the deer's feet (or hind's feet) in high places experience of verse 19.  But that only happened for Habakkuk after he had lived through a very barren and fruitless time period.  People want the blessing but are we willing to pay the price?  In order to make it to the summit you have to go through the valley.  God will be with you every step of the way.  Of that you can be sure.  But never forget that the lowest low and the steepest climb are the only way to get to a real mountaintop experience.

A little voice

I was getting ready to go to an appointment one summer afternoon and was about to throw on a loose, lightweight dress shirt when a voice spoke up in my head with a message.  You know that voice.  The one that kind of let's you know what you ought to do before you do it.  We've all heard it in our heads from time to time.  This time it was telling me to put on a t-shirt under my dress shirt.  I thought to myself, "That's the craziest thing.  It's summer.  A hot one at that."  Honestly, my preference is to wear an undershirt.  To me it's more comfortable.  But it was summer and I thought it was my preference talking to me.  So I started to ignore it thinking about how hot it had been all summer.  But the voice wouldn't go away.  So I relented.  I thought to myself, "Well, I'll be out til evening so at least I won't be sweltering the whole time."

Boy, am I glad I gave in.  It turned out the place where my meeting was held had one of those uncontrollable A/C systems.  We've all experience those buildings where the central air has no communication with the rest of the building.  The rooms cool down to 65 degrees and the later in the day the more efficient the A/C works so that by the time you leave at 9 o'clock and it's 74 degrees outside and 54 degrees inside. Others were reaching for sweaters and covering their sleeveless shoulders with their hands or any piece of cloth they could find.  Frankly, I was a little chilled all evening long as well.  Then as I was reflecting on the evening on the way home in the car I realized what had taken place while I was dressing.  If I hadn't listened to that voice I would have frozen to death.

The reality is that all of us have that little voice.  Isaiah 30:21says, "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' Whenever you turn to the right hand, Or whenever you turn to the left."  God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit.  And He helps us by doing more than just telling us right from wrong.  That is His primary task but He also gives us a little extra help from time to time.  But it does us no good in big things or little if we don't listen.  That voice inside your head, pay attention to it.  Learn to develop your ear for it.  God will guide you in many ways if you will learn to listen to Him speaking to you and obey.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Please.

On the 27th of August, 2012 someone decided that Morgan Freeman was dead.  Notice I used the word 'decided' because he was clearly not dead.  As of this writing he is still very much alive.  Then on the 19th of September a friend posted a nice picture (shown below) of the renowned actor from the Facebook site proclaiming his demise.  I was immediately suspicious.  Within just a few keystrokes I had found confirmation that the information was wholly unreliable and that the hoax had been debunked publically for quite some time.  I immediately commented back to my friend to set the record straight.

So with this incident Freeman joins a very elite group of people who's hoaxed deaths spread like wildfire throughout the www, including Bill Cosby, Cher, John Bon Jovi, Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Kanye West, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise and most of the young paparazzi starlettes.  Most times the purported death came in spectacular fashion.  But what surprises me is that people will believe this stuff.  They know these death hoaxes are as common as pig tracks in wet weather yet they still fall for it.

So before I go any further let me state what must be said.  DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE INTERNET!!!  For that matter don't believe everything you hear, see or read in general.  What can I say.  Some people are just plain liars.  In fact when Jonathan Gorman was ratted out for Bill Cosby's fifth death hoax, he called the believers "stupid" and promised he would keep on doing it again.  Which helps me to understand one spiritual fact a bit better.  Jesus tells us in John 8:44 that the devil is the father of lies.  What I never could understand is why anyone would fall into his traps.  Well, the fact of the matter is people are gullible and Satan takes advantage of it.  So when we are admonished in Matthew 10:16 to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves," we need to take it very seriously.  The devil has all kinds of lies, some more subtle than others, to trip us up.  We all take the bait at some time.  We have to be careful.  We need God's help.  Pray for wisdom and God will give it to you liberally, James 1:5.  Only with His help will be be able to see past the wiles of Satan.

 

Unfortunate Circumstances

I didn't really notice what kind of truck was next to me as I pulled up to the light.  Nor had I any clue as to what was going to come out of the tailpipe.  All I remember is thinking "I hope none of that rust falls off onto my car"... as if rust was going to be the major environmental hazard coming from that vehicle.  Boy was I wrong.  And by the time I realized what was happening I was boxed in on all sides.

So as the light turned green we all began to pull ahead but the truck next to me did so with great difficulty.  In order to compensate the driver gave it all the gas he could.  The result was a flow of think, nauseating smoke that enveloped my car.  The more his truck lurched and sputtered the more I did as well.  I thought I was going to cough up a lung.  But what could I do?  I was boxed in.  I just had to continue my journey in the hopes that the guy ahead of me would finally pull ahead of the truck enough for me to get around him, which did happen, but not on my time frame.  Meanwhile I had to either wait it out or cause an accident.

But this situation reminds me of folks who go about life choosing the latter.  They would prefer to take out a couple of cars and cause major damage rather than put up with a situation that is less than adequate.  Unfortunately life isn't always what it's supposed to be.  It is inevitable for all of us that soon or later we will be stuck in a bad situation with no good options.  However, how we choose to deal with it makes all the difference.  Faith and patience is key.

Jesus said in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  There's bad news and there's good news in this verse.  The bad news is that in this world we will have troubles.  It's inevitable.  The good news is Jesus has overcome the world.

So my advice to all those people out there in unfortunate circumstances is to be patient.  Jesus warned us these things would happen.  Don't make matters worse by taking out a couple lanes of traffic.  Sit tight, it will all work out in the end.  Jesus has promised to take care of things in His time.