Duck dinner tonight

A good friend of mine just got an eviction notice from both his tiny home and his shop. He’s far behind on his mortgage payments. Sales revenues for his business, like so many others in the country, are nearly non-existent. He is a craftsman extraordinaire and has worked in that shop building fine furniture art, some of which I am very fortunate to own, for as long as anybody can remember. He just turned 60 and is in poor health; in fact he begins chemo therapy through the VA for his degenerative spine ailment soon.

My buddy is as poor as they come and has been living on beans and franks and the like for as long as I have known him. He owns a few woodworking tools and a dilapidated car that was worn out ten years ago. He has one sister up north who is 70 and is just as poor as he is. He really has nowhere to go and no idea what he is going to do. One would think he would be feeling sorry for himself and crying himself to sleep each night, but he is taking it in stride.

I witnessed to my friend, a complete agnostic, over a span of six years with no success. He steadfastly rejected all of my earnest arguments. His belief system was completely off base and he had no idea what the Bible actually said about a variety of subjects. I debated with him repeatedly and finally I brought him a Bible and asked him to read it for himself, instructing him to begin in Romans. He promised that he would do so. Unbeknownst to me some other people in the community were simultaneously witnessing to him also. I was extremely gratified recently to learn that our efforts proved fruitful and he recently accepted Christ as His Savior.

The reason he is not overly down in the dumps over his bleak financial dilemma and the instability that is facing him is that he is now in God’s hands and has complete faith that things will turn out all right for him in spite of the economy and not having the foggiest idea of where he will go or what he will now do. I haven’t seen such faith in some lifelong Christians I tell you.

Jesus has a special place in his heart for the poor and so should we. I am attempting to assist my friend as he tries to get restarted in life and it’s not an easy task. There is a reason that the expression, “starving artist” applies to our creative friends; most are devoid of logic, business sense, common sense, and sound reasoning capabilities. Their minds seem to stay in the clouds dreaming up delightful art, but not down to earth tilling the soil and digging potatoes. Hopefully he’ll come around like he did with his relationship with the Lord, but I pray it’s not six years before he “sees the light”.

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving we need to reflect upon those around us who are poor and especially those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Some of you have introduced countless people to the Lord and have devoted your lives to helping others. Some of you have done nothing but think of yourselves.

All that can change today. Just reach out to those who are poor and suffering.

Don’t know anyone poor right now? Hmmm Maybe you aren’t “seeking” very hard Billions of people are poor on this planet. One third of the earth’s inhabitants have never even made a phone call, forty per cent don’t have electricity, hunger is rampant, there are entire families trying to get into the limited available space in homeless shelters.

Don’t think all of those people are too lazy to work even for a moment. Yes there are those who would not work for love or money and as far as I’m concerned let them starve if they are too lazy to work, but there are plenty who suffer through no fault of their own right here in the good old United States of America and those of us who can help them, should help them.

Take the time to do something and realize what Thanksgiving and God and Jesus are really about.

Have a nice day today. I’m going duck hunting in less than two hours and some needy family is going to enjoy those ducks for dinner tonight

Matt.7:7
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.