The Deer and The Danger

Once upon a time in the great North woods of Arkansas there was this Doe, a humble Doe by all accounts and very young at heart if not in age. I can only assume age based on her size and ,of course, it's not polite to ask ANY woman her age so that part is pure assumption, not to mention that had I actually asked and received an answer, I would probably be in a padded room somewhere. This Doe probably started the day like most any other day, some coffee and perhaps some toast perhaps a good dose of OJ, OK again I am exaggerating I mean where are you going to find OJ out in the deep woods? Right?
So where was I... O yes.. so this Doe probably started the day like all deer do and had some breakfast and then looked for a bit of water to drink, then as the day was warming up started looking for a bit of a warm spot to sit and soak up some rays. What this Doe did not realize is that danger and possible death was lurking in the woods!

This danger and possible death, did not come in the form of another animal or dressed in black robes and a carrying a scythe, but rather came in the form of a man dressed in Mossy Oak camouflage, with the appropriate hunter orange, and carrying a large caliber rifle.

Do you feel the tension building yet?

The hunter in question had been out since early morning looking for the big brother to that Doe and hadn't seen much that morning except for a few tails and hind legs heading for the underbrush! Something about trying to be quiet while walking on dry leaves just wasn't working so the hunter tried something just a bit different, he thought he would sit for awhile and try using his deer call.

Meanwhile the Doe had been enjoying itself getting a tan and enjoying the birds and the squirrels doing their thing and was totally oblivious to the fact that danger was not far away, she had heard some unusual sounds, but because it was so warm and peaceful she saw no reason to be concerned. Then she heard the sound of a bleat....

The hunter had found a likely deer path and got himself all comfortable and then proceeded to use the Doe bleat call, feeling a little foolish, having never really used it that much,but low and behold he started to hear some shuffling sounds that sounded a whole lot different then squirrels, (which as any hunter knows is one of the most annoying creatures when one is hunting)and his adrenaline level started to pick up a bit at the thought of actually seeing something more then the hind end of his intended prey. But then it got quiet again.

This went on for a bit so I will spare some of the details but needless to say that eventually the doe and the hunter meet and this is truly the heart of the story.

The hunter stepped out onto the dirt trail and watched the edge of the woods and sure enough out comes the doe! She had been curious enough about the sound to step out of the woods where she was perfectly safe, the woods were thick ,very hard to see through, out onto the path to be seen by all predators including the hunter.

The hunter and the doe looked at each other, but rather then run away from the danger, she looked at the hunter and sniffed the air, couldn't smell him because he'd used stuff to kill his smell, stomped her foot on the ground to see if she could get this strange looking thing to move,and nothing happened. She did the drop the head and lift it quickly thing and still nothing happened, but still she stood there not 25 feet from something that would bring her death and decided that if it didn't threaten her directly then it must be safe! Eventually she moved off into the woods on the other side of the path and disappeared.

What that Doe didn't know was that if it had been three days earlier it could have been shot and the threat and danger would have been very real and short lived.

How many of us are like that Doe? G-D puts in a restful place, he feeds us and gives us laws to keep us safe in Him and yet at the first sound of something that sounds strange we go out to investigate, ignoring everything that G-D has shown us, and we chase after strange things ,never realizing that it is putting us in danger. And to make it worse, even when we see the danger we don't recognize it for what it is and just stand there and look. The only thing that saved that Doe was the Law that said that it was 3 days to late to kill it. The enemy of our souls has no such restrictions, especially when we put our selves in his path. Our only safety is in G-D and His law, His Love and Grace. Where ever you are find your rest in Him. Ignore the call of the strange things of the world. The danger is real and it is deadly, but there is no reason why you need to go out and test the hunter.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Jeremiah 16

This Morning I ran across this text in Jeremiah 16 that I thought I would share with you , perhaps as way to give some real hope in a very troubling time in our world and to show that G-D knows whats going on but He has made a promise that some day people will see where they have gone wrong and will return to Him.

Jer.16:19-21 O LORD, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,

“ Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?
21 “ Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
And they shall know that My name is the LORD.

First you have Jeremiah acknowledging the fact that G-D is his refuge strength and fortress. We all need to remember that when is all said and done, that with G-D the biggest armies in the world can not prevail against us, they can threaten, they can make life tough but they cannot do anything to us that G-D does not allow.

But the next part is really the best when it speaks of the Gentiles coming to G-D. Why? Because they have come to realize that what they have been taught has been nothing but a pack of lies and they are longing for the real truth of G-D.

They have come to realize that the god's that their fathers have been worshiping were nothing but false god's and they are looking for the truth! Things will turn around at some point, people will start looking for the real G-d of Abraham and G-D says that He will cause them to know Him! Why? Because they realized the truth that what they had been taught was nothing but a lie and because they came seeking G-D.

G-D can still be found by those who seek Him. Never give up on anyone!

Shalom,
Ignacio