The Pastor’s Piece – June 7, 2020
Fellowship of Christian Farmers
by Kevin Cernek
June 8, 2020
“Peace and Tranquility”
This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought her cat understood her. I came into my house and told my dog … we laughed and laughed.
I like cats but don’t love them. Living on a farm we’ve always had tons of cats around – but never in the house. A few years ago we began heating our work shop. As a result, all the cats moved from the barn to the heated shop. That’s ok because it keeps the mice population in check and I don’t have to worry about their water freezing in the winter. The downside is that there is cat hair everywhere. It’s on my workbench, behind the freezer, and floating in the air when I open the overhead door. There are fur balls in every corner. It’s everywhere.
A few years ago I rescued a kitten that I suspect someone dumped at our place. It was stuck down in a hole in the wall in the barn meowing loudly so I gave her a home in our shop. We named her Ginger. Due to her circumstances she became one of our favorites. It wasn’t long until she rewarded us with a beautiful litter of kittens … and then another and another. We soon had cats everywhere and my shop was no longer a shop but a cat condo.
We named two of Ginger’s offspring Ed and Eddie. They were two brothers with opposite personalities. Ed was a loner and simply tolerated us. You could tell by the look on his face he didn’t care if we lived or died, just as long as there was food in his dish. Eddie, on the other hand, was very outgoing and couldn’t wait to see us and spend time with us. He would look through the sliding glass door of our house and meow for us to let him in, even though he never came in the house – not once. But he always hoped to, I guess.
Every night I closed the shop door where they were safe and secure. Every morning, I opened the door and let them out. One evening neither one of them came home. I searched and searched to no avail. Sadly, I figure the coyotes got them. In the winter the coyotes are very brazen. I have seen them within a few yards of the buildings in broad daylight. Life goes on but without Ed and Eddie to entertain us, it’s just a little sad without them around.
On a different note – Last week we saw reports of rioting and looting taking place in some of our major cities. Locally, we were hearing rumors that the small towns in our area were their next target. This struck fear in the hearts of our friends and neighbors. We heard reports they were going to hit Lena, Warren, and Stockton, Illinois. My wife and I decided to take a drive just before dusk to check it out. We got in our vehicle and drove from Gratiot, Wisconsin to neighboring Warren, Illinois, then south to Stockton and east to Lena. We saw an obvious police presence along our route, revealing that the threat was real.
It was an eerie drive. The highways were almost completely void of other vehicles. Some of the businesses we passed in each of the towns had their main driveways blocked with vehicles parked two to three deep in an attempt to discourage entry. Back home, I slept that night with a loaded gun beside my bed. Thankfully, the next day there were no reports of looting in our area, but that does not diminish the ever-present threat to our security.
We as a nation, as a people, are in need of prayer. Those of us who are Christians must intercede on behalf of our nation, our towns, and our neighbors. That is what the Church is called to do. In the Scriptures we are instructed to pray for those in authority over us that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives, (1 Timothy 2:2). Please pray specifically for our leaders in Washington D.C. – our President and his Cabinet, and our Vice President and Secretary of State and Attorney General. Please pray for our states’ governors and our town mayors and our police officers in the places where we live. Pray about the social unrest and the political divide that is so great in our nation. God told the great king Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
I am praying that evil will be crushed. That the enemy’s schemes will be thwarted, that God will be moved to intercede on behalf of His people. I am praying for a revival in our churches, our communities and in our country. For people’s hearts to turn from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh and receive the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Let us pray to our Almighty God in heaven, that He will heal this land in Jesus’ Name.