Devotionals

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FIRST JOB, BRINGING IN THE COWS
My very first paying job, at age 10, was not really worth mooing about. Our neighbor, Mr. Langley, had a small dairy farm. He let the cows out in the morning. My job was to round them up (without a horse ha) and bring them back to the barn at milking time. He paid me a dime each day (enough for a coca-cola and a bit-of-honey candy bar). I was excited to have a job that extracted no federal income tax or social security tax, ha.
And it seemed like a pretty easy job. Mr. Langley would let the 15 cows out in the morning. They would travel a well-beaten path through the woods to the grazing meadows. The path was clearly marked by an abundance of cow pies. Each cow had its own bell---its own sound. But I never learned 15 different cow tunes. Only the cows who strayed away from the others. Sometimes some of them would go off into a thicket. Ingenuity brought them out (switching the backs of their hind legs).
One afternoon I noticed a section of fence was down by one of the meadows. Hearing the low mooing sounds, I thought I would investigate. Some of Mr. Langley's cows could have wandered out through the downed fence into a neighboring farmer's field. Sure enough, I spotted 8,9,10 cows grazing away inside the downed fence. What caught my attention was an oversized cow. A pretty white/cream color.
Ought oh! Not a cow! It was a big bull and he started gazing right at me. To run or not to run, that was the question. Ever since my parents took me to see the Uncle Remus movie where the vicious bull ran down the old man and gored him to death, I had been AFRAID of bulls. And I was AFRAID now. I figured I would take my chances---and off I went. For a little guy I ran pretty fast. Practically every night I would run from my same-age friend David Leavitt's farm back to our house at 7:30 in time to hear the radio broadcast of the Lone Ranger. So I was in good 'running shape.'
Made it to the hole in the fence without looking back.
Glancing over my shoulder I could see that the big bull had not even moved. Not even lifted one hoof. A tame bull? I was not that easily convinced. Still AFRAID, I ran all the way home. That was the end of my mooing job!
FEAR, being AFRAID, being TERRIFIED is a very common emotion in the Bible. Note the Israelites when they decided to leave Egypt. Pharoah pursued them. It was soon apparent that they were trapped at the Red Sea. "As Pharoah approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians , marching after them. They were TERRIFIED and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, 'Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?' Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!'"
"Moses answered the people, 'Do not be AFRAID. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.'" Ex 14:10-16.
And he did and they did.
"Then the Philistine (Goliath) said, 'Give me a man and let us fight each other.' On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and TERRIFIED. Later: David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give all of you into our hands." 1 Sam 17:45-47.
and he did and He did
"When evening came, His disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were TERRIFIED. But He said to them, 'It is I; don't be AFRAID.'" Jo 6:16-20.
The voice of Jesus dissipates FEAR
"For God hath not given us the spirit of FEAR; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Tim 1:7. KJV.
"There is no FEAR in love. But perfect love drives out FEAR, because FEAR has to do with punishment. The one who FEARS is not made perfect in love." 1 Jo 4:18.
Down with FEAR, up with Jesus and His love

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