God's Glory Manifest

1/13/08 - The Lord's Day - After Breakfast. I was listening to the Puritan Prayers early this morning, and there is a prayer there that caused me to meditate on it all the morning. I paraphrase: "Lord let me not rest on any doctrine, no matter how Biblical, that does not increase salvation". This caused me to think of all the "issue" cults out there who constantly hammer on their private causes regardless of how that cause intersects with salvation. I have always believed, and am even further convinced, that Agrarian Separatism is the only proper seedbed for salvation, and is the good field in which the good sower sowed good seed. My meditation on this once again inspired in me the knowledge that God has called us out for a purpose, that He has given us strength to do what others only talk about, and that He has enabled us to walk freely in our calling that the cause of salvation of the elect might be furthered. I have long been healed of the need to be popular or even liked, but this encouragement from on high has rekindled in me the desire to stay on message regardless of what others might say or think. I am grateful that God has kindled in us the desire to preach the doctrine of salvation, and that He has given us the message concerning the life that most encourages conversion and sanctification. We are poor vessels for His message, but we praise Him for so using us for His purposes.

In just about two weeks I will be leaving (Lord Willing) for my 6 day woodworking course. I am looking forward to it, and I hope the Lord blesses the lessons and the time for His further use and purpose. Thank you to those of you who have donated thus far for the class.

Ok, it's been awhile since I gave y'all a yummy food report, so here goes...

The other night we had sliced sausage with rice and green beans. Here is how the price breaks down:

The sausage is from our own pigs. At the high end, the sausage could have cost us $1.50 a lb. because that pig was one we bought, and we fed it most of its life. This no longer is the case since we are raising our own pigs born here at the ranch, and much of their food is coming from free ranging. However, we will call it $1.50 a lb. The rice is from our storage and we have tons of it, but we will put it at .02 cents an ounce. The green beans were from our garden that we canned last summer. I had probably 1/3 of a lb. of sausage and about 8 oz. of rice with green beans. So I figure, worst case scenario, I had about .66 in each plate of food. The fun thing is that this is a high estimate, and it is higher than many of our other meals. In the very near future we will be butchering our own hogs, so the price will drop even further. I also paid no taxes on the food. I didn't burn any gasoline in my truck to go and get the food. I didn't put my life on the line to procure it. There are no poisonous chemicals in the food. I did put soy sauce that we bought and stored from the store on the rice. I am such a sellout. I like soy sauce.

Thanks to "you-know-who" for the cigar sampler, and to another "you-know-who" for the Glenlivet Scotch. Y'all know how much I appreciate those who truly have me in your thoughts and prayers, and who show you care about me in diverse ways. So here is how your great gifts were manifest for my happiness. You city folks will likely be grossed out by this, but this is the reality of life off-grid with no running city water:

Most of our "baths" consist of a baby wipe bath or a bucket bath, and even those do not come all that often. I get a field shower once in a blue moon, and even more rarely I drive to the State Park for a hot running stand-up shower. Well, I haven't been to the State Park for well over a month, and my last bucket bath had been over two weeks ago. I told Danielle before the Sabbath that I was absolutely going to take a good hot bucket bath in the camper shower, and I was looking forward to it all day. We got the cigars in the mail on Friday afternoon. Our friend was coming up from Austin that evening, and we heard at about sundown that he was coming over. I had asked Tracy to prepare me a good hot bucket of water and to prepare the shower in the camper for me to take a bucket bath. I can tell you that that bucket bath was one of the best baths/showers of my life. It is hard to explain how such simple thing become such great blessings when you live this life, and I could not help but thank God for water and for heat to warm it, and for peace and quite. So I came out of the shower and got dressed and was glowing in my praise of the great bucket bath in which I had just engaged. Just then, our friend from Austin pulled out a glorious and wonderful bottle of 12 year old Glenlivet Scotch! Ahh! Praise God for aged and tasty scotch. I had a glass poured for me, and produced one of the wonderful cigars from the cigar sampler I had received that day. What a night! Ok, so can anybody not see the hand of God in such simple pleasures that we receive from His hand and that we enjoy for His glory? All natural, no preservatives, no additives or chemicals. This after the meal I mentioned earlier!

Sure I was told by a friend that I am called "the Son of Satan" by one of his relatives - but who cares when God provides for you directly from His own hand?

To God be the glory... amen.

Michael Bunker