As a boy being raised in southern Ohio, I was not familiar with the drilled wells we have in Fayette County. In our area, the wells we had were dug wells. Many people also built cisterns that were filled with rain water from rooftops. Our water for the livestock came from the creek. It was my job to load 55 gallon barrels on a trailer, fill them with water using a bucket, and transport the barrels filled with water to the animals.
In order to have enough water to do this in the dry season, we built a dam across the creek and backed up enough water to last us through those times. When dad built the dam he first notched locus logs into the creek banks. We then dug a hole on the upstream side of the logs and used the rocks and soil to cover them. This earth dam was very adequate for holding back the water. However, every now and then we would get a heavy thunderstorm that would create a flash flood. When that would happen we would have to repair the dam due to the torrents of water that would wash over it. This method of building an earth dam was passed down to my dad through the generations of our family that proceeded him. There were only three essentials in the process. The locus logs, the notches in the creek banks, and the dirt and gravel piled over the logs.
This country was founded on the truths of the bible. Much like the dam I helped dad build when I was a child, there were three essentials that were foundational in building a nation of free people. First: The family; which is a biblical institution that God has ordained since the beginning of time. In the garden of Eden, God created them male and female as companions for one another. Second: The church; which Jesus established through his death, burial, and resurrection as his bride who will spend eternity with him. Third: The culture; accurately remembered and passed down as the Israelites did from father to son. They always remembered how God had led them through every obstacle.
Just as the locus logs, the notches in the creek bank, and the earth are, so is the family, the church, and the culture. If these God ordained building blocks of our society are destroyed by forces against them, the house will fall and great will be the fall of it. Let’s join together and, with God’s help, repair the damage before we are washed away.
This is a sample of the essentials we deal with every Sunday morning at 10:30 and Wednesday evening at 7 at the Gathering Place. You are invited to join us.
Pastor John Pfeifer
