{"id":5122,"date":"2018-05-22T10:56:35","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T14:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/?p=5122"},"modified":"2018-05-22T10:56:35","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T14:56:35","slug":"lets-talk-moonshine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/2018\/05\/22\/lets-talk-moonshine\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s talk moonshine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Georgia moonshine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Julie and I have just returned from our annual visit to a great little retreat center in North Georgia that is free for pastors and missionaries. This year our visit was \u2026 well, strange, with highs and lows and a few weird things thrown in.<\/p>\n

Like moonshine.<\/p>\n

North Georgia has a lot of attractions, like kayaking and tubing, winery tours and gold panning. And a legal moonshine distillery \u2013 I know, that sounds like an oxymoron, but bear with me \u2013 that offers tours. And they had a Groupon deal on a tour for two. And I had a 50 percent off Groupon coupon. So while most of the activities here are outside our price range, the price of this one nearly evaporated.<\/p>\n

So it sounded like a hoot to learn about hooch, you know?<\/p>\n

We got there right after they opened at 11 a.m. on a weekday. \u201cThere,\u201d by the way, is the Dawsonville, Georgia, municipal building. I kid you not. City hall is on one side, the distillery on the other. What a mash-up! As I had hoped, 11 a.m. is early for most moonshine aficionados, so Julie and I got a private tour.<\/p>\n

And a spirited tour it was.<\/p>\n

The gentleman on duty was one of those down-home country folk who might take offense if we called him a gentleman to his face. Or at least feel like we were being standoffish. He sure wasn\u2019t. He treated us like new friends as he told us about the craft of making moonshine, answered our (sometimes stupid) questions with Southern hospitality and grace, and regaled us with stories from his family\u2019s two centuries of making moonshine.<\/p>\n

Yeah, two hundred years.<\/p>\n

His family, he said, has always made a quality product, using only locally grown Georgia corn, wild yeast and fresh water from local creeks and springs. \u201cWe do it the same way today,\u201d he told us, \u201conly now we pay taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

My thoughts condensed on that.<\/p>\n

Outside of prohibition, when alcohol was illegal, wouldn\u2019t it have made more sense to pay the taxes?<\/p>\n

I mean, think about the cost of hiding everything you\u2019re doing; of running moonshine into town \u2013 and having it and cars confiscated and drivers arrested; of spending five or ten years in jail.<\/p>\n

They were making a quality product, and they had a market. Why not simply pay the taxes?<\/p>\n

Mostly, I suspect folks in those parts would say, \u201cheritage.\u201d Not just making moonshine, but defying the government. Doing it their way.<\/p>\n

And then it hit me like a bolt of white lightning …<\/p>\n

Aren\u2019t we often just like moonshiners when it comes to obedience to God?<\/p>\n

Sometimes I think we look at the cost of obedience the same way we look at taxes: something dreadful, to be avoided if at all possible. And obedience usually requires us to change, and we sure don\u2019t want to do that. We like to do it our way.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we even turn into moonshiners, proud of our defiance and independence and \u2013 we think \u2013 freedom.<\/p>\n

So let me distill the truth for you: It always just plain makes more sense to obey God.<\/p>\n

Always remember that God doesn\u2019t require your obedience to accomplish His purposes. Nothing can stop Him. He\u2019ll simply pass the opportunity on to someone else.<\/p>\n

Yes, I wrote, \u201copportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

God gives you and me opportunities because He desires to grow us and bless us. Because He loves us. The cost of obedience is real, and sometimes it\u2019s huge. But He has something far better waiting for you.<\/p>\n

Want proof? It\u2019s in the Word. It\u2019s in the lives of obedient men and women around you. And it\u2019s waiting for you.<\/p>\n

Opportunities to \u2026<\/h2>\n

Pray:<\/strong> As we mentioned, Julie and I have just returned from a retreat in North Georgia. We came back with assurance of our calling, a renewed desire to drive hard to the finish, and a determination to help others get involved and be blessed by the amazing things God is doing. Praise God with us for His obvious presence and care for us in our time here. Pray that He will sustain our drive to serve Him. Pray that people will be receptive to the opportunities we present. And, will you drop us a note to let us know you prayed? Or to let us know you want in on the opportunities?<\/a><\/p>\n

Give:<\/strong> Shepherd\u2019s Refuge is the wonderful retreat that has hosted us and many other missionaries and pastors free of charge. They can do that because people who care about the well-being of pastors and missionaries give to make their ministry possible. Would you please prayerfully consider a gift to Shepherd\u2019s Refuge?<\/a><\/p>\n

Learn:<\/strong> Seven reasons to partner in a missionary\u2019s ministry<\/em> <\/a>is something I\u2019ve drafted to help people understand what the Bible says about the topic. It may be something we use to help equip folks to advocate for missionaries. Would you please take a look at it and let me know what you think?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Julie and I have just returned from our annual visit to a great little retreat center in North Georgia that is free for pastors and missionaries. This year our visit was \u2026 well, strange, with highs and lows and a few weird things thrown in. Like moonshine. North Georgia has a lot of attractions, like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[448,31,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-5122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-ministry","7":"tag-ethnos360","8":"tag-giving","9":"tag-pray","10":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5122\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/ian-fallis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}