Keys to the Kingdom

Both of my kids are in their 30s and married. But when they come home, it’s like they’ve never left. If they want something to eat or drink, they open the refrigerator or snack cabinet and take whatever suits their fancy. And that’s the way I want it and that’s the way it should be…at least where I come from. There’s a comfortable and loving feeling in making yourself at home. But in order to “make yourself at home” you have to have an up-close and personal relationship with the homeowner.

Too many believers admire God from afar. But He wants our relationship with Him to be genuine and intimate. In Jesus’ earthly life we can see the close relationship He had with His heavenly Father. Jesus spent a lot of time in prayer seeking direction before choosing the disciples, asking for comfort after John the Baptist was beheaded, etc. He depended on His Father to strengthen, console, and speak to Him. Jesus took time out from life’s routine to be alone with God. It’s not our natural tendency to be quiet before the Lord, but Jesus had victory because He fellowshipped with God. And the same is true for us.

Don’t let your sins, failures, or weaknesses come between you and your heavenly Father. God never moves away from us and Jesus never stops interceding for you. When the prodigal son took his inheritance and moved to a distant land, the father stayed right where he was. Day after day, He watched and longed for his son to return home. “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him…. His father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. …We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began” (Luke 15:20, 22-24 NLT). Even though the son made every wrong and stupid choice he possibly could, he finally came to his senses and made the decision to go back home. I imagine he had to step away from the loud, distracting, and obnoxious noises of the pigpen to hear God‘s tender voice of direction.

It’s important to understand that the son confessed his sins, failures, and weaknesses to his loving father. “His son said to him, ’Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son‘” (Luke 15:21 NLT). Sweeping sin under the rug will not bring the forgiveness we need in order to have an up-close and personal relationship with our merciful Father.

In the Old Testament, the Lord whispered to Elijah. “And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (1 Kings 19:11-13 NLT).

The Key: If you want to feel at home with your heavenly Father, stay close enough to hear Him whisper.

Energy

We are all painfully aware of the rapid rise in gas prices over the last year, and the significant adjustments we have made in our personal budgets to accommodate the increases. The price at the pump has almost doubled in the last 14 months, setting a new all-time high of $4.33 per gallon of regular gasoline based on the national average.

As individuals and non-oil related businesses, we know this is bad for Bourbon County, but what about our oil producers in the county? Where do we stand in oil production compared to the other 104 Kansas counties? Ninety counties reported oil production in Kansas, leaving 15 with zero production. Cherokee County was the only Southeast Kansas (“SEK”) name on that short list.

Woodson County is the SEK leader in oil production, with 3,788 wells producing 449,792 barrels of oil in 2019. Assuming oil producers are receiving $50 per barrel more than they did in January of 2021, Woodson County would have generated additional gross revenue of $22.5 million in 2019; that is over $7,200 per county resident, which is significant. Of the producing counties in SEK, Labette was at the bottom with 104 wells producing 7,168 barrels, adding annual gross revenue of $358,400.

In 2019, Bourbon County had 697 wells that produced 56,442 barrels of oil. Assuming the same $50 a barrel price increase, that generates an additional $2.8 million dollars in gross revenue, which equates to about $197 per resident. Not insignificant, but certainly less impactful than our neighbors to the west.

These numbers represent estimated additional gross revenue, but inflation has not been limited to the price of oil. Certainly these producers have incurred significant addition costs to get the oil out of the ground and to the buyers. In the process, they have added to our tax base; however, the windfall has been experienced by a relatively few residents while the cost increases at the pump have hit all of us.

The energy sector is another example of how national policies impact rural America beyond our control. We are experiencing the penalty of an overzealous rush to clean energy at the expense of our current system. Common sense would dictate that we let the pace of technological advances determine how quickly we evolve from fossil fuel to renewables. It is too soon to cancel pipelines, withhold Federal real estate from leasing, increase the cost of drilling permits and limit fracking. Additionally, our enemies benefit when we forfeit our energy independence.

Climate change is definitely a factor in all energy discussions, but the best science does not forecast an eminent catastrophe. In the meantime, let us efficiently use our existing energy resources while alternative technology advances, and minimize the negative impact to rural America and our country as a whole. An “all of the above” approach to energy, including nuclear, is best for rural America.