If I’m to accept the benefits, I ought to accept my share of the work.”
–Elmer Kelton (The Time It Never Rained)
“Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.”
–Nehemiah 4:17(NKJV)
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One thing I haven’t done in the past few months is get woeful and down in the dumps. I will not be drug through the dregs of life no matter the situation. I don’t like masks, but I will wear them if necessary. Fortunately, where I live few people wear them. I don’t like the idea of a vaccine; there are too many variables being discussed, so I will not get one. I don’t worry about the future whether near or far.
In these times there has been much ado about it being the “last days.” I guess it depends what one means about the last days. If one is talking about the imminent return of the Lord for the Church, then for sure it could be. If, however, they are talking about Judgment Day, it is not. A true believer cannot deny that these days are definitely leading up to the coming of the Lord for His people. I fully believe that it is part of the cleansing and the waking up of the Church for that to happen.
I’m a happy person, I know the Lord is coming, and I believe He is coming soon. I am “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13, NKJV). Sometimes I begin to get angry at those I see that spew forth the hate, then the Spirit touches me to remind that without Jesus they are lost forever. Other times I feel grief at what is happening in this great country. For myself, I have hope.
I have hope in Christ; He is coming back. I have hope in His promises, they are for me. He will never fail to fulfill His promises. My hope is grounded in the Word of God. Read the news and it could be easy to lose hope; read the Word of God and hope arises for you see what is happening.
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I do not remember the exact date of the first of my daily writings (i.e., Daily Paine, Echoes From the Campfire, Saturday Perc). It most definitely started sometime around this time in the year 2000. At first they were sporadic–the idea behind them was to stay in contact with my daughter, Kim, who was married in August 2000. I thought it would be nice to keep in contact with her via a morning devotion. They were not every day, but all that changed September 11, 2001. Since that time they have been almost a daily occurrence.
When I think that I have been writing them for twenty years it almost staggers me. Goodness, who would have thought. I have quite a base of individuals that receive them daily, and I always pray that someone may be touched by the Spirit of God in them. My purpose originally was to stay in contact with Kim, but now I hope to inspire, encourage, sometimes cause you to think, and bless you. I have tried over the years different approaches, and one of the biggest problems is to get said, what I want to say on one page.
Thanks to all that drop a note once in a while. I really enjoy hearing from you. As of now I have no plans to stop writing, and most days I can usually think of something to write. Some may not be as theological as other days, some days I borrow thoughts from other writers.
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“Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death — the seas bear only commerce men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace. The holy mission has been completed. And in reporting this to you, the people, I speak for the thousands of silent lips, forever stilled among the jungles and the beaches and in the deep waters of the Pacific which marked the way. I speak for the unnamed brave millions homeward bound to take up the challenge of that future which they did so much to salvage from the brink of disaster.”
This was part of the radio address by General Douglas MacArthur upon the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. The bloody war was over. In the actual address aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, MacArthur spoke the following profound words in benediction.
“Let us pray that peace now be restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always.
These proceedings are closed.”
It was finally over. World War II had come to an end. Countless lives, military and civilian had been lost to rid the world of a totalitarian menace.