My God is all around me, in the sunshine, in the air, in the humming bees and whispering leaves and murmuring water.  I feel him everywhere, and in me, too!”
–Zane Grey  (Wanderer of the Wasteland)

“God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth.”
–Isaiah 42:5 (NLT)
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This stuff, yes, stuff, that has been happening in New Orleans, now Charlottesville and other place with the tearing down of Confederate statues is serious.  First, when a country tries to forget or change its history there is danger.  Revisionism is always dangerous, but now it is taking a more sinister form and involved is now turbulence, destruction, and even death.
If leaders of the Confederacy are targeted, then soon it will be the Founders who owned slaves.  People just cannot look at history with 21st-century eyes.  There were many more lynchings that took place after the Civil War than ever did during slavery.  Instead of tearing down these statues, they should be looked at as a memorial.  A memorial to a country that fought a terrible war over slavery (and there were other issues) and survived.
Another fact to consider–in reality most of what is happening is not about slavery at all or racism.  It is about an excuse for violence.  Some of the football players who refuse to stand for the National Anthem–shame.  They should be the ones who are standing tall.  Their fathers and grandfathers paid the price and what do they do?  They whine.  Hmmm, how many millions do they make?  What are they doing with it; a token few thousand dollars here and there?  Also, take a good look at the protestors.  Look at their age group.  Hmmm, what price have they paid and yet they are the spoiled brats?  It does bring to mind the draft dodgers and protestors of the 60s and 70s.
I would suggest that instead of destruction of property, and the deconstruction of history that they do something positive.  Get a job, for one, then they wouldn’t have the time to destroy.  Say, it might do them good to read “Up From Slavery” about Booker T. Washington, or “Black Eagle” about Gen. Chappie James.  Oh, and do not neglect to read the Book of Philemon.
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“In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?”
–Psalm 56:4 (NASB)

One of the reasons man has trouble praising God is that man wants to be autonomous.  He wants others to praise him, and therefore, he does not want to lift praise to someone better and more praiseworthy than himself.  When man begins to receive praise and compliments, there is a danger that he will begin to believe what is being said about him and starts to think that God sure is fortunate to have him on His side.
Praise is the mark of the Christian.  Truly, one way or another we do show that “mark.”  Our lives are always showing something about what we think about praise.  “In everything you do, you either ignore, curse, or praise God.” (Stephen Brown)
When we begin to praise the world begins to look different.  Praise helps the attitude; a changed attitude helps the person get through the day, or struggle, or circumstance better and easier.  “Praise is a matter of attitude, and an attitude of praise changes the way, the world looks to the believer.” (Brown)
Praise does away with the autonomy of man.  When man praises God, he finds his proper role and recognizes where he stands in the overall picture.  “Praise is an affirmation of a basic truth, the truth that God is in charge.” (Brown)  When we truly recognize the value of praise and its place in our lives then we can deal with any circumstance.
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Everywhere I go, there are signs of God.  He is not the sunshine or the bees or the leaves but He is the Creator of all.  What does it mean to feel God?  We have to be careful with that word, but I know, I know that He is with me throughout this troubled old world, and I know that He lives within me.

I couldn’t help but wonder how many lives are taken mercilessly by the cold, unfeeling waters of the world.”
–Clair Huffaker  (The Cowboy and the Cossack)

“We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.”
–1 John 5:19 (NLT)
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Listen, and listen straight, couch potatoes and snowflakes will have a hard time making it to heaven.  The sluggards and sloths are warned several places in Scripture to get their act together.  In the Book of Ezekiel the Lord was looking for someone to fill in the gap in the line lest the enemy should attack.  Not only are there direct attacks by Satan upon the believer, but there will be attacks on the family and on friends.  This is not a time to become complacent and wonder if things are right; do not hesitate to proclaim the truth.

     “If you’re in the battle for the Lord and right,
      Keep on the firing line;
      If you win, my brother, surely you must fight,
      Keep on the firing line;
      There are many dangers that we all must face,
      If we die still fighting it is no disgrace;
      Cowards in the service will not find a place,
      So keep on the firing line.”
               –Bessie F. Hatcher

The Christian life is not for the namby-pamby.  If you want a crown, then you must daily pick up your cross.  Sometimes that is hard, even Jesus didn’t pick His up easily.  The evil of this world wants to wear you down.  Satan wants to defeat you in any way possible.  Once you become complacent, you are defeated.  Once you compromise, you are defeated.  Do not look to the left or the right, but keep your aim straight ahead at the onslaught of the enemy.  No, you cannot do it all, but you have been called, and you can do your part.  You can be the one to fill in the gap.  Medals and accolades are not for this world, but they await you in the heavenly realm.  Are you trustworthy?  Do you know how to properly use your weapons?

     “God will only use the soldier He can trust,
      Keep on the firing line;
      If you’ll wear a crown then bear the cross you must,
      Keep on the firing line.
      Life is but to labor for the Master dear,
      Help to banish evil and to spread good cheer;
      Great you’ll be rewarded for your service here,
      So keep on the firing line.”

Now is the day of salvation; now is the time of the fight.  Each of us must do our part.  We cannot toy with the things of the world; and for sure they will not toy with us.  Something innocent, simple, might be the thing that destroys you.  It may be the thing that catches your attention just for a moment, just long enough for the darts of the evil one to find their target.  “It’s too hard,” well let me tell you, life isn’t always easy and fair.  It’s a fight for your eternal soul.  What is the affliction we have today compared with the riches of His glory in our eternal abode?

     “When we get to heaven, brother, we’ll be glad,
      Keep on the firing line;
      How we’ll praise the Savior for the call we had,
      Keep on the firing line;
      When we see the souls that we have helped to win,
      Leading them to Jesus, from the paths of sin,
      With a shout of welcome, we will all march in,
      So keep on the firing line.”

It’s a shame, but there will be those who will run from the fight.  There will be those captured by the deceitfulness of riches and the lure of the world.  However, that shouldn’t be you!  The fight is hard, lean upon your Savior.  You are armed and trained to win life’s battles, so lean upon the Spirit’s training.  The battle is fierce at times, think of the Navy SEAL motto, “The only easy day was yesterday.”  We take things for granted; we expect to tip-toe through the tulips; we don’t want to think of war because of the cost.  Ah, but he who endures to the end shall be saved.

          “Oh, you must fight, be brave against all evil,
           Never run, nor even lag behind;
           If you would win for God and the right,
           Just keep on the firing line.”

Keep on the firing line, for Jesus has promised that He will never leave or forsake you!

When you’ve traveled through wild country as many times as I have, you learn to trust what you feel.”
–C. Wayne Winkle  (One Last Chase)

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.”
–John 16:13 (NLT)
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I had a song in my head last week which I might share later.  But I was walking and this song kept running through my mind and it made me think, where are the battle songs of the Church?  Look in your hymnbook and see how many songs you find about the militant Church, or the Church triumphant.  Oooops, that’s right, we don’t use hymnbooks any more; it’s all on a screen and most of them are not hymns, but that’s another topic.
We keep the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” around, not because of its wonderful and powerful message for the Church, but now for patriotic gatherings.  Just look at a few words, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord…”  If the Church would just grab hold of those words, oh my, what would happen?  Do we look upward?  Do we actually envision His return?  Most of the time we are too busy with our little rants and raves to see the glory of the Lord.  Perhaps that is why the Lord asked if He would find faith upon the earth when He returns.
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It was a few years back, hmmm, well, more than a few.  It was one of those special times.  Annie and I had made camp, the tent was up, and I was making the campfire.  The air was thin, for we were right at timberline, and it was very brisk even though it was summer.  The stream rushed down the side of the mountain originating from the lake, but just above where we were, it came flowing through a bank of snow.
As darkness started closing in around us the air turned colder and we could see the marmots scampering about just below our camp making their little yips.  We had coffee in hand and as we looked up and there was a clear sky and thousands, no, millions of stars in the sky.  Being at timberline there was plenty of wood to be gathered up for the fire.  This was a time before progress came in and said you had to have a fire ring or one of those backpacking stoves.  
Ah progress, something about progress.  Progress can sometimes hinder the simple things of life, such as a campfire in the back country.  Now, I understand the necessity of taking extra precautions, because there are fools who will go out and set the woods on fire.  They do not know how to take care of God’s wonderful creation.  But it just isn’t the same; sitting around a little backpacking campstove just doesn’t have the atmosphere of the flames flickering upward toward the starry sky.
We stayed a couple of nights, hiked around Blue Lake and just enjoyed ourselves and God’s creation.  She still accuses me of putting the cast-iron skillet in her pack.  But I wonder, have we let the progress dampen the fire of the Spirit in our lives?  Is it that we can’t be trusted with the “holy fire of God”?  We sit and stare at the campstove and giggle and give a shout and dance of how glorious it is, but we do not know the warmth and security of the Spirit while we sit in the darkness of the world.
Shame on us!
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“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”
–Psalm 150:6 (NASB)
     
When was the last time you praised the Lord?  Ten minutes ago?  When you crawled out of bed?  It should be habitual with a Christian; the life of the believer should be one of constant praise.  I just finished a great book, and one of the chapters was titled, “If God Is In Charge Then I Can Praise.”  We want to be autonomous, but God is not going to allow that.  One thing we need to remember is that God’s glory is more important than our well-being.
So here is a simple thought of praise today.  
“Praise is living in such a way that life–everything about it–points to and praises the Creator.”  (Stephen Brown)
The thing we have to guard against then is doing things that will bring praise to us instead of the Father.  Oh, praise may come, and that is part of being human, but our purpose must not be to build ourselves up, but to point to what the Holy Spirit is doing in us for the glory of God.