A man needs regular chores and a regular time to do them.  Otherwise he loses the order of his life.”
              –Elmer Kelton  (The Man Who Rode Midnight)

    “But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.”
              –1 Corinthians 14:40 (NLT)
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Pot-Pourri for Pondering on a Friday:
    Let me give you a few things to ponder this morning.  I know it’s Friday, but that’s no reason not to keep the brain working and the soul searching.  You can relax a bit tomorrow and on Sunday.
    Heard a good sermon last Sunday.  There was one item I thought interesting.  When the children of Israel left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea that was a type of salvation.  No longer were they in bondage.  To put it in church terms, they were now “saved.”  The crossing of the Jordan symbolized the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  However, there were two and a half tribes that did not cross Jordan (Gad, Reuben, Manasseh).  They wanted to stay on the other side.
There was an issue.  They were told that they would have to at least be involved in the fight that would take place in the Promised Land; remember, there were giants in the land.  Those who crossed Jordan symbolizes those that go into the fight having been baptized in the Holy Spirit, the others would have to fight, but they were not filled.
    Ponder that!
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    Here’s something good from Rick Renner.  He is a minister who is an expert in Greek.  We all know that we should continually search and examine ourselves.  We should also realize that we are responsible to grow in the Spirit.  It does not just happen, there must be growth.

         “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves…”
                   –2 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV)

The word “examine” means an “intense examination.”  Here are some questions to ask yourself in the midst of examining yourself.
         1)  What do you give to God financially?  Do you tithe?  Do you give to missions?  What type of attitude do you have in your giving?
         2)  What do you do with your time?  I was thinking if people would pray as much as they spend time on their phone there may be a revival sweep the land.
         3)  What do you do to serve others?  
         4)  When you pray, what do you pray about?  Do your prayers center around you?
         5)  What personal sacrifices do you make to serve the Lord?  What comes first, your wants or the Kingdom?
         6)  What do your spending habits reveal about you?  Do you overspend?  Do you spend on things that are not needed?  Does your spending reflect your love for the Lord?
         7)  What are you sacrificing to be obedient to God?  Obedience is better than sacrifice, but they do go hand-in-hand.
         8)  What does your lifestyle reveal about your priorities?  Church or a ball game on Sunday?  Prayer time or phone time?
Ponder that!
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    Here is a story of the life of Bill Wallace who became a missionary to South China.  When he arrived there was a war going on between warlords and the government of Chiang Kai-shek.  Many missionaries fled, but Wallace remained at the hospital.
    He survived those dangers only to face a greater one–the menace of the invading Japanese.  He continued to stay performing surgeries in the midst of battle.  Finally, in 1940 he came back to America on furlough.  When he sought to return, he said, “When I was trying to decide what I should do with my life, I became convinced God wanted me to be a medical missionary.  That decision took me to China.  And that, along with the fact that I was extremely happy there, will take me back.”  He returned on August 14, 1942.
    Following the defeat of the Japanese there was another peril facing China and Wallace–the communists.  He stayed performing his duties.  In December of 1950, Communists soldiers came to arrest the best surgeon in China on espionage charges.  “He was placed in a small cell where he preached to passersby from a tiny window.  Brutal interrogations followed, and Wallace, wearing down, stuck verses of Scripture on the walls of his cell.  When he died from the ordeal, the Communists tried to say he had hanged himself; but his body showed no signs of suicide.  He was buried in a cheap wooden coffin in a bamboo-shaded cemetery.  The inscription on his grave simply said:  For to Me to Live Is Christ.”  (Robert J. Morgan)
Ponder that!

I’m not going to let worry…rule my life.  It seems to me that if a man is going to get anywhere in this life, he’d better start for somewhere, and have something definite in mind.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Chancy)

    “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
              –1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
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Postmodernism will say that you can give your opinion on what the Bible says.  Well, that may be true, but only to a point.  You can give your opinion but that does not change the truth of what is written.  If you want the Holy Spirit to work in your life and have a quiet, still, confident soul then you must take the Bible in its own way and accept it on its own terms.  
    There are no shortcuts when dealing with God.  He demands total allegiance.  Because of that you cannot interpret the Bible any way you want.  You cannot take things out of the Word that do not suit your thoughts and opinions.  The Word of God must be taken without any modification or qualification.
    People also strive to do their own thing and will find that does not bring a calmness to the soul either.  Only seeking after righteousness will the blessing of a sweet spirit begin to happen.  People think that happiness is in things or doing things; perhaps finding the right type of entertainment will bring a stillness to the soul.  No so.  You must seek God, see the fundamental principles found in His Word.
    If your heart is troubled, that means you are not truly believing in God and His Word.  You might find yourself in one of these situations:
         1)  Mature Christians will live triumphantly.  Sure they may have problems and even fall into sin, but they will overcome because of the Spirit that lives within them.  True happiness, joy, and peace were not disturbed by the what they had to endure.
         2)  Refusing to think just evades the problem.  Escapism is not the answer, whatever that may be.
         3)  You cannot believe in part of God, but every facet of who and what God is.  You cannot pick and choose which character trait of God not to believe in.
         4)  God is in charge; God controls everything and there is nothing that happens apart from Him.  No, He does not cause everything, but He will allow all.
    Because God is in control nothing then is impossible with Him.  If you do not believe this then you will never come to know a quiet heart.  You must believe what He says about life and eternity.  Lloyd-Jones says, “It is still His world; He has not turned His back upon it.  He is not allowing it to sin itself into utter hopelessness; He comes into it.”  He is the God who is there.  Therefore, blessing or cursing depends solely upon whether our lives are lived in accordance with His way and plan, whether we live in obedience or not. (see Deuteronomy 11)
    This should give us hope and confidence.  Nothing can happen to us apart from God.  “If you really believe in God, anything that may happen to you will drive you nearer to God and anything that drives you nearer to Him is a ‘good thing’ for you.” (Lloyd-Jones)  Remember that sometimes God has to chastise us in order to draw us back a little bit nearer to Him, to get us to be in obedience to Him.  If we truly believe in God, we commit our affairs and our lives into His almighty loving arms.
    Grasp this and hold onto it:  “To believe God means an utter, implicit confidence in what He has said about Himself and in what He has said about what He will do.”  (Lloyd-Jones)

A glorious Colorado sunset had just reached the wonderful height of its color and transformation.  The sage slopes below seemed rosy velvet; the golden aspens on the farther reaches were on fire at the tips; the foothills rolled clear and mellow and rich in the light; the gulf of distance on to the great black range was veiled in mountain purple; and the dim peaks beyond the range stood up, sunset-flushed and grand.  The narrow belt of blue sky between crags and clouds was like a river full of fleecy sails and wisps of silver.  Above towered a pall of dark cloud, full of the shades of approaching night.”
              –Zane Grey  (The Mysterious Rider)

    “Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.”
              –Isaiah 11:9 (NLT)
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Just like in the sea, storms can come up fast in the high country.  Those high voltage, electric storms are something to behold at timberline.  They can sure make a person take notice.  Whenever He was in a storm, Jesus seemed calm, and, in fact, at times went to sleep.  However, His disciples had not come to the point where they understood trust and having a calm, quiet spirit despite what was going on around them.

              “Joys are flowing like a river
               Since the Comforter has come.
               He abides with us forever,
               Makes the trusting heart His home.

               Bringing life and health and gladness
               All around this heav’nly Guest
               Banished unbelief and sadness,
               Changed our weariness to rest.”
                        –Manie Payne Ferguson

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could put all fears and anxieties aside?  There are several places in Scripture that admonish us to do so.  Just when we think we’ve made some strides in that direction, something comes along to start us fretting again.  Oh, that we could grasp the full meaning of those verses, such as Hebrews 13:6, “So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?” (AMPC)  Really, in the light of eternity, what can happen to us?

              “Like the rain that falls from heaven,
               Like the sunlight from the sky,
               So the Holy Ghost is given,
               Coming on us from on high.

               See, a fruitful field is growing,
               Blessed fruit of righteousness;
               And the streams of life are flowing
               In the lonely wilderness.”

No matter where you are.  No matter the trial or obstacle.  No matter the type of wilderness you may be traveling through, the Holy Spirit is there.  He will guide, comfort, exhort, and give direction in the time of need.  We get caught up in the situation and often forget the purpose of the Holy Spirit in our life.

              “What a wonderful salvation,
               Where we always see His face!
               What a perfect habitation,
               What a quiet resting place!

                        Bless quietness, holy quietness,
                        What assurance in my soul!
                        On the stormy sea He speaks peace to me,
                        How the billows cease to roll!”

When we trust in the Lord there is a blessed quietness.  A calm deep in the soul that cannot be explained to an unbeliever.  This earth may have its trouble and be filled with evil, but the heart can rest in the Lord.  But one day, yes one day, there will be a new heavens and new earth and there will be perfect peace; “what a quiet resting place!