There was nothing slower than time when you wanted it to move along.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Spirit Valley)
“For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
–2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV)
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Last week we were interrupted in our study of the Psalms by Veterans Day. Let’s get back to Psalm 31. Only two verses today, so look at them long and hard. Contemplate them and take time to meditate on them throughout the day. We get so caught up in life and when the quandary comes our way, when trouble seems to stalk us we short-circuit. All the time God is saying–“Trust Me.”
14 – But I trust in You, Lord; I say, “You are my God.”
15 – The course of my life is in Your power; deliver me from the power of my enemies and from my persecutors. (HCSB)
What are you going to do with your life tomorrow? Whatever God’s wills and allows. How about next week? The same, whatever God wills and allows. If we would but get these Scriptures etched in our mind and heart I believe things would run much smoother. At least the worry and anxiety would lessen.
“Let good or ill befall;
It must be good for me,
Secure of having Thee in all
And having all in Thee.”
–Henry F. Lyte
I certainly didn’t want to go to Vietnam, but when I entered the military there was a good chance I would be headed in that direction. However, I had this confidence, God can take care of me there as well as walking across the streets in the U.S. If I have to go, He won’t be surprised. I ended up spending a year at Tyndall AFB, then was ordered to the Air Force Academy on a controlled tour. Within that tour the war in Vietnam was over. Do you think God was surprise? Do you think that He was not in control?
All of the questions of life are in God’s hand and under His control. There surely will be some to come your way that you don’t understand and wonder why, but realize that He is with you. I believed that God wanted me out of the Air Force, so on December 31, 1977, I was discharged. A free man? Now to find a job. I went eight months without any real job. There were other trials during that time, but Annie and I still trusted. Wearied and frustrated at time, we still trusted. Annie’s Dad gave me some advice–even if we make a bad decision God is still with us.
Sometimes decisions that we make put us in a place of inconvenience. Sometimes things others do to us make us scratch our head wondering. But, all the time God is there. He knows the future. There isn’t a minute that goes by that He doesn’t know what we are doing. He doesn’t turn away. David was miserable, forlorn, downcast and his enemies were trying to destroy him. In the midst of it all, he writes these two verses. Strength of faith is when we are borne down by our sins, forsaken, and fighting difficulties a person can turn to God and say, “You are my God.”
Month: November 2019
Coffee Percs
A cup of good, strong coffee might make you feel better. And I’ll be fixin’ breakfast before long.”
–Elmer Kelton (Other Men’s Horses)
Come on in, Pard, you need this as much as I do. Ahhh, good, hot, strong coffee. I had a few things to say, but then I read of somethin’ else, then somethin’ else came up. This must be the week for fools! It just don’t make sense, but then I turned to Proverbs and I found that there are 78 verses relatin’ to “fools”! It helped me to see what a fool does and who a fool is, but my mercy, Pard, how come it seems as if they’re comin’ out of the woodwork all of a sudden?
Nevermind the foolishness of the impeachment hearin’s and how one of the bureaucrats said that “hearsay is the best evidence.” Now is that the talk of a fool or not? Or Warren’s rantin’s about those who were and are the backbone of this country. That one almost made me snort in my coffee. The young people are being duped by Socialism, the fools. Pard, I’m feared that gone are the days when men were men and women were glad of it. That’s just a bit of what I read durin’ the week. My, mercy, Lord help us through the jungles! as my Grandma used to say.
Pard, some of them are foolish enough to drink “cinos.” At least we’re not foolish enough for that. The Good Book, the Holy Bible tells us to forsake foolishness and live. Try it pard, mark down everytime yuh hear something foolish this week, but let me warn yuh, yuh might run out of ink.
“To do evil is like a sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom.” That there is from ol’ Solomon and it’s sure ‘nough the truth. I found it in Proverbs 10:23. Now here’s a proverb from yur ol’ pard, Ira. He who doesn’t check his cinch is like a fool and likely to fall on his head.
Echoes From the Campfire
Well, when the time comes that He wants to call me home, I’m willin’ to go. I leave things to Him and don’t let worry mess with my sleep.”
–Elmer Kelton (The Way of the Coyote)
“For where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.”
–Matthew 6:21 (AMP)
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I wonder, how much time do we spend thinking of heaven? If that’s where we are headed, don’t you wonder what it will be like? Yes, there are a few songs out there about heaven, not as many as in years gone past. Is it that we are too busy to contemplate life with the Lord? A.W. Tozer said, “…the devil sees to it that we seldom get alone with time to think and meditate on the reality of the other world.”
Of course many of the things we imagine are just that, imaginations. There is actually very little to be said concerning it. We have the size of the New Jerusalem, a description of the walls and the gates, but little of heaven itself. It is not a place where we go pick up body parts, for we will have a new body. It is not a place where we’ll sit on a cloud plucking at a harp, for man was made to work. We will not turn into angels! We will have communication with them; we will talk with the men of renown: Abraham, Moses, David and many others. We will see loved ones who have gone before us in the Lord. WOW! It’s going to be amazing!
Then why do we hunger and thirst so much for the things of this world? “Of all the calamities that have been visited upon the world, the surrender of the human spirit to this present world and its ways is the worst, without any doubt.” (Tozer) Ponder that for a few seconds. I’m redoing a study of Judges, and their biggest problem was that of compromise; they became like the people they were to drive out. They did what they thought was right, instead of following God’s ways.
There is a much ado today about racism and slavery. But there is more slavery today than in all of history with human trafficking being the largest illegal market in the world. However, there is even greater bondage, and I dare say that most of the world, and even Christians get caught up in it. There is a tyranny greater than we can imagine. “The tyranny of things, of material things, temporal things, things which are and then cease to be–this has become a tyranny.” (Tozer)
Do we like it here so much that we don’t think of our real home? The holidays, as wonderful as they are, can become a nightmare. The message of this time of year is to be thankful, to think of how much God loved us by sending His Son to earth for our redemption. Take some time before this year is out to think of life in heaven, our true home.
Echoes From the Campfire
A man’s got his word. If that’s no good, what is?”
–Ernest Haycox (Trail Town)
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
–Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)
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I was reading an article from “Infinity” written by Bakajied Nongrum that discussed the plight of Diogenes. (“Infinity” is published Ravi Zacharias). Diogenes went about the streets of Athens holding a lamp looking for a man who was honest. He failed to find one before his lamps went out. Maybe the fault lay in Diogenes; maybe he didn’t have enough oil in the lamp, or most likely he couldn’t find one honest man. If he tried to do the same thing in Washington, D.C., what would he find? Most likely that it was full of shysters, bureaucrats, and liars who are filled with hatred, seeking only to fill their own coffers.
Where is the honest man? Maybe Diogenes just shined his lamp in the wrong places, especially going out at night. Night is where evil lurks. Secrets and lies are told in the dark corners between men. Hidden deals are made, money passed under the table. Nothing only is there not an honest man, but where is justice?
If you are a follower of Miles Forrest (by the way, buy my book, Return From Tincup) you understand that he often argues with himself about justice, about doing what is right. Ah, but then, what is justice? C.S. Lewis says this, “Justice means much more than the sort of thing that goes on in the courts of law. It is the old name for everything we should now call ‘fairness’; it includes honesty, give and take, truthfulness, keeping promises, and all that.” Life should be about justice; life should be lived in honesty.
One thing we know for certain is that Diogenes was using the wrong lamp. He was seeking a honest man using the standards produced by society. Those standards are relative and arbitrary depending on the agenda of the one using them. They can change on a whim. The only real way to seek justice or to find an honest person is by using the true Lamp of the Word of God. We don’t have to stumble along seeking in this dark world. We have the Word of God to light our footsteps and shine upon our way.
Therefore, if someone says this is right and it is shown by God’s Word to be wrong, shun their saying. Or something that is clamored to be wrong, and God’s Word says it is right continue following that path. Take heed in the words of the prophet Micah:
“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?” (Micah 6:8 (AMP)