Don’t waste time worrying about the mistakes of yesterday. Each morning is a beginning. Start from there.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Cherokee Trail)
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
–2 Corinthians 9:6 (NKJV)
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The fight never ends. Never think that it does. Oh, it may quiet down some, but it is always working even if subtly behind the scenes. The enemy never stops! He is either actively fighting and working against your soul, or he is being a sneak, deceiving people with words. There is an interesting phrase that Jesus brings to our attention in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares.
“An enemy has done this.” –Matthew 13:28 (NKJV)
In the rest of the verse the servants ask the Master if He wants them uprooted. The Master replies, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.” (Matthew 13:29, NKJV).
Right now concentrate of the portion about the enemy. We know that the enemy “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NKJV). He wants to feast on your soul. He wants to destroy you, rip your heart from you. We know that, we are ready for that fight, but what we don’t pay attention to is when he comes in unawares or as an “angel of light.”
The devil, the enemy, will suggest all sorts of things to you. He will attempt to instill doubts, difficulties, and suspicions. Look around you and see how many Christians are being duped, how many are living in fear. Look and see how many are accepting a “new truth” and forgetting “thus saith the Lord.” He wants to disturb your loyalty to Christ; he wants you to accept a relative truth; he wants you to compromise God’s standards.
He’ll bring petty accusations against you. He will remind you of sins of the past bringing guilt. Then we wonder and are puzzled at the weeds that are growing in our hearts. How did they get there? “An enemy has done this.” Every life has weeds of some sort, and they may fool us. Look at the pretty flowers that many of them have, yet they are still weeds.
The issue is not that they are there, but how did they get there? Were they sown by thoughts? Were they sown by vain imaginations. Possibly it was fear or dread, worry about the virus or the future. Maybe it was an old habit, one that weakens your spiritual legs and you tasted of it once again.
Have you ever pulled at a dandelion when it is all fuzzy and blown upon it scattering its seeds all about? Think of your enemy doing the same. He is blowing at the tares, scattering them in your heart to mix with the good grain. Jesus said to let “both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'” (Matthew 13:30, NKJV)
That is another aspect of the enemy. He may plant someone next to you, at work, in church. They may have an appearance of good, but their hearts are evil; they do the work of the enemy. They are hard to pick out, and they must be left until the harvest when they will be bound together and burned.
Never forget that the enemy is busy sowing. Do you best to stay alert. Cultivate before the weeds take root. Read the Word of God and sow it in your heart or you might end up saying: “An enemy did this.”
Month: July 2020
The Saga of Miles Forrest
That’s why God’s Word commands us to be sober!” exclaimed Doc Jones.
Doc had joined me for supper at the diner. Mateo had agreed to let me treat him to supper. Of our now foursome, Charlie Gold had to travel to Silverton. He makes a trip up there at least once a month, sometimes more.
“And soberness means more than not being drunk!” Doc continued on. “It means to understand that life is serious; God gave us this life to be living for Him, not to be foolish!”
Mateo glanced at me, but mostly he kept his gaze upon Doc. I don’t think that he had heard such talk before so he waited for Doc to at least catch a breath before venturing in. “Does that mean fiesta is out? Don’t the God above want us to be happy?”
Doc didn’t hesitate. “Fun in moderation, never foolishness. Do you think that Nick Parsons is happy right now knowing that his foolishness might have killed a man? Waiting to see if that man dies, for that will determine if he is hung or not? No, we are to enjoy life, so fiesta at times is fine, but soberness is still required,” he paused to look at Mateo. “Are you catching any of this?”
“I think so,” came his slow reply.
I was sitting there listening, sipping at my coffee. This seemed to be Doc’s show and he was relishing in it. “Mateo, have you ever been drunk?”
That brought a little laugh from Mateo. “Si, only once. Luciana lowered the broom on me. ‘Never again!’ she ordered.”
“You mean she lowered the boom,” I interrupted trying to explain for him.
“No, she lowered the broom. It cracked in half over my head,” he said touching the top of his head. “She then told me to look at how it could affect Alejo and Enrique. Never again have I touched el licor.”
“What are the man’s chances?” I asked Doc concerning the wounded man. “Ever find out what his name is?”
“I dug the bullet out; that’s the good news. However, I don’t know if it clipped his lung or not, and he lost a lot of blood. I would say, if he rests and infection doesn’t set in he has a decent chance. Again, I don’t know if the lungs were hit. He could be slowly bleeding inside.”
“Marshal,” interjected Mateo, “I’ve been reading, and since it was purposeful it wouldn’t be first degree murder. If the stranger dies, might not Mr. Parson get off with a prison sentence?”
Doc gave him a questioning look, along with his perpetual frown. I had a grin, I was pleased that Mateo was taking his position seriously. “It depends upon the prosecutor, what he charges him with,” I paused to take a sip. “Also upon Judge Klaser.”
“It seems sad that one foolish event could change a man’s life forever,” stated Mateo. “Does Parsons have a family?”
I glanced at Doc, “I really don’t know. He doesn’t work regularly. He hires out to ranchers as he needs the money or during roundups. He’s done some work in the mines.”
Doc responded, “If he has family, they’re not around here.”
Concern was showing on Mateo’s face. “Maybe we should try and find out.”
Smiling, I slapped Mateo on the shoulder. “Sounds good to me, go ahead.”
The concern left and was exchange by a touch of fear. “But, Marshal, he doesn’t like me, like Mexicans. Plus I’m the man who arrested Him.”
“Perhaps, you may change his mind…”
Echoes From the Campfire
Then might come her fall into black storm. Yet she would rise again, and to the light.”
–Zane Grey (Riders of the Purple Sage)
“He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.”
–Job 32:28 (HCSB)
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There have been many times in my life when I wanted to just pack it up and head to the high lonesome. Let the people down here squabble, threaten, and hate. Enough is enough, I would think. Then I am reminded that I have a mission from the Lord, that He placed me where I was for a purpose. Yes, there are times to get away, but not from it all, for we have to return. I am reminded of Peter, James, and John and the transfiguration. “Let’s stay here,” but the Lord said that the work was to be done back down off the mountain in the valley.
Take time to read Psalm 43. Read it carefully, slowly, then go back and read it again.
1 – Vindicate me, God, and defend my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 – For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?
3 – Send Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to Your dwelling place.
4 – Then I will come to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the lyre, God, my God.
5 – Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God. (HCSB)
When you get right down to it, what is all the possessions of life at the end? (shades of Ecclesiastes) You can’t take it with you. When a person gets down, there is often the feeling of hopelessness–“woe is me, let’s go eat some worms.” In this time, you may feel that even God has rejected you. That is one reason not to trust feelings for He has promised that He would never leave or forsake us.
Let “light and truth” lead me. There are many voices crying out today–this is truth! But, when presented with the truth of Jesus Christ it is often rejected. We must be led by the truth of Jesus letting the Holy Spirit guide us into His truth. I like verse 3, for it speaks of going to the mountain. As I wrote the other day, they can smooth out the wrinkles in your mind.
The Psalmist here is doing his woeful best to stay in the doldrums, to dwell and even enjoy that his way is hopeless until the last verse. He finally wakes up. He asks himself two good questions and then gives the answer. The Lord has promised me, the Lord is faithful so I will put my hope in Him. No matter the situation, I will praise Him.
“Oh, send thy light to guide my feet,
And bid thy truth appear;
Conduct me to thy holy hill
To taste thy mercies there.”
–C.D. Barlow
Coffee Percs
Come on in. I’ve got coffee on.’ They seated themselves and she put out a tray of doughnuts and filled their cups.”
–Louis L’Amour (Conagher)
Cup’s on the table, I’ll bring the pot in a second. Say, what happened to yur fingers, Pard? Firecrackers! Listen, yur not suppose to hold them in yur hand after yuh light them, don’t yuh know that? Fast fuse, yeah, right. At least they’re all still there, an’ that one’s yur trigger finger. Don’t be wantin’ to lose that one.
We didn’t have firecrackers in Colorado, but in the summer time when we went to Oklahoma, Dad would always buy some. He wouldn’t let me hold them, I had to place them on the ground, or put ’em under a can. He’d then give me his cigarette an’ I would light the fuse and rush away. BOOM! Fun times, for sure.
Drink up, those fingers on yur left hand ain’t hurt none. Coffee’s good…it’ll get yuh ready for all the doin’s of the 4th of July. My, lookin’ at yur fingers it gets me to thinkin’ ’bout how folks just play around with firecrackers, and some use dynamite thinkin’ that nothin’ can happen to them. If’n they’re not careful, they might find that they’re holdin’ on to some with a fast fuse. Boom, and the fingers are gone.
See, people have a tendency to get complacent, or like a kid think they know it all. Complacency, bein’ too comfortable, and the fuse burns faster than they thought and there is an explosion. The kid thinks he knows it all, plays around with booze, drugs, sex, and the like an’ then all of a sudden, the fuse burns fast and there is an explosion.
What? My coffee is makin’ yur gizzard explode? Nonsense, drink down another cup, and it’ll even out. My mercy, yuh whine just like those young’uns out there. Goin’ be grillin’ today, enjoyin’ the family, and bein’ thankful for this great country despite all the antagonists. My cup is full, no, not the coffee cup, I done drank all of it.
Be on yur way Pard, and be careful with those firecrackers. Now I mean it, if’n yuh ain’t careful yuh might forget to check yur cinch and then it wouldn’t be only yur fingers that are messed up.