Look to the hills.  They are quiet.  The storms sweep over them and are gone, and most of man’s troubles pass the same way.  Whenever you feel that things are getting too much for you, go to the mountains or the desert—it smooths out the wrinkles in your mind.”
              –Louis L’Amour (Brionne)

    “And it will come to pass in that day That the mountains shall drip with new wine, The hills shall flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord And water the Valley of Acacias.”
              –Joel 3:18 (NKJV)
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              “Farewell to the mountains
               Whose mazes to me
               More beautiful far
               Than Eden could be…”
                    –Davy Crockett

I have heard that the ocean, the desert, and mountains are hard to shake if that is where you’ve been raised, or where you live.  For me, it’s the mountains.  Situations, circumstances, etc., have kept me from going back to live in the mountains, but at least I made it to the woods.
    I’ve been throughout the Colorado Rockies, spent some time in Wyoming, went through Montana and also the Sierra Nevada.  The mountains of Texas, the Chisos and Guadalupe are rugged, as well as those in Arizona.  I’ve traveled in the mountains of New Mexico; camped in several of the mountains of the East.  My, my, there is something about mountains that stirs down deep to the depths of my soul.
    Psalm 48 starts with a view of a mountain, Mount Zion, which is referred to as the “holy mountain.”  Read this Psalm in the context of the mountain, the city of Jerusalem, and the idea that many times in Scripture when the term “mountain” appears it is referring to the place of God’s government.

    1 – The Lord is great and highly praised in the city of our God.  His holy mountain,
    2 – rising splendidly, is the joy of the whole earth.  Mount Zion on the slopes of the north is the city of the great King.
    3 – God is known as a stronghold in its citadels.
    4 – Look! The kings assembled; they advanced together.
    5 – They looked and froze with fear; they fled in terror.
    6 – Trembling seized them there, agony like that of a woman in labor,
    7 – as You wrecked the ships of Tarshish with the east wind.
    8 – Just as we heard, so we have seen in the city of Yahweh of Hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish it forever.  Selah (HCSB)

Look at these verses in two different contexts:  first, the actual city of Jerusalem; second, the heavenly city, the home of God.  Most likely terror never griped anyone in the heavenly Jerusalem, but it was attacked.  There was a rebellion in the city.
    Think for a moment of another aspect in regard to Mount Zion and the city of Jerusalem.  Robert Allen states, “Zion is only beautiful and glad because the temple is there, and in that temple the God of heaven made his earthly sanctuary.”  The focus in this Psalm is the attacks on Jerusalem and God’s saving grace.  “If Jerusalem is an exhibit for His past deliverances, so are we.  If God is great within the city of David, then let Him be great in us.” (George O. Wood)
    The city was great because of the Temple, but friends, look at what Paul writes,

           “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
                   –1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)

“Life in Christ does come with a spectacular view–in Him we reach our full potential.” (Wood)  We are blessed because now God resides in us; we are His “temple.”  God did deliver Jerusalem many times.  He will deliver us many times.  He delivers from the attacks of the enemy, from disease (including the corona), emotional disturbances such as depression, lack of self-esteem, lack of self-worth, fear.  “Though many battles have been won, a greater Day is coming when forces that sought to destroy us will be astounded, flee in terror, tremble, and have pain as a woman in labor.  They will be destroyed, smashed like ships against the rocks.” (Wood)

           “Glorious things of thee are spoken,
            Zion, city of our God;
            He whose word cannot be broken
            Formed thee for his own abode.”
                  –John Newton

    As Jerusalem is the city of our God, so let us never forget that we are His temple.  He lives within us as well, and one day, this bodily temple, will reside in the great heavenly, holy city–Jerusalem that sits on Mount Zion.

Sorry’s not a good excuse for ignorance.”
              –Jim Burnett  (The Bible and the Badge)

    “Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”
              –Ephesians 4:18(NKJV)
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Did America have its chance back in 2001?  Remember that day following the attack by Muslim terrorists destroying the Twin Towers and changing forever the lives of thousands of people?  That day when members of both houses of Congress stood on the steps of the Capitol singing, “God Bless America.”  Oh, how quickly the times have changed due to the fickleness and hatred of the people.
    Was that a day of decision?  Was that the Lord telling America, choose you this day whom you will serve?  If so, no wonder we are seeing havoc in the streets.  America, briefly made a choice for the good, the right, but now there is so much mockery of God’s rule and law.  
    There were the slogans, “Never Forget!” and “Maintain the Rage!” but all of that is seemingly just a forgotten memory.  Where did our resolve go?  What happened to our determination?
    I don’t know, I cannot know the mind of God is that case, but I do know that there is a time when He says enough is enough.  There is that time when He will no longer answer the call of the people.

         “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?  For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.  Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.  Because I have called and you have refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.”
                   –Proverbs 1:22-27 (NKJV)

If you are not a believer these words should cause you to tremble.  More than likely the fool, the unbeliever, will continue to scorn, to hate, to mock, and to laugh at the Word of God.  Look at the attacks on the Church today, on the faithful ministers of God’s Word.  It has multiplied and is no longer hidden, but is a full-fledged part of the liberal agenda.  Continue to look at the end of Proverbs, chapter 1.

         “Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies.  For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” (1:31-33, NKJV)

    We have turned in less than two decades from one day singing, “God Bless America,” to mocking God and crying, “I dare You!”
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    With that, and looking at the times, it is a necessity to make sure we have our Guide.  I wrote the other day about essentials, and one of them is to understand the roadmap.  I have the ol’ steel mount ready to go.  Shoes have been checked, the working parts ready, and I know the route I plan to take.
    In saying that, I’m also saying that me and my favorite “Shotgunner” are taking a trip to the East.  I’m not sure when I’ll get an “Echo” out or the “Saga.”  I’ll try for one on Monday and Tuesday, but after that I’m not sure.
    So once we head out, be prayerful for us in our travels.  I’ll get back on once we have seen the dust settle from our travel.

Don’t we all have to keep beginning our lives over and over again?  Aren’t we all forever getting into trouble and getting out of it?  A man is as good as he makes himself.”
              –William MacLeod Raine  (Gunsight Pass)

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.”
              –Psalm 111:10 (NKJV)
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I have often had thoughts regarding “destiny” and have written several times on the thought.  Have you, or I, really been selected for a particular destiny in this world?  If that is true, wouldn’t it also be true of everyone else?  I hear Christians cite Jeremiah 1:5, to declare their destiny.

         “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”  (NKJV)

Perhaps they cite this verse to declare that they are called to a particular position that they covet.  But if everyone’s has been given a destiny, then why are people living in sin?  For sure, God did not destined a person to a life of drugs, lust, and addiction.  Was Hitler then destined?  That means he couldn’t help but be himself and destroy millions of lives.
    Look at the verse, God was speaking to Jeremiah.  Does that mean that God has selected certain people for Himself?  For example, there was a time when Moses appeared in history to deliver Israel from the hands of the Egyptians.  Wasn’t he destined for such a time, wasn’t he chosen particularly by God?  John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah, he surely must have been destined to be born for a certain time.
    You see, we are walking the top fence rail between predestination and foreknowledge.  God knew that Moses would be the deliverer.  However, Moses could have chosen to stay in the courts of Pharaoh rather than face the hardships of the wilderness.  God knows, but He does not force.  He does not sit in the heavens pulling mystical puppet strings.  But in saying that His purpose and plan will come to pass.
    So, here we are, on earth plodding along, trying to survive.  Some people mock God, some say that He is dead or doesn’t exist.  Others have chosen to accept Him as Savior.  Now, the question is, since you are “chosen” that means you are destined for heaven.  Why then do so many Christians seem to walk along aimlessly?  As a believer you have a mission in life and it is to fight darkness and the forces in evil in whatever sphere of influence you have.  Some, have only their neighborhood, some have the burden of the nation on their shoulders.  In either case, they are called to serve God in that realm.  
    When I was growing up our youth group, in fact, all youth groups in the Assemblies of God has a particular name, “Christ’s Ambassadors.”  WOW, such a name!  Now it is simply, “youth”.  Something drastic has happened.  Were people ashamed to be called Christ’s Ambassadors?  An ambassador is “an accredited diplomat sent by a country as it official representative to a foreign country.”  This is a person who works in a foreign country and speaks for and represents the country of his home.  “Youth” don’t quite cut it.  Paul writes, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NKJV).  We serve the creator of all things, the Lord God Almighty.  We are to guard the Truth, speak the Truth, live in the Truth–we are then to be ambassadors.

         “We are Christ’s Ambassadors; And our colors we must unfurl.
          We must wear a spotless robe, Clean and righteous before the world.
          We must show we’re cleansed from sin; And that Jesus dwells within.
          Proving duly that we’re truly Christ’s Ambassadors.”
                   –Mrs. George Wagner

    When you look at the words of the chorus perhaps that tells us why the song, nor the designation is not so popular today.  “We must…”  Too often Christians, or should I say pseudo-Christians are part of the world, they have made this their home rather than speaking the words of God to the evil and darkness that is in the world.