Month: August 2021

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Coffee sure warms a body good, though, don’t it? Short-term, that is. Trouble with coffee heat is that it don’t sink down in the bones and stay with you for any spell.”

                    –Wayne D. Dundee  (Dismal River)
 
Come on in this house…coffee’s ready and waitin’.  It’ll get yur insides a chuggin’ an’ ready for what’s comin’ at yuh today.  I know at the age to which we have finally arrived the ol’ starter is harder to start.  That’s why a person needs some solid lubricant to get it goin’, none of that see-through stuff.
       I remember hearin’, way back from my youth, a story of a crooked man who walked a crooked road.  When that came to my mind this week, I was for sure thinkin’ it was about those bureaucrats and the hoodlums they keep around them.  I saw where $33.5 billion dollars was spent last year on that so-called vaccine.  Somebody’s sure rackin’ in the dough.  Oh, yuh say the shot is free.  Ha, ha, ha, there ain’t nothin’ free, hasn’t anyone ever told yuh that?  In fact, we’re all payin’ for it.  Payin’ for it with our taxes, payin’ for it with the loss of freedoms and rights, and payin’ for it by playin’ right into the hands of the charlatans.  Some of them (Gates, et.al.) are probably sittin’ back, smokin’ an ol’ stogies and gigglin’ up their sleeves.
       One thing for shore, I know in Whom I have believed.  Yep, the good Lord is watchin’ over me, takin’ care of me, and guidin’ me through this wearisome land.  Along the way He even allows me to sit a spell with folks like you.  So yuh be havin’ a good week, don’t be takin’ any wooden nickels and always be mindful to be checkin’ yur cinch.
        Vaya con Dios. 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on
They swagger and make loud noises in their own little circle, but they are only coyotes that yap around the heels of the herd… The coyotes aren’t going anywhere, but the herd is, and so are the men who drive the herd.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Tucker)

       “Who [Christ] also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
                    –2 Corinthians 1:22 (NKJV)
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“Head ’em up–move ’em out!”
       Some of you may recall that bellowing yell from Gil Favor, the trail boss on “Rawhide.”  Get the cattle moving up the trail.  The only way you get paid is to get them to market, and in good condition.  There are all kinds of troubles, trials, and obstacles along the trail.  Most trail drives involved the herds of several ranchers combined into one.  The trail boss had the numbers at the beginning of the drive, and the payment would come at the end of the drive.
       Draw your attention to Matthew 13:24-30:
   
               24 — “…The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
               25 — but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
               26 — But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared
               30 — ‘Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of 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.”‘” (NKJV)

I left out a few verses, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read them.  The cattlemen of the West used brands to mark their cattle and then after the roundup several ranchers would have their cattle placed into one herd for the drive.  At the end of the drive the ranchers’ cattle would be separated and then they were paid for their brand.  The cattle would not be separated until market.
       Sometimes scoundrels would appear wanting to “cut the herd” saying that some of their cattle had gotten mixed up with the herd.  It was up to the trail boss to see that this didn’t happen, and that unscrupulous men didn’t cut the herd taking what was not theirs.
       A second problem regarding the tares and the good grain.  The enemy will plant people among believers to cause them to stumble, to falter, and to fail.  Sometimes it is hard to tell who they are and sometimes they may even portray themselves as believers.  Hold on!  Let the Owner, the Master take care of the business at the harvest, or at the final gathering to check the harvest or the brands.  He knows what is His.  He has His marked with His seal/brand.
       Paul writes in Ephesians,

              “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”  (1:13, NKJV)

              “…you were sealed for the day of redemption” (4:30, NKJV)

It was custom in ancient days for the owner to mark his goods with a seal, or a brand.  Say, for example, if he were purchasing lumber he would mark the lumber that was his.  After he returned home he would send his workers to bring the lumber he had chosen to the work site.  They knew what was his by the seal.  
       The Holy Spirit has sealed us.  We are marked by the brand of the Lord.  No one is allowed to cut us away from the “herd.”  We are not to be uprooted with the tares, but we will be cared for at the harvest.  The Holy Spirit knows us by the seal He has placed upon us.  We are His, to take care of and bring us to the gathering of believers on that glorious day.
       Therefore, don’t let disgruntled people sway you.  Don’t let anyone try and cut you away, deceiving you.  You have God’s seal upon you.  You are His–never let that leave your mind in days of trials and troubles.

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

You judge a person by his heart, not by his house.”
                    –Elmer Kelton  (The Day the Cowboys Quit)

 
       “Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.  We are no longer slaves to sin.”
                    –Romans 6:6 (NLT)
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How To Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse:  “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.”  –1 John 5:19 (NLT)

       I had to go to the post office and as I was doing my transaction I became involved in a conversation with the postal worker.  We were talking about the state of the country and the world when she suddenly announced, “the world is just plain evil; all that is happening is because of evil.”  So how do we deal with it?  How do we protect our souls, and those of our loved ones?  First, realize the fact that it is evil, and second, recognize that this evil and control comes from the devil.
       I am not going to rewrite the questions I had yesterday, but take time to look at them again.  These were challenges being presented in John’s day and they continue on through our day.  I will, however, write the verses we are currently looking at, this time from the HCSB.

               4 — Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law.
               5 — You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins, and there is no sin in Him.
               6 — Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.”

      Jesus did not come to reveal God, though through His life He did.  He did not come to teach us about God, though as a teacher He did.  He did not come to give man a moral life for man already had the Law and to live by the Law was to live a moral life.  Jesus did come because of sin and man’s predicament.  
     John was answering the early Gnostics and the “antichrists” of his day.  He said that Jesus fulfilled the Law–He was obedient.  Jesus, because of His obedience and His holiness was the perfect sacrifice–the perfect offering for sin.  John the Baptist, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)  Jesus came to take away my sin.

               “He took my sins away,
                He took my sins away,
                And keeps me singing night and day…”

       There are those who call sin “mistakes” or “failures,” but it was sin that put Christ on the cross.  Listen, sin is not trivial; it is not to be taken lightly–we are not holy for the sake of being holy.  I heard a preacher once who said at the beginning of every message for the week, “…I am a sinner.”  I wanted to shout, “NO!”  Now be careful and don’t take me wrong.  We no longer practice sin, yet we may sin.  I wanted to say, “I am a saint!” because of the work of Christ.  He took away my sins on the cross, He delivers us from the power of sin and the pollution of sin.  It may have been Spurgeon who wrote, “In the past we were delivered from the penalty of sin.  In the present we are being delivered from the power of sin.  In the future we will be delivered from the presence of sin.”
       The past, on the cross, the awful penalty for sin was given with the work of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Right now, currently, we are being delivered, day-by-day from sin’s power.

               “We are growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord; we are increasingly being made to conform to the image of His Son.  We are being delivered–we have been, we are, and we shall be ultimately.”
                              –D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Live in the Light.  Live in the power of His resurrection.  Live in the knowledge of His sacrifice and substitution.  

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
It took me a while to round up Star.  The horses were grazing at the far end of the pasture and I couldn’t get his attention.  Either that or he was ignoring me while enjoying his lunch.  However, whenever he lifted his head and I waved he came a-running as did Hawk and Two-Bits.  My, how Star loved to run.
       I went ahead and got my bedroll and other gear.  Since it was later in the day I figured I might have to spend the night out.  I didn’t think the miscreant could have made it too far, bleeding as he was, but I didn’t want to go out unprepared.
       We went on down to the diner as soon as I had him saddled and my gear stowed.  I wanted to let Molly know the situation.  After loosely tying Star to the hitching post I went and and if I had been wearing false teeth they surely would have fallen out.  There was Lucas, sitting over at my table eating chocolate pie.  Both Marta and Molly were sitting there with him.
       “What in the world!” I declared.  Lucas, what are you doin’ here?”
       “What does it look like?” snapped Marta.
       I felt my jaws go tight.  “You need to get back and repair that door frame and wash the blood off the floor.”
       “Senor Miles, Lucas is hurt, plus the fact is, he don’t work for you!” she fumed.
       I glared at him, then turned my attention to Marta.  “If’n he did I’d fire him on the spot right now, poor nino.”
       Lucas’ ears reddened when I called him a “baby.”  I had been referring to him as a man, and rightly he was, but Marta was treating him like a little boy.  Here he had been in a gunfight, helped recover rustled horses, and shot someone trying to kill him, and she is coddling him like a baby.
       “Leave him alone, Senor Miles.  He will no longer work for you.”
       I smiled, and that made her fume even more.  “Thought you just said he didn’t work for me.”  My attention went back to Lucas.  “Your decision,” was all I said.
       Molly sat there, not saying a word, for which I was thankful.  I looked at her.  “I’m packed.  I don’t plan to be gone long, but gettin’ this late start it’ll probably be tomorrow sometime before I get back.”
       She got up without saying a word and went to the kitchen.  I knew she was fixing me food to take along.  It was only a couple of minutes, but with the hostility of Marta and now Lucas sitting there with his head down it seemed like a half hour before she returned.
       I should have left well enough alone, but I blurted out, “Marta, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you’ve been sour the last couple of weeks.”  With that she started crying.  Molly motioned with her head that I should leave while she put her arms around the weeping Marta.  Lucas sat there–dumbfounded.
       Soon Star and I were on the road and I had him at a fast gait, but after we went over the hill into New Mexico I slowed him down.  I needed to find a trail to follow.  I could see horse tracks that had recently come out of Durango and reckoned they belonged to the horse I was following.  We were coming up to the ruins where I had a run in with some malo muchachos.  I looked closely thinking he might have pulled off into the ruins.
       I rode around both sides of the road a while then spotted tracks and a host of blood on a large sage.  The horse he was riding was moving slowly; the man must have been in bad shape.  He would surely know that someone would be following him.  I pulled Star to a stop and dismounted, walking over to the edge of a ridge I stooped low to look not wanting to silhouette myself against the skyline.  There were rocks on both sides of the trail I had to travel–a good place for an ambush.
       Going back to Star, I mounted and slowly headed him down the trail that led off the ridge.  Half-way down I saw blood brushed alongside a rock.  Then a few yards further I saw plenty of blood on the ground.  He either fell from his horse or dismounted.  I looked up toward where the sun should be noticing that it was below the ridge.  Soon it would be graylight.  I needed to find him now.
       Several yards further down on the trail I came upon his horse grazing at a small tuft of grass.  As I dismounted…