Month: April 2023

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by events and circumstances?  Miles has been racing from the Doc’s office, to the diner, to the jail, and all around town.  Now he has been summoned by Mateo’s son, Alejo, to hurry to the diner that Molly needs him.  Welcome back to those exciting days of yesterday.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
       “What’s wrong?” I asked Alejo, rather sharply.  I hadn’t even noticed when Alejo had left the jail.  He had been sweeping up glass and talking with his father, when before I knew it he was running back from the diner.
       “I’m not sure, Senor Miles.  Yur wife, the Senora Miles said for me to get you quickly, so I came.”  We were not running, but walking at a hurried pace.  About halfway to the diner, Alejo turned to me, neither of us stopping.  “I think it has to do with Senora Marta.”
       Just what we need, I thought, then shamed myself for thinking like that.  I walked into the diner with Alejo following and was greeted by an apron thrown at me by Molly.  “Put that on, and get busy,” she commanded.  “Edith had to go with Doc.  Marta’s having her baby.”
       I gave her a puzzled look, then went over to place the Greener on the wall next to where I normally sit.  I was tying the apron on, when Molly came by.  “You take the left side of the room, I’ll take the right,” he said pointing.  Still seeing the look on my face, “I guess with all the excitement and stress it has caused the baby to come early.”
       Staring at her, I asked, “Is that a big problem?”
       Receiving a stern look, she replied, “It could be.  Now get busy!
       “Say, darlin’, we’d like some more coffee over here,” came a voice from a corner table.  I grabbed the pot and headed that way.  “Oh, Marshal, I didn’t recognize you with the dress on,” came the guffaw from Jed Fountain.  He was sitting there with Link Doyle and a couple of cowboys I didn’t know from the Lowell ranch.
       “One more remark like that Fountain and you’ll get a lap full of coffee,” I barked.  Fountain and Doyle were enjoying their little hurrah, but the other two cowboys were stone faced, not knowing whether to laugh, say something and join in, or leave the premises.  “At least your pards there know when to keep their mouths shut.”
       I was getting ready to say something else when another group of four walked in the room.  I was watching, wishing, and hoping that they’d go sit on Molly’s side of the room, and was quite relieved when they did.  Looking back at Fountain, “What is it with so many cowhands in town?  I know it’s not Saturday or Sunday, so I’m thinkin’ that your cheatin’ your boss out of his wages.”
       “They belong to Thomson.  I don’t know why they’re here,” spoke up Doyle.  “We came to pick up some feed and other supplies.”
       “Takes the four of you to rein a wagon now?” I said mocking them.  
       Fountain blushed a little.  I knew how cowboys felt about riding in a wagon when they thought they should have been hossback.  “We came in two wagons,” remarked Doyle.  “They’re bein’ loaded now.  Jed, here told the Boss that we’d ride in the wagons, but wouldn’t be loadin’ them up.”
       “Won’t you have to be doin’ the unloadin’?” I asked.
       “Mister Forrest, if you’ll stop of the lollygagging, there are tables to be cleared,” rang out the sharp voice of Molly.
       I glanced at her, saw the two men grin.  “You want another refill, you know where the pot’s at,” I said, then started to walk away.
       “Miles,” whispered Fountain, “what’s goin’ on here?”
       “Too long a story, needless to say that Molly needs help,” I informed them, then moved away not wanting to dally and incur the wrath of the boss.
       I had just finished cleaning off the two tables when three hardcases came in.  I glanced over at Fountain who gave a shrug of his shoulders.  They took a table toward the back and I wasn’t so fortunate this time.  They sat on my side.
       Grabbing menus I headed over to their table.  “You men like some coffee?”
       One of the men grabbed a menu and began to peruse it.  The other two turned their heads toward me, one scoffing.  “We want the other waitress,” he barked mockingly.
       “Well, mister, you got me.  Now do you want coffee or not?”
       The man sitting on the right had a scar over his left eye, and another one from his lip to his chin.  He tried to cover it up with a beard, but it seemed that the hair parted at the scar making it look more hideous.  “She’ll pour it!” he challenged.
       “She’s busy!  Now order, or get out.”
       “No man in an apron can throw me out!” he snarled.
       With that I had my pistol up under his left ear in less than a second.  “Get up!” I ordered, with a push of the barrel against the man’s head.  I sort of helped lift him with the gun.  “You two might as well go with him and lead the way.”
       Their eyes never left mine, as they got up and headed for the door.  I noticed the one who had sat on the left was itching pull his gun.  “You better hope he doesn’t,” I said to the man I was prodding.  “I’ll shoot you first then kill him.”
       They left the diner without any more incident, but Molly came over to me.  “Who were they?”
       “Trouble,” I replied.
       “As soon as Edith can rejoin me, Miles you’re fired,” she said somewhat seriously.
       “What happens if I just quit now?”
       Molly smiled, “You can’t.”
       “And just why can’t I?” I inquired.
       She flipped a wash towel at me, snapping me on the arm.  “Because I said so.”
       That brought a laugh from both tables of cowboys.  I knew when I was licked…

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

He recognized the feeling for what it was—the need within himself to protect and care for something beyond himself. It was that, in part, that had led him into so many fights that were not his; and yet, was not the cause of human freedom and liberty every man’s trust?”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (The Mountain Valley War)

       “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

                    –Luke 21:28 (NASB)
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How long?  How long will evil continue?  How long must we be assailed with the wicked agenda of the transgenders, drag queens, and gays?  How long will there be a mockery of the government?  How long will justice be perverted?  How long before You return, Lord?  
       Have you ever heard yourself say, “How long?”  How long will this sickness last?  How long until I can get financial stability?   Spurgeon said, “The ‘How long?’ sounds as if it were one of the saddest of all utterances in which misery bemoans itself.  Many times this bitter complaint has been heard in the dungeons of the Inquisition, at the whipping posts of slavery, and in the prisons of oppression.  In due time God will publish His reply, but the full end is not yet.”  Contemplate, if you will, the first part of Psalm 94.

          1 — O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs–O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
          2 — Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render punishment to the proud.
          3 — LORD, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?
          4 — They utter speech, and speak insolent things; all the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.
          5 — They break in pieces Your people, O LORD, and afflict Your heritage.
          6 — They slave the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
          7 — Yet they say, “The LORD does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand.”  (NKJV)

       In the midst of pain, suffering, turmoil and the seeming unfairness of life, know this–God is not mocked.  There is a day coming when God will settle all accounts.  The prophets declare it to be a day of doom and destruction.  Now, everyone, but especially those of the household of faith should be thankful for God’s mercy.  “Those who will not deliver themselves into the hand of God’s mercy cannot be delivered out of the hand of His justiice.” (Matthew Henry)  
       I used to “joke” with my students that be careful for once in a while the “spirit of slap” will come upon me.  Those in the front row better be ready to duck.  It was all in fun, but sometimes there is that real urge to slap, and maybe even more those of the realm of darkness.  I think that the Quakers might have had it right when they said that the retaliation hurts the person more than the one who is slapped.  Oh, but don’t it feel good, until the Holy Spirit convicts.
       More and more the devil is whispering to God’s people, “Where is the sign of His coming?  How long will you wait for something that will never happen?”  Evil is so rampant and is becoming more perverted and the devil smiles whispering to us “How long?”  He mocks the things of God; he mocks justice, morality, and the dignity of man.  He gets us to focus on the wickedness in the world and not on the person of Christ.
       Look at verse 4, “Hear their arrogance!  How these evildoers boast!” (NLT)   It seems that the Lord really does not see (verse 7), but remember, “This is the self-deceived condition of the godless.  In their sinfulness, they are unable to see God and thus assume that he is ignorant of their actions.” (Steven Lawson)  I have read Romans 12:19, several times.  “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (NKJV)  Notice the word, “wrath.”  We do not like to think in this modern and enlightened age of “woke” of God’s wrath.  Churches have thrown it out.  Preachers will not preach about the wrath of God, but it cannot be ignored.  Today, is the day of salvation–for tomorrow may be the day of God’s wrath.  How long? O, Lord–until He is ready.

               “We fight for truth; we fight for God;
               Poor slaves of lies and sin!
               He who would fight for thee on earth
               Must first be true within.”
                    –Thomas Hughs

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

He had already built up the fire and had a big pot of coffee brewing near the fireplace’s edge.”

                    –Ron Schwab  (Beware a Pale Horse)
 
Heard yuh comin’ Pard, grab a cup, coffee’s on the stove.  Sure glad yuh stopped by this mornin’.  Ahhh, good coffee!  Yuh know, Pard, the day after the crucifixion of Jesus Saturday was a mournful day.  There was loss of hope, and despair seemed to grip each person.  The disciples were in hidin’, fearful for their lives.  I reckon they must have remembered the words of Jesus regarding risin’ on the third day, but for some reason it didn’t register.  They were a pitiful lot.
       Now, Pard, I’ve done quite a bit of ponderin’ about that particular Saturday over the years.  I don’t believe that Jesus had to stay in the grave for three days; He had the power to rise, but there was still some work to be done.  I’m not sure what it was; it is one of those mysteries.  Paul wrote that He took “captivity captive.”  Now, what does that actually mean?  We can’t be dogmatic ’bout it for sure.  No, no, Pard, dogmatic isn’t some special breed of dog; it’s bein’ downright certain of something, so certain that you can’t change yur mind on the subject.  But some theologians say that Jesus went to the underworld, the place of the dead.  Some of them were lookin’ forward to the comin’ of the Messiah and now He was there in front of them, preachin’ to them.  But then I remember the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross, “today you will be with me in Paradise.”  
       Let me get a swaller, ‘fore I continue.  Mmm, tastes ‘specially good this mornin’.  Now, back to what I was a-sayin’.  The thief would be with Jesus in “Paradise.”  Where was Paradise, I ask yuh?  Many believe and I among them, that Paradise was that part of the underworld where the saints prior to the crucifixion were being held.  There was a gulf between Paradise and the place of torment.  Now, jist take a moment to consider this.  Do yuh think Jesus took time to speak some with Adam?  Maybe He told Adam that I’ve finally come to fix what yuh set in motion when yuh disobeyed in the Garden.  He might have even glanced over at Eve.  Remember, He was in the tomb for three days.
       Pard, jist hold on, I’m not through with my vocalizin’ on the subject.  Take another sip and listen.  The words by that preacher of the past, Robert Lowry, come to my mind, “Death cannot keep his prey Jesus my Saviour!  He tore the bars away Jesus my Lord!”  Now, we know these weren’t physical bars like down at the jailhouse.  O’l Lowry was usin’ the words symbolically.  Bars, hmmm, not in Scripture, but the folk in the place of the dead were in some kind of bondage.  Perhaps, now, jist perhaps, that Jesus did tear those bars away.  Maybe He walked, smilin’ among them, noddin’ His head, and releasin’ them from the chains of death.  Then, He motioned for them to “come on” it’s time to get on up to the Father’s house.  Perhaps, He placed Moses at the head, so he could lead them into the realm of glory.  Yuh know, it might have taken three days for that number to walk on up that golden staircase.  
       It’s another one of those spiritual mysteries.  There had to be a reason for three days in the grave.  Jesus always had a purpose, and He still does.  But as for you, Pard, yur jist plain dumb sometimes.  Yuh come over, drink coffee, jaw a spell, but then go out and forget to check yur cinch.
       Vaya con Dios.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Such personal failures of character torment me to this very moment. And, when a cold moon is just right in the sky, God sometimes comes to my side to remind me of all my painful shortcomings. Many’s the night I’ve hit bony knees, bowed my head in supplication, only to find that the words necessary for forgiveness just won’t come. Such is the curse I carry wrapped around the heart of a tortured soul.”

                    –J. Lee Butts  (Written in Blood)

       “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed.”
                    –1 Peter 2:24 (NKJV)
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I will not spend much of your time this morning as I want you to be pondering, meditating, and contemplating the events and meaning of Easter.  There are so many things to say, and so many sermons have been preached, but the question remains–What does it mean to you?  
       The crucifixion–the death of Jesus Christ.  We can throw all the words:  atonement, propitiation, redemption, reconciliation, sacrifice, substitution,  justification and contemplate each of them today.  For they all took place on the cross.  
       A week before He was hailed as a king when He rode into Jerusalem.  When He saw and heard the throng of people cheering and praising His eyes were not necessarily on them.  His mind was not really on the physical pain He would soon feel.  But He was thinking of what would happen to Him.  There would be darkness.  The light of the world would face darkness.  His Father would turn His back on Him.  He would be forsaken by the Father.  He would hang alone, even though there were two criminals hanging on either side of Him.  Alone, forsaken, the darkness creeping in.
       Jesus never doubted that He would rise from the grave.  That never entered His mind for He knew His power, the Father’s power, and that of the Holy Spirit.  No grave could ever hold Him.  That never crossed His mind.  In fact several times He mentioned the fact that He would rise again.

                “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
                         –Mark 8:31 (NKJV)
               “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'”
                         –John 2:19 (NKJV)

The leaders, those who had Him crucified, remembered His words,  “After three days I will rise.” (Matthew 27:63).  No, there was no doubt or concern that He would rise again.  
       It is important that we realize that all of the work was completed on the cross.  The resurrection was the demonstration that He had not died in vain (Stott) and that He is victorious in His purpose and forevermore.  Jesus accomplished what He came into the world to do.  The second phrase Jesus cried in a loud voice, “It is finished!”  In Greek it is but one word, “tetelestai.”  It means, “it has been and will for ever remain finished.”  The penalty of sin was paid, the justice of God was satisfied. (Stott)
       After that there was one final phrase uttered.  One full of confidence and knowing the final outcome,  “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:46, NKJV)  For you, for me, for humankind–It is finished.  Despite the pain, physical and spiritual, we are told that, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV)  He knew that the cross was the finish of His and His Father’s work of salvation.  The hope of millions rest on that cross if only . . . if only they would look to the salvation brought on the cross and realize that the work of Jesus was finished.