Month: May 2023

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Age is a relative thing. It is character that matters.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (The Proving Trail)

       “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

                    –1 Samuel 13:14 (NKJV)
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I came across a little piece of advice while reading the other day.  “The two things in life you are in total control over are your attitude and your effort.”  Most likely it was written by that famous writer, “Anonymous.”  Then I looked at the second part of Psalm 95.  Verse 7, hits a person right in the face, “…Oh, that you would listen to His voice today!”  (NLT).

          7 — …Today, if you will hear His voice:
          8 — Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness,
          9 — When your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work.
        10 — For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, “It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.”
        11 — So I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest.”  (NKJV)

There is that big word, “If”.  “If you will hear,” means that we are “to listen with strictest attention with a view to obedience.”  The first step in worship is to respond with submissive faith.  True worship must have as its components humility, and an obedient relationship with Him. (Lawson)  
       “Do not harden your hearts.”  There is a warning in these words, yet we also see grief hidden in them.  The Lord grieved when His people did not obey, and the hardness of their hearts caused Him to rise up in anger.  You remember the story of the rebellion of the Israelites when they would not heed the words of Caleb and Joshua.  They had a plumb, stinking attitude.  I’m sure the spirit of slap came upon Moses, when he asked, “Why are you testing the Lord?”
       It is a dangerous thing to “test” the Lord.  The people provoked His patience and He would allow them to wander, to stray in the wilderness for the next forty years until all of that generation died save Caleb and Joshua.  What a legacy!  It was like slapping the Lord in the face after seeing His mighty hand at work.  It was like the mouthy kid, that flaunts his arrogance and attitude at you.  Some people may claim that they know the Lord yet their hearts are hard–“they go astray in their hearts.”  It reminds me of the Pharisees and priests of Jesus’ time.  They thought they knew the ways of the Lord, but they went astray in their hearts, and truly did not know His ways.  What else comes to mind is when the Lord returns, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 7:21)  These people really never knew the ways of the Lord.  
       We worship God in spirit, that means with the proper heart attitude.  Our hearts must be prepared to worship.  Then we worship with our life–part of which is proper response to God’s word and living in right attitude toward Him.  Then and only then, will we finally enter into His rest.  Those will attitudes of a hard heart, of “I’ll do it my way,” of raising their first toward God will bring forth His anger an they will never enter His rest.

               “Fear not, brethren, joyful stand
               On the borders of our land;
               Jesus Christ, our Father’s Son,
               Bids us undismayed go on.”
                      –John Cennick

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Holding the cup in my hand I took a sip, a long sip, thinking of how to answer.”

                    –D.C. Adkisson  (The Shepherd)
 
Ain’t that the truth.  Holding a cup of strong coffee, while ponderin’ the deep answers to questions is a help.  It sorta makes the mind say “ahhh” and the thoughts begin to form.  Now, I ain’t sayin’ that the thoughts come because of the coffee, but it just helps them to flow through the ol’ brain better.  So, Pard, did yuh have a good week?  Yuh were probably jist a waitin’ to come over for some of my delicious brew.  An’ talkin’ ’bout thinkin’ I was sent some coffee roasted in Maryland, but the blend is called:  Mayan, Aztec, and Incan.  My mind is all confabgulated tryin’ to understand how coffee roasted up in Maryland would have names like that.  Guess, it’s another one of the world’s mysteries.
       I was out drivin’ the other night, don’t do that much anymore, and let me tell you for a fact that the bugs were out.  No, no, Pard I’m not talkin’ ’bout the politicians and media mouths, but real bugs.  I thought the ol’ steel mount was bein’ attacked by creatures from the skies.  One bit un hit the windshield and I heard it say right after impact, “If I had guts enough I’d do that again.”  
       Pard, I’m gettin’ closer and closin’ in on ol’ Methusaleh.  Yep, this ol fencepost is still holdin’ up, but another one of them birthdays showed up.  Three years now past my allotted seventy and eight years since my heart attack.  Listen, in less than 900 years, I’ll make it to be his age.  Ha, yur right Pard, that’s a joke.  It was hard enough to make it to seventy, and I’ve gone three over that now.
       I remember an ol’ friend, now gone on over the Great Divide to be with the Lord once said in lean times, “The Lord has been with me; I’ve never had to eat feathers yet.”  Yuh might remember Fred Deavers, he was quite a fella.  But to say that, I don’t think I’d relish eatin’ feathers, nor the buzzard they came from.  The Lord, as Fred implied, has always and will always take care of me and mine.  There may be lean times an’ there may be times of plenty, but the Lord is with us in both.  We jist need to honor Him in the good and the bad.
       There’ ‘nough coffee left in the pot for each of us to have another cup.  What say we down it, and they get on to the chores and errands of the day.  I have a couple more stories to tell, but they’ll jist have to wait until another time as I’m out of space, and the coffee pot is now dry.  Yuh be ridin’ straight and tall, and for the Lord’s brand.  Be checkin’ yur cinch before yuh mount, and keep on the narrow way.
      Vaya con Dios.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

It’s a wonder how quickly we can go from strength to weakness and dependence. It’s humbling. We walk in our pride and dignity every day, but it’s an empty vapor.”
                    –Dan Arnold  (Bear Creek)

       “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.”

                    –Romans 5:15 (NKJV)
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Remember, yesterday I wrote that there were two songs that had been going through my mind.  Today, as I plan to send you into the weekend with a song in your heart, if not on your lips and mind, is the second one.  I really don’t know how I know the song.  I looked through both of the hymnbooks that our church used when I was a kid and it is not in either of them.  The song rings forth with some glorious truths.  Contemplate them as you read.

          “He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
          He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
          To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
          To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.”

The song was written by Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932).  She was orphaned at age six and was raised by the Flints.  After going to school she became a teacher but was diagnosed with severe arthritis and within five years was unable to help herself and confined to a wheelchair.  If anyone was afflicted it was her and I can imagine her writing this hymn for herself.

          “When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
          When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
          When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
          Our Father’s full giving is only begun.”

The Father has said in Jeremiah 31:3 that He has loved us with an everlasting love.  It is important that we get that etched deep into our hearts and minds, for there may come a time when the burden gets too heavy to carry.  There may be a time when we don’t “feel” the love of the Father.  There are times in our lives when we are exhausted, perhaps to physical exertion and it has pushed us to our limit.  Perhaps it is emotional and mental exhaustion caused by stress, work, family, finances, or other events.  Then, hear me, then realize the truth of the words of James, “But He gives more grace….” (James 4:6)  How much more?  As much as is needed.

          “Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
          Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
          Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
          The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.”

The Lord will uphold you in the midst of your trials no matter what they are.  He is dependable; He is faithful.  When you are exhausted, He is not even moved toward tiredness.  When you cannot take another step, reach out and feel His arm holding you up.  He is our heavenly Father, and He is there to help, to lend a hand, to carry if needed.  Paul writes, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Corinthians 12:9)  He will multiply His grace to us as we need it.

          “His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
          His power no boundary known unto men;
          For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
          He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.”

WOW!  More and more I realize that I need God’s grace.  A day cannot go by when I don’t realize that it is only the grace of God that gets me through.  Heaven is waiting, but it is only through His grace and think of it–He continues to give and give and give–there is no measure to the end of His grace.  So do not be overwhelmed by your difficulty, or by the terror that you see in the world.  God’s grace is able to keep you; God’s grace will keep you.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

In the solemn grandeur of the open she felt the omnipotence of God and the spell of nature.”

                    –Charles A. Seltzer  (The Range Boss)

       “And God will wipe every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
                    –Revelation 21:4 (NKJV)
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Get out of the mulligrubs if you’re in them.  Let the joy of the Lord fill your soul and mind.  It’s been a while since I’ve shared a “hymn at midnight” with you.  For the past couple of weeks a couple of songs have been going through my mind when I wake up at night.  I have found it to be a real blessing from the Holy Spirit that when I wake in the night a song fills my mind.  This hymn was written by W. A. Ogden in 1887.  Let the words and if you know the tune refresh you today.

          “‘Tis the grandest them ‘thro’ the ages rung;
          ‘Tis the grandest theme for a mortal tongue;
          ‘Tis the grandest theme that the world e’er sung,
          ‘Our God is able to deliver thee.'”

You may recall the words of this song taken from the lips of the three Hebrews when they stood before Nebuchadnezzar.  “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.”  (Daniel 3:16-17, NKJV).  Perhaps we do not have the audacity to state our position before God, if that is so, what is the reason?  Our God is surely able to deliver us from any pestilence or peril that the devil may throw at us.

          “‘Tis the grandest theme in the earth or main;
          ‘Tis the grandest theme for a mortal tongue;
          ‘This the grandest theme, tell the world again,
          ‘Our God is able to deliver thee.'”

In the midst of the storm–He is able.  In the terror of the battle–He is able.  Through the fiercest pestilence–He is able.  Then the tempest of temptation raises its ugly head–He is able.  Ah, but what if His sovereign will does not deliver?  What if He decides it is time to bring you home?  What if there is a deeper purpose for the situation in which you find yourself?  Can you finish the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:18, NKJV)

          “‘Tis the grandest theme, let the tidings roll,
          To the guilty heart, to the sinful soul;
          Look to God in faith, He will make thee whole,
          ‘Our God is able to deliver thee.'”

Faith is the key.  In the turmoil of daily life faith in God is the key.  It is the key to eternal life, “For we are saved by grace through faith.” (Ephesians 2:8)  We walk through this life in faith.  It is faith that presents the “grandest theme.”  Through faith our God is able to deliver thee.  Remember, “without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Hebrews 11:6)  Faith is what takes us through the storms; faith takes us through the midst of the sea.  Faith keeps us in the midst of the lions and faith allows us to sing in the depths of the deepest dungeon.

                    “He is able to deliver thee,
                    He is able to deliver thee;
                    Tho’ by sin opprest,
                    Go to Him for rest;
                    ‘Our God is able to deliver thee.”

Make that your theme this morning and go out into the world in faith–in victory–with a joyful heart.