Month: January 2024

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

This was a savage land, a lonely land, yet here the foundations of our homes would be laid… We accepted the danger but took no unnecessary risk. It is a fool who invites trouble, a child who is reckless, for life holds risks enough without reaching out for more.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Bendigo Shafter)

       “And why should I live a life of such hourly danger? I assure you, by the certainty of Jesus Christ that we possess, that I face death every day of my life!”

                    –1 Corinthians 15:29-30 (Phillips)
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Welcome back to our study in the Psalms for the year 2024.  This portion of Psalm 107 is a good way to start.  Perhaps you had a rough year; a year of despair, depression, and gloom.  That’s where we find ourselves at the beginning of this section.  The people had sat in darkness; they were prisoners in a foreign land, held in bondage–the reason, they rebelled against the words of God.

          10 — Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons–
          11 — Because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High,
          12 — Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help.
          13 — Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.
          14 — He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces.
          15 — Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
          16 — For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two.
          17 — Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
          18 — Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
          19 — Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.
          20 — He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
          21 — Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
          22 — Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.  (NKJV)

     When the people cried out to the Lord, He heard them and released them from their hard labor.  They were encouraged to give thanks unto the Lord.   Know that God delivers those who come to Him with a humble and repentant heart.  Note, that He will always deliver, but then remember it may be instantaneous or it may be over a period of time.  It may take time for us to have a renewing of our mind and not say words of repentance, but actually mean them from the heart.
     Verses 15 and 21 tell us a couple of things.  At first glance it seems that it is a plea by the psalmist.  He is wanting them to give thanks for the Lord is good.  He encourages them to remember where they were now compared to the depths of despair from which He brought them.  “They grew near to the gates of death” is taken from the Hebrew word meaning “shachah” which means “to fall down in troubles, to sink down in despair, to bow down.”  (Steven Lawson)  When God lifted them up they should have hearts that overflow with thanksgiving.  Their heart should flow with joy.
     One more note, in verse 17 there is the word “fools.”  “This word does not refer primarily to someone of low intelligence or someone who is ignorant, but rather it refers to someone who is willfully perverse, choosing to adopt destructive behaviors and lifestyles.” (William Peterson)  Go to the book of Proverbs for a good study of what a fool is and does.  Check back on the notes I wrote regarding “How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World.”  There are many actions of fools, but they all stem from choosing to disregard the Word of the Lord.

               “Long my imprisoned spirit lay
               Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
               Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
               I woke–the dungeon flamed with light!
               My chains fell off, my heart was free,
               I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”
                          –Charles Wesley

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

They drank their coffee, the wind down the arroyo grew chill.  He added wood to the fire, going out into the darkness for branches or roots of dried mesquite and creosote.”                                 –Louis L’Amour  (Kid Rodelo)

 
“Oh, the wayward wind is a restless wind…ohhhh,…”  Mornin’ to yuh Pard.  Man, I haven’t seen yuh since last year.  Hmmm, added a few pounds to yur girth did yuh?  Well, let me tell yuh I have diet coffee jist waitin’ for yuh.  Yep, no sugar, no honey, nothin’ sweet ‘ceptin’ my smile.  Jist the hot, strong, black brew of coffee.  Ha, fact is, I’ve never heard of “diet coffee” but who knows.
       I’ve been sittin’ here, philosophyzin’ while waitin’ for yuh to show up.  With the new year upon us, I wonder which way the wind will blow.  Most likely there’ll be some hard blasts that’ll show up this year, but mostly it’ll be a breeze rustlin’ through the tops of the trees.  Go ahead, drink that brew whilst I talk.  Yuh know that there’s plenty of folk out there jist wanderin’ like that restless wind.  They have no clue as to purpose or eternity.  They go where the wind blows them, whim by whim.  They listen to the lies of the media, graspin’ for hope that is eludin’.
       ‘Cuse me a minute while I take a swaller or two.  Ahh, got to wet the tonsils and make the innards smile.  Now, back to what I was a-sayin’, there is another wind.  A mysterious wind.   We don’t know where it comes from ‘cept from the portals of glory.  This winds moves throughout the earth, blowin’ this way and that, touchin’ whomever.  We don’t know where that wind is goin’ either, ‘cept back to the place from when it came–heaven.  Pard, we need to move along with that “wind” for it is the Holy Spirit leadin’ us.
       Now, I’m no scholar, so let me give it to yuh straight from that long ago wanderer, “The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is goin’.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8, NIV).  Pard, let the wind blow yuh where He pleases this year.  Don’t yuh be tryin’ to ride against the wind, for that’s futile.  
       Yep, Pard, let that wind, blow the aroma of fresh coffee to yur nostrils, take a drink, but don’t linger if the wind is tryin’ to move yuh along.  Right now, let’s finish this pot, so’s we can get goin’ with the obligations of the day.  Pard, with those added pounds to yur girth, be sure and check that cinch for if’n yuh fall the landin’ will be a sight harder.
        Vaya con Dios.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

We often value the wrong things. We can spend our lives working to surround ourselves with things that don’t matter. We can sacrifice the things that do matter, to gain those things that don’t.”
                    –Dan Arnold  (Bear Creek)

       “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

                    –1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)
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                    “Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.”
                               –Jonathan Edwards

RESOLUTION!  Stop the nonsense about making resolutions.  It is serious business!  Either we make them or we don’t, but it is nothing to be taken lightly.  Someone said that a resolution is a “to do” list for the first week in January.  Nonsense!  A to do list is something that needs to be accomplished and then when it is done it is crossed off.   It is not for one day or for a week, but in reality it is for a lifetime.  I have heard it said that a resolution is made to be broken.  Nonsense!  That is like saying I haven’t broken the law if I don’t get caught.  Some people say that they don’t make resolutions because they know they can’t keep them.  Okay, at least they do not make them in the first place, but that seems to be a lame excuse.
       RESOLUTION: (from the Oxford Dictionary)
               1)  a firm decision to do or not to do something.  
               2)  the quality of being determined.
We see here that a resolution involves determination, purpose, intention, decision, and resolve.  It is not tip-toeing through the tulips; it is a definite march in whatever endeavor or decision that has been made.  It is not a flippant phrase, but a determined effort to get something accomplished.
       Most resolutions that are made are first of all hastily made.  They are not thought through.

                “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it–lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?”
                         –Luke 14:27-31 (NKJV)

Second, most resolutions deal with exercise, diet, losing weight, stopping some habit or forming one.  These are not wrong, in fact, they can be very good.  However, these are things that are not quite as weighty as what Luke was speaking of.  Yet, at the same time, they take resolve, they take discipline and determination to accomplish.  As I said earlier, resolutions are not flippantly made.  They take consideration.
       David was resolved when he stood in front of Goliath.  He did not waver; he did not back down.  He was determined and had faith in God to see through the battle.  One of the greatest resolution statements in the Bible are the words of Joshua, “…But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15, NKJV)  Nothing was going to deter him from making sure he and his family were serving God.  Paul resolved that “in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11, NKJV).   These are but a small example of those who made firm resolutions before the Lord.  In fact, go back to Luke 14.  The verse just before the ones above speaks of definite resolution to follow Christ.  “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27, NKJV)
       Should we not be resolute in fixing our eyes upon Jesus in the coming year?  Should we not determine that our steps are to be guided by the Holy Spirit?  Should we not discipline ourselves so that we are not castaway?  Should we not seek to be more like Him?  Should we not take more earnest heed to our walk, and should we not be looking for His soon return?  Should we not be redeeming the time because the days are evil?  I would ask you again, before making a flippant resolution, or joke about making a resolution to think again.  Think of our Lord, hasn’t He made resolutions regarding us?  Isn’t He faithful to His word?  He resolves to fulfill His promises.  He is committed to His children.  Thank the Lord that He is resolved to “give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:29-30, NKJV).

               “I am determined, I’ve made up my mind,
               I’ll serve the Lord.
               I’ve left the pleasures of this world behind,
               I’ll serve the Lord…”
                      –unknown

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Sometimes you have to get through today the best you can and trust tomorrow to the Lord.”   
                         –Elmer Kelton  (Badger Boy)

       “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
                         –Ephesians 3:20(NKJV)
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               “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
                         –Hebrews 7:25(NKJV)

There is a hymn that we sing quite often at our church when it is altar time.  It is primarily a song of invitation for sinners to come to Christ, but I want to look from a different perspective the chorus of the song.

               “Only trust Him, only trust Him, only trust Him now;
               He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now.”
                         –John H. Stockton

Yes, it is definitely a call to salvation, but keep in mind the above verse.  “He is able to save to the uttermost.”  We are saved when we come to Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, but what about life?  Does life interfere with our walk, or does He truly indeed “save to the uttermost”?
       After salvation we are kept by the Holy Spirit.  It is a part of salvation, it is the keeping power of that work.  We are saved not only for that moment in time, but throughout our lives as we walk with the Lord.  Salvation to the uttermost–not only saved from the wages of sin which is death, but saved from the chains and bondage of sin.  He is faithful as we try to be faithful.  Someone said that to the uttermost means that, “Virtues will grow where once the lusts were so deeply rooted.”  This part of salvation (call it sanctification, if you wish) is not the work of a moment, but a lifelong process.  
       Most of us have had moment(s) of being saved from something.  Perhaps a serious car accident, maybe a deadly illness we were confronted with.  Saved by the hand of the Lord is the only way to explain it.  Only trust Him to save you now.  I can point to several instances in my life where the Lord saved me from a grave situation.  So not only are we saved for eternity, but throughout our life we are being saved from one calamity or circumstance to another.
       There was a song written a few years back by Pat Alger and made popular by Garth Brooks, “Unanswered Prayers.”  In that song there is the phrase, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”  Many times we pray amiss.  We pray selfishly, and often not really meaning to, but not seeing the complete picture.  God is omniscient, He sees the future and the path that might be.  We might complain, we try to persuade God that we know better, and many times we do not listen to His direction. . . but then He saves us from who knows what by an unanswered prayer.
       He saves us when we are weak, when we are in despair, when we are downcast and low in spirit.  Remember the words He spoke to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you…” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Sufficient to bear this torment in the flesh, sufficient to bear this burden on your mind, sufficient to bear this weight on your spirit, sufficient to bear this perplexity in your emotions.  “Only trust Him!”  When do we trust?  Now!   In whatever situation you find yourself, know that God is there with you.  “In the past we are saved from the penalty of sin; in the present we are being saved from the power of sin; and in the future we will be saved from the presence of sin.”