Month: October 2024

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
I went up to saddle Star, then would head down to see Moses Vexler at the livery.  He should know if Martin left town or not, at least if he took a horse from the livery.  He was outside filling up the trough when I rode up.  
     “Figured you’d be by sooner or later,” he muttered standing up still holding the bucket.
     He didn’t say anything more, so I jumped right in.  “Amos Martin been by?”
     “Yep.”
     “Did he happen to say where he was goin’?”
     “Nope”
     “And you don’t know?  Am I right?”
     He smiled, spat a mouthful of tobacco juice on the ground.  “Nope, I know.”
     “Moses, don’t make me get off my horse and thump you.  Tell me!”  I exclaimed, getting a little exasperated.
     Chuckling, he remarked, “He went off to get his daughter and bring her back.”
     “How’d he know where she was?” I questioned to which I received a shrug.
     “Get on down, I want to show yuh something anyway.”  He then started walking toward the corral gate.  I did as requested and followed after him.  Opening the gate, he stooped down and motioned for me to join him.  “See that?” he pointed to a hoof print.  “That’s the horse Martin’s ridin’.”
     I reached out to touch the print as if it would help seal it in my brain.  Then I looked at Moses, smiled and nodded.
     “Cost yuh a dollar for that information,” he said jokingly to which I completely ignored him and mounted Star again.  Tipping my hat, I had another stop to make before starting out on the trail.  Just before I turned Star, Moses hollered, “Oh, by the way, he headed south!”
     I waved then headed down the street towards the diner.  Loosely tying Star to the hitching rail, I walked in to see a commotion at my table.  Molly, Charlie, Mateo, Father Cisneros and a woman were all there.  The woman was sobbing, and speaking so fast I couldn’t catch a word.  She kept repeating “apenado” over and over.
     Mateo saw me enter and motioned for me to stand by him.  He whispered as Molly and the Padre were trying to console the woman.  “This is Camila Vasquez,” he informed me, with a frown on his face.  “She told Martin where Agatha and Javier were living.”
     Camila glanced to where I was standing, then started outright bawling.  “Por favor, Senor, lo siento, por favor perdoname.”  Father Cisneros stepped away from the hysterical woman to join me with Mateo.  “Marshal Forrest,” he began and I could tell he was in distress.  “Camila is part of my flock,” he paused to look at her, the crying now turning to heaving sobs.  “She was afraid for my life,” he paused again.  “You may recognize her as she was one of my nurses.  She overheard us talking one time and sent a message to Mr. Martin.”
     “She thinks you’re going to throw her in jail,” offered Mateo.
     “Can either of you assure her that she’s not goin’ to jail, an’ that I understand why she did it?” 
     Father Cisneros went back to her and while he was talking with her I motioned to Molly to come see me.  “I need some food for the trail.  Make it a couple of days, if I’m out longer than that, I’ll get something somewhere.”
     Mateo came over to join us.  “It shouldn’t take me long to track him.  Moses showed a shoe the horse was wearing.  As long as there’s not any bad weather I can easily follow it.”
     “Get yourself a cup of coffee while I throw you a lunch together and a bag of food to take along,” she ordered then headed for the kitchen. 
     A few seconds after entering the kitchen, Emelda emerged to come to Camila.  It seemed she knew the woman and began to speak softly to her.  After I poured a cup of coffee I saw Camila look my way.  I gave her a smile and a nod to which she partially smiled.  Father Cisneros was nodding his head in approval.
     Thirty minutes later Star and I were on our way after Martin.  Such a stubborn fool.  What was it the Lord said in His Word, “Stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”?

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Life comes at you catty-corner sometimes and knocks you into a whole new country.”

                    –John Deacon  (A Man Called Justice)

       “O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?”
                    –Deuteronomy 3:24(NKJV)
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          6 — Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
          7 — Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
          8 — Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.  (NKJV)

Psalm 124 is portioned with the Psalms of Ascent, but many believe it was written by David and then used by pilgrims on their journey to Jerusalem.  David may have felt like he was trapped and was about to be torn apart.  It was an earnest plea from David for help, and he always knew where the help would come from.  Alexander Maclaren writes, “One thought runs through it all, that the sole actor in their deliverance has been Jehovah.  No human arm has been bared for them; no created might could have rescued them from the rush of the swelling deluge.”  G. Campbell Morgan adds to this, “Escape has always come by His action.”
     Here we see praise, “Blessed be the LORD…”.  Thanks be to God for He again has rescued us.  It would do us good to look back on our lives and see the many times that God has rescued us; the times He has intervened on our behalf.  As Francis Schaeffer says, “He is the God who is there!”  God is with us through the storms of life; He is with us in the thick and thin, in our going out and our coming in.  Someone has said that there are two pictures of what may trouble our soul:  Sometimes our troubles grind us to powder and sometimes our troubles capture us like a trap or snare.  But wait–God is there.  “Our help is in the name of the Lord!”
     We are not given as prey to the teeth of our enemy.  “God controls the jaws gripping you.  He won’t let them tear you apart.” (George Wood).  I remember long ago, I was riding my tricycle when I was attacked by a large german shepherd.  I was maybe four or a little younger.  I saw the dog run at me, but there was nothing I could do.  The dog tore up my face, and I have no recollection how I was rescued…that is, until I read this Psalm.  
     When studying for this psalm, I came across a story I would like to relate.  In 691 B.C., Sennacherib was in the process of capturing Judah and had trapped the king in the capital city “like a bird in a cage.”  The Assyrians surrounded Jerusalem, Hezekiah was caged, but then…Hezekiah prayed.  “The Bible says that the angel of the Lord came and decimated the Assyrian army.  The Greek historian Herodotus reports that a plague of field mice gnawed the bowstrings of the Assyrians soldiers.  Other historians say that the field mice may have started a bubonic plague among the soldiers…”  Whatever the actions, the Assyrian troops were gone by morning and the “caged bird” was released. (William J. Petersen)
     Why is it that people have so much trouble with the supernatural?  God delivered!  He is with His people, not only in the Old Testament times, not only in the time of the apostles, but right now–this very moment He is with us.  F.B. Meyer states, “All of the help of Omnipotence is pledged on the side of the weakest of the saints.  Lean back upon it and be strong.”  Our help is from the Lord–the God who is there!  I like the prayer of George Wood, “I am praying today that You will help me to realize I will not be gulped down, swept away, torn apart, or trapped by any of the dangers facing me.  You are stronger than all the terrors of the trail.  I’m going to make it because You’re not going to drop me”.

               “He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
               He sets the prisoner free;
               His blood can make the foulest clean;
               His blood availed for me.”
                        –Charles Wesley

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Rousting around, I got some sticks, some dead branches, and a few pieces of driftwood left from storms, and I made a fire. Then I put water on for coffee.”

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Lando)
 
Death, Devastation and Destruction…  Pard, these storms this year have done plenty of that ‘specially that last one.  My mercy!  A work of nature or the hand of God?  Pard, we do know that the Lord is in control of the winds and waves, is He tryin’ to send us a message?  If’n so are we a-listenin’?
     Saw where they’re usin’ mules and horses to get supplies up in the mountain areas.  An’ I reckon those new-fangled electric cars are doin’ their share of duty…ha, parked somewheres ’cause there ain’t no electricity.  What I don’t see is much help comin’ from Uncle Sam (i.e., Biden and Harris).  Convoy of Hope is on the scene as is Samaritan’s Purse, but…where’s?? I’m not a-talkin’ ’bout handouts, I’m talkin’ ’bout a helpin’ hand.   Do we need to discuss leadership here?  I remember the media crawlin’ all over President Bush durin’ Katrina, but no outcry this time.  See, the liberal politician is the media’s pet.
     Like ol’ Louis said, sometimes after the storm the best thing to do is put on the coffee, then survey the damage.  After that…begin the work and always, through all of it, be thankin’ the Lord.  One ol’ boy said the other day that “hard times are like a wild horse.  Ya can’t dodge ’em, so stay in the saddle and hold on ’til the critter wears out.”  If’n yuh get thrown, after yuh get back on yur feet, check yurself out.  Make sure there’s no permanent damage, then dust yurself off an’ get back to work.  Don’t be a-dependin’ on the bureaucrats to help yuh out.
     Pard, in the midst of the storms that come into our lives I’m reminded of the ol’ sage Charles Tindley who wrote, “When the storms of life are raging, stand by me…  When the world is tossing me like a ship upon the sea, Thou who rulest wind and water, stand by me”.  Hunker down, hold on, pull yurself together, and get back to fixin’ things up.  Be prayin’ for those an’ liftin’ them up before the Lord.  An’ don’t forget yurself Pard.  If’n yuh don’t check yur cinch, yuh just might wind up in the mud yur ownself.
     Vaya con Dios.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Everybody died. And that meant you had to make your life worth living.”
                   –John Deacon  (The Provider 2)

       “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.”

                   –Revelation 21:4 (HCSB)
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I apologize right from the beginning for a longer devotion, but I want to look this morning at another one of those mysterious Scriptures.  Dr. Bernard Rossier states, “Theologically, this is probably the most difficult pass in Ephesians to interpret.”  That being said, let’s take a look and see if we cannot glean a few things.

          8 — Therefore He says:  “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”
          9 — (Now this, “He ascended”–what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
        10 — He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)  (NKJV)

     One of the many views as to the interpretation of these verses is that Christ, as the conqueror, was leading those He conquered.  In ancient times it was customary to take foes conquered and make a public display of them while at the same time throwing gifts to the people.  He would ride in a chariot leading the conquered foes as captives.  (Lloyd-Jones)  There is much to discuss in this concept, but the short of it is that it would mean Jesus would be leading death, hell, and the grave.
     A second, major view is that Jesus “freed the multitudes of captives” (Rossier).  In this we have to be careful of not expounding, as some have, a “second chance theology” or an idea that there is salvation after death.  Jesus did not go and evangelize those in Hell (Gehenna).  This being said, the descent of Jesus was to Sheol, the place of the dead (Hades in the Greek).  We know that Jesus died, therefore we conclude that He went to Sheol.  This is not hell (Gehenna) the place of eternal punishment.

          “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”  –Psalm 16:10(NKJV)
          “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”  –Acts 2:27 (NKJV)

     To understand this better we need to look at Luke 16:19-26.  The rich man died and went to Hades (Sheol) as did the beggar Lazarus.  We see the rich man “tormented in this flame (16:24); while Lazarus was “carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom (16:22) which is often referred to as “Paradise.”  Recall also, the words Jesus spoke to the thief hanging on the cross next to Him, “…Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43, NKJV).  Somehow, some way–part of the mystery–there was a division in Hades (Sheol).  There was a place of comfort, and a place of torment.  There seems to be communication, both verbally and visually, between the souls that inhabit the two.  Abraham, though, informed the rich man, “…there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”  (16:26, NKJV)  
     Who were these captives then?  One writer said it was those “who awaited Jesus’ (the Messiah) sacrifice now would have access to heaven.”  Rossier states, “At that time the Lord apparently transferred paradise, or Abraham’s bosom, into heaven itself, so this accounts for the freeing of multitudes of captives.”  This is the promise believed by Old Testament saints, and possibly others.
     Imagine the scene.  Jesus walking through the corridors into the great hall of the dead, stopping first to see His friend, Abraham, who declares, “You were the ram–the sacrifice.”  Turning, He sees Moses, perhaps winking at Him, “remember the I AM of the bush that burned, now you can see me face-to-face.”  Abel, Noah, Daniel, and a host of others gather around.  Jesus puts His hand on the shoulder of Jonah, “now you understand the ordeal of the great fish.”  Looking at the crowd, seemingly able to see all of them at once, Jesus declares, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Revelation 1:18, NKJV)  And I will note that here Hades is more literally rendered, the “unseen realm.”
     David, somehow reaches the forefront and bows before the Lord and proclaims, “you are my Shepherd, and my throne is Yours.”  Others, possibly Naaman, Darius, Xerxes who would have been influenced by Esther, and Nebuchadnezzar to whom Jesus says, “remember the fourth Man in the furnace.”  Go ahead, add others to the scenario, make it real in your mind what might have taken place.
     WOW!  What a scene that must have been!  Jesus–the promise given, now fulfilled.  He grabs Abraham by the arm, waves at the others, “Come on, let’s go to the city made by My Father.”  In closing this somewhat speculative and lengthy devotion, let me point out perhaps another mystery that took place.  “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:52-52, NKJV).