Month: April 2025

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on
The laws of nature only apply to God’s creation; they do not apply to the Creator.”
                    –Ken Pratt  (Legacies of Spring) 

       “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

                    –Philippians 4:6 (NKJV)
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     Where are you God?  Why don’t you answer me?  Oh, then we give the trite answer, “He does.  He’s just saying, ‘No’.”  But wait…hold on, God does not always speak.
 
               “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?  Even cry out to You, ‘Violence!’  And You will not save.”   –Habakkuk 1:2, NKJV
 
The prophet cries, “why are You not hearing me?”  The CEV translates it this way, “Our Lord, how long must I beg for your help before you listen?”  Why is God not doing something?  Why is He not listening?  Ah, but He is.
     First of all, this is not a treatise on prayer.  There are so many of them out there:  how to pray, what method to use, what type of prayer, specialty prayers (i.e., Jabez).  This is just a simple comment regarding the prayer of Habakkuk the prophet.  It seems that he must have been praying in anguish for some time.  Nothing from God.  Listen!  God does not always answer our prayers.  I will not go into detail at this time on that but one example is when Peter states that a husband’s prayer for his wife may be hindered if they are not considerate and do not respect them.  Prayers are hindered because of inconsistency, a lack of faith, bad relationships, sin, and James reminds us that we do not receive because we “pray amiss,” or as the NIV translates it, “When you ask you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3)  On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34, NIV).  God did not answer His Son.  So pause for a moment when you think that God is not hearing or answering.
     However, know this–God is active!  God is there!  Nothing is done by chance in this world, or in your life without His approval and knowledge.  Oh, we may sin, fall short of His glory, but He allows it, oh, and that may be a reason we don’t have an answer to our prayers, we have to get back in the right relationship with Him.  Understand this, “Prayer is not bending God’s will to ours, but surrendering to His will.” (Christopher P. David)  Look at verse 5:  “Look among the nations and watch–be utterly astounded!  For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you.” (Habakkuk 1:5, NKJV)  Hmmm, in other words, if God would have told him, he wouldn’t have believed it anyway.
     Following verse 5, God reveals to Habakkuk what is going to take place.  He doesn’t explain, but He does reveal.  Note that God’s response to Habakkuk’s prayer was totally different than what he expected or wanted.  I would assume that Habakkuk would want a revival, would want God to continue to protect the people, but it turned out quite differently.  See, when we pray, we know the kind of answer we want.  Habakkuk, the prophet, was no different.   Many times when a prayer is answered, not in the way we want, we will say that God did not answer our prayer, but in reality He did not answer it the way we wanted it answered.  Peter C. Craigie gives a little light on this, “We perceive the problem in a limited way and so we also presuppose the answer in a limited way.”  Remember, our ways and thoughts are not His!
     One more nugget before leaving for today.  Even though God was silent, Habakkuk still prayed.  Even though God seemed to not be answering, the prophet still entreated Him.  Prayer is not something we go to God for Him to pull out something from His goody-bag.  Prayer, (without ceasing) is communication with a Friend, with our Savior, with the Almighty God!   As Christopher David puts it, “The silence of God did not shake Habakkuk’s faith.”  And it should not shake ours.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

He knew it would take some time and considerable experience before his confidence would become competence.”
                    –B.N. Rundell  (Journey to Jeopardy)

       “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.”
                    –Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV)
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     We turn our attention again this morning to Proverbs 3:21-26.  Our attention, our focus, our minds must continually be on the Word of God.  I like the words of J. Vernon McGee, “How wonderful it is to discover that the truth of God will hold us–it is not that you and I hold the truth, but the truth will hold us.”  No matter what life throws at us, no matter the darts the devil hurls our way, we can be confident that we are in God’s hands and we live in confidence and assurance of His truth.  F.B. Meyer wrote, “Learn the security of life which is built on the eternal principles of this book.”  The Word of God–the Bible–shows us the way to live and gives us the hope of His keeping power.  God is there, with us, never fear or dread the walk the path of faith.  Life can be a burden, especially without the Lord.  However, “Life is less of a burden when we realize that God will be there.” (Dan Dick)
     When we walk in the way that the Lord has for us we can be assured that He is there with us.  In fact, we have the assurance that He is also walking in front of us.  His Word lights our path, and His wisdom takes away our blindness.  We can see the way to go, the obstacles on the path, the problems that may come our way and then meet them in confidence.  Bob Beasley says, “Our confidence in God’s providence should take away our sleepless nights of worry anxiety because during waking hours we are confident of His tender care.”  Michael Jermin gives us some light on this assurance, “Surely the way to sleep quietly in this world is to be asleep to the world.”  I recall the following story of Peter:

            And when Herod was about to bring him [Peter] out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.  Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!”
                     –Acts 12:6-7 (NKJV)

Look at this.  Peter is sound asleep.  Perhaps he remembered how Jesus slept in the boat when the storm was raging on the Sea of Galilee.  He may have learned that lesson well.  He was sleeping so soundly that the angel had to strike him on the side.  “Get up!”
     Verse 25 tells us not to be afraid of any sudden disaster or terror that may arise.  In other words, don’t be afraid of the next minute.  God is there.  God is there to see us through any and all crises.  I can remember several times when sudden disaster was averted by the Lord.  He, whether by angels or His outstretched arm, kept us many times when there seemed to be no way out.  F.B. Meyer wrote, “Life has no fear.  Its repose is unbroken by alarm.  It is at peace with itself, with man, and with God.”
     A ship, when it enters a harbor, must have a pilot to guide it.  The captain of the vessel does not know all the dangers that lie in the harbor.  A pilot must take over the ship to steer it through the channel.  Along with that, there are the additional tugboats to make sure the large vessel does not vary its course.  It is not “full speed ahead” but a slow maneuvering through the channel.  When we find ourselves along the way and it seems that we can no longer trust ourselves to guide us through, we have the confidence of the great Pilot standing at the helm, taking over in our lack of knowledge, and we trust Him to guide us through.  We have the general knowledge of navigating the ship, but we need the wisdom of the Spirit, the Pilot, to guide us through the narrow channel to safely dock.
     Friend in all of this, have confidence and hope in the Lord.  Listen!  None of our actions go unnoticed by God.  He is there to see us through to safety.  On this way that we travel there are all kinds of snares and traps laid by the enemy, there are the forces of nature to tend, and yet, we can go through life with the assurance and peace that God is there–always there–to guide us.  Therefore, I say again–Trust Him!

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

They found that they were able to trust the promise of the future.”
                    –Zachary McCrae  (Christmas Under Siege)

       “We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.  It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves.  Our only power and success come from God.”
                    –2 Corinthians 3:4-5 (NLT)
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     God takes care of us in the ordinary events of life, as well as when adversity enters the picture.  He not only directs our path, He protects our path.  We see this as we continue studying Proverbs 3.

          21 — My son, let them not depart from your eyes–keep sound wisdom and discretion;
          22 — So they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck.
          23 — Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble.
          24 — When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
          25 — Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;
          26 — For the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.  (NKJV)
(ESV)
          21 — My son, do not lose sight of these–keep sound wisdom and discretion,
          22 — and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.
          23 — Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.
          24 — If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

     Sound wisdom, something that is greatly lacking in our world today.  It conveys the idea of “something stable,” something that will stand the storms of adversity.  Going our own way is dangerous; to do our own thing is actually tempting God.  It implies that we are greater, wiser, smarter, and more knowledgeable than He is.  Rejecting God’s wisdom is perilous; therefore, we must not let selfish plans impede our progress.  Yet at the same time, when we are directed by God we should be thinking His thoughts.  F.B. Meyer said, “We are made in the image of God, our minds are able to appreciate His mind, and we think over again the thoughts of God.”  We are to think His thoughts, remind ourselves of them, focus on them, and then think them again.
     To think the thoughts of God we must know them.  Life and grace come through studying the Word of God.  We are to cleave unto the Lord–hang on to the promises of God; live in obedience to His Word.  Again, to do this we must know His Word.  We are reminded of this in the Book of Revelation, where John writes, “But hold fast what you have till I come.” (2:25, NKJV)  Hold fast–to the truth of God’s Word; do not give in to any and every whim of doctrine that floats your way–and there are many.
     I am reminded of a ship’s captain out on the open sea.  He does not go by his feelings or by what he thinks is the right way.  No, he consults a compass to keep him on course.  His travel must always align with the compass with no deviation.  He doesn’t consult it just once on the voyage, but is continually looking at it to make sure that he is on course.  My uncle used to fly for a weather company, and they would fly into hurricanes to record data.  He told me that when in the midst of the storm, the only thing they could trust was their instruments–the compass.  Without that they would get lost in the swirling, howling winds.
     This goes back to trust.  I am so thankful that I was taught to simply trust in the Lord.  It was something we did, not something we had to stop and think about.  I often think that perhaps I take the protection and guidance of the Lord for granted, then I have to remind myself–no, that’s the way of life.  We are to trust that God is with us, always and everywhere, then we trust that He will help us make good choices that are according to His will; and finally, we trust that even if we make a mistake, He will bring good from it.
     Tomorrow, we will finish looking at this portion of Proverbs–hang on, and Trust in the Lord!

 

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work.  That is why they are here!  No one will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the future.”
–Ecclesiastes 3:22, NLT
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     He fired!  Too quickly.  I had learned through many years of experience to make the first shot count–which I did.  My return shot hit him, but I couldn’t tell where.  My second shot found its mark on his lower left side.  The man sagged, eyes glaring to the floor of the wooden porch.  With the shots I looked around, but guns fired in Silverton was not a big thing.  
     The door opened and Doc Minton hollered out, “What in tarnation….”  Then he looked down to see the body on the porch.  I moved his direction as he stooped down to examine the body.  “Here, help me get him inside.”
     Holstering my pistol, I set the Greener by the front door and helped the doctor lift the man into his office.  The man was moaning as I turned to retrieve my shotgun leaving the doctor with him.  Upon my return I heard the man in whispered voice, “I don’t want to die.  Help me…”
     “Son, I won’t lie to you.  You’re in bad shape and there’s not much I can do for you,” replied Doc Minton.
     I looked at the man who I could see was a bloody mess.  The doctor looked at me, shaking his head.  “That one bullet hit his gun, taking the hammer off making it a piece of shrapnel tearing into his chest,” he informed me.  “The second one, well, you know what it did.”
     The man was trying to talk, but words were not coming out.  Finally, he put a hand to the pocket on his shirt.  “My mother’s address, tell her that, that, I died a good man.  She doesn’t know that I went to the bad.”
     “Listen,” I leaned forward hoping that he could hear me, “if you’re not right with the Lord you best be doin’ it quick.”
     “Let him die in peace, for goodness sake!” exclaimed the doctor.  
     Not taking my eyes from the dying man, I simply stated, “That’s what I’m tryin’ to do.”  He was a young man, not more than twenty, if that.  “Ask Jesus to save you, then you can go in peace.”
     He reached up, gripping me by his good hand, eyes widening.  “Really, that’s all…”
     “That’s all,” and upon saying that, there was the hint of a smile on his face and then the light of life went from him.
     “What are you?” snapped the doctor with bitterness in his voice. “A preacher or a lawdog?  Is that how you get your peace, shoot them then try to save them?”
     I took the hand from the man grasping onto my jacket and lowered it to his chest.  “Doc, I take no joy in takin’ the life of anyone.  I take even less joy in knowin’ that I might send them to their Maker unprepared to meet Him.”  Straightening up, I asked.  “Do you know him?”
     The doctor shook his head, then started going through the man’s pockets.  He found the letter in the pocket addressed to a Mrs. Doris Wingate of Canton, Ohio.   He glanced at the letter inside, looking first to the signature.  It read, “Your darling son, Colin.”
     “Colin Wingate?” I questioned in a solemn tone.
     I wasn’t expecting an answer, so I turned to go back to my duty.  “I’ll be back, see if you can gain some information about the man.  If you don’t want to write the letter to his mother I will.”
     The doctor muttered something I couldn’t make out, then said.  “If you’re going after McGinnis, he won’t be as easy as this.”
     I nodded, gave a slight smile and answered, “Most likely not.”  Then walked to the door.  “I’m sorry to say, but you need to be expectin’ more business,” and with that I walked on out to only what the Lord knows.