Month: March 2026

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
Don’t be quick-tempered, for anger is the friend of fools.”  –Ecclesiastes 7:9 (NLT)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
     What is that arguing?  Well, it’s not really an argument, just a whiny, shrieking voice simmering over a command given to him.  I’m lost, I don’t understand.  Then I heard a scream, and I recognized the sound of that voice.  It had, thankfully, been a couple of years since I had heard it.  The smell came to me, causing me to retch.  It was the enemy trying to take my soul one more time.  Then a calmness came over me as He walked over to me.  Smiling, I felt His hand on my brow, and my restlessness and ftifulness stopped.
     “Papa, he’s coming to.  Look, his eyelids are fluttering.”
     When I opened my eyes I saw a young girl touching my forehead with a cool, soft hand.  She smiled down at me.  I started to sit up, but she put her other hand on my shoulder, “Shhh, rest easy.  My Papa is here to take care of you.”
     I tried to lick my lips, I was so thirsty, but couldn’t.  Slowly I lifted my hand to touch my lips with my fingers, hoping she could see the pleading in my eyes.
     “Britta,” I heard a husky voice speak to her.  “He is thirsty, fetch him some water.  I will watch over him.”
     The hand left my brow, which I disliked, then I looked upward to see a stout man with a light-colored yet full beard, and intense blue eyes looking down at me.  “Ja, good, you are awake.  Hurry, child, he is thirsty, I’m a-betting.”
     I tried to lift my head and the pain hit me in a swirl.  I had to grit my teeth trying hard not to pass out.  I wanted that water.  “Easy, easy, you have a nasty wound on your huvud.”  He moved behind me then to lift me from my shoulders while the young girl brought a cup to my lips.  I slobbered at it trying to get it all in my mouth at one time.  
     “No!” she ordered.  “Drink slowly or I will give it to you in a spoon.”
     I smiled and winked, causing her to smile.  She brought the cup back to my lips.  This time I did what she told me.  I didn’t want her to remove that refreshing liquid from my mouth.
     A sigh came from me when I emptied the cup.  “I will get you some more in a minute,” she said in a tender manner, the smile never leaving her face.  It was then I saw the same deep blue eyes that were on the man.
     “Where am I?” I asked in a low sounding voice.  
     The man had put a rolled up blanket behind my shoulders to keep me sitting up.  He then moved the girl aside.  “I am Anders Jorgensen.  My son, Axel, and I were returning from town when we heard a shot.  Coming over the rise we saw a body lying on the ground next to a horse,” he stopped to smile, then continued.  “That body was you.  There was a man on horseback aiming a rifle at you.  Axel shot in the air, the man looked our direction then turned his horse in a gallop to the west.”
     “Did you see what he looked like?”
     “No, there was only a glimpse of his face, and he was in a heavy coat.  Only thing was that he was riding a fine palomino,” came his reply.  “You rest, my hustra, uh, my wife is preparing some soup.  You will eat soon, then we talk some more.  Britta, some more water.”
     After drinking another cup, I was feeling much better but I had a severe headache.  “Mor cleaned your wound, it was bleeding quite badly.”  She chuckled, “Mor said you must have a hard huvud–head.”
     I smiled, “That and the good Lord was lookin’ after me.”
     Her eyes widened…

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

It is his first reaction, to build a fire, to give himself the security and comfort that a fire symbolizes.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (How the West Was Won)

       “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.”
                    –2 Corinthians 1:3 (NLT)
————————————–
          “Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].”  –Matthew 5:4 (Amplified)

     For the last few weeks we have looked at what it means to mourn.  We all can relate to that, if not in the real sense, certainly in the spiritual.  If we have been born again, we have recognized the sorrow over our sins and the need of a Savior.  Cleansing of our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ is the first step to spiritual comfort.  That comfort comes from the free forgiveness of God when we confess our sins and our need for Him.  Then in turn, we feel the consolation and encouragement that makes our spirit smile.  The guilt and burden that we once carried, that heavy and convicted conscience that we had are now free and lifted.  We have the assurance that Jesus’ blood cleanses us from all sin.  We read in 1 John, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1:7, NKJV)  Get that!  “ALL sin” is removed, we are spotless in the sight of God.
     Yes, we have partaken of the justice and the holiness of God by accepting the death of Christ, and then we have received His mercy and grace as we come to Him asking for forgiveness of our sins.  But know this, that we should “Thank the Lord for His patient pursuit of you and for undeserved comfort of forgiveness.” (John Stott)  We didn’t deserve His forgiveness or His grace or His mercy, but He loved us so much that He accepted us because of the blood of Christ.  That should bring great comfort to our soul.
     Have you noticed the paradox?  Weeping brings comfort; forgiveness brings comfort, repentance brings comfort because the burden of guilt and our sin is lifted.  Paul writes, “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” (2 Corinthians 6:10, NKJV)  We read in the Psalms, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” (30:5, NKJV)  Get it?  “Sorrow for sin ushers in joy.” (Thomas Watson)  I don’t understand, but I fully accept the plan of God and the work of Christ.  William Barclay said paraphrasing this verse, “O the bliss of the man whose heart is broken for the world’s suffering and for his own sin, for out of his sorrow he will find the joy of God!”
     There is great comfort in the knowledge of sins forgiven.  There is great comfort in knowing that He has a place reserved for us at the table and a home in heaven.  Let your soul be comforted, grasp the words from Isaiah 40:1, “‘Comfort, yes, comfort My people!’  Says your God.” (NKJV)  Charles Wesley, the great writer of hymns put it this way:

               “He speaks and listening to His voice
               New life the dead receive,
               The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
               The humble poor believe.”

      In our rejoicing we must not forget the purpose of the Holy Spirit after we repent.  He is the “Parakletos” — the Comforter.  We read in John, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” (14:16, KJV)  Other versions use “Helper,” “Advocate,” “Counselor”, but I like the concept that when we mourn, when we groan those prayers that we don’t know what to utter and say, that we have the Spirit of God to intercede and to comfort us in those moments.

               “O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,
               Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
               Let ev’ry Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
               The Comforter has come!”
                         –Francis Bottoms