Month: May 2026

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Small decisions can have a big impact for good on many peoples’ lives.”
                    –Troy C. Wagstaff  (.44 Caliber Preacher)

       “Who may climb the mountain of the LORD?  Who may stand in his holy place?  Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.”
                    –Psalm 24:3-4 (NLT)
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          “Blessed are the pure in heart:  for they shall see God.” — Matthew 5:8 (KJV)

Oh my, this is a tough one.  Ponder a minute before going on.  Pure in heart.  What does that mean?  Is my heart pure?  Oh my…  When we look at the meaning of the term “pure” it makes it even harder.  The Greek is katharos and it means clean, washed clean, purged of chaff, to drink unadulterated with water or metal with no tinge of alloy; it means to be entirely guileless; and the expression of inward purity is there–the quality of those who have been cleansed from moral defilement.  Thomas Watson states, “Morality does but wash a man, grace changes him.”  To continue, the word means “heart-rightness” rather than “rule-rightness”; singlemindedness with its reference pointing to sincerity.  “Freedom from defilement and divided affection,” states Arthur Pink, “it is sincerity, genuineness, and singleness of heart.
     Oh, Lord, how can I keep my heart pure?  I understand part of this, being cleaned and washed, for it is the blood of Christ, but then as I go through life I want to keep a pure heart.  If you have noticed in our study that the Beatitudes reflect a process of sanctification.  Our life is to be pure as John Stott relates, “The pure in heart have their whole lives, public and private, transparent before others.  Their very heart–including their thoughts and motives–is pure, unmixed with anything devious, ulterior, or base.”  See purity stands diametrically opposed to whatever defiles.  Read the rules of the tabernacle.  Yes, we are not under that law, but understand the reasoning behind those laws–purity.  Do not meet with God without having a pure heart.  “Blessed in the man whose motives are always entirely unmixed, for that man shall see God.” (William Barclay)  That is why Paul tells us that we can not be mixed with Belial, and John states that we cannot be part of the world system.  
     Let me remind you here that we are speaking of perfectionism.  If we tend to lean in that direction for sure legalism can seep in.  The Pharisees looked to external purity, forgetting the heart.  We are to look inwardly and from the heart will flow an expression of gratitude and love towards God.  John writes, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7, NIV)  We are reminded that we are not holy in seeking God, but after we are born again we are holy because we have found HIm.  Watson states, “A pure soul is cast into the mold of holiness.  Holiness is a blood that runs in his veins.”
     One more thought this morning.  Paul declares that we are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  Where was the heart or foundation of the Temple located?  It was in the holy of holies.”  If we are the “temple” then our hearts most certainly ought to be holy.  Peter tells us, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'” (1 Peter 1:15-16, NIV)  No, try to be holy.  Or, be holy if it fits your agenda.  Or, in my liberty I can choose how to be holy.  No!  We are to be holy in all we do, for He is holy.  Whom do you serve?  You must be free from ulterior motives in your service.  Why do you do what you do?  If the heart is holy, our affections will be, our duties will be.  It is not easy, and Barclay says, “To examine one’s own motives is a daunting and a shaming thing, for there are few things in this world that even the best of us do with completely unmixed motives.”
     Before taking communion we should examine ourselves.  Check the purity of attitude, motives, and actions.  “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28, NIV)  Look in the mirror, the spiritual mirror of the Word of God and we will find that we do not measure up.  “The truth is that one of the most conclusive evidences that we do possess a pure heart is the discovery and consciousness of the remaining impurity that continues to plague our hearts.” (Arthur Pink)  Our prayer should be as that of David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24, NKJV)
         
            “Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
            Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts I pray:
            See if there be some wicked way in me:
            Cleanse me from ev’ry sin, and set me free.”
                  –J. Edwin Orr

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

She held out a mug of coffee for him and then took a drink from her own. Curls of steam rose off the bitter brew, twisting like small ghosts. She stared at the black coffee like it was a mirror.”
                    –James Leonard  (The Sun Never Sets)

Pestilence is coming Pard.  No, don’t be a-lookin’ in yur cup, that’s pure delight.  I wouldn’t be givin’ yuh no poison to be drinkin’.  But Pard, yuh remember that thing they were callin’ COVID?  Say what yuh want about it, folks got scared, did crazy things, and many did die.  A forerunner of what is to come?  Could be, but it does show the state of people and the power of the government and the press.  Get them all a-frenzy, promise a solution and they’ll grasp for it.
     Yuh keep a-starin’ in yur cup.  Don’t be frettin’, go ahead an’ take a sip.  Ahhh, see it’s downright good.  But back to this year’s thought of pestilence.  I read that there’s a new screwworm workin’ its way towards Texas.  No, I’m not speakin’ of the liberal politicians though they have the same effect.  This new pestilence is supposed to be devastatin’ to wildlife, pets, livestock, and even human beans.  The symptoms are a stinkin’ bloody mess from the wound, and irritated behavior, head shakin’ and the like.  Hmmm, the more I think of it the more I see it already infectin’ us two-legged species.  My mercy, Pard!  Are those folks infected with a spiritual screwworm?  Look at ’em.  They have the symptoms.  What was it that ol’ John wrote in the Revelation.  “And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.” (6:8, ESV)  Ol’ Miles Forrest said that he could at times smell the rider of the Pale Horse.  Take a whiff.  Listen, with all that poison bein’ spewed and the lies, don’t be surprised if’n yuh don’t start smellin’ the rider of the pale horse.  Pestilence is part of his arsenal.  Again, not to be alarmin’, but is this another wake up call?

     Pard, yuh don’t be drinkin’ none of the poison that’s bein’ offered yuh.  Don’t be a listenin’ to all them lies tryin’ to get yuh on their side.  Compromise has no place in our lives.  Pard, these left-wing folks are not a pretty blackbird, but a hideous buzzard ready to pluck out yur spiritual eyes.  Evil is out there to get yuh, to trick yuh, to connive yuh.  Look at them, listen to them–they spew the very vile from the pit.  Some of them are even tryin’ to take spiritual overtones, a sorta pseudo-Christianity.  Don’t be fooled by the sweetness that seems to come from their lips for in the end it will be worse than strychnine. 
     Hey Pard, what’s that smell?  No, it’s not yur armpit, it’s something far more sinister.  Is the Pale Rider mounted and ridin’ this way?  Pestilence, beware, watch who yuh bump into along the way, as they could infect yuh.  But ride tall in the saddle, be wary, and keep goin’ onward and upward.  
    Vaya con Dios.
  
P.S.  Don’t forget to check yur cinch.  That could be one of the ploys of the pestilence.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Sometimes a man has got to stand up for what’s right, no matter what the consequences might be. Doing right by others was a code I could understand and was a staple in the way I lived my life.”

                    –Chris Mullen (Rowdy:  Wild and Mean, Sharp and Keen)

       “That in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable.”
                    –Jude 18 (NLT)
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What virus is affecting America?  There is hatred abounding as we saw another attack on the President.  The ways of the world, and of the devil I will add for they are one and the same, are poisoning society.  Whose truth are we to believe?  Are we to make up our own truth, in other words, is truth relative?  Have you noticed the things of the world creeping into the church, or in some places actually being invited in?  One minister (?) has stated that a third testament should be written, the other two are obsolete, archaic.  No wonder the world is crazy, full of hate, bitterness–they have left out God, forgotten Him.  
     But what about Christians, full-fledged believers in the Lord?  God’s call is clear to His people:

          “Prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.”  — Philippians 2:15-16 (NASB)

The NLT translates the last phrase thusly, “Hold tightly to the word of life.”  A “crooked and perverse generation,” my, doesn’t that describe the world in which we are living?  “Hold tightly, don’t give in to the ways of the world–don’t compromise, don’t be complacent, don’t be curious about evil.  Our society is one of confusion, of broken and torn down ethical codes.  It spurns and sneers the name of Jesus Christ, so God’s calling is very clear.  We are to stay blameless, we are not to be involved in the works of the world, and we are still to be lights to an ever darkening world.  The problem seems to be among so many so-called or pseudo-believers is what Gary Inrig describes, “Much more than I want to admit, many Christians live, act, and choose as if God’s Word has never been written.”
     There are four key ideas I want us to keep in mind.  We will look at one of them this morning.  First of all, God is righteous!  One can almost hear the warning of the Holy Spirit, “Beware lest you also fall into temptation and a similar fate befall you.”  When a nation has lost its first love there is an unmistakable picture of a righteous God.  We read in Revelation, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deed you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lamp stand out of its place–unless you repent.” (2:4-5, NASB)
     This nation, so blessed, so guided by God to be a “city on a hill” a beacon of righteousness to the world by spreading the Gospel has become enthralled with perversity, with moral and ethical collapse.  It is confused and in the throes of misery.  This nation is forsaking the foundations upon which it was built; it is forsaking a holy God.  Sin was, and is, not an insignificant thing, to be passed over lightly; it was an affront to God’s righteous being and as such, in the past was visited by stern and painful judgment, so it will be again.  A nation, any nation, that forsakes the Lord, or lowers and compromises His standards, cannot hope to prosper in any ultimate sense.
     Instead of compromise we are to be holding forth the standard.  Not shunning the Word of God, but lifting it up for others to see.  We are to be a witness for Him, in our words, actions, and life.  Don’t cry legalism, when we are called to be separate from the world.  Don’t hunger and thirst for the things of the world, but hunger and thirst for His righteousness.  Where is your passion?  Where is your honor?  Where is your loyalty?  My friend, in this day of confusion and perversity hold tightly to the word of life!