Author: Ira Paine

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

A man went ahead doing the best he could, but it always seemed there was more trouble lurking just around the bend in the road.”

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Hanging Woman Creek)

       “These little troubles (which are really so transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious and solid reward out of all proportion to our pain.”
                    –2 Corinthians 4:17 (Phillips)
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This morning we look at the second part of Psalm 121.  This is one of my favorite psalms and much can be gained by contemplating this short psalm.  If you use the NIV for your reading you’ll notice that the word “watch” is used five times.  That means, as George Wood says, “far more than the Lord looking at you.  He’s looking out for you, guarding and protecting you from the hardships and terrors of the trail, including exposure to sun and moon.”

          5 — The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
          6 — The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
          7 — The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
          8 — The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.   (NKJV)

Notice that the Lord watches, He is your shade, He keeps, He stands beside, He preserves, He never sleeps or slumbers — do you think the Lord is trying to tell us something?  “He knows when the sun, the heat of circumstances, is too much for you.  He will give you shade.  But, He also knows when the moon tears at your viscera–when it brings you haunting memories of an action which caused you great injury…  He won’t let that ‘moon by night’ harm you.” (Wood)  
     Along the journey there are potential dangers and disasters that may come our way.  Jesus told us that we are not immune from trials; He said, “…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer…” (John 16:33, NKJV)  We are not immune to trouble, just look at the life of Paul, or maybe better, take a glance at your own life.  No matter what, “we can never be separated from God’s love or God’s purposes.  He promises to preserve us from evil but not to pave over every pothole in life’s road.” (William J. Petersen)  Eugene Peterson explains further, “Christians travel the same ground that everyone else walks on, breathe the same air, drink the same water…The difference is that each step we walk, we know we are accompanied by God, we know we are ruled by God, and therefore no matter what accidents we experience, the Lord will preserve us from evil.”
     We are continually “going out” and “coming in.”  Every morning there is the getting up and going out to work, school, or some activity, and every evening there is the coming in.  Guess what?  The Lord was with you.  There is the going out to the workforce with all its complexities, stresses, temptations, and difficulties that may make the body weary and the heart sick.  Guess what?  The Lord is with you.  There is the peril of going out; there are dangers all around from terror, to threatenings, to shootings, to pestilence (remember COVID?)  There is the danger of being around those with “warped judgments, confused reckoning, and narrowed outlooks” (Percy Ainsworth)  Guess what?  The Lord is beside you.
     One of the real battles of life, says Ainsworth, is “not the toil for bread.  It is fought by all who would keep alive and fresh in their hearts the truth that man doth not live by bread alone.”  It is thus with all the other things that might affect.  There is also the coming in.  Ainsworth continues, “No home is safe unless faith be the doorkeeper…  Peace and safety were not of his making, but of God’s giving.”  There may be the coming of pain, of sickness, of death, but the Lord is there.  Even in the seasons of life there is the going out and the coming in.  Life moves on from one time in life to another; it cannot be stopped.  Once there was youth, now there is the graying of hair.  Once there was strength and vitality, now there is frailty and feebleness.  Guess what?  The Lord is there.  When troubles, doubts, pain, hardship, heartache, etc., approach, think of Jesus and remember — “it wasn’t until Easter morning that the preceding Friday was called good.” (Wood)

               “From God the Lord does come your certain aid;
               From God the Lord who heaven and earth has made.
               Above you watching, He whom you adore
               Shall keep you henceforth, yes, for evermore.”
                        –John Campbell

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

That’s what I call a sunrise. Look at those colors.’ He had a fire going, coffee almost boiling, and was cutting some bacon strips for their cast iron frying pan.”

                     –Johnny Gunn  (Terror on Flat Top Ridge)
 
Mornin’ to yuh, Pard.  Coffee’s on, ready for yuh to guzzle, or sip, whichever fits yur fancy.  In the midst of this crazy, mixed-up world, some things are just downright enjoyable.  Yep, some things just lift yuh up an’ make yuh smile.  Yuh know what I mean.  From the first glimmer of graylight in the mornin’ to the dazzlin’ colors of a sunrise tellin’ yuh that yur still alive and breathin’.  The aroma of fresh brewed coffee an’ then the taste of that elixir flowin’ down yur gullet to yur gizzard. . . ahhh, delightful.  Or how ’bout the aroma of fresh-baked bread, or pie, then add to that the smell of bacon a-fryin’.  Yep, most of the time the simple things are the good things.
     Why you just showin’ up this mornin’ and sharin’ a bit of yur time with me–well, that’s a lifter.  I’ll share somethin’ with yuh that really made this ol’ fence post feel good.  I got a phone call yesterday from my ol’ pard, Bob.  Just made me feel good that he was a-thinkin’ ’bout me.  We talked a spell, shared some things–why, it was just like ol’ times.  Made not only my gizzard happy, but my heart as well.  We exhorted each other like the Scripture says, to stay in the faith and to guard the truth.  I recall, Pard, the writer of Hebrews says that we are to exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today.”  (3:13)  
     Go ahead, Pard, pour yurself another cup, there’s plenty and if we empty the pot there’s more makin’s.  Read the other day of an ol’ cowman who put the coffee on every mornin’ out of habit, even though his gizzard won’t accept it anymore.  Now, that’s bein’ faithful to friends who may, or may not show up.  The coffee’s there for them, sorta comfortin’ to know that folks think kindly towards one another.  I remember Grandma always had a pot of coffee on the stove in case anyone came by.  She never drank the brew, but it was always there, ready for a guest or friend.
     Yep, Pard, with all the evil around, and all the wicked folk who sit in high places we need each other to encourage us in this evil day.  “Comfort one another”, we are told.  So hope, my few words along with the coffee will give yuh some comfort this Saturday before yuh head out for the day’s duties.  Fact is, I’m comforted knowin’ that yuh checked yur cinch.  Sure does ease the mind.  Yuh be havin’ a good week!
       Vaya con Dios.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Faith and fear cannot be in the same place at the same time… You either live in one, or you live in the other.”
                    –Dan Arnold  (Bear Creek)

       “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.'”
                    –Luke 5:4 (NKJV)
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I was sitting the other morning in my chair, doing my morning devotions.  I paused to look out the window and gaze at the little forest where our cottage is nestled.  It won’t be long, progress they call it, that the trees will mostly be cut down and it will be part of “suburbia.”  I don’t blame folks for wanting to get out in the woods, wherever they might live, but my question is why?  But that’s a debate for another day.  As I was quietly sitting and gazing, an old hymn came to my mind.  I haven’t heard it in ages and it is one that I don’t know well.  In fact, I could only remember two phrases:  “Launch out into the deep, Oh, let the shore-line go…”  
     I turned to one of my readings that I do every morning and here is what came up.  “All great voyages begin in the same way.  Once all the passengers board, the ship’s horn sounds, and most of those on board rush up onto the deck.  The thick ropes that held the ship to the dock are let go.  Then the vibration of the engines can be felt in the steel beneath your feet.  Moments later, the dock and shoreline begin to slip away.” (James Merritt)  Coincidence?  Maybe, if you believe in that, but perhaps more, something that I was to ponder, something from the Lord.  So let’s take a look at that old hymn by A.B. Simpson and mesh it with what I read that morning.

          “The mercy of God is an ocean divine,
          A boundless and fathomless flood;
          Launch out in the deep, cut away the shoreline,
          And be lost in the fullness of God.”

Finally, the ropes have been cast off.  The lines that held the ship secure are no longer there and it is free to move into open water.  The journey has begun, and I like what the hymnist said, it begins out in the ocean of God’s mercy.  “Freedom and enjoyment in life start with casting off.” (Merritt)  We now are free to let go of the old life and enjoy life without the anxiousness that often besets us.  God has put us on a new journey and has good plans for our life. (Merritt)

          “But many, alas!  only stand on the shore
          And gaze on the ocean so wide;
          They never have ventured its depths to explore,
          Or to launch on the fathomless tide.”

Why, oh why, I have often wondered?  Why do people refuse the love, grace, and mercy of God?  Why do they stand in their selfishness bound by the ropes to the dock when God has provided a wonderful venture of life in His mercy?  Why do they purposely reject the grace that He offers?  All they have to do is get on board, because the crew does the work of casting off.  The journey has already been paid for.  Step out into the ocean of His mercy.  Put away the worry that may beset you.  Let go, “because God will provide sufficient grace for every trouble you face.” (Merritt)

          “And others just venture away from the land,
          And linger so near to the shore,
          That the surf and the slime that beat over the strand,
          Dash o’er them in floods evermore.”

Have you ever been to the docks?  The grease and crudge and slime lie all around.  The smell can knock you down.  Ahh, but out on the sea, the fresh air blows, the water is clean and clearer than at the docks.  Why stay moored to your old life?  “You don’t have to stay docked to your challenges any longer, moored to every piece of bad news, or tied to those things you cannot control.” (Merritt)  Look up at the bridge and see the Captain.  Just think, even the winds and waves obey Him, therefore the “storms of life cannot sink you on your journey.” (Merritt)

          “Oh, let us launch out on this ocean so broad,
          Where floods of salvation e’er flow;
          Oh, let us be lost in the mercy of God,
          Till the depth of His fullness we know.”

There is no need to look back at the dock–that old way of life.  Look forward to the journey, enjoy His grace and mercy, as you travel in faith with Him on this voyage.  I have written many times what my Pastor used to say, “Live Is Living!”  Then live it to the fullest with Jesus Christ and let the Holy Spirit guide you along the way.  Look at the freedom you have in Christ; no longer bound by the ropes of sin, worries, frets, and depression.  Look forward to the journey of God’s grace.  And if the storm clouds roll in don’t fret, the Savior is there to secure our safety.

          “Launch out into the deep,
          Oh, let the shoreline go,
          Launch out, launch out in the ocean divine,
          Out where the full tides flow.”

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

There are always those who are willing to earn what they get and those who work, being too lazy or immoral to honestly build their own lives.”

                    –B.N. Rundell  (Escape to Exile)

       “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”
                    –Proverbs 24:10 (NKJV)
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There is a verse tucked away in that wonderful thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians:  “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (13:11, NKJV)  One of the saddest, and perhaps most shameful things in life and more so in the church, is the man or woman who continues to act like a child.  They may have been a Christian for thirty years, but they display the attitudes and actions of a four-year-old.  It ought not to be.
     A couple of my grandkids like to watch “Dude Perfect.”  I watched it a couple of times and it seems that they display the symptoms of Peter Pan Syndrome.  I couldn’t watch much of it because of its silliness, but then I began to ponder–childishness.  I have a hard time putting up with so-called adults who act like children whether in the workforce or at church.  How many do you know who have this “syndrome”?  
     The definition of the Peter Pan Syndrome is, “never-growing adults who have reached an adult age, but cannot face their adult sensations and responsibilities.  They engage in activities associated with childhood rather than taking on the responsibilities and challenges of adulthood.”  Play rather than work.  Work to many of them is a dirty, four-letter word.  Behaviors associated with immaturity and a reluctance to grow up are their forte.  Traits that may be seen are:  avoiding responsibilities, resisting commitment, seeking constant fun and excitement, and displaying a lack of ambition or direction in life.  A dangerous situation, for the individual and the nation, and I believe we are seeing more and more those who display this tendency.
     Paul writes, “That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” (Ephesians 4:14, NKJV)  When we are born again, we are like little children spiritually.  We then begin to grow, just like children.  Sometimes the growth is gradual and sometimes there are those growth spurts not much different than natural growth.  However, grow we must!
     Do not measure your growth by comparing it to someone else.  Yes, there are common characteristics of growth, but some may reach a mature point in their lives quicker than someone else.  The question to ask yourself is:  “Am I moving away from childish attitudes?  Am I forsaking infantile behavior?  Am I still governed by childish reactions and outbursts?” (Stedman)   And, to shame, there are those who never grow up.  A word of warning:  do not use the phrase that God wants us to be childish.  That is not true.
     The Scripture does exhort us to be childlike at times, but never childish.   Ray Stedman describes it this way, “Childlikeness is that refreshing simplicity of faith which believes God and acts without questioning.  But childishness is described here [Ephesians 4:14] by the apostle as instability and naivete.”  Children are fickle; their attention span is short.  They are carried about with fads, fashions, infatuations, and changing circumstances.  They play in dangerous situations, with questionable companions, without knowledge or awareness of the threat.  They will run out into the street without looking or considering what may happen.  Put that in a spiritual context and who comes to mind?  Think of those who hop from church to church, who dabble in the things of the world, who adopt the fashions of the world and its entertainment.  Think of those who are mixed with Belial, those who lack the commitment to marry, those whose tongue is as salty as the devil.
     I had a student ask me one time, “Do you think I am a man?”  I replied simply, “Do you accept responsibility?”  Hmmm, do we take our work seriously?  Do we do all for the glory of God?  Do we do it the best we can, giving quality time for quality work?  Do we live to have fun, or do we live to bear a cross?  Do my work ethics glorify Christ, or do I just get by?  In other words, put away the childish things–become a man/woman of God!