Author: Ira Paine

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
Being wise is as good as being rich; in fact, it is better.”  –Ecclesiastes 7:11 (NLT)
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     After she turned and hurried out the man at the bar followed.  I continued eating, wanting to talk with her again.  By her actions she indicated that she knew something.  When I had finished they still had not reappeared; I could have walked out without paying, but I reached to the pouch in my vest pocket and pulled out a half dollar.  It was probably double the price of the meal, but I figured she could use the money.
     A wind had come up bringing a chill that I quickly noticed when I stepped outside.  Two other places of business were in my view, the trading post and livery.  I didn’t know what shepherds would use a livery for, so I chose the trading post.  Walking across the street I saw that the sky was beginning to darken.  I might have to cut this trip short and go back to Durango; it looked like one of those March snows was ready to drop its load.
     “Welcome,” came the voice from a man sitting by a pot-bellied stove towards the back of the store.  “Saw you ride in an’ figured you’d come over for something.  Last stop until Moab.”
     I picked up a couple of cans of beans.  I was still amazed that they could actually put food in cans.  Then I saw peaches and grabbed two cans.  I put them on the counter and the man hesitantly got up from the warmth of his chair.  
     “Anything else?” he asked, stepping up behind the counter.
     “Do you have any green ribbon?” I questioned as I looked around the room.
     He smiled and I noticed that he was missing a front tooth.  A fight perhaps?  “Just so happens I do,” he replied.  “How much do you want?”
     “Give me a yard, and…” I hesitated, “what can you tell me about three Navaho who were killed?”
     He stopped, then moved on to where the material was on a table.  “Nope, I don’t interfere with problems with the Indians.”
     That stopped me for a moment to ponder, then I asked, “Tribal affair?”  Then I added, “Or intertribal?”
     Coming back with the ribbon, the smile had left his face.  “Total, is sixty cents.”
     “Listen, I’m not after anyone.  I was asked to investigate the killing of three sheepherders, that’s all.”
     “Sixty cents,” was all he said.  Then he asked, “You a bounty hunter?
     “Ranger,” I said gathering up my goods watching him.
     “You might want to check down at a village they’re calling Towaoc.  Ask for Charlie Two-Face,” he said, then smiled and I nodded thinking of the significance of that name.
     Moving to the door, I stopped and turned.  He was walking back to his comfortable position by the stove.  “How about a man on a palomino?”
     He just pointed…

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

A reputation doesn’t make a man tough.”

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Conagher)

       “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”
                    –Proverbs 16:32(NKJV)
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          “The meek will he guide in judgment:  and the meek will he teach his way.” — Psalm 25:9 (KJV)

     Donald Gee, the Scottish preacher, hit the nail on the head when he said, “A truly meek spirit must be one of the hardest things on earth to imitate.”  One reason is that we have the wrong idea of what meekness entails.  Meekness is not weakness.  In fact the opposite, it is the person who has his passions, his emotions, his life under control.  As Barclay said, he is “entirely self-controlled.”
     The meek will be meek towards God.  They will be submissive to His will, not wanting their own way.  They will be flexible to God’s Word.  I used to tell teachers that one of the beatitudes that was unwritten was “blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape,” but really this is the meek person.  They are flexible, in other words, pliable to the Word and conforming to the mind of God.  If you do not think that takes strength and self-control, well…  The meek person will moderate their passions.  They may become angry, but it is always under control, they do not fly off the handle.  See, meekness calms the passions; it is the moderator of the soul.  In saying this do not get meekness mixed up with always being down on yourselves.  Meekness has a proper perspective of self.  Zena Bicket writes, “Meekness does not grow out of self-abasement but out of an awareness that the mighty hand of God rests over all of life.”
     I am reminded of a story told by Jerry Clower.  He played football, a defensive lineman.  In a game he was struggling against his opponent, a tough offensive lineman from Baylor.  On one play Clower was knocked to the ground, his face planted in the soil.  He came up sputtering and pointing his finger at his opponent who had just put the hit on him.  “You are supposed to be a Christian, playing for Baylor!” he spluttered.  To which the offensive lineman said, in a meek-tone voice, looking at Jerry with a smile, “The Bible says, the meek shall inherit the earth.”  Now this was in jest, because inheritance here doesn’t mean inheriting the earth, and in our feeble minds that actually seems to be a contradiction of terms.  The world thinks that the meek is a submissive and ineffective creature.
     Paul writes in Romans, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory.” (8:17, NIV)  It is “the meek, although they may be deprived and disenfranchised by the world, yet because they know what it is to live and reign with Christ, can enjoy and even ‘possess’ the earth which belongs to Christ.  Then when Christ returns there will be ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ for them to inherit.” (John Stott)  Friend, we have but a taste of our inheritance on this earth.  We are truly blessed, but our full inheritance is handed to us when we stand with our Lord in the land to come.
     Remember also, this inheritance that we now have is indeed wonderful.  Oh, you may now have riches and land, or fame and power, but our inheritance is far greater.  It is an eternal inheritance.  Arthur Pink declares, “The meek are those who have the greatest enjoyment of the good things of the present life.”  If you’re down and out, always moaning and groaning and down in the mullly-grubs, perhaps you need to look again at your inheritance.  We are told, and rightly so by Thomas Watson that the, “Lack of meekness evidences lack of grace.  True grace inflames love and modifies anger.  Grace is like the file which smooths the rough iron.”  Are you rough?  Let grace begin to smooth out the edges making you more like Jesus–more meek.
     David tells us in one of his wonderful Psalms, “But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (37:11, NKJV)  Peace that the world cannot understand belongs to the meek person – peace beyond understanding.  While the world is full of commotion, chaos, and confusion the meek person can rest easily in the knowledge of God and allow the Spirit to bring his rest–part of his inheritance.  See, A.W. Tozer has it right, “The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort.”

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

The milk would only curdle.’ She made a face at him, and moved to put the coffeepot back on the stove.” 

                    –Luke Short  (Donovan’s Gun)
 
Mornin’ to yuh, Pard.  Come on in, grab yur mug, and… no, not yur face yuh fool, the cup in the cabinet.  Don’t try to be funny with me this mornin’.  Speakin’ of bein’ funny, remember those days of watchin’ Looney Tunes?  Then there was that ol’ peckerwood–Woody with his laugh.  Those were funny so don’t yuh be tryin’ to do the same.  Why, there’s plenty of cacklin’, howlin’ bureaucrats that have already beat yuh to it.
     Now to be polite, I won’t mention no names, but there’s one high-up guy who said ICE would be able to remove “tens of billions of people” from voter rolls if a certain law was passed.  Now, I can’t count that high myself, I run out of fingers an’ toes, but I know we don’t have billions of people in this country.  Or how ’bout this one from Minneysota.  A lawmaker has requested a study on the “benefits of shoplifting.”  Hmmm, ponder that, ‘specially if yur a store owner or manager.  Shoplifting has its benefits?  Guess it depends if’n yur lookin’ at it from the perspective of the lifter.  Then there’s the male equivalent of Mad Max who proclaimed, “We’re not celebrating America’s 250th birthday.  We worked 246 years and never got paid.”  Go ahead, an’ ponder that one as well.  Makes me wonder how much is in his bank account.
     Watcha doin’ lookin’ in yur cup?  Don’t yuh be worryin’ none.  That coffee won’t make yur gizzard frown, nor yur innards curdle.  But maybe if’n I make it a little stronger, folks will go ‘way from makin’ cinos.  Lattes?  Yuh like moo-juice in yur coffee sayin’ it soothes the stomach?  Pard, yuh ain’t talkin’ sense.  But I do remember when I was a homesteadin’ back in Louisiana they had something called, cafe au-lait that was drinkable for dessert.
     But back to the new form of looney-tunes.  They must be havin’ tryouts or something ’cause everytime yuh look at the news there’s someone spoutin’ the comedic phrases.  What was it the ol’ apostle said, Claimin’ to be wise, they became fools…!”  Can folk be so willfully blind that they can’t see how foolish their words and actions are?  My mercy, honestly an’ seriously, they are not funny.  More like vomit-fodder.  Their words and actions are downright shameful, an’ it’s scary.  Scary for this country right now, why I saw they’re havin’ a funeral for the Iranian tyrant that was killed tryin’ to make him a martyr.  Scary for the person, for one day they’re gonna have to bow before the Almighty King of the Universe, an’ let me be tellin’ yuh this, that won’t be a pleasant experience for them.
     As my ol’ Grandma would say, “Lord, help us through the jungles!”  We surely need His help, strength, an’ guidance in this ol’ world in which we live.  Pard, it won’t be my coffee makin’ the cream in yur gizzard curl, it’ll be the foolishness of those bureaucrats.  Yuh be havin’ a good week.  An’ don’t make me shake my head at yur foolishness, don’t be one of them cartoon characters we see in the news–check yur cinch.  Surely they didn’t ’cause we see evidence that they musta fallen on their ol’ coconut several times.
      Vaya con Dios.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

When minds are allowed to wander unhindered, accusations and recriminations often fill the void with guilt and despair. When thoughts were directed by the Scripture, God washes our minds clean and fills it with His comfort and guidance.”
                    –B.N. Rundell  (Naches Trail)

       “Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.”
                    –Romans 8:28(Phillips)
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One thing age does for you is that you get a better perspective of the past.  When something happened when you were younger you might think, why in the world did the Lord allow that to happen?  Now, looking back you can see the hand of God at work in the situation.  Joseph is a good example.  Why did the Lord allow him to be cast into the pit, then sold into slavery, then the dungeon of Egypt?  Wasn’t his dream from God?  But then the day came when he told his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20, NASB)
     The Holocaust, as evil as it was, brought about the nation of Israel. Israel, so important to God for we read in Zechariah, “For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.” (2:8, ESV).  What we see happening since 1948 is the fulfillment of prophecy.  People wonder and some fear, about what is happening with Iran.  Israel will be protected.  Is it the end time prophecy?  Yes (and no)–for all things that happen are part of the end times, and Jesus said that there would be wars and rumors of wars.  
     Have you ever wandered off a trail while hiking?  I was hunting once in the mountains south of Eagle, Colorado.  It was rugged terrain, with downfalls everywhere.  It was hard to follow a game trail because of that.  It was cold, so cold as to make it miserable.  One ol’ boy we met in the woods was from Texas.  He remarked, “if yuh was to shoot an elk you’d have to bring a skillet an’ eat him there.”  That’s how rugged the terrain was.  My hunting buddy was hunting below a wooded area and on the way back he got off the path that would lead him back to camp.  He arrived just at dusk and it was easy to see that he was frightened.  He wandered for an hour or so in the woods.  
     The following by Dietrich Bonhoeffer helps us to see the hand of God.  “I believe that God can and will bring good out of evil, even out of the greatest evil.  For that purpose He needs men who make the best use of everything.  I believe that God will give us all the strength we need to help us resist in all time of distress.  But He never gives it in advance, lest we should rely on ourselves and not on Him alone.  A faith such as this should allay all our fears for the future.  I believe that even our mistakes and shortcomings are turned to good account, and that it is no harder for God to deal with them that with our supposedly good deeds.  I believe that God is no timeless fate, but that He waits for and answers sincere prayers and responsible actions.”
     So don’t be worrying so much about your past.  Put it under the blood of Jesus, and perhaps, when you reach the “old codger” age you can see how God used your blunders to do things in your life.  If nothing else we can use our reckless stupidity and say, “chalk it up to experience.”  The Psalmist wrote, and maybe you can relate, “I used to wander off until you punished me; now I closely follow all you say.  You are good and do only good; make me follow your lead.” (119:67-68, TLB).  Allow God to use your life, stay close to His guiding hand and His Word, but if you find yourself wandering, get back quickly.