Author: Ira Paine

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
The morning rush was over at the diner and I was left with Doc Jones for company at my table.  He was putting the last piece of chocolate pie in his mouth while I got the coffeepot and warmed up our cups.  Marta and Molly were finishing cleaning off the tables from breakfast.  I saw them talking then Molly pointed toward us.  Soon afterward Marta came to join us.  Doc, his mouth full of pie, tried to get up to help her sit, but I managed to beat him to it.
       “Whew, thank you, Senor Miles,” voiced Marta as she sat.  Marta was only working a few shifts as the baby was due in a couple of weeks.  Edith, Doc’s wife, helped out some, and Molly hired a friend of Marta’s from the barrio, Adela Perez.  She was a good worker, and Molly is considering keeping her on after Marta had the baby, at least for a little while. 
That would give Marta a nice break, and maybe Molly could take off once in a while.  Two-Bits hasn’t been ridden in quite a spell, and I’d sure be willing to take Molly for a ride.
       Rubbing her belly, Marta looked over at Doc.  “Two more weeks, right?” she asked, wanting relief.  “Whew,” she moaned again.
       “Two more weeks if not sooner from the looks of things,” Doc replied.  “Let me see your feet.”
       “Doctor!  Not here,” retorted Marta in embarrassment.
       He got up, went around where he could see better.  Marta grudgingly moved to sit sideways in the chair as Doc stooped to examine her feet.  He grunted some, touching her ankles, nodding his head, then got up and went back to where he was sitting.  Both Marta and I stared at him.
       “Well?” inquired Marta.
       “Well, what?” snapped Doc.  “You need to be off those feet.  They’re swollen.  In fact, Miles, pull that chair next to her so she can prop them up.”  
       I did as ordered and Marta let out another sigh after she settled herself.  The diner was empty.  Molly had taken the last of the dishes to the kitchen and I could hear Emelda and Adela talking.  Molly had convinced them to come out and join us for a few minutes.  Emelda seldom ventured from her domain–the kitchen, and Adela was very shy, that’s why Molly was trying to get her out to visit with us.
       We were having a good time, talking about this and that, and of course, Emelda’s cooking which made her blush.  Adela was looking at Marta’s feet propped up, slightly shaking her head.
       “So, you talked with Mateo?” asked Doc out of nowhere.
       I nodded, “Yes.  He is quite confused with his thinking right now.  He has become a good lawman, and for sure his family needs the income.  If he quits I’m not sure what he’ll find to do.  He has agreed to stay on until a suitable deputy can be found by Charlie.”
       “I understand Mateo,” piped in Marta.  “He is the same, but different.  I was worried about Charlie, being shot, not coming home.  Mateo, he, he is worried about some within him,” she paused to look at me.  “Taking of a life is serious, no?”
       Molly and I had been through this same conversation, and I had it many times with myself.  The Lord finally helped me come to a conclusion with myself, I just prayed that Mateo could come to the same conclusion.  But each has to answer to his own conscience and to God.  It was silent for a few seconds, which was unusual at our table.  It was good to have everyone sit down for a change together.  Even in our off times, we were busy serving others that we seldom got to speak with one another.
       The silence was soon broken when in through the door charged Jimmy Hopkins with a telegram in his hand.  He came straight toward me, handing out the piece of paper.  I was already digging in my little coin pouch.  I was in a good mood so I gave him a dime instead of a nickel.  His eyes widened and a big grin launched out on his face.  He turned and ran out faster than he came in.  Probably heading over to Foster’s.
       Molly gave me a little punch.  “What does it say?”
       “Wilcox in Santa Fe needs you  STOP  He will fill you in”  signed Jens Blasco.
       I knew Felix Wilcox.  He was a good man; had good men working for him.  “What does this mean?” questioned Molly.
       I could only shrug…

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

People don’t wear out, they give up. And as far as trails go, there’s always an open trail for the mind if you keep the doors open and give it a chance.”

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Bendigo Shafter)
 
       “My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.  Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies’ sake.”
                    –Psalm 31:16-16 (NKJV)
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We have gone from the first part of Psalm 77 of God must not care for me, to the next part, WOW!  Look at what God has done.  Today, some would say that Asaph has some kind of syndrome, maybe bi-polar, but the truth of the matter is that he is looking at the reality of life.  Problems seem to overtake us and we wonder where God is, but then we recall His great deeds not only of the ages past, but in our own lives as well.  
       
          13 — Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God?
          14 — You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
          15 — You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph.      Selah
          16 — The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were afraid; the depths also trembled.
          17 — The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about.
          18 — The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
          19 — Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known.
          20 — You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.    (NKJV)

       Who can redeem you?  Only God has that power.  A glimpse of the cross is all you need.  There is no solution to the dilemma in your life; it seemingly overwhelms you, but then you remember God and His mighty power.  You may think that your life is a disaster, but then recall that God is leading you.  
       Your “Red Sea”, how can you get across this great obstacle in your life?  There is no way through, the enemy is pouring after you ready to destroy and you have no solution in sight.  F.B. Meyer said, “As the brook hides the footprints which are imprinted on its soft ooze, so are God’s footprints hidden.  We cannot detect his great and wonderful secrets.  He marches through the ages with steps we cannot track.”  With this in mind, we can have confidence that He sees a path where we cannot.
       How do you get through your “Red Sea”?  You take a step and trust in God.  God led His people to the sea, and they became afraid, overwhelmed with fear and terror, yet God knew there was a pathway through the sea.  It is important to remember that He leads through the “sea.”  The waters are all around, but God is there.  He knew the pathway was there before the problem even arrived.  He has constructed a pathway for you through your “sea” of trouble and torment.  Take the step–have faith.

                    “Come unto me, ye wanderers, and I will give you light.
                    O loving voice of Jesus, which comes to cheer the night!
                    Our hearts were filled with sadness, and we had lost our way;
                    But morning brings us gladness, and songs the break of day.”
                              –William Chatterton Dix

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

He sipped the coffee and wondered at its taste. ‘I ain’t had coffee this good in a long time.’”

                    –C. Wayne Winkle  (Gideon Parnell:  The Beginning)
 
Welcome, Pard.  I was a-wonderin’ if yuh were goin’ to be stoppin’ by this mornin’.  Speakin’ of wonderin’, my mind sure does a heap of it.  The ol’ mind is like a river flowin’ with wonder; uh, really more like a small creek tricklin’ over the rocks, but it’s still wonderin’.  Ha, right now yur probably wonderin’ if I’m ever goin’ to pour yuh a cup of coffee.  Comin’ right up, and yuh don’t have to wonder if it’s strong enough.
       Pard, I wonder ’bout lots of things.  I wonder about the arrogant fools that serve as bureaucrats, then I wonder at the fools who elect them.  I wonder how God can allow their arrogance and immorality go unchecked, then that causes me to wonder about His longsuffering and love.  I wonder about the grace He offers, then I wonder about those who spurn that grace.  I wonder about whether Adam missed walking with God more than he missed Eden.  I wonder whether Adam and Eve ever repented.
       I wonder about the aroma of a grilled steak and its flavor, then I wonder how God can make something that tastes good like cabbage and broccoli have an odor when its cooked.  Pard, I even wonder about the pesky mosquito.  Why did God make it, what good does it do?  I wonder if in His omniscience He knew that Adam would sin and He already had the mosquito ready when he did.  I wonder about pesky flies that always seem to show up when I eat a melon.
       Sometimes I scratch my head wonderin’.  Why do some people act so foolishly when they drive?  Don’t they know they are takin’ the lives of others in their hands and their own, then I wonder if they even care.  I wonder how evil seems to be growin’.  I wonder about the depth of God’s amazin’ grace.  Pard, I even wonder about you, and whether or not yuh check yur cinch.  I wonder about time and eternity.
       But let me tell yuh, Pard.  There’s some things I don’t wonder about.  Take this coffee for instance.  I don’t wonder whether or not its strong enough or if’n it makes my gizzard take delight in it.  I don’t wonder whether or not I’ll like Annie’s pie–that’s a given.  I don’t wonder about the love of God, nor that He will not take care of me for I know that He will.  I wonder if yuh think I’m off my rocker, but then I don’t really care.  In fact, I like to sit in my rocker, peer out in the woods an’ take up wonderin’ some more.
       Well, one thing we don’t have to wonder about–the coffeepot’s empty.  I know that means yuh’ll be headin’ on down the road.  Yuh be havin’ a good week, and don’t worry if’n the shelves at the grocery aren’t full, God will supply yur needs.
       Vaya con Dios.

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Ominous black buzzards soared overhead, reminding the riders of their mortality.”
                    –Ron Schwab  (Grit)

        “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
                    –Revelation 3:16(NKJV)
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       One of the saddest verses in the Bible is found in Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (NKJV)  Now, I understand that we do not have a monarchy so let me take the liberty of translating the first phrase, “In those days there was no leadership [physical or spiritual].”  It was a time of spiritual darkness; it was a time of chaos.  Fear gripped the people, terror was throughout the land.  Truth, the truth of God’s Word was absent and all practiced what we now call “relative truth” or “woke.”  
       The second part of the verse is the saddest.  The people were no longer following the commandments of the Lord, or if they did it was only perfunctory.  They practiced Baal worship of many sorts.  One of the hideous practices was child sacrifice.  Give your child to the heathen god and he will bless the fertility of the family, the animals, and the crops.  How could a people be so duped?
       Yet, are we not seeing the same thing in our country today?  It is on its way to apostasy.  Gone is the grand concept of John Winthrop of “being a city on a hill,” to shine forth to the world the gospel and blessings of Jesus Christ.  I came across some startling statistics from Barna.  Note:  61% of Christian youth believe that Jesus was crucified.  What a minute!  Isn’t that part of the whole premise of Christianity?  That means 39% do not believe in the crucifixion; then I would ask how they can call themselves “Christian.”  
       Another appalling figure is that only 50% believe that Jesus rose from the grave.  !!!  What?  How?  Fifty percent think that Jesus stayed in the tomb, there was not the glorious, powerful resurrection.  That means that redemption is not true; it means that the atonement for our sins was not complete.  What kind of Christianity is this?  Let’s go back to Judges, and look at the scene after the death of Joshua and his generation.  The Bible says, “…another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work He had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:10, NKJV)  How could this be?  The Chosen People not even recognizing their Creator.  Back to the Barna report–32% of the youth in the church believe that Jesus is active in the world today.  That means 68% do not!  Where is the abiding Christ?  Have we lost our way?  
       Some call it the “second generation syndrome.”  It follows the concept that the generation following Joshua “followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger.”  (Judges 2:12, NKJV)  This generation failed to keep the memory of God alive.  They did not experience first-hand the power of God, His saving deeds, and the working of miracles.  “They failed to keep alive the reality of God’s grace…  Spiritual amnesia inevitably produces spiritual apostasy.”  (Gary Inrig)
       These people are lukewarm.  The first love is gone, thus they turn to other gods to provide excitement, fulfillment, and happiness–all of which are fleeting.  Inrig states that this second generation yawns at the story of God.  They have become apathetic.  “There is nothing worse than nostalgia except amnesia.” (Ravi Zacharias)   Are we provoking God to anger?  Is the wrath of His righteous anger ready to be poured out?  Remember, there is an “if clause”.  Repentance.  True, honest repentance will bring God’s mercy and hold back His wrath.