Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on December 16, 2021

This was raw, open country, rugged country, and it bred a different kind of man…. Just so it bred the kind of man with guts and toughness no eastern man could use.”

–Louis L’Amour (The Daybreakers)

“For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.”

–Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse: “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” –1 John 5:19 (NASB)

Right off I want us to look at several verses from 1 John 5. They come right to the point of our life.

1 — Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
2 — By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
3 — For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
4 — For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. (NASB)

John states, what he has already written about in the Gospel of John, that there is a new birth. He doesn’t try to prove it, but simply assumes the doctrine of the new birth that results in salvation. Far too many people have the notion that being a Christian is simply living a good life. No, it means that a person is now “born of God”–they are a new creation. That individual is different from those who are not Christian; they see the world differently.
Paul writes the same thing in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him.” Why do we then wonder that we have so little in common with those around us? They walk to the sound of the world, not the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our whole faith must be focused on the Lord Jesus Christ; it is what we believe about Him that makes us Christian.

“If I believe, I commit my whole life to Him. If I believe, I know that I am delivered because Christ has done that for me. I see that apart from Him I am lost and undone and doomed. This is a profound action; it is a commitment; it is a banking of one’s everything upon that fact.”
–D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Here are some questions that you need to ask yourself. The answer to these might give an indication of whether or not you have commited your whole life to Him.

1) Is my Christian living a task?
2) Is it something that I resent and object to?
3) Do I spend my time trying to get out of it?
4) Am I trying to compromise with the life of the world?
5) Am I just living on the edge of the Christian life, or do I want to get right into the center and live the life of God and be perfect even as my Father in heaven is perfect?

Where do you stand in your relationship to God? Do not be among those who think that it is just another term, another religion. Jesus is the only way, there is no other way to the Father except through the blood of Jesus Christ. It should be part of our daily prayer that we hunger and thirst after righteousness instead of seeking the things of the world.

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on December 15, 2021

He decided that he would never ignore Christmas again, and not just the date on the calendar.”
–C.J. Petit (The Second Star)

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

–Luke 2:7 (KJV)
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Christmas! a great time of the year. But why? Where is the focus? Is it on business as usual, or on the Christ-child? Is it on the hustle and bustle of the time, or is it on the birth of Jesus? Christmas is a wonderful time to sit down and look at priorities. It is a time to regather your focus on the important things of life, and nothing is more important than your relationship with Jesus Christ–the reason for the season.
I cannot remember the first time I heard the term “Advent.” It was not a term used in our little Assembly of God church; it seemed like it fit better into the more mainline, liturgical churches. Perhaps there was fear about using such a term, but we did celebrate “Advent.” There was always the Christmas story and the play with children acting out the nativity scenario.
Since that time I have no problem using the term, since I have come to know what it actually means. In fact, I enjoy liturgy and tradition and they can be a wonderful addition to teaching the truths of the Incarnation. However, there is also the danger that the liturgy and tradition become the focus of worship rather than the Jesus and the purpose of His birth. The same is true in a lesser sense with family. Most families have a certain “liturgy” they follow on Christmas and traditions. They can bring the family closer together and help them bond as a unit, but if not careful the traditions get in the way of the importance of the family.
It is up to each of us to keep proper focus. The liturgy can enhance the meaning of the season or we can become bored with the same old thing again. It should never get that way! Boredom has no place in Christmas! It is a time of excitement, of happiness and joy. A time of singing, laughter, and smiles. It should never become, “bah, humbug.” If we get to that point we need to get back to the manger and get a fresh renewal of the meaning of Christmas.
The same is true of families. Christmas is not just for children; it is for all of humankind. If not careful the wonderful family traditions can become boring as well. Here we go again, has no place in Christmas. I always look forward to the grand, whole picture of Christmas, then enjoy the wonderful details.
So what then is “Advent”? I like what James S. Stewart says regarding “Advent.” “It means the glory of the coming of the Lord. It means the breaking in of the divine into human history, of the supernatural into the natural. It means a sense of something great impending from the side of of heaven.” Seldom is heard in the churches the majestic carols that speak forth the truth of Advent. The meaning of “O Come, O Come, Immanuel!” is lost, unless, unless we strive to look at the wonder of the birth of Jesus and His purpose in coming as a baby to this earth. Stewart continues, “Be still, my soul; for God will surely come. That is Advent.”

“Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation;
Enter ev’ry trembling heart.”
–Charles Wesley

The purpose of Advent, that one time in history, that one moment in the universe when everything was right for the birth of Jesus then is to bring us to the Father through Him. Look at the purpose of the season: Hope, Peace, Love, Joy. Let this wonderful time of the year cause you to dwell upon the meaning, and upon the Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on December 14, 2021

I woke the next morning to a skiff of snow covering my bedroll and frost all around. It made me glad I wore my coat to bed last night so I was warm, but now I needed to get up and face the cold and the day. I pulled my boots from my bedroll, something I learned many years ago as there’s few things worse than pulling on cold boots early in the morning. It was the beginning of graylight as I reached to touch the handle of the coffeepot to find the leftover coffee from last frozen. It must be colder than I thought.

Picking up some twigs and small branches I had laid by the fire I shook the snow off then got down to business of starting a fire. I blew on my fingers to warm them and was ready to put a match to the tinder when a whiff of smoke touched my nostrils. There was someone else in these ruins. Putting the match back in my pocket I went to rouse Charlie from his slumber. Stooping down I touched his shoulder.

“Charlie, Charlie, wake up,” he started to say something for my cruelty in waking him to the cold. “Shhh, I smell woodsmoke.”

His eyes widened then he threw on his hat, pulled on his boots then fastened his gunbelt. I pointed in the direction of the smoke. I couldn’t tell exactly where it came from, just the general direction. We moved slowly trying to detect where the smoke was coming from. Charlie stopped suddenly, then nodded his head to indicate that the camp was on the other side of a broken down adobe wall. He was right. I could see light in the dawn.

It could be the outlaws, or it could be a Navajo boy with a group of sheep. We crept to the edge of the wall. I pointed toward one way. Charlie nodded then headed off in that direction. I moved down the wall in the other direction and we would come to the camp and have them in a crossfire if they were indeed the outlaws. Charlie gave me a few minutes. I had the longer route and there were several obstacles of wood, cactus, and broken adobe to heed my progress.

Moving around the far end of the wall, I could make out two men kneeling by a fire, two more in a bedroll. I knew there were five in the holdup, one was missing. We held our positions, the cold starting to work on our bones. I was getting ready to make a move when a sound came to my left of a man walking–the fifth man. When he approached the fire I could see it was the bum who accosted Molly in the diner.

I moved out from behind the wall. Charlie moved at the same time. “Easy boys,” he said calmly. “Put up your hands nice and easy.”

The men looked in his direction. Then from the corner of my eye I saw movement from one of the men in the bedroll. He pulled a gun, firing it at Charlie. Now, I surely hate to shoot a man in his bed, but I cut loose at him, both of my bullets hitting him, but he had started bedlam. Charlie fired into the three men, all three of them were shooting, and they now knew I was behind them.

The man who had just entered camp ran and another joined them. One was wounded in the leg for he limped. The man I recognized grabbed up a bag from the bank and was mounting his horse bareback. Charlie fired, hitting him in the hand causing him to drop the satchel. The men who limped was able to mount and the two of them rode off escaping our fire. Fortune had it for them; it seemed that Charlie and I had picked out the same man to throw lead at. He was riddled with bullets.

Checking the man in his bedroll I found him dead as well. Charlie and I looked at each other then went to the other man in his bedroll. His eyes were closed and he was breathing shallow, perhaps trying to make us think he was already dead. “Go ahead, Sheriff, shoot him to make sure,” I said urging Charlie.

He fired, the bullet hitting near the man’s head. He yelped, opened his eyes to holler, “Don’t shoot!” Then came another groan from him. He was the man who somehow was wounded in the explosion. We pulled him out of his bedroll. He had a gash under his ear and had crusted over with dried blood, but when he examined further we saw a piece of metal protruding from his leg.

Charlie moved to build up the fire to help us see. It was full graylight, but we needed the extra light. Sticking out of his leg was a piece of metal, about five inches in width, but narrow. It had pierced his leg.

“How in the world did you ride with that in your leg?” questioned Charlie as he knelt down by the man.

The man didn’t say anything, just looked at Charlie.

I pulled my knife to split his trousers. It was an ugly mess. A piece of the safe had torn into his leg. His pants were soaked in blood. I reached down, and before I could touch the metal, he hollered, “Don’t touch it!”

“Mister, that needs to come out,” I stated. “Riding a horse would move that around and could cut an artery. Might have already.” His eyes were wide. I realized that as long as he didn’t move he could stand the pain.

I looked at Charlie shaking my head. Neither of us knew how deep the metal was in his leg. If Doc Jones was here he might be able to give the man something and cut it out then sew him up quick. I pulled on my moustache then rubbed down my chin as I stared at Charlie. I had one chance. In a flash I moved my hand to grasp the metal piece and Charlie threw himself over the man’s body. I jerked hard, causing a tremendous howl to come from the man, but the piece of metal was in my hand. It was a piece about 5 by 6.

The man had yelled, but now was breathing heavily, but with the metal removed from his leg he was already feeling some relief. Charlie went to the fire, the water for the coffee was boiling. He pulled off his bandanna, placing about two-thirds of it in the water then brought it to me. It was hot, but I grabbed where it was dry and began to wash off the wound. The man yelped again, but it soon went to moaning. I cleaned it as good as I could, then took my own bandana and wrapped it around the wound, tying it off.

“What about the other two?” asked Charlie.

I was taking the man’s bandana off to bind the wound tighter. “Figured you could take these three back to Durango. I’ll follow after those two. Riding bareback they won’t get far.”

Charlie started to protest. “Take them home, see Marta.”

He gave a grim smile, then nodded his head.

“Better get that arm cleaned up before you see her,” I told him. He had not realized that a bullet had grazed his left arm. In all of the shooting, we were fortunate that that was the only wound. Within the hour Charlie was headed with two dead men and one severely wounded toward home and I was on the trail of the other two fugitives.

“Sit down Marta, we need to talk!” ordered Molly. The evening rush was over and Emelda had left for the day. It was only Molly and Marta in the empty diner.

Marta made some smart remark in Spanish, she snapped, “I have nothing I wish to talk about!”

Molly seized her arm forcing her to plunk down in a chair. “Maybe you don’t, but I do!”

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on December 13, 2021

It isn’t a place that makes you happy or unhappy. It’s the people you love, and who love you.”
–Louis L’Amour (How the West Was Won)

“And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

–Romans 9:26 (NKJV)
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Today we finish off Psalm 68, and it will be our last look at the Psalms until 2022. Can you believe that? The year is almost gone, on the horizon is the dawning of a new year, but that’s another “Echo.” Someone has said that the end of Psalm 68 speaks of the “Psalmist’s View of the World.” “There in the foreground is the Temple, inhabited by the God of Israel. The kings of all the other nations are coming to pay tribute to the Lord in Jerusalem. Egyptians and Ethiopians come from afar to bow before him offering their gifts. The mighty nations of the world fade into the background because the Lord is the ruler of all, and he lives right here among his people.” (William Petersen) Get that image in your mind as you read the rest of the Psalms.

27 — There is little Benjamin, their leader, the princes of Judah and their company, the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 — Your God has commanded your strength; strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
29 — Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, kings will bring presents to You.
30 — Rebuke the beasts of the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, till everyone submits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 — Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 — Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord. Selah
33 — To Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
34 — Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds.
35 — O God, You are more awesome than Your hold places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God! (NKJV)

We see a mighty victory procession. The war is over, not just the battle. Could it allude to Armageddon when Christ will come and rule from Jerusalem? Could very well be. There is praise, there is tribute, there is recognition to the Lord, the God of gods. All will submit to Him.
As we go through life it is important not to only look at the immediate but remember the whole of life. Eternity must be kept in view. Through the midst of sorrows, problems, and difficulties our eyes should not be focused on them but on the Lord. Never forget, He has the last word, therefore, walk through life keeping that last phrase etched in your mind and heart–“Blessed be God!”

“The whole triumphant host give thanks to God on high;
‘Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!’ they ever cry.
Hail Abraham’s God and mine! With heaven our songs we raise;
All might and majesty are thine, and endless praise.”
–Thomas Olivers