Author: Ira Paine
“The love of peace and the unwillingness to fight never kept anyone out of trouble.”
Coffee Percs
We were sitting on the veranda having our last coffee of the day. No one felt like talking, and none of us felt like listening, all we wanted to do, was look at the sky and breathe the cool New Mexico air.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Blue Valley)
Come on in, Pard, take a deep breath, the aroma of the coffee is fillin’ the kitchen. I sure can remember some of those days in the high country fillin’ my lungs with that fresh mountain air. Put that along with the coffee, add some bacon and bread to the aroma, an’ Pard, yuh’d almost think yur were in heaven.
Sometimes the air ain’t so cool, but it’s usually fresh. Sure does beat breathin’ that city air, but Pard, yuh might want to be wearin’ a mask. It’s startin’ up, the air soon is goin’ to be filled with the lies from the pit. Listen to them politicians an’ yuh soon learn whose side they’re on. The father of lies will be seen. Why Pard, sorry, go ‘head and start yur slurpin’, I can talk whilst yur a-drinkin’. But here’s the truth of the matter, there’s one slitherin’ with a slick, forked tongue, twistin’ the Bible, speakin’ contrary to the holy principles of God, an’ callin’ himself a minister, of sorts. See, Pard, we’re never far from the evil that lurks out there, an’ it’s everywhere. It goes from the high and lofty, the marble halls of government, all the way down to the slums of the cities. More and more the fight is upon us, and woe to us if’n we let down our guard for a minute. Pard, I’ll get yuh a refill when I finish my speechifyin’. We don’t wrestle with flesh and blood, but against powers of this dark world. When election time comes closer yul be seein’ what I mean. I’m jist tryin’ to get yur ready now.
Now where’s that coffeepot? I jist had somethin’ on my mind an’ had to be lettin’ it loose. I understand the need for a good cup of coffee. See the world wants yuh to compromise, water down the Word of God, live a life of compromise and relative truth. Why Pard, every mornin’ when I drink my coffee I ponder that over. That’s why I make it strong and black, to remind myself not to be compromisin’. Plus I enjoy the taste more than addin’ all those fixin’s that some folks do.
One good thing from yesterday. The spring rounds with the ol’ sawbones is over. No more visits until early fall. Ha, old, why most of them are kids with a computer who know how to read a lab report. When I go to the doc I usually feel better cause I look at some of those poor folk in there an’ they’re bad off. Some of them look like ol’ Bodacious, himself stomped on them. Others look like they where thrown off into a barbwire fence while others into a large patch of cholla. I feel sorry for them, for they look bad, I mean it Pard, bad. So I step a little livelier when I leave the office.
One more thing I jist have to be a-sayin’ before we part ways. Pard, know this thing for sure–the Lord is good! Yuh can sure be depenin’ on that all the way to the grave. Yuh know we can count on Him to be helpin’ us when we have to be a wrestlin’ with all those evil imps and varmints from the Pit.
Well, next time we’re together, the Lord willin’, on a Saturday it’ll be June. My mercy, time moves along faster than a full-blow’d stampede. Yuh be takin’ care of yurself, an’ if’n yur close by we’re havin’ dinner on the grounds at church Sunday. Don’t think Annie’s makin’ a pie, but she’s making bbq sausages, potato salad, an’ some cookies. But I’m tellin’ yuh, there’ll be some fixin’s. Have a good Lord’s day, an’ a week knowin’ He’ll be with yuh. Oh, an’ one more thing. Check yur cinch.
Vaya con Dios.
Echoes From the Campfire
But greed does things to some men, turns their souls black as midnight.”
–James Leonard (One-Eyed Jack Reaper)
“For the wicked are proud of their evil desires; the greedy curse and reject the LORD.”
–Psalm 10:3 (HCSB)
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“God’s threats are designed to be trumpet calls that awaken us from our spiritual stupor, to shake us free of our drunken iniquity, and to sober us up, to open our eyes to our sins so that we fall on our knees, confess those sins, and receive the never-ending mercy of God in Jesus Christ.”
–Chad Bird
Before looking at the first “woe” of Isaiah 5, I want us to look at an important statement by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Some will proclaim regarding Isaiah, “that’s Old Testament, it doesn’t pertain to us.” But Lloyd-Jones takes a more truthful and thoughtful approach. “Israel is a pattern or an example which God set before the whole human race in order to convey His great message that men and women, in their rebellion against God, are ignorant of their own true nature, they are irrational and perverse and, finally, they are utterly without excuse. The only hope for them is to realise all this before it is too late and repent and turn back to God lest His wrath should descend upon them.”
Woe to us!
.8 Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
.9 The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing: “Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
.10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a home of seed shall yield but an ephah.
–Isaiah 5:8-10 (ESV)
To have a better understanding, the TLB says, “An acre of vineyard will not produce a gallon of juice! Ten bushels of seed will yield a one-bushel crop!” (verse 10)
Greed and materialism depicts the first woe. Before going on further, “woe” is not a feeling bad enough to just go eat some worms. No, it is a dire warning of ruinous trouble, calamity, and affliction. Many declare that real life consists of money, wealth, and the amount of possessions one has. “More, give me more!” The warning comes–“WOE!”
It has been said that “it takes money to make money,” and there may be some truth in that statement, but it is not done at the expense of one’s character or at the expense of someone else. It is not done by fraud, swindle, extortion, or cheating. The words to an old song came to mind, “If I had his money, I could do things my way…”. (Jack Rhodes). In other words, the lack of contentment and satisfaction with your lot in life and the covetous attitude of wanting someone else’s and more, more, more.
What is it then that makes a person? The size of their house, the car they drive, their bank account, their fashion-designer? “What a conception of life!” declares Lloyd-Jones, who continues, “That non-Christian view of life makes us small creatures, it estimates us and judges us in terms of goods and the things that we possess, and knows nothing about our soul, our spirit, and what links us to God and the possibilities of eternity.”
When a person is identified by their possession then they are a slave. Jesus reminds us, “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” (Luke 12:23, ESV) If you are controlled by greed you will never have enough. If you are not content with the life you are living, joy will forever be escaping you. “The selfish spirit that comes in is an expression of this godless materialistic outlook upon the whole of life.” (Lloyd-Jones)
The end result of the materialistic lifestyle is that God will turn it all to desolation. Let us remember and heed the words of our Lord in Matthew 6:19, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” (ESV). He continues with 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (ESV). “You will have enough, and more than enough, to satisfy you while you are in this life; you will have started with your soul, you will be right with God, and you will therefore succeed in time, you will succeed in death, you will succeed throughout the countless ages of eternity.” (Lloyd-Jones) Perhaps we should grasp onto the the idea of Jeremiah Burroughs that he presents in his wonderful book, “The Rare-Jewel of Christian Contentment,” “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every direction.”
Woe unto you who are greedy and materialistic in your approach to life. Destruction will be your lot. The soul will not be satisfied. Dryness of spirit will come and there will be no inner harvest.
Echoes From the Campfire
Small kindnesses, taken as a while, go a long way in making the world a better place.”
–John Deacon (The Provider 3)
“I tell you all that you will see Heaven wide open and God’s angels ascending and descending around the Son of Man!”
–John 1:51 (Phillips)
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“God blesses those people whose hearts are pure. They will see him!” –Matthew 5:8 (CEV)
I used the CEV because I like the emphatic end, “they WILL see Him!” (caps mine) Notice the exclamation point. That is the great blessing of God, we will see Him face-to-face. It is not hope, or just an act of faith but a surety! Now we see God with the eyes of faith and look forward to that day in glory. John Stott writes, “Only the utterly sincere can bear the dazzling vision in whose light the darkness of deceit must vanish and by whose fire all shams are burned up.” Imagine seeing that burning fire, the light of His face. To see Him we must have pure hearts that means we must surrender our lives, that includes will, mind, and emotions to the sanctifying process of the Holy Spirit. The process is not immediate, and yet it is. We have spiritual discernment, therefore, we must use it. We must be in the Word so that we can obtain clear views of the Divine character. Paul tells us, “Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV)
I often used the illustration to students that if they wanted to see the devil look in the mirror. But in spiritual reality, we should look in the mirror and see a reflection of Christ. Our focus should be on Him, we should strive to be like Him, therefore, when people see us they should see Jesus. So then, when we look in the mirror we should see Jesus. Oh, it for sure will be dim, but it should be there. We should see hope, we should carry a smile on our countenance, we should see the faith that one day, we will see Him, we shall be like Him–now we are in the process. Focus! That is important, stay focused on Jesus. Arthur Pink writes, “Where the eye is single the whole body is full of light.” Know this also, being a child of God you carry the “spiritual genetics”, therefore as we look like our earthly biological parents we should now look like our heavenly spiritual Father.
Love the Lord with all our hearts, mind, soul, and body. That means the whole of us! God’s mind should become our mind. God’s will should be our will. We then should react in response to that, rejoicing, always rejoicing. Thomas Watson declares, “The pure heart is God’s paradise where He delights to walk.” A sort of spiritual Eden but more so because the Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us, showing us the proper way to travel. One day the curse will be removed; one day we will serve Him in honesty and purity. And as John tells us, “They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:4, NKJV)
One day my friend. One day, not too far away, whether by rapture or by death we shall see Him. And take confidence in the words that John wrote, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3, NKJV) Friends, do not run from the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, for He is helping each of us purify ourselves so that one day we will be able to stand before Him.
Oh, let the words of this little verse run through your soul. William Barclay puts all the thoughts together when he says, “O the bliss of the man whose motives are absolutely pure, for that man will some day be able to see God!”