Author: Ira Paine

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.  Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
–Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
     Beavin stood there with eyes wide open.  Then he blurted, “I don’t know nothing about marshaling.  I’m a miner!”
     I eyeballed him, “You know right from wrong, don’t you?”
     “Yes, but…”
     “But nothing, you can handle this.  Just use common sense, be firm.  Your job is to keep the peace and the people safe.  Do that and you don’t need to know all the details of the law,” I paused letting that sink in.  “The fine points of the law will come, but right now we need peace in this town.”
     He ducked his head, then lifted it speaking, “I’m not much good with a pistol…”
     I held up my hand to stop his talking then went over to the wall where there were rifles and shotguns.  Grabbing one of them, I brought it over to him.  “All you need is this.”  I held out a Baker Three-Barrel Gun.  It had two 12-gauge barrels with the third barrel chambered for a .44-40 cartridge.  If I didn’t have the Greener it would be my gun of choice.
“You don’t have to know how to use a pistol with this.  It works simply–point and fire.”
     Glancing at his arm, “Take off that sling.  If you don’t need it tomorrow, you don’t need it today.  Take hold of this fine weapon, get a feel of it,” I smiled, “you’ll do all right.  I’ll be back within the week to check on you.”
     Charlie started to object, but I glared at him and he quickly stifled his objections.
     Osain was starting to come around.  “Can I hire my own deputies?”
     I looked at Charlie, then answered, “As long as they understand they work for the law, and that either Sheriff Gold or myself can fire them at any time.  I don’t want any high-minded men thinking that a star gives them the right to bully.  Understand?”
     He nodded.  “I’ve some Welsh brothers who are down on their luck.  Good men, mind you.”
     “They’ll listen to you?” I snapped.  “I told you I don’t want no bullies!”
     “They’ll listen,” then he smiled.  “The pay will help feed their bellies.  Plus Rhodri has a family, it will be a welcome sight for him to bring some bacon home.”
     Glancing over at Charlie, he gave a little nod.  Then he added to the conversation, “Tanner’s a nervous sort.  Keep him as the jailer and he’ll be okay.”
     “Sheriff, you want to swear him in?” When Charlie was doing the honors I went over to the desk where I found one badge in a drawer.  Placing it on the desk I went to the back office where I found several more.  “Plenty of badges,” I told him, but remember, you have a budget.”
     “Beavins, fines collected go to the town treasury, however, your office will also get a percentage of them,” Charlie paused, “Just don’t overdo it.”
     “Marshal, Sheriff, I got the message.  All I can tell you is that I’ll do my best.”
     I nodded, “That’s all anyone can do.”  Then I added, “If you’re a prayin’ man do it, if not I’d start.”
     Turning my attention to Charlie, “Well, Sheriff, do you think you can manage to walk to the train station?  I’ll guard the prisoner while we amble down.”
     “We’ll leave as soon as Tanner gets back.  I want to tell him the situation.  What about Smith?”
     “It is my thinkin’ that we’ll leave Smith here until I return.  Hopefully Judge Klaser will have the trial and hangin’ before the week’s out.”
     We left within the hour, giving the reins to Osain Beavins and his men.  Hopefully they could keep the lid on the town.  McGinnis complained from the start until we boarded the train.  He complained that he couldn’t walk that far, then he complained about the hard seats on the train.  He hollered once that he was bleeding and when I replied that maybe he’d bleed out on the way down and we could just pitch his body over into the canyon he quieted down.
     So far, neither Sheriff Gold nor myself had seen anyone who looked like they might be one of McGinnis’ men.  Charlie was holding up good, but there was that feeling…

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

If you can’t see the difference between real life and modern froth, I’m sorry for you.”
                    –Zane Grey  (Lost Pueblo)


       “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.'”
                    –Revelation 5:9 (ESV)
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What type of song do you sing?  What melody is in your heart?  That’s where I keep most of mine for to hear me sing would be like the sweet sound of a cat who has just had her tail squished over by a rocking chair.  F.B. Meyer states that, “new songs are demanded by new mercies.  Let us give God freshly broken loaves for His table.”  I like that.  As God gives us new mercies and new blessings we should be singing songs about those.  That’s what David is doing in Psalm 144, read it with this in mind, a new song makes sure that our praise doesn’t grow stale. (Wood)

          9 — I will sing a new song to You, O God; on a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
        10 — The One who gives salvation to kings, who delivers David His servant from the deadly sword.
        11 — Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouth speaks lying words, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood–
        12 — That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as pillars, sculptured in palace style;
        13 — That our barns may be full, supplying all kinds of produce; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields;
        14 — That our oxen may be well laden; that there be no breaking in or going out; that there be no outcry in our streets.
        15 — Happy are the people who are in such a state; happy are the people whose God is the LORD!  (NKJV)

     Praise is an act of the will.  It is something that we do, not something that just happens.  Here we see David singing a new praise, or a new song expressing his confidence and trust in the Lord.  Look at what his song entails.  First of all there is the praise of victory because of his trust in God.  He will deliver us from the pestilence and the sword of our enemy, whatever form that may take.  Then we see that he is dependent upon the Lord.  Our praise should include our daily dependence on the Lord not only for the great victories, but for every blessing that comes our way.  Praise, then, should be continually on our lips, or at least in our hearts.
     Look at what David brings before the Lord.  He begins with family.  He hits on a key point and that is nurturing.  Children are not to be left alone, or to let media nurture them.  It is the job, duty, and obligation of the parents.  This is a battle for the State wants complete control over the children.  If you do not believe that look at the school curriculums.  Second, he brings up finances.  How will you make it through the day, how will you pay your bills?  The Lord will supply.  Look at the words of Paul, “…as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” (2 Corinthians 6:10, NKJV)  Our hope, our trust, our faith is in the Lord–He is the One who will supply all our needs.
     Lastly he brings out the idea of security.  We live in a crazy, confused, and evil world.  Where is our safety?  It is in the arms of the Lord.  He is our Protector.  We have a calm assurance that He will protect and provide.  And I might mention that we should have our minds protected as well.  There is an onslaught of thinking out there that wants control of your thoughts.  Let the Holy Spirit guard your mind and that means you must get into the Word of God.  I like the way the NLT translates verse 15, “Yes, happy are those who have it like this!  Happy indeed are those who God is the LORD.”
     If you hear a bellowing, don’t worry; it’s not a buffalo groaning.  It my new song, a song of joy, blessing, and trust in the Lord.  Why it might even cause me to “clog in the kitchen” or at least “shuffle in the hallway.”  The Lord is good!  Sing about that, if you will!  We have a hope in Him.

               “We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land,
               But it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand;
               He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,
               The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.
               All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above;
               Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all his love.”
                           –Matthias Claudius

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

He was waiting with a cup of water when the coffee began to boil. He poured the water in to sink the grounds, then dipped into the pot. He could barely see first light in the east.”

                    –Elmer Kelton  (Other Men’s Horses)
 
Come in this hyar kitchen, Pard.  Sit yurself down an’ I’ll get the coffee directly.  Go ahead, slurp on it.  Let’s get this first cup down ‘fore I unload what’s a brewin’ in my mind.  Ahhh, nothin’ like it, just makes the ol’ gizzard do flips.
     Yuh can keep sippin’ while I bring to yur attention something I saw this week.  Yuh know this ol’ world is upside down in its thinkin’ and livin’.  Sure glad there’s still plenty of good God-fearin’ folk around.  The Lord is always there, but I can feel in my bones something a-brewin’ up in the heavens.  Let me fill my cup and take a sip ‘fore I get started.
     Pard, I saw where a gay pride flag was raised over San Antonio City Hall.  Several writers were boasting that the city was declaring its support of diversity and equal and fair rights for all people.  However, in reading this, which by the way didn’t settle on my stomach so well, I didn’t see anything mentioned regarding moral purity, or God’s moral laws, or moral integrity.  There were plenty of statements beratting those who are intolerant.  I wonder, what would happen if the Christian flag was raised over City Hall?  What would be the response to that?
     Let me go on, get yurself another cup if’n yuh need it.  There’s a movement in the schools where the term “Family” is no longer to be used.  It has been determined that Family is a racist term that promotes “whiteness.”  The article further stated that the term “family” puts males in an authority position.  Duh….!  Course there could be a problem since there is one group in America where seventy-five percent of the households (I won’t use the term “home”) do not have a father.  The article indicates that it was the responsibility of teachers to help dismantle whiteness.
     “Chaos, confusion, bring it on”…is the chant of the lawless.  Can’t yuh just see ol’ Scratch a gigglin’ an’ cheerin’ them on?  John writes regarding many “antichrists,” but there will be one leader; one who will come forth in the midst of the chaos and confusion.  Pard, that day is approachin’.  Yep, there’s a great day comin’ and it may not be just bye and bye, but sooner than we think.  That’s why we have to be keepin’ our noses clean and ready for the comin’ of the Lord.  Yep, He’s a-comin’ back for His Bride, and nothin’ will be stoppin’ Him and then, oh my, the world will really see corruption, evil, and wickedness go on the rampage.
     Well, the pot’s empty, and the coffee in my cup is cold.  That’s what I get for a-preachifyin’ at yuh.  Yuh be havin’ a good week, ride straight and tall, keep yur bearin’ and be wary of yur surroundin’s, and keep yur gun and Bible handy.  Oh, an’ lest I forget, don’t be a-goin’ out without checkin’ yur cinch.  Yuh forget that and yuh might fall on yur noggin’.  That might cause yuh some confusion.
      Vaya con Dios.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Conversation there means your way of life, and without covetousness means to quit wantin’ everything you don’t need.”
                    –B.N. Rundell  (Tincup)

       Also [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up).
                    –Luke 18:1 (Amplified)
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No, I haven’t forgotten that this is D-Day, the invasion that started the end of the Nazi regime and Hitler’s agenda in Europe.  It has been eighty-one years that 2500 Americans gave their lives on that day.  That brings me to a scripture and thought that has been going through my mind–prayer, and the verse is Luke 18:1, “…men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” (NKJV)  or as the NIV puts it, “never give up.”
     I’ve read recently that as believers, we don’t need to pray since God already knows what is going to take place.  But then why did He instruct us in so many places that we are to pray?  There is something to prayer!  Why I’m dealing with this subject two days in a row I don’t really know.  Perhaps I need it, or maybe you do.  I’m one of the world’s worst prayers, and there are so many good sources on prayer–Bounds, Rinker, Murray, and a host of others–that I shouldn’t be the one to write on prayer.  Yet, more and more I see the importance of it.  Not so much as to get something from God, but just to talk with Him.
     When I start to pray I have something on my mind:  a need, a request, a grateful heart, fellowship, but then when I start to pray there are a thousand thoughts that begin to wander through my mind trying to get me off into some box-canyon.  I have to stop, concentrate and focus–is that the way it should be?  I am going to borrow from Alistair Begg this morning and he brings this thought:  “in His sovereignty, God has ordained both the ends and the means to those ends, and we will not reach God’s intended ends without His foreordained means.”  Duh???  What?  Yes, indeed a mystery.
     But we are told earnestly to pray.  How God uses the prayers of His people in His plans remains a mystery.  We don’t and we won’t have all the answers to all our questions about prayer, but we are told to pray and it works.  “We can be confident that God ordains means such as prayer for His eternal purposes.  And knowing that is enough to bring us to our knees so that we might enjoy the privilege of knowing in all eternity that our prayers were used as part of His sovereign purposes to save His people.” (Begg)
     Along with that we come in closer fellowship with the Father when we pray.  Remember, He is the Father, not a “sugar-daddy”, not a buddy.  We have the intimacy of a dad, but He is also to be revered as Father.  As Ray Stedman writes, we do not address our prayers to the Chairman of the Committee for Welfare and Relief expecting a handout.  Neither do we pray to the Grand High Secretary of the Treasury to help finance our needs.  We come to Him as a child, one who recognizes Him as a loving dad and a heavenly Father.
     Prayer–sometimes it is hard, sometimes it is only a word or a feeling within our souls.  Sometimes it involves petitions and needs.  Mostly, prayer should be a conversation with our Father about life.  I close this morning with a word from Lois Chaney’s book, God Is No Fool.
               One morning I awoke with a desire I wanted to fulfill.  It concerned a way I wanted to be.
               This was a matter to lay before God.  This was a matter for prayer.  The desire was for a power and goodness, and I wanted the prayer to be right.  I would preface my request with an acknowledgement of my unworthiness.  This wasn’t false; I knew it, and God would accept it.
               All day phrases and words escaped me.  My special prayer lay limp and wouldn’t take shape.  I would set aside a time.  I would approach Him in truth.
               In the evening I closed myself away from others.  I read from His word.  I fought for phrases and words–I felt embarrassed and mute.  And the world got bigger, and God got greater, and I got smaller.
               Frustrated, I jerked to reality, and suddenly I was flooded with the answer, and I was the way I wanted to be.
               But I felt confused…I had wanted that moment of communication with God, but I had found myself impotent and alone.  Then I thought I heard something.
                       “I heard you this morning.”
               I think I have a lot to learn about prayer.