If I’m to accept the benefits, I ought to accept my share of the work.”
–Elmer Kelton (The Time It Never Rained)
“Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.”
–Nehemiah 4:17(NKJV)
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One thing I haven’t done in the past few months is get woeful and down in the dumps. I will not be drug through the dregs of life no matter the situation. I don’t like masks, but I will wear them if necessary. Fortunately, where I live few people wear them. I don’t like the idea of a vaccine; there are too many variables being discussed, so I will not get one. I don’t worry about the future whether near or far.
In these times there has been much ado about it being the “last days.” I guess it depends what one means about the last days. If one is talking about the imminent return of the Lord for the Church, then for sure it could be. If, however, they are talking about Judgment Day, it is not. A true believer cannot deny that these days are definitely leading up to the coming of the Lord for His people. I fully believe that it is part of the cleansing and the waking up of the Church for that to happen.
I’m a happy person, I know the Lord is coming, and I believe He is coming soon. I am “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13, NKJV). Sometimes I begin to get angry at those I see that spew forth the hate, then the Spirit touches me to remind that without Jesus they are lost forever. Other times I feel grief at what is happening in this great country. For myself, I have hope.
I have hope in Christ; He is coming back. I have hope in His promises, they are for me. He will never fail to fulfill His promises. My hope is grounded in the Word of God. Read the news and it could be easy to lose hope; read the Word of God and hope arises for you see what is happening.
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I do not remember the exact date of the first of my daily writings (i.e., Daily Paine, Echoes From the Campfire, Saturday Perc). It most definitely started sometime around this time in the year 2000. At first they were sporadic–the idea behind them was to stay in contact with my daughter, Kim, who was married in August 2000. I thought it would be nice to keep in contact with her via a morning devotion. They were not every day, but all that changed September 11, 2001. Since that time they have been almost a daily occurrence.
When I think that I have been writing them for twenty years it almost staggers me. Goodness, who would have thought. I have quite a base of individuals that receive them daily, and I always pray that someone may be touched by the Spirit of God in them. My purpose originally was to stay in contact with Kim, but now I hope to inspire, encourage, sometimes cause you to think, and bless you. I have tried over the years different approaches, and one of the biggest problems is to get said, what I want to say on one page.
Thanks to all that drop a note once in a while. I really enjoy hearing from you. As of now I have no plans to stop writing, and most days I can usually think of something to write. Some may not be as theological as other days, some days I borrow thoughts from other writers.
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“Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death — the seas bear only commerce men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace. The holy mission has been completed. And in reporting this to you, the people, I speak for the thousands of silent lips, forever stilled among the jungles and the beaches and in the deep waters of the Pacific which marked the way. I speak for the unnamed brave millions homeward bound to take up the challenge of that future which they did so much to salvage from the brink of disaster.”
This was part of the radio address by General Douglas MacArthur upon the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. The bloody war was over. In the actual address aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, MacArthur spoke the following profound words in benediction.
“Let us pray that peace now be restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always.
These proceedings are closed.”
It was finally over. World War II had come to an end. Countless lives, military and civilian had been lost to rid the world of a totalitarian menace.
Author: Ira Paine
The Saga of Miles Forrest
Drop the gun then take off the gunbelt,” I ordered.
There was hesitation on his part. I didn’t have time to argue with him, I had to get to the baggage car to see what happened. The solution: I thumped in alongside the head with the Greener and not did his gun drop but his whole body fell to the floor.
I hurried to remove his gunbelt then his uniform belt which I used to tie his hands together behind his back. Pulling off his uniform blouse I put it on him backwards keeping his arms out of the sleeves and tied the sleeves to the seat. Then I rushed to see if Linton was alive. From six feet away I doubt that the lieutenant missed. The bullet caught him in the chest on the lower left side; most likely destroying a lung for Linton was for sure dead.
Cautiously I went to the baggage car. I didn’t know what to expect. There were four shots fired. That either meant that the bad guys took control quickly or that Sergeant Quincy had been ready. They were probably thinking the same thing about what was happening in the passenger car. Only one shot, did that mean that the Lieutenant had everything under control?
I decided to climb up on the top of the car and move back to where I had talked with Gibbons. I didn’t know if they could hear me on the roof of the car or not, I was hoping that the sound of the train on the tracks would hide my steps. Lying down I tried to peer over the side. The door was still open. As I moved slowly down the steps I saw why; the guard was laying halfway in the doorway propping it open.
“Gibbons,” I loudly whispered. Seeing that did not good, I yelled out, “Gibbons!”
“Sure hope that’s you, Marshal, ’cause if it ain’t you’re going to be received with several rounds of lead.”
It was the voice of the Sergeant. “Sergeant, I’m comin’ in.”
Stepping over the dead guard I made my entrance into the car. The first thing I noticed what the gun of Sergeant Quincy pointing at me. “I sure hope you’re one of the good guys,” I stated. Then I saw Gibbons laying there with a soldier working on him. “Hurt bad?” I asked the Sergeant.
“Hard to tell, he needs a doctor. Private McCaskill is trying to stop the bleeding. He took a bullet at almost point blank range from the guard.”
Looking from Gibbons to the others in the car I saw that other guards had been herded to one end with their guns confiscated. On the floor, not far from the Sergeant lay the shifty-eyed man with a bullet hole in his forehead.
“I have the Lieutenant tied up in the passenger car. He shot and killed Mr. Linton,” I said then reached out to place my hand on the shoulder of the sergeant. “I don’t know exactly where we are or where the next town is, but I will go up to tell the engineer about the situation back here. Have you seen the conductor?”
A strange look appeared on the sergeant’s face. “Come to think of it he went through the baggage car just before those soldiers came back from eating.”
“Well, he never came into the passenger car.”
Shaking his head, the sergeant said, “Think they threw him off the train?”
“That would be my guess,” I said then went to see Gibbons who was unconscious. “How is he soldier?”
“The bullet hit right at the shoulder joint. Since it was fired so close it went on through, but I think the bone might be broken. I finally stopped the bleeding, but maybe it was ’cause he don’t have much blood left.”
Leaning down I spoke, “I don’t know if you can hear me Josh, but the bullion is safe. You and the real soldiers did their job.”
“Watch him, son,” I said as I stood then hurried out to make my way to the engine.”
The engineer listened intently as I told him of the situation and informed me that I could get a telegraph out when we arrived where the train would take on water, but it would be close to an hour before we arrived in Las Animas where there would be a doctor available from Fort Lyons.
As the train took on water I went to send the telegram to the marshal’s office in Kansas City. “Gibbons shot–STOP–bullion safe–STOP–prisoners–STOP–send telegram to Las Animas advising. Marshal Forrest”
Upon entering the passenger car I saw a soldier guarding the lieutenant. He was still tied and laying down, but was now conscious. Linton had been taken from the passenger car. I glanced at the passengers who had all moved together at one end of the car and nodded at them. “To ease your mind, I’m Deputy U.S. Marshal Miles Forrest. There was an attempted holdup led by the lieutenant that has been put down. Injuries have occurred but the situation is under control.”
The engineer must have poured on the coal for we arrived under an hour in Las Animas. The town marshal was there along with a detachment from Fort Lyons to take the prisoners. The soldiers who were to relieve the detachment on the train was there as well. I asked the sergeant if he and his men would also remain. I now trusted them and these men were new to me. The officer in charge had no problem and would inform the commander at Fort Lyons of the situation.
Gibbons was taken from the train to the hospital at Fort Lyons. He had not regained consciousness. I hated to leave him, but I had to continue on to Kansas City.
Just before the train was ready to pull out, a man came running to me. “Are you Marshal Forrest?”
When I informed him that I was, he handed me two telegrams. The first from the Kansas City office. “Continue on–STOP–marshal will relieve you in Abilene.” That left me puzzled until I read the other telegram, “Mateo shot, hurry back”…
Echoes From the Campfire
His mind was usually crystal clear, open for impressions, warnings, dangers. His instincts were alive to every change of sunlight or shadow, to every hint of movement.”
–Louis L’Amour (How the West Was Won)
“Terrors overtake him like a flood; A tempest steals him away in the night.”
–Job 27:20 (NKJV)
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Psalm 46 is a psalm of victory, a song of faith in the Lord Who is our fortress and refuge. The psalm is one in which we are simply to stop and look at God. Look at Him and expect Him to do great things. Today, we finish Psalm 46.
8 – Come, see the works of the Lord, who brings devastation on the earth.
9 – He makes wars cease throughout the earth. He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces; He burns up the chariots.
10 – “Stop your fighting—and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
11 – Yahweh of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah (HCSB)
The first part of the Psalm should leave us trembling, especially those who do not know the Lord. However, even believers should take warning and be in wonder for the Lord will bring “devastation” to this world. That time is nearly upon us. It will be a dreadful day when that takes place. Hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, disease, viruses, will be nothing compared to the devastation of the Lord.
At that time He will make wars to cease. He will finally reign over the earth as the Prince of Peace. Then verse 10 is a very familiar and important verse. I really like the KJV and NKJV and with other versions which puts the first part like this, “Be still and know that I am God”. We get so busy that we don’t take time to see what God is doing. Be still, or as the NASB states, “quit striving.” Quit fighting, quit striving, quit being so caught up with yourself and so busy that you cannot see what the Lord is doing.
Derek Kidner stated, “Resembles the command to another raging sea: ‘Peace be still!’ and the end in view is stated in terms not of man’s hopes but of God’s glory.” We get caught up with our own struggles and fights that we far too often forget to look at the larger picture. Jesus is there to calm our storm, but He is also concerned with the larger storm that worsens and is loosed upon humanity.
“Be still, my soul:
Thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways
Leads to a joyful end.”
–Katharina von Schlegel
He continues to remind us that He is there with us. He is there in our struggles. He is there in the midst of the calamity and the terror that may come our way. He is there in the hidden spiritual fight. No matter what He is with us. One other note, “Yahweh of Hosts”, or the “LORD Almighty” as in some versions means the “Commander of the Armies of Heaven.” He is the supreme commander-in-chief of the universe, and that includes those in the spiritual realm.
Coffee Percs
The coffee was fresh, hot, and strong. He took his cup in his hand and walked to the door.”
–Louis L’Amour (Heller With a Gun)
Well, Pard, Laura passed us by without even a kiss nor a slap. That’s fine with me, but some folk down Louisiana way, sure got slapped by her, no kisses for sure. Ol’ Momma Nature can sure get riled if’n she has a mind to.
Been interesting how the talk of the corona has died down some thanks to Laura. I’m sure it’ll pick up again. Either that or the media will set their sights on another issue and target. Mail in votin’ has been high on their list. Hang on to yur hat an’ wait an’ see. I’m a-wishin’ this election was already over, but in time, my friend, in time.
This is a time when all true believers need to be determinin’ in how they perceive life in this ol’ world. Am I a part of the devil and the world system? Or am I just a wanderer lookin’ for a city? Just ask up, I’ll fill yur cup, or yuh can wander on over to the stove yurself.
Listen, the devil has the control of the evil in the world, but never forget that this is God’s world and He has control of the devil. Why think of that coffee yur a-drinkin’. He made the soil, He made the plants, He made the means for man to discover how to cultivate it and roast it. Not sure if He made us to guzzle it the way you do, but it is one of the little satisfactions of life He has given us to enjoy.
This world is His and what happens in it, He for sure takes notice. Remember that ol’ song, “He’s got the whole world in His hands…”. We are part of God’s world; yet we cannot let the world squeeze us into its mold. Join in the cultural revoluion, drink yur cinos or find your place in the kingdom of God in this world.
Yeah, yeah, I’ve been preachin’, but some of the best preachin’ I do is to myself. That’s why I have a cup of coffee with me when I go to preachin’ to myself. Helps give me a break to take a sip or two, and calms down the gizzard.
Make sure yur cinch is tight for yuh might just meet some contrary people this week.
Vaya con Dios.