In the eternal strife to keep alive on the desert a man who conquered must have assimilated something of the terrible nature of the stinging cholla cactus, and the hard, grasping tenacity of the mesquite roots, and the ferocity of the wildcat, and the cruelty of the hawk—something of the nature of all that survived. It was a law. It forced man to mete out violence in advance of that meant for him.”
–Zane Grey (Wanderer of the Wasteland)
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
–1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV)
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I have not seen Bill Wilson in years now, but we used to correspond, and he came several times to minister at our church. Once in conversation, I told him, “Bill, I couldn’t do what you do with the children in Brooklyn.” He replied, “You could, if you were called to do it.” There is one thing that all Christians have in common and that is a cross. Besides the cross of Jesus Christ, we must also pick up our own cross. All Christians will bear a cross, but it will be peculiar to the person. It could be mental, physical, emotion, or spiritual or a mixture of those.
“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'”
–Luke 9:23 (NKJV)
First, Jesus says to “deny himself.” This is a radical decision for once we decide to follow Jesus things will never be the same. Denying ourselves means that we no longer know ourselves. The self does not exist. We are to deny what we want, our pleasures and desires, and follow the Lord doing what He wishes for us to do. Someone has said that we are not to “indulge ease and appetite, for then it will be hard to bear toil, weariness, and want.”
Second, we must take up our cross. You must be willing; you must pick it up for it will not be thrust upon you. One you have it across your shoulders don’t be murmuring, complaining, and whining that you are carrying a cross. Remember, you willingly picked it up. Don’t covet or be jealous of the cross that someone else has to bear, the Lord knows what you need and what you can handle. So as you walk with that cross on your shoulders, do it as unto the Lord, keep the proper attitude.
What kind of cross will it be? That is not known until you pick it up. Barclay said, “To take up our cross means to be prepared to face things like that [crucifixion] for loyalty to Jesus; it means to be ready to endure the worst that a man can do to us for the sake of being true to him.”
“As Christians we will not set our desires and our will against the right Christ has to our lives. It does not mean cultivating a weak, nonassertive personality or merely denying ourselves certain pleasures…we are to recognize that we now live for the sake of Christ, not for our own sake.” (Walter L. Liefeld) This is not a one time activity–it must be done daily. “Cross-bearing is continuous. It is heroism of the dull common hour.” (George H. Morrison) The crosses are many, the day may be long, and there may be days that seem all too dull and common. What do you think the words at the end of life mean? Well done, good and faithful–you have carried your cross well.
One more thing to consider as you stoop to pick up your cross. When the person who was to be crucified reached down to pick up the beam he must carry he knew where he was going. This is a one-way journey.
Author: Ira Paine
The Saga of Miles Forrest
When I came back to the telegraph office I couldn’t help giving the marshal one of my best smiles. “Hotel clerk said they had a vacancy. Guess someone just canceled,” I paused to see the marshal’s reaction and it was what I sorta figured it would be–anger and frustration.
I turned to the doctor. “Doc, do you think you could get a couple of fellows to help move Jens from the counter over to the room? I’d help,” I paused to grin at the marshal again, “but I’ve got my hands full holdin’ this shotgun.”
“Fitzer, you and the marshal here, carry him over to the hotel!” ordered the doctor.
“Ah, I can’t leave the telegraph…” he started to whine when I slammed the barrel of the Greener on the counter. I guess it was close enough to Jens for him to jump as well.
Looking at the marshal, I stated, “If it starts to bleed again I’m goin’ to thump you with this shotgun across the side of your ear.”
For that I received a respectful glare. “You best be careful.”
It didn’t take long for them to move him across to the hotel. It was only about a block down and the room happened to be on the first floor. The two men laid Jens gently on the bed. Fitzer hurried out, but the marshal waited long enough to give me another scowl.
“We’ll talk later,” he muttered as he went out of the room.
“Here,” the doctor was speaking to me, “help me get his boots and pants off. Hold that knee as I tug on these; be careful not to pull his stitches out.”
It wasn’t hard to get the boots and gunbelt off, but the pants were another thing. The doctor stood there looking at Jens lying on the bed, then went to scratching his head. That scratching must have ignited something in his brain for he went to his satchel to pull out a pair of scissors.
“I’ll just cut them off. Hope he has another pair with him,” he said then began to snip them off. “I’m not going to bother with the longhandles.”
After putting the scissors back he turned in my direction. “I don’t know how long he’ll be out. It’s not a dangerous wound, unless it gets infected, but he did lose quite a bit of blood. Don’t let him be moving around, I don’t want those stitches to pull loose. I’ll come by in the morning to put on fresh bandages.”
I followed the doctor out of the room. He stopped at the counter to say something to the clerk. After their little chat, I spoke to the doctor. “How much do we owe you?”
He looked shocked that we were going to pay. “Scratching at his head again, he said, “Well, I didn’t have to pull any lead out. I figure two dollars will cover it.”
Reaching inside my vest to pull out my little pouch I handled him three silver dollars. “That third one is for your pretty sewin’ efforts,” I said smiling.
He walked on out while I turned to the clerk. “You have a name?” I asked.
“Jefferson, Henry Jefferson,” he replied quickly.
“Mister Jefferson, I need a favor from you,” I said and noticed that he gulped. “I need for someone to take our horses to the stable, get them fed and watered.”
I looked out the door, then turned back to the clerk. “Jefferson, I’ve changed my mind. I’d like for you to go across the street where are horses are tied. Bring them over here and I’ll take care of our gear.”
“But…” he started to say so I gave him a very exasperated look and he changed his mind and hurried out.
I watched him scurry across the street to quickly untie our mounts and led them over to the hotel. There was a light snow just beginning to fall as I took the saddlebags off and carried them inside. I came back for our bedrolls to see Jefferson standing there on the boardwalk with his hands on his hips.
“Oh, Mr. Jefferson,” I said as I passed him with my load. “Thanks for your help.”
Jens was still out, but the color was beginning to return. I glanced at the wound, but the doc had it bandaged up tight. I decided to clean up a bit while I had the chance. Then I looked out the window at the snow falling. Pulling on my moustache a couple of times, I looked around the room. Maybe a second-floor room would have been better, someone could shoot through that window. I decided to do a little room rearranging.
It was getting near dusk, and Jens hadn’t come to yet. I went out of the room to see the clerk. “Henry,” I called him by his first name and it sort of startled him. “Henry, we’re gettin’ a mite hungry. Think you could run over to that cantina and bring some food back for us?”
“Well, I don’t usually…” he started to mutter.
“Worth a couple of dollars to me,” I responded to which I received a smile. “Just knock softly on the door and I’ll come out to get it.”
It didn’t take long before he was back with two large bowls filled with chili and loaded with peppers along with several tortillas. I paid him, set the tray on the dresser, took my bowl, and set in the chair that I had moved next to the window. It was mighty tasty, and it caused me to doze…
Echoes From the Campfire
The first he learned was to do his part. Nobody had any use for a shirker or a lay-around…it just made more work for the others, and such a one became almighty unwelcome awful fast. On the other hand, nobody asked who you were or where you came from, only that you stood up when there was something to be done.”
–Louis L’Amour (Ride the Dark Trail)
“That you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.”
–1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NKJV)
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Welcome to March my friend. This is the month of “wind,” have you battened down the hatches of your life? David was a person who faced much in his life. He was a shepherd, warrior, and king, but he also had moments of despair. The winds blew fiercely on his house. He faced moments of despair and several times in his life he was betrayed. In this portion of Psalm 35 David is in despair, ready to be devoured by all those around him. He is put on trial for things he did not even know he did; they laughed with glee when he stumbled.
11 – Malicious witnesses come forward; they question me about things I do not know.
12 – They repay me evil for good, making me desolate.
13 – Yet when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.
14 – I went about grieving as if for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning a mother.
15 – But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; they gathered against me. Assailants I did not know tore at me and did not stop.
16 – With godless mockery they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 – Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my life from their ravages, my only one from the young lions.
18 – I will praise You in the great congregation; I will exalt You among many people.
Yet…! In all the accusations, in all who gathered against him, when they mocked and ridiculed him, David continued to praise the Lord. All seemed to be against him, but David went to the Lord.
That is important for us to remember. What do you do when people have wronged you? First, you go to the Lord. Second, tell Him your true feelings. Sure He knows them already, but sit down and talk with Him about what you are feeling, what you think is happening. Third, don’t tell Him how to beat your enemies up. That is so tempting, but David leaves the matter in God’s hands.
“Discouraged in the work of life,
Disheartened by its load,
Shamed by its failures or its fears,
I sink beside the road.
But let me only think of Thee
And then new heart springs up in me.”
–Samuel Longfellow
Coffee Percs
He stalked over to the fire, squatted down and poured himself a cup of hot coffee… He blew on his coffee and took a sip. It was hot and very strong. He grimaced, ‘Man that coffee’s bad.’”
–B.S. Dunn (Last Stand in Sanctuary)
Don’t yuh be a-frettin’, Pard. My coffee is strong, but it’s not bad. Yuh’ve been drinkin’ it for long enough, yuh should know. It shore is nice to start a Saturday mornin’ talkin’ with yuh. Good thing yur married, ah, but from the looks of yur face, which ain’t so purty, yuh wouldn’t have nothin’ to be worried about.
Yuh do realize what day this is? Why back in them hills–the Ozarks this is huntin’ day for all the single gals and widows. Back in the day it used to be called Sadie Hawkins Day. Why I can remember “Lil Abner” in those races runnin’ until “Daisy Mae” caught him. In fact, I had my own experiences down yonder way, onct upon a time. Thar was this brown-haired gal with green eyes that I caught starin’ at me once. Well, that particular Sadie Hawkins Day she caught up with me–took me to the Bonanza and bought me a steak. What she wasn’t countin’ on at the time she etched herself in my tiny little heart. Yep, shore enough fact.
Trouble is now, a it might be hard for a gal to find what she’s lookin’ fer. I’ll tell yuh for a fact, some of them fellers out there shore are swell, and sometimes yuh can’t tell one for the other. Days are shore a-changin’ my friend. Don’t want to think on it much fer it riles the gizzard.
Yep, thing are changin’. Good thing we have the Bible and can lean on it durin’ rough times and know that the good Lord ain’t changin’ one extra little bit. Nope, we can trust Him to ride the river with, for He is unchangin’–He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever!
My, my I jist can’t believe we done drunk a whole pot of coffee. See, I done told yuh that it wouldn’t be bad. Well, if’n folks could drink enough of my coffee they wouldn’t be a-fearin’ no coronavirus.
Yuh, be havin’ yurself a good week. This is March, startin’ tomorrow, so cinch up tight that yuh don’t get blown out of yur saddle.