Do the job you were born to do and do it by the book, no other way is acceptable.”
              –W,L, Cox (Hunt–U.S. Marshal)

    “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
              –James 1:22 (NKJV)
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If you’re a child of God remember that Satan is out to get you.  There is no doubt about it, and he uses various methods to do so.  Paul tells us that we are not to be ignorant of his devices, but to be ready.  The world is topsy-turvy, in which hatred seems to abound more and more.  Look again at the scripture from yesterday, this time from the Amplified.

         “That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world.”
                   –Philippians 2:15

As you continue to fight the good fight of faith there are four things to keep in mind.  (Some of the following is from Gary Inrig).

    First of all, God is Righteous!
         Do not be deceived, the devil is out to destroy your soul one way or another.  Heed the warnings of the Holy Spirit.  When a nation loses its first love there is an unmistakable picture of a righteous God.  He will weigh each nation in the balance; He will remove light from the nation.

              “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lamp stand out of its place–unless you repent.”
                       –Revelation 2:4-5 (NASB)

         Misery will overtake the people who continue to forsake or ignore a holy God.  Many countries are already in darkness.  Sin was, and is, not an insignificant thing, to be passed over lightly; it is an affront to God’s righteous being and He will visit it with stern and painful judgment.  A nation that forsakes the Lord, or lowers and compromises His standards, cannot hope to prosper in any ultimate sense.

    Second, God is Sovereign.
         He orders all the forces of nature and history in accordance with His own righteous will, thus working our His judgment upon the nation.  There are times when He will use men to aid in His work, but however He works He will show that He is in charge and on the Throne.

    Third, God is Gracious and Longsuffering.
         When is too much?  How much does it take for God to say enough is enough?  When are the scales of justice tipped and judgment must be dealt?  Thank the Lord that He is gracious and longsuffering; that He is waiting to hear the cries of His people, always waiting to intervene on their behalf.  The verse from Revelation says, “repent and do the deeds you did at first.”  Until divine judgment actually comes there is still hope.

    Fourth, never forget or underestimate the Importance of Faith.
         Do you have the quality of faith which cooperates with the Lord?  Could you be the one that He uses to reveal His might?  People who know their God and have faith in Him can do mighty things, “but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” (Daniel 11:32, NASB) (Read also Hebrews 11:32-34).
         Never despair, never lose hope–God is there!  One thing that should be learned by looking at history and reading the Scriptures is “that chaos reigns whenever man is free to ‘do what is right in his own eyes.’  Civilized life is impossible when every man has ‘his own way.’  It is an expression of the original sin…  Only by obedience to the law and love of God can man ever find happiness for which God made him!”

I must set my mind to knowing some men in the west are not of God’s people.  They are from Satan.”
              –Paul L. Thompson  (When Preaching Is Hell!)

    “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?”
              –2 Corinthians 6:14-15(NKJV)
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Today is Colorado Day.  I wish I could give a grand salute to my old home state, but they are moving fast down the spiral toward the moral and spiritual abyss.  It was a state that started out with the Gold Rush of 1859.  Wealth and hard work were abundant, as well as the wickedness of the mining camps.  Also on the rise was the cattle industry in eastern Colorado.  Through the rough years of the Civil War and being a territory, finally on August 1, 1876 it became a state–the Centennial State.
    A few years back I drove through the streets of my old hometown–Boulder.  I was grieved and sickened at the sight.  People blatantly opposing the moral code of God as seen in the Bible.  What was once a town for nurturing a young man, now was the sight of open immorality.  
    There is a virus of sorts that not only is affecting Colorado, but the nation as well.  This virus has moved into the Church and with it there will come repercussions and judgments.  Gary Inrig wrote, “We have experienced a cultural ‘perfect storm’, due to the convergence of forces such as moral relativism, aggressive pluralism, determined socialism, ‘do-it-yourself’ spirituality, and libertarian individualism, aided by the technological realities of the information age.”  This was written three decades ago, and it has just gotten worse.
    However, the clarion call of God is crystal clear to His people.

         “Prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.”
                   –Philippians 2:15-16(NASB)

In this society of confusion, of broken ethical codes, of perverse immorality God’s call is very clear.  In this society that sneers and spurns and scoffs at the name of Jesus Christ, God’s call is very clear.  Read and contemplate the above verse again.  We are to stay blameless, we are not to be involved in the works of the world, and we are still to be lights to an ever-darkening world.  As the skies become more and more dark and evil seems to loom over you, God’s call is very clear.
    Along with this there seems to be a shift in the church as well.  Instead of keeping her garments without spot or wrinkle, the “Bride” is allowing itself to become tainted and in many cases accepting the views of this immoral society.  Inrig states, “Much more than I want to admit, many Christians live, act, and choose as if God’s Word had never been written.”  
    Woe unto you who have been seduced by the evil and lying spirits of this age.  As the Son of God spoke to John in Revelation, if you have found yourself becoming complacent and compromising with the world, it is time to turn back to your first love before it is too late.  God will keep His Church.  Sin will not stain the true Church, for it must be kept pure for the Bridegroom.  With sin being flaunted and God being mocked it will not be too long before He sends His Son back.  The Church has been redeemed, it is in the process of making ready the appearance of the King.
    “Prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent…holding fast the word of life.”  God’s call is very clear.

God is unpredictable in His providence and therefore works His plans within our lives without us even knowing it.”
              –Kenneth Pratt  (Willow Falls)

    “Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little.”
              –1 Peter 5:10 (HCSB)
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Complacency and distractions are dangerous foes.  They will take a person away from their goals, mission, and focus on life.  They will steal away your time and be certain that God will hold you accountable for your time–how it was spent and how it was wasted.  How much time is wasted everyday?  People are hollering for a $15 minimum wage, but how about them being accountable for their time on the job?  Not even thinking about doing excellence, is the job being done properly and at least up to minimum standards?
    I happened to come across another article by Horatius Bonar and I am going to pass it on this morning.  This is one that should be read every week, perhaps for some it would serve to be read every day.

         “If we would aim at a holy and useful life, let us learn to redeem time.  ‘I am large about redeeming time,’ says Richard Baxter in the preface to his Christian Directory, ‘because therein the sum of a holy, obedient life is included.’  Yes; ‘let us redeem the time, because the days are evil’ (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5).  A wasted life is the result of unredeemed time.  Desultory working, impulsive giving, fitful planning, irregular reading, ill-assorted hours, perfunctory or unpunctual execution of business, hurry and bustle, loitering and unreadiness–these, and such like, are the things that take the power from life, hinder holiness, and eat like a canker into our moral being.  Misuse of time makes success and progress an impossibility, either in things temporal or spiritual.
         “There needs not to be routine, but there must be regularity; there ought not to be mechanical stiffness, but there must be order; there may not be haste, but there must be no trifling with our own time or that of others.  ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with they might’ (Ecclesiastes 9:10).  If the thing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well; and, in little things as well as great, we must show that we are in earnest.  There must be no idling, but a girding up of the loins; a running the race with patience; the warring of a good warfare.  The call is to be ‘steadfast and … always abounding in the work of the Lord.’
         “The flowers are constant in their growing, the stars are constant in their courses; the rivers are constant in their flowing–they lose not time.  So must our life be, not one of fits, or starts, or random impulses, not one of levity or inconstancy, or fickle scheming, but steady and resolute.  We must be resolute men and women, those who know their earthly mission and have their eyes upon the heavenly goal.”  (They Walked With God)

    The days are certainly evil; it seems to lurk all around us.  It is something that we cannot escape, therefore, how much more should we be redeeming the time!  Instead we turn to entertainment, phones, video games, and other forms of frivolity.  Not that these are necessarily wrong, but in their use are we conscious of the time and the mission of our life?  Do they pull us away from time with God or time with family?  
    In closing this morning I urge you to take inventory of how your time is spent and I would have you remember the words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.  “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthains 15:58, NKJV)  Redeem the time, for these days are surely evil.

We finished our pie and I noticed that Mr. Newsome enjoyed his.  I gave Molly a pat on the hand and stood up from the table.
“Why don’t you gentlemen join me in a trip to the bank so we can talk with the new president?  By the way, what’s his name?”
    Both Foster and Newsome got up.  “Thank you, Mrs. Forrest, for the delicious pie,” said Wilson with a smile.  Newsome just nodded and sort of gave a grunt.
    “R. Seymour Clevenger is his name,” offered Newsome.
    “Foreigner, ain’t he?” I inquired as we stepped out the door onto the boardwalk.
    “No, no, I think he’s from Philadelphia or maybe Boston,” came the retort from Newsome.
    Wilson gave a little laugh, as I stopped and turned toward Newsome.  “That’s what I said, foreigner.  This is the West and we don’t exactly do things the same way as they might be done in Boston.”
    Newsome caught on, and shook his head.
    Crossing the street I informed them that I needed to stop at the telegraph office before continuing.  Stan Offut had his back to us, filing some papers in slots over his desk.
    “Howdy Stan,” I said upon entering to get his attention.  “Anything for me?”
    He turned reaching out a hand to shake mine, then saw the two men with me and nodded at them.  “Sure do, Miles.  There’s a couple from Marshal Blasco from Denver.”
    Handing me the first telegram, he leaned over the counter trying to peer at the note.  I don’t know why, he had already read it so he knew what was in it.
    “Fooy robbed bank in La Junta–STOP–Reported seen in Pagosa–STOP–could be your man–STOP”
    “Looks like Olson may have been right; that gang may have been Sam Fooy’s gang,” I paused to look at the telegram again then at the two men.  “Makes me wonder how he knew it was Sam Fooy.”
    The second telegram stated that there was a big payroll going up to Silverton and I was to ride up with it.  
    We continued on our walk to the bank.  “Wilson, how did Olson come to be on the council?  He hasn’t been here that long and there’s other good men in town that could have filled that position.”
    “Uh, well, he sort of volunteered for the position, replied Foster.
    “And you and John just let him appoint himself,” I said with some disgust.  “The election for councilman is this fall, correct?”  They both nodded in agreement.  “Who else is runnin’ for that position?”
    “No one that we’ve heard of,” replied Newsome.
    We had arrived at the bank so we curtailed our talk as we went in.  Ooverholm was working as the teller.  I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t given the position as bank president.  He was vital in our investigation of Billingham and Douster.
    I nodded at him.  “We need to see Mr. Clevenger,” I informed him.
    “Let me finish with Mrs. Wentworth,” he replied.
    She was an older lady who owned a lady’s dress shop; made dresses herself and had factory-made dresses sent in as well.  She looked at us as she finished making her deposit.  I tipped my hat and that made her smile.  Funny, how a common courtesy can brighten someone’s day.
    Ooverhold went to the office door and knocked.  After knocking he opened the door and said, “Marshal Forrest is here to see you…”
    He was interrupted by an curse.  “Send that lazy marshal in here.  I have a few words for him!”
    “Gentlemen, after you,” I uttered, sending them in first to face the verbal wrath of Clevenger.  It brought the thought back to me, “a simple courtesy can brighten one’s day, but profane words can darken a day.”
    “Uh, well, greetings Mr. Foster, Mr. Newsome.  I wasn’t expecting you,” he muttered then I walked in.  “Marshal, uh, what can I do for you men?”
    “Mister Clevenger, I’m Miles Forrest and we’ve not formally met as of yet.  I was wondering,” I paused, “we were wondering what was taken in the holdup.”
    “Around $5000 in cash!” he exclaimed.
    “Around?  What does that mean?  I would think that you would know exactly how much was missing,” I implored.
    Newsome spoke up, “By all means!  Both Mr. Foster and I have money in the bank along with the other citizens of Durango.  Exactly how much is missing?”
    Ooverhold had been standing by the open door and interrupted.  “I think I can help here.  When I totaled the money after the holdup the take was $8050.”
    There was a gasp from Foster.  I barged into the conversation.  “My, that is somewhere around $5000.  Was the payroll for the mines taken?”
    “No,” muttered Clevenger in disgust.  “They are not going to use the bank.  The train is bringing it in and it will be loaded from one train to the Silverton trail.”
    The bank still had not regained a positive reputation from the fallout with Billington and Douster in their gold scheme.  I didn’t know Clevenger, but he seemed at the moment not to be in a bright light considering he didn’t know how much was stolen.  Or was there more to it.
    “Why aren’t you out looking for them?” wailed Clevenger.  “You’re the marshal.  Mister Olson was by earlier and we’re going to do something about your badge!”
    “Any securities or bonds missin’?” I asked.
    Clevenger’s face drew a blank look to which Ooverholm responded.  “No, just cash and gold.”
    “Could you describe any of the robbers?” I asked.
    There was a loud silence.  “Uh, no, I was in the office.”
    I looked over at Ooverholm…