Author: Ira Paine

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

I can fix you some cornbread and sweetmilk right now if you’d like.”
                    –Elmer Kelton  (The Good Old Boys)

       “Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.”
                    –Matthew 5:6 (CEB)
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               “The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish,
                     But He casts away the desire of the wicked.”
                              –Proverbs 10:3 (NKJV)
               “The Lord will not let the godly go hungry, but he refuses to satisfy the craving of the wicked.”
                              –Proverbs 10:3 (NLT)

     Perhaps you remember studying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  God created within man certain physical and emotional needs.  We need food, drink, shelter, and clothing.  We need meaningful employment, companionship, security, and hope for the future. (Beasley)  Man also has a deep need for God.  There is a void that longs to be filled and so often man doesn’t look properly or not at all.  However, we must remember that God cares for the temporal as well as the spiritual.  The wicked crave to have their needs met with material means, false religions, drugs, sex, alcohol and they come away empty.  Without God their deepest need cannot be satisfied.  Ralph Wardlaw says, “The substance of the wicked pertains not to the soul.”
     As Christians we do not need to fret over required needs, yet so often we do.  We forget that the God we serve is a loving, caring, and generous Father.  There is a verse in Numbers that I really like.  The people had been complaining and whining about the food.  There is a great deal in Numbers 11, but I want to draw your attention to verse 23:  “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Has the LORD’s arm been shortened?  Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.'” (NKJV)  Do we believe God’s promises or not?  Simple as that.  
     Part of our problem is that we join the world and we crave things.  We want!  The wants become dominant over the needs.  We don’t ever seem to be satisfied or content with our lot in life.  Paul reminds us, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”  (1 Timothy 6:6-7, NKJV)  God will supply all our need, and that is singular for what is our deepest need?  Jesus!  But He will go further and take care of His children, for they are precious in His sight.  The NKJV Study Bible states, “If godliness (our desire to see God’s character reproduced in us) and contentment (our acceptance of God’s will in our lives) depend on our environment or circumstances, both will always be unstable.”  Change the environment, the humanist educator clamor and the people will change.  No, a resounding no!  The heart must change, or the new environment will be as polluted as the old one was.
     We cannot presume to be given our daily bread if we neglect to do all within our power to earn it.  Henry Beecher reminds us, “God’s promises were never made to ferry our laziness.”  God will do His part, but we do a great disservice if we forget that God put within man to take care of his own.  “When ordinary means will not meet their need, He will employ special means to do so.” (J.L. Flores)  Think of the provision brought by the ravens to Elijah; think of the never-ending oil in the home of the widow.  Know this, that riches and poverty are comparative and relative terms.
     God knows what we need whether temporal or spiritual.  Trust in Him to provide and meet those needs.  Let the Holy Spirit work within for He knows what we truly need; actually much better than we do.  Be content with what He has given you and you will find that more than enough will be given.  A theologian translates the first part of the verse as, “Jehovah will not starve the righteous appetite.”  Hmmm, perhaps we should change or at least look at our appetite.

 

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.” –Ecclesiastes 7:3 (NLT)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
     We were sitting in the office drinking the coffee Doc had made.  The door was open to the back cell room and when Lucius hollered out we could hear him plainly, “Doc, thanks for the coffee.  Yuh need to be teachin’ that kid how to make decent coffee.”
     I stood up moving to the doorway.  “That’s part of the price you pay for bein’ locked up.  Bad jailhouse coffee.  Fortunately for you, Doc is kind.”
     Lucas had a large grin on his face when I looked over at him, and gave me a nod.  The kid had grown up.  Yeah, he was still young, but he was gettin’ to fill out, and he was gaining experience.  
     My thoughts were jostled when the preacher came bursting back into the office.  “Doc, it’s the Widow O’Dell!  I think she’s frozen to death.”
     Doc took one long last swallow.  “Let me get my coat, and I’ll be with you.”
     “How’s Greta?” I asked stepping toward the preacher.
     Wide-eyed, he turned my direction, “Oh, she’s fine.  Plenty of firewood,” he said, then nodded toward Lucas.  “Seems that Lucas found the time to fill her kitchen full and there’s still plenty outside.”  He stopped, then added, “She thinks she might have lost some hens though.”
     I had already grabbed my coat to go with them.  As I left the office I saw that Lucas was throwing his coat on, and was coming to the front with a shovel.  Yep, the kid was going to be a good one.
     There was no need to hurry and in fact, with the deep snow we couldn’t go very fast.  If Mrs. O’Dell was dead there wouldn’t be much that could be done.  We didn’t bother knocking when we came to her house but walked right in to a room that felt like a meat-locker.  There Merry O’Dell sat, in front of a stove that was stone cold.  Looking around I saw wood in the corner, and that puzzled me.  
     Doc knelt by her to do his examination, whilst the preacher and I just looked on.  “I see wood, what do you think happened?”
     “She had been very depressed for several days,” answered the Parson.  “I wonder…”
     Doc stood up, turned to face us.  “I think she just up and died.  From what I can tell, she didn’t bother to feed the stove and fell asleep,” he stated bluntly.  “I’ll stop by Parker’s to let him know.  Since she’s frozen there’s no need to get her moved immediately.”
     “Doc, do you know if she had any family, left a will?” My mind was working.  It had been my experience to have to contact next of kin on numerous occasions.
     “I don’t know much about her family.  Dick was a prosperous man and left her well off when he died a year or so ago, but I only came around once or twice to see her,” responded Doc, scratching at his cheek.  “Shame,” he muttered, then headed toward the door.  “I’ll stop at Parker’s then go on home.  Edith will wonder what’s happened to me.”
     “Miles she has a will,” the Parson assured me.  “I’ve been ministering to her recently.  I’m not saying that this was a deliberate act, planned out, but I do think she did nothing to stop it.”
     “Convenient, huh,” I muttered.
     “You might say that.  She has been lonely since her husband died,” he stopped, to look at the woman seeming to rest peacefully in her chair.  Shaking his head, he spoke, “I don’t begin to understand.” The preacher paused, still shaking his head.  “I do know we have to trust in the Lord.  He is the righteous Judge.  Whatever He does and decides is right.” 
     “Amen to that, Parson,” I agreed.  “Where’s the will?”
     The preacher pointed to a room.  “It’s in a little desk in her bedroom.”
     “Why don’t you go get it, and then it might be a good idea if we shouldn’t check on some of the other elderly, especially those livin’ alone.”
     He nodded, then moved to the widow’s room.  In a few minutes he had returned holding a sealed envelope in his hands.  Returning to me, he stopped to look at the lady.  Reaching down he tried to adjust her hands, but she was too stiff.  With a sigh, he stood and began walking to the door.
     Following him outside, I wondered how…

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Ya’ oughta just be happy yore gettin’ a chance fer sumpin’ special. Thar ain’t no guarantees ’bout nuthin’ in this hyar life.”
                    –B.N. Rundell  (To the Cache La Poudre)

       “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
                    –Zephaniah 3:17(NASB)
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“If you’re happy and you know it — clap your hands…!”  Remember the old Sunday School song?  Jesus is teaching us in the Beatitudes what true happiness is.  Remember, “blessed” means more than just ‘happiness.”  William Barclay tells us, “Blessed describes that joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life.”
     Man seeks to fill the void in his soul far too often with superficial happiness.  Man strives to find happiness in external worldly things–but whether he wants to acknowledge it or not he has a soul, he is a spiritual being destined for eternity.  Thomas Watson says, “The soul is a spiritual thing; riches are of an earthly extract–how can these fill a spiritual substance?”
     There are a couple of translations that help in understanding “blessed.”  Since we have seen that it is hard to define with one word these two translations help in our understanding.

          “Happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous–with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions.” –Amplified
          “Blessed, that is, fortunate–fully satisfied–joyful and spiritual prosperous.” –Henry A. Harbuck

Thomas Aquinas calls being blessed the “ultimate end.”  To be blessed then is to be fully satisfied in the spiritual state.  The term “occurs when someone is indwelt by Christ and the Holy Spirit, because the light of God has come.” (Harbuck)
     The things of and in the world:  material goods, riches, wealth, power, fame, etc. can only bring temporary happiness but not true blessedness.  Man seeks happiness but blessedness eludes him.  “Blessedness is the perfection of a rational creature.  It is the whetstone of his ambition, the flower of his joy.  Blessedness is the desire of all men.” (Watson)  This blessedness given by the indwelling Spirit is the declaration of what is truly the best kind of life to live.
     In the coming weeks, as we study the Beatitudes it is important to keep the meaning of blessedness in mind.  This blessedness, this joy cannot be taken away by the world; therefore, a gloomy Christian is unthinkable!  This blessedness–“the joy and fortune for the believer are found in Christ” (Edward A. Starks)  And think–the fullness of blessedness lies in the future.  We only have a touch, a fragment of it now.
     Come on then, “If you’re blessed and you know it — clap your hands….  If you’re blessed and you know it — stomp your feet”!

 

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

The room was warm with the smell of freshly made coffee and baking.” 

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Comstock Lode)
 
Mornin’ to yuh, Pard, always good to be a-seein’ yuh.  My, my haven’t we had some purdy mornin’s?  The other day, I was up and takin’ the ol’ steel mount to get a check up and tune up.  The sun was just appearin’ over the horizon but the already the light was burstin’.  It was a sight to behold, as are most sunrises.  It almost made me blast out singin’, “O what a beautiful mornin’…”  But then thought better of it as the jeep might stall.
     I read something the other day that reminded me of Congress.  It shor does fit some of them lawmakers, an’ I’ll let yuh fill in the names.  But it is supposedly a Turkish proverb, “When a clown moves into a palace he doesn’t become a king.  The palace becomes a circus.”  My don’t that fit?  Some of those folk are worse than a jestor; why when I read the Bible and the Book of Proverbs I see their name printed all over the place–FOOL!  
     Shor glad I know the One in charge and in control.  My mercy, the foolishness, the hatred and anger that is happenin’ out there.  Folks don’t care about the people they are protestin’ for, and they don’t care about the law.  No wonder that the devil-man, the antichrist will be called the man of lawlessness.  Yuh see what’s happenin’ on the streets and that’s what yuh get when anarchy rules and what’s worse yuh got folks, clowns, along with the media that egg it on, pushin’ their agenda.
     Pard, let me tell yuh whilst yuh are sippin’ that coffee, don’t be readin’ and lookin’ too much at what is happenin’ for it’ll shor enough rile yur gizzard.  We best be doin’ the best we can, where we are, with what we have.  That’s a reason I invite yuh for coffee every Saturday.  That ol’ Stuart Hamblen song comes to my mind, an’ if’n yuh don’t mind…well, even if yuh mind, let’s sing the chorus:
          “Until then my heart will go on singing,
          Until then with joy I’ll carry on
          Until the day my eyes behold the city,
          Until the day God calls me home.
Pard, the verses are purdy good too, but I won’t be singin’ them.  Don’t be wantin’ to rile yuh up any more than the clowns do.  Shor glad yuh take the time to come by.  An’ I’m figurin’ that yuh glad to be a-comin’ by since the coffee tickles yur innards an’ on cold days warms them up.  Yuh be havin’ a good week.  Watch out for the clowns and the fools–that means be shor yur Bible-read, and gun-ready.  Yuh never know what kind of “thing” might show up on the trail.
     Yuh be sittin’ tall, ridin’ straight, wary and ready, an’ if’n yuh dismount don’t forget to be checkin’ yur cinch before climbin’ back in the saddle.
     Vaya con Dios.