–Nathan West  (Haunted West)

       “I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the LORD…”

                    –Psalm 132:4-5 (NKJV)
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Have you ever had trouble staying awake?  I remember one recruit that was caught sleeping while on guard duty in Basic Training.  My, oh my, did he receive some special instructions from the D.I.  Thanksgiving meal, it will surely bring on the heaviness of the eyelids.   Perhaps while driving you have felt yourself running off the road and those little rumble strips brought you out of your slumber.  They not only gave you a little tingle, but they quickly awakened you.  Sleeping is vital to our well-being, however, to fall asleep at the wrong time could be dangerous.
       At night, when I lay on my bed I try to always pray, I fall asleep.  In fact, in my life I have found that if a person needs sleep they should start praying.  It used to really bother me, but I have read that I’m in good company.   Luke writes, “But Peter and those with him [James and John] were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.” (9:32, NKJV)  Matthew doesn’t say that they were sleeping but he does bring out a very good point, “When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” (17:8, NKJV)
       Look again at the verse from Luke, “when they were fully awake, they saw His glory…”  Yes, God often gives us blessed sleep, peaceful sleep; it is refreshing to the body as well as to the soul.  But…notice here, “when they were fully awake.”  I want to shout at myself as I write this–wake up, oh my soul!  We cannot work while we sleep, we cannot further the kingdom while we sleep.  We cannot be faithful or work any acts of faith while we sleep.  George Matheson proclaims, “It is from my waking soul, from my reasoning soul, from my prudent and poising and pondering soul that He values the expression of my faith.”
       I have seen where I am going through God’s Word.  I have known whom I have believed.  It is this seeing and knowing–my experience–that I can trust in God.  Yes, now I see only as “through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12, KJV) or as the NKJV translates it, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face…”  I know, I reason, and I believe the words of John, “Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2, NKJV)  Wake up–let the rumble strips of the Holy Spirit awaken you–to see only Jesus.
       There are times to sleep; times when the body needs to be rejuvenated.  Let me say here, beware of spiritual sleep, which can bring on physical sleep.  The Garden, that place where Jesus agonized tells us of these three close disciples who were sleeping.  If Jesus had any close friends it was Peter, James, and John.  But here, in His time of greatest need, they were asleep.  Notice the words written in Matthew.  Jesus had already moved away from his disciples and had been praying.  “Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”…  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them.  ‘Are you still sleeping and resting?…'” (Matthew 26:40-41,43-45 NKJV)
       Yes, we need a “little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,” (Proverbs 24:33, NKJV) but don’t overdo it.  Jesus says that He had to be busy while it was day and that admonition follows on down to us for “the night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4, NKJV)  But remember, it is when we are fully awake that we can look up to Jesus and fully see Him in His glory.

                    –Elmer Kelton  (The Way of the Coyote)

       “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

                    –Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
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Last night was a dark night, not because the waning moon is just starting, but because of the evil that was represented.  John tells us that, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 John 1:5-6, NKJV)  If you’ve ever watched horror movies, of which I do not, but I know that much of the action takes place at night–in the darkness.
     There is a terror of night, make no mistake about it.  Objects do not look the same as they did in the daylight.  They seem to take on a sinister form at times.  Evil lurks and loves the night, the darkness.  True, it is becoming more and more prevalent in the day, but it is still the nighttime that feeds it.  The majority of shootings take place at night, as well as other types of crimes.  But Christian, take heart, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night…” (Psalm 91:5, NKJV)  That is a promise mixed with a command.  Because He is light, we can rest and have peace in the darkest night.
     However, there is another type of darkness.  It is the darkness of the soul.  Think of Joseph, escaping death, but thrown in the pit to eventually be sold as a slave by his brothers.  Darkness, distress…  Moses, the shining prince of Egypt, flees to the wilderness and for forty years his soul is in turmoil.  The soul is in darkness, but then–upon the side of a mountain a bush that is burning but not consumed–the light of God.  Read the accounts of Jeremiah, how he faced the darkness.
     St. John of the Cross wrote that, “God leads into the dark night those He desires to purify from all imperfections so that He may bring them farther onward.”  We, mankind, and believers as well, often spend too much time on the things of the flesh rather than mortifying the flesh.  When this takes place God often will send darkness.  A time, hopefully, of reflection, a time to get our eyes back on the light.  Thomas Merton said this, “When the time comes to enter the darkness in which we are naked and helpless and alone; in which we see the insufficiency of our greatest strength and the hollowness of our strongest virtues; in which we have nothing of our own to rely on, and nothing in our nature to support us, and nothing in the world to guide us or give us light–then we find out whether or not we live by faith.”
     Faith–without it we cannot please God.  He wants people of faith, but sometimes He must send the darkness to purify our faith.  No matter how many and great our virtues we cannot purify ourselves.  No matter the hours put in serving God, it is not enough to bring purification.  God sends the darkness to bring us out into greater light.  This is a time of trouble for the soul.  Peter in the dark of the night denied the Lord.  Think of the anguish in his soul.  Judas, the Betrayer, was in darkness, his soul embittered by his deed.  Two men facing the darkness of their soul; two different choices were made.
     In the darkness we either sleep or we continue walking.  The believer does not leave the path to glory simply because it is night.  Depression, despair, distress may come but we continue onward to our destination.  The darkness is there, but it is only a hindrance.  We must walk more carefully; other senses must be heightened.  Prayer, meditation, reading of the Word, practical application of the Word, just as in life must be adhered to in the darkness.  We hold tighter to His hand, we follow more closely to His guidance.  Because of that fellowship grows, relationship deepens, trust is solidified, and we continue on by faith.  Not faith in ourselves, not faith even that we are going to make it, but faith in the One who is there beside us even if we do not feel His presence.

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Bendigo Shafter)

       “The God of heaven will help us succeed.  We his servants will start rebuilding this wall.  But you have no stake or claim in Jerusalem.”

                    –Nehemiah 2:20(NLT)
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Do you think your world is falling apart?  Are there questions to which you can find no answers?   Are things happening around you that never happened before?  That’s what this next portion of Psalm 105 is about.  The world falling apart, moving away from what is natural.  If you have had a tendency to forget about God, go back and read the following verses and imagine yourself in ancient Egypt.

          23 — Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
          24 — He increased His people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies.
          25 — He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal craftily with His servants.
          26 — He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen.
          27 — They performed His signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
          28 — He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they did not rebel against His word.
          29 — He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.
          30 — Their land abounded with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
          31 — He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and lice in all their territory.
          32 — He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
          33 — He struck their vines also, and their fig trees, and splintered the trees of their territory.
          34 — He spoke, and the locusts came, young locusts without number,
          35 — And ate up all the vegetation in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
          36 — He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, the first of all their strength.  (NKJV)

     Think first of the men mentioned.  God sent Israel (Jacob) into Egypt, yet earlier He had sent Joseph to prepare the way.  Joseph was there when Jacob arrived to prepare for Israel’s well-being.  He has also anticipated your needs, your issues, your circumstance and has a plan to rescue you.  Then He sent Moses and Aaron, oh, and remember, Moses was an eighty year old fugitive at this time.  They did not volunteer for the task, but were chosen by God.  Maybe in the midst of your trials you should look for the task that God is calling you to accomplish.
     For years God’s people had waited to be delivered.  Most of them had lost hope, had forgotten the power of their God, and were no longer waiting for the coming deliverer.  Imagine their surprise when the miracles began to take place.  When they began to see God work through the two men He had assigned.  Are you waiting for the hand of the Lord to move or have you forgotten Him?  Can you remember His miracles in the past, if not read this account again.  “He’ll do it again…you may not know how, you may not know when, but He’ll do it again.” (Dawn Thomas)  Helmut Thielecke stated, “God is stronger than fire and destruction, and even in the valleys of deepest darkness, rod and staff are put into our hands and bridges are thrown across the abyss.”  God has given you what you need for the hour, for the situation and circumstance, for the battle.
     
               “God the Omnipotent King who ordainest
               Thunder thy clarion, the lightning thy sword;
               Show forth thy pity on high, where thou reignest;
               Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.”
                       –Henry F. Chorley

                    –Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (HCSB)
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               “An’ the Gobble-uns ‘at gits you
                    Ef you
                        Don’t
                           Watch
                               Out!”
                                   –James Whitcomb Riley

               “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”
                                  –Ephesians 6:12 (HCSB)

But do we heed the Word of God?  Over the weekend and on to the 31st there will be parties galore, evil will be personified, magnified, and glorified.  We have been duped by cartoons, television, movies, and songs into thinking that this is a harmless fun holiday.  But listen. . . Not only are evil spirits real, but they can significantly harm you if you’re not careful.  The Bible uses terms such as:  “demons,” “unclean spirits,” “lying spirits,” demonic spirits,” “impure spirits,” “deceiving spirits,” and “fallen angels.”  They can deceive you, tempt you, and harm you spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. (Hopler)
       Yes, the gobblins will get you if you don’t watch out!
       Jesus, in His earthly ministry, encountered many times evil spirits/demons.  The first recorded miracle of Jesus by Mark is driving out an unclean spirit.  This spirit challenged Jesus,  “What do You have to do with us, Jesus–Nazarene?  Have You come to destroy us?  I know who You are–the Holy One of God!”  (Mark 1:24, HCSB)  Jesus rebuked him, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” (1:25, HCSB)  I have wondered why the unclean spirit was commanded to be quiet; it was a truthful testimony.  However, we must look at this more closely for it came from unclean lips.  The testimony was true, but the source of the witness was unclean.
       Back to the upcoming weekend and holiday, we should not, we must not compromise with unclean, demonic works of the devil.  We are to stay away from dangerous occult practices that would involved ungodly spirits.  Do not open doors where evil may enter.  True the believer cannot be possessed by evil spirits, but they can be oppressed.  They can be mentally and emotionally attacked as well as spiritually attacked.  Don’t give in to the devil or his minions.  Stay away from anything that is related to the occult!
       Or the gobblins will get you if you don’t watch out!
       I am not going to go into detail regarding all the different kinds of evil that may confront you.  I will relate a story to you.  When in was in the military one of my coworkers came to me telling me that he had gotten saved over the weekend.  The man was a changed person–completely changed.  It was an amazing transformation.  A couple of months later he came to me and asked what I thought about a new movie that was coming out; he was planning on going to see it–The Exorcist.  I asked him why he came to me, and by doing so indicated that he had questions regarding the movie.  I did mention that we are to stay away from any form of evil, and not to let the devil get a foothold on our life.  He went.  He couldn’t sleep after that for several nights.   He reverted back to his old self, and worse.  I could no longer even talk to him about his previous experience with the Lord or he would explode.  Don’t give in to the devil.
       The gobblins will get you if you don’t watch out!
       Paul writes to us simply, telling us to stay away from the forces of darkness and evil.  “…What fellowship does light have with darkness?  What agreement does Christ have with Belial?…” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15, HCSB)  He continues in verse 17, “Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you.”    In plain simple language, avoid what is unclean, what is evil.  Don’t open the door for any kind of unclean spirit.  If you do, there is the possibility that
       the gobblins will get you if you don’t watch out!