–Louis L’Amour  (Down the Long Hills)

       “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”

                    –1 Thessalonians 5:21 (NKJV)
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I am going to borrow a story from William Petersen for this portion of Psalm 103.  Perhaps you have had a smart-alek teacher in your past.  One of those who think they know it all.  I had one in seminary who proudly proclaimed that he “doesn’t test the obvious.”  I always wondered, “why not?” Are we as students not supposed to know the obvious?  Instead he would test the obscure, the captions under photos, things like that.
       So on with the story.  There was a second grade teacher handing out an arithmetic test to her students.  Upon receiving the test the students looked at it in wonder.  There were all types of x and y, plus many other symbols.  It was a college-level calculus test and they couldn’t understand the symbols much less solve the problems.  They were ready for two plus two, or maybe a perplexing, two plus three.  One student bravely raised his hand, “Miss, we can’t do these problems.”  To which she snapped.  “What’s wrong with you?  You’re supposed to be smart kids.  If you ever want a degree in math, you’ll have to solve problems like this.  Get busy!”
       Hold on.  These are second graders.  They need a teacher who understands their level.  Now, let’s look at the next portion of Psalm 103.

          8 — The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
          9 — He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.
        10 — He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
        11 — For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
        12 — As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
        13 — As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
        14 — For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.    (NKJV)

God is not overdemanding!  He does not insist on perfection, but He does expect to see growth–maturity.  He understands our weaknesses and He reacts as a loving Father.  He does not treat us as our sins deserve as He sent His Son to take care of that penalty for us.  “Infinite and vast is God’s eternal love for His own….  God knows our finite, human limitations and remembers that we are as fragile as dust.” (Steven Lawson)
       Let’s look back at what God, our Father has done for us (verses 1-14)   (Thanks to George Wood).
               1)  He forgives all our sins.  He forgives sins of omission and acts of commission.  “He frees us to start over after failure, cancels all indictments against you, and discharges all our debts.”
               2)  He heals all our diseases.  We must take the long view in regard to this–healing will come even if a person ultimately has to wait in glory.  Our definition of disease must be broadened to include any “deterioration which diminishes your well-being and wholeness.”  It can mean a bad attitude, an unforgiving spirit…  “In Jesus…He works to liberate us from these deformative and degenerative diseases so that on the inside our personality and disposition increasingly resemble that of Jesus.”
               3)  He redeems our life from the pit.  The pit represents the abyss from which you cannot escape.  “He reaches His long arm into the pitch-dark hole of depression or despair where you lie helpless and imprisoned, grabs you strongly, pulls you up, and sets your feet on solid ground. in the sunlight of His presence.”
               4)  He crowns your life with love and compassion.  God has good gifts for us, and His gifts are far better than those that the world has to offer.
               5)  He satisfies your desires with good things.  The horror of depression is its lack of hope.  “God is committed to bringing good into your life.”  There is no disappointment in Jesus.
               6)  He renews our life like the eagle’s.  
       He takes care of us.  He is our heavenly Father, and He will not only give us good gifts, He will give us better gifts.  He has removed our sins, our transgressions from us and we now live in the hope of His return.  He will not give us more than we can handle, nor will He allow temptation to overcome us.  If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father and we can go to Him with assurance.  Oh, what wonderful grace–oh, what a wonderful Father!

               “O how in this thy quire of souls I stand–
               Propt by thy hand–A heap of sand!
               With busy thoughts–like winds–would scatter quite,
               And put to flight / But for thy might;
               Thy hand alone doth tame
               Those blasts, and knit my frame.”
                           –Henry Vaughan

                    –Cliff Hudgins  (Grandpa’s Legacy)

       “Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you.”

                    –2 Peter 1:13 (NKJV)
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They used to tell you to tie a string around your finger to remind yourself to do something.  The problem I have now is wondering why I have the string on my finger.  But it is important to remember.  There are times we have to remind ourselves over and over to do something.  It’s funny though, there are some things that I never had to remind myself of.  If I had a ball game, I never had to think of when it was, but then there are other occasions where I must constantly remind myself.
       Long ago, I got into the habit of writing daily reminders right after my devotions in the morning.  I set aside in my notes, to write at least ten things that I needed to get done that day.  It was a good, quick reminder of the plans for the day.  I never was one to prioritize, but if something didn’t get accomplished, it went on the list for the next day.  Maybe this is a good time to remind ourselves of priorities.  #1, Urgent and Important, #2 Urgent not Important, #3 Important not Urgent, #4 Busywork that still must be done, and #5 useless work.  If we are not careful, #3 can quickly upgrade to #1.  Get the picture?  Today, I still jot down my daily reminders in the morning.   Often there are not ten of them, but it is still a help.  At the close of the day, or the next morning I check to see what I accomplished.
       In our spiritual journey we should have reminders.  “Then beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Deuteronomy 6:12, NKJV).  Sometimes it is good for us to remember what the Lord has done for us.  He took us out of the bondage of sin, out of the evil, world system, and made us a new creation in Him.  We do not want to become lackadaisical in our Christian walk, so we need to be reminded from whence we came.  Also, we are reminded that we are to work out our salvation, “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today” (Deuteronomy 8:11, NKJV).  As humans, sadly we have a tendency to forget so we need to be reminded.
       It is good that we are reminded of how God met with us in the past.  It is good that we are reminded of His blessings and deeds to us in days gone before.  A reminder is not like a day of remembrance such as Memorial Day, but a day in which you remind yourself of God’s goodness to you.  God even had to remind David that he was once a shepherd.  

               “Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts:  “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.  And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.”‘”
                         –2 Samuel 7:8-9 (NKJV)

We can get so caught up in doing the Lord’s work that we forget that it is He who guides us, sustains us, strengthens us, and saves us.  Even more so, it is easy to get caught up in careers, making money, or just surviving and we need to be reminded of the Lord’s faithfulness.
       In the many moods that we can have, in the myriad emotions that come our way throughout the day, or the season, we need to remind ourselves that we are children of God.  Go back, read 1 John, read Psalm 119, or other familiar and favorite portions of the Bible.  Remind yourself of your kinship with the heavenly Father.  Remind yourself, as Paul writes, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, NKJV).  Remind yourself that God will be with you, will guide you, will protect you, and will complete the work He has started in you.  
       We need reminders.  We need to stop when we are in turmoil and remind ourselves that there was a time when the Lord took care of me in a similar circumstance, or go to the Bible and see where He helped others in the same situation you may find yourself in.  Look back at what the Lord has done for you and in your life, let those be reminders that He will do it again if need be.  Remind yourself of His great faithfulness, and that His mercies are new every morning.

                    –Gene Turney  (The Little Ranch in Texas)

       “And our hope for you is firm because we know that as you share in the suffering, so you will share in the comfort.”

                    –2 Corinthians 1:7 (HCSB)
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Trails are often designated by their destination.  I have hiked the trail to Blue Lake, the trail to Longs Lake, the trail to…  Get what I mean?  In days of yore the same was often true.  The Oregon Trail was the trail leading the settlers to Oregon, the California Trail to California, and the Santa Fe Trail led merchants and pioneers to Santa Fe.  Makes sense doesn’t it?
       It took courage to travel one of those early western trails.  Even more so, it took fortitude–endurance.  Many turned back having not the will to make the arduous journey.  Many more died along the way.  It is said that on the Oregon Trail if all the people who died were buried along the way, there would be a grave every mile.  The biggest killer was cholera, but there were also other diseases, the climate, breakdowns and injuries, river crossing, and the threat of outlaws, renegades, and Indians along the way.  It was not an easy trail.  The same was true of the Santa Fe Trail.  It was primarily from its first trek in 1827, a trail for commerce, but as the nation grew people decided to travel it in hope of a new life.  It was used even more often after gold was discovered in Colorado.
       These trails were guided by landmarks along the way.  There was Scott’s Bluff and Chimney Rock in Nebraska; Independence Rock and Devil’s Gate in Wyoming.  Bent’s Fort was built on the Santa Fe Trail just before the cutoff to the southwest.  When the travelers spied the Spanish Peaks, they knew they were on the right trail.  Landmarks–oh, how vital to finding one’s way.  This is true of life, but also true in our spiritual journey as well.
       What is the “Bent’s Fort” in your walk along this trail?  What are the landmarks you can trust?  There are many voices today, many trying to show false landmarks, but there are only a few true ones.  The Bible for sure, and within its pages the Ten Commandments are trustworthy landmarks.  Watch for them, live by them.  The forts are those special resting times you have had with God.  Not the everyday devotions and study, but those times when God came to meet with you.  A time when you can resupply and get refreshed.
       This trail–let’s call it the “Glory Trail”–for it is the trail that leads to glory.  Get on the trail and once you are on it follow it to its destination.  Don’t be distracted by those who fell along the way, or the lure of riches that are false and temporal.  Don’t let the hardships, the suffering, or the renegade false teachers persuade you off the trail. This Glory Trail is not for the faint-hearted for it will try you.  But, take heart, you have a guide.  Just as those pioneers who traveled the early trails of the West looked to the men who had gone before–the men who knew the trail and the hardships–we look to those great men and women of faith in whose footsteps we follow.  Plus, as they did, we have that supreme guide–the Holy Spirit.
       So, get on and stay on the “Glory Trail.”  I recall the words of Jack Hannah:

               “Afraid is what I’m not!
               Hard times come and the trail seems always uphill,
               Courage is what I’ve got,
               The harder it gets, I’m a-cinchin’ up tighter still.
               Oh Lord, I’m glad it’s true,
               It’s best to lean on You,
               Ridin’ up the Glory Trail.

               Oh the Glory Trail is a rugged trail, it’ll try you every day,
               But the Lord is true and He’ll ride with you, along its narrow way….
               Lord it’s plain to see,
               You never fail me,
               Ridin’ up the Glory Trail;
               O Lord, I’m glad it’s true,
               I’ve learned to trust in You
               Ridin’ up the Glory Trail”

                     –Eugene Manlove Rhodes  (The Trouble Man)

       “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

                    –Galatians 6:14(NKJV)
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A good friend of mine used to sing that grand song, “The Via Dolorosa,” and combining it with her magnificent voice there came the feeling of something intensely majestic.  This term is used for the route that the Romans would have forced Jesus to take on His way to Calvary.  It is not one street, but a route.  The definition of “dolorosa” is literally a “painful path”; it is a distressing, painful journey or process.  So Jesus, on His way to Calvary, actually means then, “The way of suffering,” or as some would put it, “The way of the Cross.”
       We can imagine, thanks to Scripture and the many movies depicting the crucifixion of Jesus.  There have through history and traditions been added; things that are not in Scripture, but “sound nice.”  Listen, there wasn’t anything “nice” about this journey.  But as we think of the Lord trodding in distress this lonely route knowing everything that lay ahead of him we seem to forget His words to us.  “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23, NKJV)
       Think on that!  That is true discipleship.  That is working out your salvation with fear and trembling!  Pick up that cross–pick it up daily and follow Christ.  You will be led down your own Via Dolorosa.  You have a journey, and there will be places along the way where you don’t think you can take it anymore.  It is a painful path, but it is one that must be trod if you are going to follow Him.  
       Notice the definition again, it is a “painful journey or process.”  As you travel through this life, it is definitely a journey, but it is more.  It is maturing in Christ (working out your salvation) it is a process of growth and it often can be painful.  Hearken to the saying, “No pain, no gain.”  Or to the SEAL credo, “The only easy day was yesterday.”  Now, put that to your spiritual experience, your spiritual journey.  You are like Jesus in the way that you must trod this way alone.  Oh, true, there will be friends and family along the way to pray, to lift you up (Simon of Cyrene), but ultimately the cross you bear is your own.  Therefore, do not take the matter of obedience lightly.  Alistair Begg writes, “Those who want to be identified with Christ are still called to pick up their own crosses and follow Him on the path of humility and obedience.”  You might fall along the way, as Jesus did.  The scars, both old and fresh may bleed and cause you great discomfort, but onward and upward you go.  One thing, however, you do not have to face the Cross of Calvary.  The price has already been paid, Jesus Christ, Himself bore that burden.
       “To carry the cross is to be a Christian, and not until then.” (Lois A. Cheney)  Don’t look at the cross others seem to bear; it may be deceiving.  They may hoist their burdens better than yours, the load they carry may be more evenly distributed on their back than what is on yours.  But all true believers have and must carry their cross.  Cheney writes, “The cross is a lonely place.  Even Christ didn’t pick it up quickly and easily.”  But let me now interject here–you do not bear your cross without help.  The Holy Spirit is there.  He is the “Paraclete,” the One who walks along beside, the One who helps you bear your cross.  The One who points out the route on your personal “Via Dolorosa.”
       Friend, don’t delay like the rich young ruler.  Don’t let possessions, friends, career, or any other thing get in the way of picking up your cross and following the One who died for you.  Follow in His footsteps, He already had traveled the route.