–Douglas Hirt  (“The Kid”)

       “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.”
                          –Ephesians 5:15(NKJV)
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Part of my early morning devotions are from the Early Church Fathers.  In our modern era we tend to forget their importance and how they led the way.  They had trials and tribulations, some the same as ours, but some different, however, they had a great amount of wisdom.  We may not agree totally with their theology, but we need to look at those truths they present.
       This morning I’d like to pass on something from my reading.  It is from Gregory of Nyssa (335-395).  Gregory was from Cappadocia.  This region is mentioned in the Bible in Acts 2 and in 1st Peter.   Gregory had seen persecution–his parents had their goods confiscated because they were Christians.  His grandfather was killed by “Imperial wrath,” under Emperor Maximinus II.  Gregory was said to be quiet and meek.  Throughout his life he seems to act as a reconciler and mediator with those who differ with the church.  Gregory, himself, was sometimes in controversy with the Church with some of his ideas.  Here he speaks of the right path:

               There is only one right path.  It is narrow and constricted.  It doesn’t have any way to turn on one side or the other.  No matter how we step away from it, there is always the danger of straying hopelessly away.  As a result, we must correct the habit many people have gotten into as much as possible.  I mean those who fight strenuously against the more wicked pleasures, yet who still hunt for pleasure in worldly honor and positions of power.  They act like slaves who longed for freedom, but, instead of working to get away, they only changed masters.  They thought freedom was in that change.  But all people are slaves even thought they may not be ruled by the same masters…  This same thing happens when any emotion, instead of righteous reason, controls the course of a life.  For the Lord’s commands are exceedingly far-reaching.  They “enlighten the eyes” even of “the simple” and declare that good belongs only to God.  But God isn’t pain, but He is pleasure.  He isn’t cowardice, but boldness.  He isn’t fear, anger, or any other emotion that sways the unguided soul.  But, as the Apostle Paul says, He is Wisdom, Sanctification, Truth, Joy, Peace, and everything like that.

So are some thoughts from the 4th Century.  Ponder them.  There is only one right path!  Did you get that?  One Way!  It is in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.  Contrary to the globalists and other “ists” of the modern day, there are not many paths to God but only one.  Eternal life is reserved for those who believe in Jesus Christ, His crucifixion and resurrection.  A person just doesn’t wander into heaven.  You don’t travel the Eightfold Path and expect to find Jesus there waiting for you.  

              Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people).”
                               –Ephesians 5:15(Amplified)

                         –Elmer Kelton  (The Good Old Boys)

       “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

                         –Revelation 22:12(NKJV)
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Are you keeping your eyes open and on the skies?  Are you looking upward, ready for His coming?  Is the prayer, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” on your lips?  He’s coming, and I will repeat, He’s coming.
       I read a story from Jack Graham, where he tells of a group of children who have been told that Jesus is coming soon.  They were so intent upon the words that they continually went to the windows of the house, smudging the glass, looking upward for His appearing.  Graham then related it to the life of Christians, “The windows of every Christian’s home should be smudged and dirty because of our passionate expectation of Christ’s soon return.  So live your life with an eye on the sky waiting for that glorious day!”

               “My heart can sing when I pause to remember,
               A heartache here is but a stepping stone,
               Along a trail that’s winding always upward,
               This troubled world is not my final home.”
                         –Stuart Hamblen

That should be our song of praise.  We should be like Paul and Silas when in the dungeon, not to despair but to sing.  No matter what comes our way the Lord is with us.  The obstacles of life help us gain strength, help us grow.  And the troubles of this world–the terror, the sickness, the death, the suffering are to remind us that this is not our final home.

               “The things of earth will dim and lose their value
               If we recall they’re borrowed for awhile;
               And things of earth that cause the heart to tremble,
               Remembered there will only bring a smile.”

I have always wondered why folks are in such a hurry to gain wealth.  I figure that there are three times when all people are equal:  at birth, at death, and at the cross.  Read Ecclesiates, “And how does a wise man die?  As the fool!” (2:16, NKJV)  You could replace wise with wealthy–all face death, all will be buried, all will return to dust.  It isn’t wrong to want wealth, but to spend your life seeking it rather than seeking what the Lord wants from you is truly vanity.

               “This weary world with all its toil and struggle
               May take its toll of misery and strife;
               The soul of man is like a waiting falcon;
               When it’s released, it’s destined for the skies.
           
                              But 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.”

In the midst of your life do you have joy?  Despite the difficulties there should be joy in your heart.  One of the ways to nurture joy and letting it mature into its fullness in your life is to look upward.  We are told to “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”  Let there be smudges on your window panes as you look through them upward looking for the Lord.  Be passionate about His coming, don’t live in the mully-grubs of the world.

                    –Louis L’Amour  (“Bowdrie:  A Job for a Ranger”)

       “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
                    –Mark 8:36-37 (NKJV)
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       One thing the Book of Ecclesiastes does is to show life realistically, even perhaps somewhat pessimistically.  “Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun:  And look!  The tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter–on the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1, NKJV)  No comforter!
       I am reminded of the old Negro Spiritual, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.”  Woe is me, life is tough, it’s unfair.  There is no comforter and I am lost and undone.  There is oppression and exploitation all around and especially seen in the halls of justice.  Innocent people suffer pain and sorrow, they suffer for no apparent reason.  People who could help don’t; they only serve their own agenda.  There is a “carnal, savage-level selfishness” (Swindoll) in the world.  Let the more vicious dog win.  
       How does one learn to be content in such a world?  Wiersbe writes, “Learning and living must be brought together.”  Success can be more lethal than having little.  There is a danger in wealth that the poor never have to worry about.  Solomon says, “Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.” (4:6, NKJV)  The rich have much competition to get ahead, and even to stay solvent.  As the competition increases so does the intensity of life.  The goal of life becomes to get ahead not quality of workmanship or thinking of glorifying God with their work.  The rich want more, more, more–yet they already have it all.

                    “Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure with trouble.  Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred…  Better is a little with righteousness, than vast treasures without justice.”
                              –Proverbs 15:16-17; 16:8 (NKJV)

       The rich want more, the poor are exploited.  The rich often become so caught up with their lives that other important things go by the wayside.  Oh, they may give some money to charities to show off their riches and appease their guilty souls, but they are careful to give just enough.  Jesus warned the rich with His story about the rich man storing up his goods.  “But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  (Luke 12:13-21, NKJV)
       Then we have the idle–the lazy, the sluggards in life.  Instead of saying “more, more, more” they holler out “give, give, give.”  Do your duty and give to fulfill my needs.  Why are you rich when I am destitute?  These are those who want to live off the wealth of others.  These are the snowflakes and twinkies of the hour.  Take my debt; it’s your duty to do so and by saying that they are showing that they are destitute of character.  Ray Steadman says, “When you sit in idleness you devour yourself, your resources disappear, your self-respect vanishes.”  The lazy man is warned in Proverbs that poverty will come upon him (Proverbs 6:10-11).

                    “The industrious man was motivated by competition and caught in the rat race of life.  He had no leisure time.  The idle man was motivated by pleasure and was headed for ruin.  He had no productive time…  The industrious man thinks that money will bring him peace, but he has no time to enjoy it.  The idle man thinks that doing nothing will bring him peace, but his life-style only destroys him.”
                              –Warren W. Wiersbe

       One thing that Solomon has forgotten.  One thing he either did not consider or he was ignorant of–the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.  “There is no comforter” came the cry, but there is!  The Holy Spirit, the One who walks beside, who directs our steps, who speaks direction to our soul is there in the time of need as well as in the time of plenty.  There is an answer to the cry of the heart and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.  When the cry goes out, “This night your soul will be required of you,” will there be panic, dread, or will the smile of a child of God be on your face?  Will God say, “Fool!” or will He call you “Faithful”?  How you live your life for Him, and how you let the Comforter guide you will be the difference.  “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…Nobody knows, but Jesus…”

                         –Ernest Haycox  (Alder Gulch)

       “Thus says the LORD of hosts:  ‘Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother.'”

                         –Zechariah 7:9 (NKJV)
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What happens when people, especially those in leadership positions do not heed the warnings of God?   In Psalm 82, God is warning unjust leaders.  He chides them for what they are doing and they are told to change their ways.

          1 — God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
          2 — How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?   Selah
          3 — Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.
          4 — Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked.
          5 — They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable.
          6 — I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.
          7 — But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.’
          8 — Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.  (NKJV)

       This Psalm starts out with a courtroom sitting.  God is seen standing in the room where He is judging the “gods.”  This term has thrown some into confusion.  This is not speaking of mythology.  The Almighty is not judging Zeus or Athena, or any of the other mythological gods.  He is not speaking about polytheism which many take this Scripture to try and prove their beliefs.  It is not speaking of the New Age and Mormon belief of the promise that man will become gods.  From reading the verses, it is clear that He is speaking to the judges of the earth–the leadership.
       God is giving a firm warning to these “judges”.  As Matthew Henry wrote, “Those who will not observe the judgments of God’s mouth shall not escape the judgments of His hand.”   The Lord desires that there be justice, but these pseudo-leaders have perverted justice.  The righteous suffer, and because of that evil is rewarded.  In this Psalm,” God is calling into account all corrupt rulers who were responsible for defrauding the weak, the fatherless, the poor, and the oppressed.” (Steven Lawson)
       Look at the beginning, this is important.  God is presiding!  All rulers and authorities are under His domain and control.  Judges are put in place to execute justice under the laws of the land, but instead they are blind.  No, not blind like the statue that depicts law, but blind to their duties and responsibilities.  When lawless, unjust men rule it causes havoc among the people, there is unrest, and in truth the whole world order starts to reel.  Think of just those of the last century:  Stalin, Hitler, Amin, Pol Pot, and the list could go on.  The world was shaken because of their injustice and inhuman treatment of those whom they ruled over.
       Martin Luther made the statement, “Rulers must understand that they are not placed over stocks and stones, nor over swine and dogs, but over the congregation of God; they must therefore be afraid of acting against God himself when they act unjustly.”  God is in charge.  All nations are under His control and if warnings are not heeded, then His judgment will follow.  (Even so, come, Lord Jesus.)

                    “Arm me with jealous care,
                    As in thy sight to live;
                    And O thy servant, Lord, prepare
                    A strict account to give!”
                             –Charles Wesley