Echoes from the Campfire

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

If something is evil, then it is the duty of good men to stand firm and try to correct the situation.”

                    –D.C. Adkisson  (Mal de Ojo)

       “So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life.  Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence.  A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better.”
                    –1 John 1:5 (NLT)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse:  “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.”  –1 John 5:19 (NLT)

In these wearisome days of trouble we are to be people of prayer.  We pray for ourselves, our family, and other children of God.  We are not to be busybodies, but if we see someone in danger we should go to them and especially pray for them.  

            “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death.  There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.  All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin leading to death.”
                              –1 John 5:16-17(NASB)

            “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”
                              –Galatians 6:2 (NASB)

There are a few things seen in the above verses.  We are to care for our family in Chriist.  We should have a genuine concern for those who are Christians that are seen in sin.  Remember, all unrighteousness is sin; that is not living in accordance to God’s way of life.  Sin interrupts fellowship with God and we should be concerned.  These verses also answer the problem with antinomianism–living as I want.  We live according to the Lord’s will and word.

            “When we fall into sin, what grieves us most of all is not the sin we have done, but the fact that we have hurt the Person.”
                              –D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

       I mentioned briefly in the last lesson regarding “a sin leading to death.”  This is the doctrine of the antichrists, those evil people who have come out from the body of Christ and preach a false doctrine.  I do not want to get into a discourse regarding the “unpardonable sin,” but I want to mention a few things.  In my experience I have dealt with individuals who have believed they have committed this sin.  Young people with their life in front of them now living in fear thinking that there is no hope for them.
       First of all, those who believe they are guilty of the sin against the Holy Spirit are not guilty of it.  People who sin against the Holy Spirit are not worried or troubled about it.  They go on their way thinking they do not have a care in the world.  They are certain they are right and pour contempt on the truth.  The people guilty of this sin are arrogant and self-satisfied; they dismiss the gospel and do not want to hear from God.
       Jesus in Matthew, chapter 12, deals with this subject.  He is talking to the religious leaders, those who should know the Scriptures.  Therefore, we should look carefully at that and look back at today’s verses from 1 John 5.  A Christian would never blaspheme the Holy Spirit.  Second, an unbeliever cannot do it for they have no concept of what it is.  That leaves those who are religious.  Those who went out from among us with false doctrine to spread.  Also, remember Jesus said that the religious leaders were in danger of committing the unpardonable sin, not that they had already done so.
       In bringing this up, we can see the importance of praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We also see how important it is to know right and true doctrine.  It is easy for someone who does not know the truth to be duped into believing a falsehood.  I will leave these thoughts from the NLT in closing today,

            “With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on everything we taught you both in person and by letter.”
                              –2 Thessalonians 2:13

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Life is much better when a man has a good woman to share life with.”

                    –Cliff Hudgins  (Viejo and the Lost Child)

       “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs with no fear of the future.”
                    –Proverbs 31:25 (NLT)
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It’s about time for some potpourri.  I haven’t put one of these together in quite a spell.  So here is a few thoughts that I’ve come across.

       Perhaps some of you remember the old song that has the following words:  “No one could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her in the morning.”  Well this morning, I met my sweetie for her birthday!  Yep, she’s moving along in age, but a person wouldn’t notice it much.  She’s busy as ever, sweeter than ever, and is a comfort to me each and every day.
       I remember the first birthday I spent with her.  It was a few years ago right after I met her.  We had just started dating and she felt that we should cool things off (silly girl), then Providence intervened.  I was asked by her roommate to get her to the student union as they had planned a surprise birthday party for her.  I told her that we (she) had decided that we should cool things off for a while and that I couldn’t do it.  I was told to find a way, so I said something, probably like “we need to talk,” and got her over to her party.  After that she was by my side, except for that first summer, all the time.  So…

                                     HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNIE!

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       Abraham was called by God to go on a long journey and God didn’t even bother to tell him where he was going.  He said, “Go, and I’ll let you know when you’re there.”  God promised to be with him throughout the journey, that He would care, provide, and protect him.  That is the same promise He has made to us.  We have started out on a journey–the journey of life and are heading toward a place that the Lord has prepared.  How will we get there–by trusting Him.  He will provide for us as He did for Abraham.  When will we know we’ve arrived?  At journey’s end, there will be a place prepared for each person who went on the journey with Him.

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               “But when I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”
                              –Psalm 56:3 (NLT)

            “Nothing seems to rest comfortably these days.  The simplicity of life has been lost in the jumble of the frantic and the unfamiliar.  Like the early explorers who feared to sail too far out lest they slip off the edge of the world, so we fear to launch out too far lest we fall into chaos.  Our careful designs for order turn out in disorder, and our programs for lasting solutions become instead parts of even greater problems.  And yet it is this day that we are given to live.
            And in this mad array of tense dilemmas, we share the moods and the troubles of the psalmist.  But the psalmist was not left desolate.  For with his affirmation of a simple trust in God, he had already been delivered despite the turmoil of his age.  Even in the midst of great hardships, God had given him that day to live in confidence.
            In this moody, unpredictable, and confused world, we can be a part of that same truth.  We too can affirm with confident trust that we are given this day to live.”  (Boyce Brawley)

       In reading the above I would ask are you living today?  I mean living in the will of the Lord, basking in His presence and following His voice?  Today is the day for us to be living for the Kingdom of God.  Don’t look to the right or the left, but look and focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on
Keep your head, keep your feet, and keep your heart!”
                    –Emerson Hough  (54-40 or Fight)

       “However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”
                    –1 Timothy 1:16 (NKJV)
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       Thank you Lord for the breath You give me, and that I can walk.  Oh, I may not be as spry as I used to be and able to hump over the hills and through the woods, but I am still able to get from one place to another.  I can watch a hawk glide through the trees, smell the aroma of a flower, and taste the sweetness of Annie’s apple pie.  Everytime I go to the doctor, I look around and am thankful that I’m not in as bad a shape as those I see.
       Far too often, even Christians, bemoan their grievances, aches, and pains.  Older folk sometimes get together to compare who is taking the most pills, what new pain they have this week, or to show that they are in more misery than the others.  Often this is done in jest, but then again, sometimes we get to complaining too much and are not thankful enough.
       When I begin to “count my blessings and name them one by one,” I get overwhelmed with the goodness of God.  Through all the years He has been good to me and my family.  In struggles, He has helped us.  In sickness, He has touched us and several times healed us.  In sorrow, He has comforted us.  In the good times, He has been there smiling down upon us.
       No, I try not to be negative, but once in a while it just pops up.  Woe is me, I just need to go eat some worms…   But then I remember, I dislike the taste of worms.  They are dirty, slimy and don’t taste so very good.  No, I think I’ll treat myself when the woes hit me.  A piece of pie, a bite of cookie is much better than a worm.  Or we could go further and think of a nice, juicy, broiled t-bone over the fire and its rich aroma; its mouthwatering taste most definitely is better than an old worm.  
       See the woes bring on a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness but in Christ we have both help and hope.  He gives me strength for each day, for each hour.  He says He will never leave my side, and I have the assurance that He is there even when I don’t see or feel Him.  He gives that wonderful blessed hope that He will return and take me to glory either by the rapture or the grave.  
       He gave me the ability to work, and work hard knowing that I work for Him, and for His glory.  He gave me the ability to think, to study, to better myself for my future and my family, again all for His glory.  We tend to get caught up with work, or education, or career, and forget that they are gifts from the Lord and we should honor Him but doing the best we can (Colossians 3:17,23).  
       No, I try my best to stay out of the mulligrubs and not murmur.  It doesn’t do much good anyhow.  Lord, I pray, help me, help me to stay on the “sunny side of life.”  Think of all the good things:  biscuits ‘n’ gravy, the vistas I’ve seen from the tops of mountains, the campsites I’ve enjoyed.  Think of my wife: her smile, her help, her servanthood, and her cooking.  Think of my kids, my grandkids, and how You’ve taken care of them.  Too many blessings to count.  God’s goodness and faithfulness is so apparent.  Ahhh, sometimes I just want to sigh in His presence.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on
There was no nonsense when it came to dealing with enemies, or those who were evil.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (The Lonely Men)

       “For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.”
                    –Isaiah 62:1 (NKJV)
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       Do you feel panicked by the darkness of our culture?  Is it beginning to overwhelm you?  It seems that Christians, in these times, are more fearful than faithful.  We need to be calm, rest in that calm assurance of the Lord.  There are many out there groping in the dark for answers; it is not becoming that Christians join in with them when we have the “Light” to guide our way.  This Monday morning we look at the first part of Psalm 72.

               1 — Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
               2 — He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice.
               3 — The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
               4 — He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor.
               5 — They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
               6 — He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, like showers that water the earth.
               7 — In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.  (NKJV)

       Notice how many times righteous or righteousness is mentioned in the Scriptures above.  Righteousness is the doing of what is right.  But how is “right” determined?  Is it relative or absolute?  Our culture today is saying that there is no absolute right or wrong; it is all relative and up to the individual.  How wrong they are! (and that is an absolute)
       Who, today, determines what is right?  The government, the court system, the individual–no, it has already been determined.  God’s holy law is written within the hearts of man.  Sure he can disregard it, to his own peril and that of those near him.  Society will suffer when it is decided that they will go away and against God’s declared moral laws.
Culture/society will break down when it moves away from the righteous standards of the Almighty God.  However, that is what the postmodernists (the woke culture) wants to happen–the deconstruction of moral standards.
       George Wood states, “Any branch of government losing this perspective [the standards of God’s moral laws] descends into the quicksand of moral relativity and ethical chaos.”    Of course, chaos is the great cleanser according to Nietzsche.  Break everything down, do away with God and His laws, start over again with the new, enlightened woke society.  To do that the refreshing of the Holy Spirit will leave the nation.  And to think of that is frightful.  We already have a taste of inadequacy when man tries to establish his own laws contrary to what God has set.
       Stay calm…never forget–God is still in control.  No matter what man might try to do, he cannot thwart God’s purposes.

                   “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,
                   Great David’s greater Son!
                   Hail in the time appointed,
                   His reign on earth begun!
                   He comes to break oppression,
                   To set the captive free;
                   To take away transgression,
                   And rule in equity.”
                             –James Montgomery