He watched one man prove that stupidity can’t be cured, and it can often be fatal.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Spirit Valley)
“So teach us to number our days, That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.”
–Psalm 90:12 (Amplified)
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“Woe is me,” come the voices of humanity. “Woe, I am lost and undone,” is the cry of those without direction, without Christ. Man tries in vain to find his own way in life and it is impossible for he cannot find his true purpose without Jesus Christ. Some of the saddest things of a human life–the errors which divert men from their true aim, and plunge them into various and growing misery. Anyone on the threshold of death will look back at their accumulations and wonder…
The “Preacher,” the writer of Ecclesiastes puts forth this question:
“What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” –Ecclesiastes 1:3 (NKJV)
“What profit has man left from all his toil at which he toils under the sun? [Is life worth living?]” –Ecclesiastes 1:3 (Amplified)
At the end of your life will you be able to thank God for all He has done for you? Or has life been wasted in selfish ambition and self-indulgence? The man who believes that he has a wasted life is to be pitied. He has had the wrong perspective all the days of his life. G. Campbell Morgan said, “This man has been living through all these experiences under the sun, concerned with nothing above the sun…until there came a moment in which he had seen the whole of life. And there was something over the sun. It is only as man takes account of that which is over the sun as well as that which is under the sun that things under the sun are seen in their true light.”
People lose their eternal soul–living for the wrong things. It is only when we do things for the kingdom of God, when we look at life with eternity in view do you truly accomplish something. Buildings, fame, power, lustful living, seeking the “good life” all of these things are naught for they are pleasures under the sun. We seek a home that is beyond the sky, a home whose building and maker is the Lord God. Hmmm, are the nails you hear being driven in gloryland belonging to your mansion?
Charles Swindoll said, “We who worship our work and play at our worship have gotten things all fouled up.” Man will be at a ballgame, or a concert, or, at the hunting camp or fishing lodge rather than in church. Then they will say that he can worship outside the walls of a church. Bah, in that context it is nothing but an excuse. True, one should be able to worship wherever they are but when they use that as an excuse they are living under the sun.
What works of your hands are priceless? Stop, take inventory. Contemplate the following:
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
–Matthew 16:26 (NKJV)
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
–John 10:10(NKJV)
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
–1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)
Do you have difficulty discovering answers to the questions of life? If so, then check your heart. What profit is there if you do things for self or for the world? What is there that you will take to the grave with you? Certainly nothing tangible. Only what has been done for the kingdom of God will last. It is deposited in the bank of heaven. Perhaps this is a time in your life that you need to stop…stop and think of eternity rather than the ballgame.
“So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
–Psalm 90:12 (NKJV)
Echoes from the Campfire
Echoes From the Campfire
There was always time. One simply had to make time, and there was always a lot a man did that was trifling and altogether unimportant.”
–Louis L’Amour (Fallon)
“The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.”
–Psalm 116:6 (NKJV)
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This is the holiday season (holy day–season). Don’t let anyone tell you different; this is a time to celebrate, to remember, to be thankful. We started last week with Veterans Day, now we are onward toward Thanksgiving. The next section of Psalm 66 is apropos to Thanksgiving. Stop! Take time! Remember the things that God has done for you during your life. Think of how He has taken care of you, the times He has protected you, the times He has seen you through troubles and trials. Be a witness to yourself of what God has done and thank Him; be a witness to others telling them what He has done then be grateful.
16 — Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 — I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 — If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.
19 — But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 — Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me! (NKJV)
Remember the Psalm, the refining fire–the trials of life, the dark night of the soul? Now, comes the testimony of what God has done in the midst of all the infirmary, the calamity, and the affliction. “I will declare!” Paul tells us that we are to be “living letters,” in other words as we walk through this world, people should be able to read our lives. They should see the very words of the Holy Spirit written there–“I will declare.”
Verse 18 is a reminder to not keep sin in our hearts, to get it confessed. The NIV states it this way, “If I had cherished sin in my heart,” the NLT, “If I had not confess the sin in my heart.” When sin comes, take care of it immediately. Get to the Lord and get it confessed. Also, it is one thing to sin, another thing to “cherish sin,” to love it. Some sin is hard to break away from, but that does not mean that it is cherished–that is part of the agony of the soul. George O. Wood says, “If sin remains in your heart while passing through the dark canyons, then you will not emerge a whole person. You must deal with your own wrong attitudes and actions.”
But when that is taken care of you will find that God has been with you. He heard your weakest cry, your deepest moan in the dark times, the wail of your heart when the storm came crashing, and I like this, “He has attended to voice of my prayer.” Great is His faithfulness, His mercy is there for us continually. Be thankful, be grateful, count your blessings.
“To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the lifegate that all may go in.”
–Fanny J. Crosby
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This is the holiday season (holy day–season). Don’t let anyone tell you different; this is a time to celebrate, to remember, to be thankful. We started last week with Veterans Day, now we are onward toward Thanksgiving. The next section of Psalm 66 is apropos to Thanksgiving. Stop! Take time! Remember the things that God has done for you during your life. Think of how He has taken care of you, the times He has protected you, the times He has seen you through troubles and trials. Be a witness to yourself of what God has done and thank Him; be a witness to others telling them what He has done then be grateful.
16 — Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 — I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 — If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.
19 — But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 — Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me! (NKJV)
Remember the Psalm, the refining fire–the trials of life, the dark night of the soul? Now, comes the testimony of what God has done in the midst of all the infirmary, the calamity, and the affliction. “I will declare!” Paul tells us that we are to be “living letters,” in other words as we walk through this world, people should be able to read our lives. They should see the very words of the Holy Spirit written there–“I will declare.”
Verse 18 is a reminder to not keep sin in our hearts, to get it confessed. The NIV states it this way, “If I had cherished sin in my heart,” the NLT, “If I had not confess the sin in my heart.” When sin comes, take care of it immediately. Get to the Lord and get it confessed. Also, it is one thing to sin, another thing to “cherish sin,” to love it. Some sin is hard to break away from, but that does not mean that it is cherished–that is part of the agony of the soul. George O. Wood says, “If sin remains in your heart while passing through the dark canyons, then you will not emerge a whole person. You must deal with your own wrong attitudes and actions.”
But when that is taken care of you will find that God has been with you. He heard your weakest cry, your deepest moan in the dark times, the wail of your heart when the storm came crashing, and I like this, “He has attended to voice of my prayer.” Great is His faithfulness, His mercy is there for us continually. Be thankful, be grateful, count your blessings.
“To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the lifegate that all may go in.”
–Fanny J. Crosby
Echoes From the Campfire
The nightmare, the attacks will happen, but He will see us through them if we trust and rely on Him.”
–Henry McLaughlin (Journey to Riverbend)
“The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Savior, You save me from violence.”
–2 Samuel 22:3 (NKJV)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World
Key Verse: “We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” –1 John 5:19 (NASB)
There are many enemies out there who war against your soul. However, ultimately it boils down to the world under the influence of the devil. They are enemies of the cross and of Christ. You know it as well as I do that there is a war, a conflict, between the flesh and the Spirit. In fact, one of the weapons of the world is to tell you that you are foolish, that you need to wake up and put this Bible and Jesus foolishness away. Hold firm to the gospel of Truth for it is your hope.
Do you recognize this attack? Do things you see in the world grieve you, upset you? If it does, then you know that God is with you and working within you. He wants to work out His purpose in you and for you. You should desire and yearn more and more for His way.
One way to do that is to view all things in light of the Scripture–a biblical worldview. Know that the world is a place of sin. Study the men/women of the Bible and you will see that they are those who set their gaze on another world. Job said in the midst of his ordeal–surely my Redeemer lives. Abraham was looking for a city whose maker was God. In spite of living in this world they were not caught up in the final judgment of God; they lived in the world in spite of its evil influence a godly life.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
–Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
I like this translation: “I am CONVINCED!” (emphasis is mine). That needs to be etched deep into our souls. It is not just a persuasion, or a gentle nudging, or even a suggestion, but I am fully persuaded, nothing can change my mind. Perhaps that is possibly the most important question in life then–Am I dwelling in God, and is God dwelling in me? Do I listen to the voices in the world or do I guide my every action and thought by the Word of God?
Listening to wrong teaching or setting wrong priorities is something to be guarded against. Watch out for wrong desires: power, fame, money, lust Watch out for wrong practice the first of which is lack of obedience to the Holy Spirit and His prompting. Only as you read the Word of God can you be guarded against error. Do not grieve the Spirit; do not quench the Spirit–in other words don’t sin and do not give in to the flesh, the world.
The essence of the Christian life is to TRUST AND OBEY!
“When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go–
Never fear, only trust and obey.”
–J.H. Sammis
–2 Samuel 22:3 (NKJV)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World
Key Verse: “We know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” –1 John 5:19 (NASB)
There are many enemies out there who war against your soul. However, ultimately it boils down to the world under the influence of the devil. They are enemies of the cross and of Christ. You know it as well as I do that there is a war, a conflict, between the flesh and the Spirit. In fact, one of the weapons of the world is to tell you that you are foolish, that you need to wake up and put this Bible and Jesus foolishness away. Hold firm to the gospel of Truth for it is your hope.
Do you recognize this attack? Do things you see in the world grieve you, upset you? If it does, then you know that God is with you and working within you. He wants to work out His purpose in you and for you. You should desire and yearn more and more for His way.
One way to do that is to view all things in light of the Scripture–a biblical worldview. Know that the world is a place of sin. Study the men/women of the Bible and you will see that they are those who set their gaze on another world. Job said in the midst of his ordeal–surely my Redeemer lives. Abraham was looking for a city whose maker was God. In spite of living in this world they were not caught up in the final judgment of God; they lived in the world in spite of its evil influence a godly life.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
–Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
I like this translation: “I am CONVINCED!” (emphasis is mine). That needs to be etched deep into our souls. It is not just a persuasion, or a gentle nudging, or even a suggestion, but I am fully persuaded, nothing can change my mind. Perhaps that is possibly the most important question in life then–Am I dwelling in God, and is God dwelling in me? Do I listen to the voices in the world or do I guide my every action and thought by the Word of God?
Listening to wrong teaching or setting wrong priorities is something to be guarded against. Watch out for wrong desires: power, fame, money, lust Watch out for wrong practice the first of which is lack of obedience to the Holy Spirit and His prompting. Only as you read the Word of God can you be guarded against error. Do not grieve the Spirit; do not quench the Spirit–in other words don’t sin and do not give in to the flesh, the world.
The essence of the Christian life is to TRUST AND OBEY!
“When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go–
Never fear, only trust and obey.”
–J.H. Sammis
Echoes From the Campfire
A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.”
–John F. Kennedy
“I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.”
–Psalm 45:17 (NKJV)
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IN FLANDERS FIELDS
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
–John McCrea
Have you reached out your hand to catch the torch? Or have you purposely let it drop, the flame growing dim then going out? Are the dead groaning and moaning in their sleep because the generation of today has forsaken the call? For this great country too many people have sacrificed to let it go the way of depravation and mockery by those who don’t know, don’t care and have a goal of destruction via socialism, terror, or other hideous methods.
The pundits don’t care–they serve only their own agenda or those above them who would like to see the fall of this nation, under God. More important than sacrifice is the ability to spew forth lies, spit out stories that will purposely divide. Therefore, on this Veterans Day, do your part to hold the torch high. Hold it high! Remember the dead, the fallen for they should not have died in vain. Remember those who gave their all on the beaches, in the jungle, along the mountainsides, or in the sands of the desert. Again, hold the torch high; let it shine over their graves. Many died on the battlefield, many were scared in their mind or on their body, all gave of their time, their years, along with their dreams and hopes. Why? For this nation of ours. They reached out and took the torch. Don’t let it fall, don’t let the flame go out.
Veterans Day, a day of remembrance. Not only for the fallen (Memorial Day) or for those actively serving (Armed Forces Day), but for all those who have worn the uniform of this country. I, for one, am proud to be a Veteran, proud to have served this country, the greatest on earth–the United States of America!
—————————————-
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
–John McCrea
Have you reached out your hand to catch the torch? Or have you purposely let it drop, the flame growing dim then going out? Are the dead groaning and moaning in their sleep because the generation of today has forsaken the call? For this great country too many people have sacrificed to let it go the way of depravation and mockery by those who don’t know, don’t care and have a goal of destruction via socialism, terror, or other hideous methods.
The pundits don’t care–they serve only their own agenda or those above them who would like to see the fall of this nation, under God. More important than sacrifice is the ability to spew forth lies, spit out stories that will purposely divide. Therefore, on this Veterans Day, do your part to hold the torch high. Hold it high! Remember the dead, the fallen for they should not have died in vain. Remember those who gave their all on the beaches, in the jungle, along the mountainsides, or in the sands of the desert. Again, hold the torch high; let it shine over their graves. Many died on the battlefield, many were scared in their mind or on their body, all gave of their time, their years, along with their dreams and hopes. Why? For this nation of ours. They reached out and took the torch. Don’t let it fall, don’t let the flame go out.
Veterans Day, a day of remembrance. Not only for the fallen (Memorial Day) or for those actively serving (Armed Forces Day), but for all those who have worn the uniform of this country. I, for one, am proud to be a Veteran, proud to have served this country, the greatest on earth–the United States of America!