Echoes from the Campfire

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

He would admit, when he looked into a mirror, that his hair and his whiskers showed about as much gray as brown, but that was a sign of maturity and reliability.”

                    –Elmer Kelton  (The Smiling Country)

       “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.  To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
                    –Hebrews 9:28(NKJV)
———————————–
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)

Sometimes it is hard to be a loving person, except for self-love, in this crazy, insane world.  Why, just look at what has happened in the past couple of weeks, and can you feel the love oozing for Mr. Rittenhouse after he was found innocent.  We should be nodding our heads that justice did its job, but no, hatred is all around.  Yet in spite of the hatred, the terror, the evil, we are called to love, especially those of the household of faith.
       There is a tendency to live for self, to live for the moment.  I want that and I want it now.  Eve’s sin was that she wanted to taste of the fruit–she wanted it.  She didn’t take much time to think of the eternal consequences, but I want to taste it now.  We must remember that our life is not an automatic kind of life–our life is a continuous whole.  The whole of life must always be present in our minds, and we must always be doing everything in the light of its eternal consequences.  That is one reason why a biblical worldview is so vital; the world must be seen through the lenses of the Bible.
       We abide in God, therefore we must abide in love.  It is hard to love the “unlovely,” and it can be done only through the Holy Spirit.  Some people find it easier to love others, or should I say, show compassion to others, than others.  The final proof that God dwells in us and we in Him is that we love.  

               “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.”
                              –1 John 4:17 (NASB)

Love has been perfected in us.  Know that salvation is more than pardon and forgiveness.  It is the beginning of sanctification.

               “that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
                              –Titus 2:14(NASB)

Love produces good works.  There is the doctrine of sanctification; one that is hatred and often neglected.  Yet we are to be a sanctified person.  The test of sanctification is humility.  So many people look at sanctification with a negative perspective:  I can’t do this, I can’t do that, no to this, no to that.  Sanctification is not the deliverance from certain sins, but of becoming more and more like Him.
       Now is the day of salvation!  Time will end at death–no longer can it be redeemed.  Our abiding in Jesus and having His love perfected in us give us boldness in the day of judgment.  Once we die our fate is determined; however, it is not death that determines our fate.  Death puts us in the place and position in which we can do nothing about it any longer.  There will be no second chance–destiny is decided in this life and world of time.

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

You may have a document that says you own the land you’re living on, but the land don’t know that, nor does the wind, rain, sun, or snow know that you’ve got a piece of paper.”
                   –Lou Bradshaw  (Blue Norther)

       “So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”
                   –Matthew 20:16(NKJV)
————————————
Can you hear the “echoes” of those gone before?  The thoughts, attitudes, lessons, and lives of those who have been a part of your life and now are gone–they are truly echoes that we should remember.  
       In saying that I want to remember two individuals who played a major part in my life who were both born on this day.
               Marguerite D. Jones (1918-2011) b: Industry, KS   d:  Longmont, CO  — my Mom
               LaVern E. Adkisson (1923-2004)  b: Williams, OK  d:  Cheyenne, WY — my Aunt Bern
These two ladies were very different, but in some ways similar.  Mom liked to work because she enjoyed spending.  At times in her life she worked three jobs.  She was into her eighties before she stopped working.  “Got to go make a dollar,” was commonly heard coming from her lips.  Bern, she was a coal-miner’s daughter, and never married, but she took it upon herself to help raise me.  Mom didn’t become a Christian until later in life, while Bern became a believer when she was very young, perhaps as a child.  Both had their struggles, their burdens to bear–and they bore them.
       So today I take a little time to remember them and how they influenced by life.
——————————
       The first day of December, another year almost gone.  Hard to believe.  I have a couple of thoughts to pass along today.  I normally don’t borrow as much as I am today, but believe it will bless you.  
       Read the first chapter of Luke to get a background of the birth of John the Baptist.  In our minds, we often think of him as a wild-haired man preaching from the desert and eating strange food.  Max Lucado wrote this of John coming from Matthew 11:1-3:  

               “He was a child of the desert.  Leathery face.  Tanned skin.  Clothing of animal skins.  What he owned fit in a pouch.  His walls were mountains, and his ceiling, the stars.
               But not anymore.  His frontier is walled out, his horizon hidden.  The stars of memories.  The fresh air is all but forgotten.  And the stench of the dungeon relentlessly reminds this child of the desert that he is now a captive of the king.”

       Here was a man whose life drastically changed.  From complete freedom, living in the wilderness to being walled up in a dungeon cell.  What was his purpose in life?  It was to prepare the way of the Lord.  Now that Jesus has come, he has been reduced to living in a cell.  What do you think went through his mind?  After all he was only human.  Jesus said that he was the greatest born among women (Matthew 11:11).  Living in a dungeon, ready to have his head cut off.  What kind of a reward is that?  But think, it will usher him into glory.  His work was completed; he had been chosen and had finished his task.
       Speaking of chosen, it is important to realize that we have all been chosen for some type of service in the Kingdom of God.  When you have your woes, do not neglect to praise God.  Remember John, his purpose, his cell, and his death, but also think of his place in the realms of glory.  Too often we think that life should be a bed of roses after we are born-again.  Hmmm, but remember even a bed of roses have thorns.
       Perhaps you have been watching “The Chosen.”  The story of Jesus and those whom He called–those He chose.  But never forget He has also chosen you.  You need to take on the task of a chosen one.  Troubles, perhaps; sorrows, most likely; but chosen for a task, a calling, a life of service.  William Barclay writes, “To be chosen by God so often means at one and the same time a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow.  The piercing truth is that God does not choose a person for ease and comfort and selfish joy but for a task that will take all that head and heart and hand can bring to it.  God chooses a man in order to use him.”
       Christmas is coming and with that in mind remember that God gave us the greatest gift of all.  He sent His Son to earth to complete a task.  Take time to inventory where you are in your walk with the Lord and seek what He has chosen for you to do.  No matter what time of life you are in, there are things that He wants you to accomplish for the Kingdom.

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Through all the years of success and sadness he remembered the land he had seen years before. It lived in his mind, and often with eyes closed he felt again the movement of a good horse, the sound of the wind in the grass or the cedars, the running water, the smell of dust and pines and gunpowder.”
                –Louis L’Amour  (The Empty Land)

 
       “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.”
                –Lamentations 3:21(NKJV)
————————————-
               “Victory ahead, victory ahead,
                Through the blood of Jesus, victory ahead…”

       Now, we have the victory!  At times it may not seem like it.  We get weary of the fight; we wane and become despondent, but we can rest assured that victory is coming and, in fact, has already come.  Antony, one of the early monastics used to sing Psalm 68 to celebrate his triumphs over spiritual foes.  Yes, we have them.  Unseen, but real.  Those around who saw and heard him wondered at his antics as he sang and heard his battle cries, watching him fight, but saw no visible foe attacking him (Petersen)   It must have been a sight, but he was fighting real foes in a real, but unseen world.
       I hesitated to write this lengthy Psalm, but the words are so real, so important to us as we walk through this things called life, and live in a world controlled by the power of the evil one.  This week, the first fourteen verses.  Read them, ponder them, contemplate them.

               1 — Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
               2 — As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
               3 — But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.
               4 — Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name YAH, and rejoice before HIm.
               5 — A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.
               6 — God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
               7 — O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness,            Selah
               8 — The earth shook; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
               9 — You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, whereby You confirmed Your inheritance, when it was weary.
              10 — Your congregation dwelt in it; You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.
              11 — The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those who proclaimed it:
              12 — “Kings of armies flee, they flee, and she who remains at home divides the spoil.
              13 — Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.”
              14 — When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Zalmon. (NKJV)

       God is your friend and He is there for you no matter the battle or storm.  What happens to your enemies?  You have real problems, you have real troubles and difficulties that cannot be denied, but they will not last.  They were be blown away as the smoke or melted like the wax.  The Lord is there with the victory.
       I remember that as a child I would often lay back in the soft grass watching the clouds, watching them form different formations and imagining them to be objects.  At that time I never wondered about seeing God in the clouds.  He rides on the clouds!  What a thought, and just think, He is coming back again in the clouds for His “Bride.”  Look back at the past and see what the Lord has done.  He is still the “Way-Maker,” He is still the “Miracle-Worker,” He still brings the victory to His people.  George Wood put it this way, “Too often we fail to remember God’s victories–recorded in Scripture and in our own experience.  God’s past deliverances, coupled with the assurance of our future in Him, should give us a present confidence.”

                     “Let all the world in every corner sing, My God and King!
                      The heavens are not too high, His praise may thither fly:
                      The earth is not too low, His praises there may grow.
                      Let all the world in every corner sing, My God and KIng.”
                                     –George Herbert

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

It’s always good to be hungry when you’re in the woods…. Because when you get back to camp or back home, near starved to death, everythin’ tastes so good, an’ you feel as if you never knew how good food is.”
                    –Zane Grey  (Under the Tonto Rim)

       “Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.”

                    –Psalm 97:12 (NKJV)
————————————
               “God is so good,
                God is so good,
                God is so good,
                He’s so good to me.”
                         –unknown

And, let me tell you friend–He’s good to you, too!  Tomorrow, while the turkey is roasting, while the pies are baking and all of the other wonderful food for the dinner is being prepared think on the goodness of God.  
       Some people may be under dire circumstances, I want you to know that God is good.  Many may have lost a loved one this past year–God is still good.  He sustains us, His grace is always there and His mercy endures forever.  God is good!
       God is good in the happy times, when we often forget Him, and He is good in the bad times when we run to Him in despair, or become bitter because He doesn’t do what we want Him to do.  
       God is good in the midst of the storm; when we think He is off somewhere sleeping.  He is there in the storms with us.  God is good even when we cannot see what He is doing in our lives.  He is good when we get upset with the way things turn out, because He sees the road ahead of us.  He is good even in those many times that we do not understand.
       Think of that little song we used to sing in Sunday School–God is so good.  Never lose sight of that fact.  In closing this little note for Thanksgiving I want to take you to the grand little song by James P. Sullivan.  It’s another one of those songs that came out of the Great Depression.

               “There is a song in my heart today,
                Something I never had;
                Jesus has taken my sins away,
                Oh!  say, but I’m glad.

               Wonderful, marvelous love He brings,
               Into a heart that’s sad;
               Thro’ darkest tunnels the soul just sings,
               Oh! say but I’m glad.

                       Oh! say, but I’m glad, I’m glad,
                       Oh! say, but I’m glad;
                       Jesus has come and my cup’s overrun;
                       Oh! say, but I’m glad.”

       Our Pastor preached a great Thanksgiving sermon last Sunday.  In it he mentioned something that I’ve always believed (though, not always practiced).  It is wonderful that we have this national day of Thanksgiving.  A day when families can get together, a day when people throughout this country are doing the same thing–giving thanks.  But truly, honestly–everyday for the Christian should be one of Thanksgiving!  “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV).