–Louis L’Amour  (Callaghen)

 

       “With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!”

                    –Psalm 119:10 (NKJV)

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Just a short note this morning as we have the ol’ steel mount packed and ready to ride.  Yep, I checked the cinch, so no worries there.  We’re headin’ out to Maryland, so y’all be praying for us.  Some of those eastern folk don’t take to us Texicans.  Don’t see the Grandson much, so we’re going up for his birthday, oh, and to see our daughter and her husband as well.

       We have an idea where we’re going and we have plans on how long it will take us.  It’s nice to travel without any real restrictions as to time.  In the past we were always in a rush to get where we needed to be.  But as far as life goes there is truth in the above quotation.  Time goes on, until the Lord ends it.  We begin a journey as a baby and we have no clue as to what it will be like.  We don’t know how it will end, or when it will end.  As we serve the Lord we do so knowing that He has our lives in His hands, and that goes for our time as well.

       I’m not sure when I’ll get another Echo out.  Sometimes I write while on vacation, sometimes I don’t.  It will depend on the “time” I have on my hands.  I could take a break, but then again, I feel the urgency to write, to encourage, to exhort, to warn and rebuke.  Wake up!  Grow up!  Get serious, the Lord is coming!

       I have often been asked what my favorite Bible verse is.  There are so many I like, that I lean on, that I take to heart.  I have often found that in certain times of my life some verses “jump out” and mean more to me at that time than other times.  Some people hold onto one verse–a life-verse they call it.  I don’t have any problem with that, in fact, it is good but we also need the whole counsel of God’s Word.  For close to a decade now the following has blessed my soul.  This is from the New Living Translation.

 

                    “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.”

                                        –Proverbs 4:18

 

       Talk at you sooner or later; or until I have “time” or take the “time.”  

                         –Paul I. Wellman  (The Comancheros)

 

        “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
                         –1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)
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What vows have you made to God?  Have you ever promised Him something and failed to keep the promise?  Then start doing so.  A failure does not negate the vow.  Start fulfilling your vows now.  Don’t wait.  God is faithful, God answers prayers, God will not neglect His promises; therefore, we need to recognize our responsibility in being faithful to Him and going to Him with our needs.  Let’s look at the first part of Psalm 65.

          1 — Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; and to You the vow shall be performed.
          2 — O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.
          3 — Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.
          4 — Blesses is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts.  We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple.
          5 — By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the far-off seas. (NKJV)

       It is time to pay our vows.  Troubles and trials for once may be tranquil; take this opportunity to pay your vows.  God has forgiven our sins; He shows us that He is the God of our personal lives.  He has answered our prayers.  He has forgiven our sins though they may have been many.  Verse 3, in the NLT puts it this way, “Though our hearts are filled with sins, you forgive them all.”  God does not pick and choose what sins to forgive.  The cross took care of them all.
       When I read verse 4, three things come to my mind.  The first, of course, is the Jewish Temple.  It was always a thrill when a Jewish person was able to go to the Temple and worship.  The second thing that comes to mind is the Temple in the New Jerusalem.  There we will actually see the Lord Himself and give praise in that heavenly Temple.  Perhaps what strikes me most is that we should be praising because we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  We often do not realize, nor think of ourselves, as the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  The person of Christ lives in us, therefore, we should be praising, fulfilling our vows, and basking in the wonderful joy of His love.
       Think of that “personal temple.”  What did you do yesterday in regard to the realization that you are the Temple of the Holy Spirit?  That is why Paul states that everything we do should be unto the Lord (Colossians 3:17,23) for as we walk through this world we are showing forth the “temple.”   Because we have hope, we should be showing and living that hope in front of the world.  Despite the evil in the world, we have hope that Christ is with us, that He has redeemed us, and that He is coming back to take us to be with Him in glory.

                    “Saints below, with heart and voice,
                     Still in songs of praise rejoice;
                     Learning here, by faith and love,
                     Songs of praise to sing above.”
                                 –Needham

                    –Wayne D. Dundee  (Dismal River)

       “Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; whoever walks with fools will suffer harm.”

                    –Proverbs 13:20(NLT)
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The first woe pronounced by God on the land through the prophet Isaiah was because of materialism and greed.  The second woe of Isaiah 5, comes from what Lloyd-Jones describes as the “pleasure mania; intemperance with regard to pleasure.  In verses 5:11-17, three things stand out:  strong drink, music, and disregard for the work of the Lord.  “Men and women are drunk on pleasure and live for it.” (Lloyd-Jones)
       Man seeks to reave up the senses.  They crave pleasure, and because of that they crave even more.  Pleasure becomes the supreme thing in life.  They believe that works is the means of providing money to buy pleasure.  Life is one of seeking, not one of glorifying God.  “Pleasure becomes such a gripping power that they are mastered by it; they rise up early in the morning that they may follow it and continue until night.  The ‘good time’, this is the thing, not honest toil, not real work, not concern about living a full life.”  (Lloyd-Jones)
       This life is artificial.  It is maintained by drink, by singing, by music, by being entertained.  It is life that appeals to the emotions.  It is a life that is kept going by artificial stimulants; therefore, in reality, it is an artificial life.

               11 — Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
               12 — The harp and the strings, the tambourine and flute, and wine are in their feasts; but they do not regard the work of the LORD, nor consider the operation of His hands.(NKJV)

Notice:  they become “inflamed.”  The instincts, the passions, the desires, and the lusts take control.  “Men and women become like beasts, controlled by the instincts of the lower part of their bodily nature.” (Lloyd-Jones)  This is the life–they say.  Look at television, at movies, at social media and see how much these things are mentioned and used in having the “good life.”  “They hate the idea of the soul; they do not believe in God and in eternity.” (Lloyd-Jones)
       People are ignorant.  They do not regard the Lord; they do not regard the works of the Lord.  They are ignorant to the fact that this artificial life will never satisfy.  They who live for pleasure will never have enough.  In fact, they very things they chase seek to provide some sort of escapism.  Whether it be by drugs or alcohol, through music with its lyrics and beat, or through living in a fantasy world via entertainment, it is all a form of escape.  Because of that there is a progressive degeneration.  “Life becomes more and more selfish as people live for themselves in order to get their pleasure.” (Lloyd-Jones)
       Jesus, in Luke 6:24-26, speaks of woes that will come upon man.  Read them all, but for now contemplate on verse 25, “Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” (NKJV)  Consider what is happening in the world.  Consider what you are doing with your life.  Be serious, look around you.  Look at the foolishness that is taking place.  Look at the ignorance and stupidity.  What are you watching, what are you consuming, what are you listening to, what are you feeding upon?  Do they bring glory unto the Lord?  If not, stop–stop and be serious about your life and glorifying the Lord.  Do not get caught up in the games that take you away from the purpose of God.  Humble yourselves, do not live the artificial life, but if not:

               “People shall be brought down, each man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.  But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.”
                              –Isaiah 5:15-16(NKJV)

                    –Jory Sherman  (Dawn of Revenge)

       “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.”

                    –1 John 3:22 (NASB)
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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)

Everyone has a worldview.  They may not realize it, and they may not practice it consistently, but everyone has a worldview.  The worldview that John is constantly speaking of, as well as the other writers of the New Testament, is Christian.  In 1 John 3:19-24, we see a concise view of the Christian worldview.  We are of the Truth!
       We are told to worship in “spirit and in truth.”  Truth, then is our worldview.  Truth means reality.  We are to worship in reality–in other words by the Word of God in our life.  We live in a real world, therefore we worship through our lives.  Paul says that our reasonable worship is to be a “living sacrifice.”  We are to look at the world with eyes of the Scripture.
       John, in these verses, also speaks of prayer.  Prayer simply is communion and fellowship with God.  A few things that prayer is not:

               1)  automatic — we must do it.
               2)  “saying a prayer” — i.e., “now I lay me down to sleep…”
               3)  a repetition of certain phrases
               4)  it is not emitting certain desires
               5)  it is not giving expression to beautiful thoughts
               6)  it is not auto-suggestion of some means of psychology
               7)  it is not five minutes a day for your health’s sake

It is “before Him.”  We have conversation with Him, by praying without ceasing.  Have you ever talked to yourself?  Then talk to God the same way.  Converse with Him.  Remember the words of Acts 17:28, “for in Him we live and move and exist” (NASB).  It is important for us to understand that we are before God.  He is with us; He is the God who is there.  We walk with Him just as His disciples did in days of yore.  He is the one who leads, and directs, and guides.
       We are free from condemnation, however, there should be self-examination.  Paul states that before we partake of the Lord’s Supper we should examine ourselves.  Before sleeping at night we should examine ourselves.  We don’t beat ourselves up, we don’t live in guilt, because that is taken care of at the cross.  In our time of conversation with the Lord, we should remember to listen.  While we are talking we are in control, we need to get to the point where He is in control.  Someone has put it this way, don’t hide things from God for His x-ray eye is upon us.  Don’t, do not, ever, ever, ever forget that we are children of God.  He longs for us to speak with Him, to tell Him about our day, to plan with Him our tomorrows.

                    “If I live the life, keeping the commandments and loving my brethren, that is proof that I am being controlled by the Holy Spirit, and in that state the Holy Spirit is dictating my prayer to me, and that prayer will be answered.  But if I am not living the life, then my petitions are probably arising from the flesh, from my own carnal nature, and I must not be surprised and disappointed if my requests are not answered and granted to me.”
                                          –D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

     Be honest.  Be humble.  Be willing to be guided.  Don’t try to fool God by telling Him something that might sooth His ego, or tickle His ears.  His is not man, He cannot be manipulated.  He is our Father, we are His children.