Echoes from the Campfire

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

I suppose I’ll do all I can is try to keep the evil from the good… Now that’s quite an ambition!”

                    –Lou Bradshaw  (Crazy Jack Dagget)

       “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
                    –John 3:19 (NKJV)
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Some people cheer for the underdog, and that is understandable.  For the most part I’ve always had an admiration for those who stay on top, game after game, year after year.  Those who have built and then maintained.  Of course, I am speaking of those who made it to the top legitimately.  Once at the top everyone is out to get you, everyone is waiting for you to fall.  I remember as a kid we would play “king of the mountain” on top of a large snow bank (or sometimes on a dirt hill).  The object–throw the king down.  (Hmmm, I wonder if there isn’t something deeper there?)
       This is the situation that David finds himself in Psalm 62.  He is again struggling.  Struggling with enemies, with inner fears, with doubts–seems to be part of David’s life.  Our lives are not much different, and we must also remember, as David always did, that in the midst of our struggles the Lord is there and we can/should/must turn to Him.  People just seem to be waiting to watch you fail.  They almost take personal delight in watching you fumble through a situation.

          1 — Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation.
          2 — He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.
          3 — How long will you attack a man?  You shall be slain, all of you, like a leaning fence.
          4 — They only consult to cast him down from his high position; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.     Selah
          5 — My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.
          6 — He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
          7 — In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  (NKJV)

       When the eyes are upon us, and people gloat at our misfortune we don’t often think to pray.  We are hurt, and sometimes we just want to enjoy our hurt and be left to our misery.  We start out with our eyes upon God, then all of a sudden we turn to look at the circumstances and then the misery and depreciation starts.  David understood, and we need to get this precept entrenched in the depths of our soul–our rest is in God ALONE!  
       Look again at verses 3-4.  Is this not what we are seeing in our country today?  Bite, snatch, lashing out, lies and more lies, cursings, gnashing and tearing apart, this all seems to be part of the norm.  But as believers we need to rest in God alone.  Our expectation (hope) is from God and in Him.  Because of our hope and His assurance we shall not be moved.  We can be steadfast and we will endure to the end.  Abraham Wright said, “Let him that walks in ingloriousness and contempt of the world contemplate God, as God is glory.”  As a child of the King we need to remember who we are and what the final outcome is.

               “Little flock, to joy then yield thee!
                Jacob’s God will ever shield thee;
                Rest secure with this Defender,
                At His will all foes surrender.”
                         –Carolina Sandell Berg

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on
They swagger and make loud noises in their own little circle, but they are only coyotes that yap around the heels of the herd… The coyotes aren’t going anywhere, but the herd is, and so are the men who drive the herd.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Tucker)

       “Who [Christ] also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
                    –2 Corinthians 1:22 (NKJV)
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“Head ’em up–move ’em out!”
       Some of you may recall that bellowing yell from Gil Favor, the trail boss on “Rawhide.”  Get the cattle moving up the trail.  The only way you get paid is to get them to market, and in good condition.  There are all kinds of troubles, trials, and obstacles along the trail.  Most trail drives involved the herds of several ranchers combined into one.  The trail boss had the numbers at the beginning of the drive, and the payment would come at the end of the drive.
       Draw your attention to Matthew 13:24-30:
   
               24 — “…The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
               25 — but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
               26 — But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared
               30 — ‘Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘” (NKJV)

I left out a few verses, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read them.  The cattlemen of the West used brands to mark their cattle and then after the roundup several ranchers would have their cattle placed into one herd for the drive.  At the end of the drive the ranchers’ cattle would be separated and then they were paid for their brand.  The cattle would not be separated until market.
       Sometimes scoundrels would appear wanting to “cut the herd” saying that some of their cattle had gotten mixed up with the herd.  It was up to the trail boss to see that this didn’t happen, and that unscrupulous men didn’t cut the herd taking what was not theirs.
       A second problem regarding the tares and the good grain.  The enemy will plant people among believers to cause them to stumble, to falter, and to fail.  Sometimes it is hard to tell who they are and sometimes they may even portray themselves as believers.  Hold on!  Let the Owner, the Master take care of the business at the harvest, or at the final gathering to check the harvest or the brands.  He knows what is His.  He has His marked with His seal/brand.
       Paul writes in Ephesians,

              “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”  (1:13, NKJV)

              “…you were sealed for the day of redemption” (4:30, NKJV)

It was custom in ancient days for the owner to mark his goods with a seal, or a brand.  Say, for example, if he were purchasing lumber he would mark the lumber that was his.  After he returned home he would send his workers to bring the lumber he had chosen to the work site.  They knew what was his by the seal.  
       The Holy Spirit has sealed us.  We are marked by the brand of the Lord.  No one is allowed to cut us away from the “herd.”  We are not to be uprooted with the tares, but we will be cared for at the harvest.  The Holy Spirit knows us by the seal He has placed upon us.  We are His, to take care of and bring us to the gathering of believers on that glorious day.
       Therefore, don’t let disgruntled people sway you.  Don’t let anyone try and cut you away, deceiving you.  You have God’s seal upon you.  You are His–never let that leave your mind in days of trials and troubles.

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

You judge a person by his heart, not by his house.”
                    –Elmer Kelton  (The Day the Cowboys Quit)

 
       “Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.  We are no longer slaves to sin.”
                    –Romans 6:6 (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)

       I had to go to the post office and as I was doing my transaction I became involved in a conversation with the postal worker.  We were talking about the state of the country and the world when she suddenly announced, “the world is just plain evil; all that is happening is because of evil.”  So how do we deal with it?  How do we protect our souls, and those of our loved ones?  First, realize the fact that it is evil, and second, recognize that this evil and control comes from the devil.
       I am not going to rewrite the questions I had yesterday, but take time to look at them again.  These were challenges being presented in John’s day and they continue on through our day.  I will, however, write the verses we are currently looking at, this time from the HCSB.

               4 — Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law.
               5 — You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins, and there is no sin in Him.
               6 — Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.”

      Jesus did not come to reveal God, though through His life He did.  He did not come to teach us about God, though as a teacher He did.  He did not come to give man a moral life for man already had the Law and to live by the Law was to live a moral life.  Jesus did come because of sin and man’s predicament.  
     John was answering the early Gnostics and the “antichrists” of his day.  He said that Jesus fulfilled the Law–He was obedient.  Jesus, because of His obedience and His holiness was the perfect sacrifice–the perfect offering for sin.  John the Baptist, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)  Jesus came to take away my sin.

               “He took my sins away,
                He took my sins away,
                And keeps me singing night and day…”

       There are those who call sin “mistakes” or “failures,” but it was sin that put Christ on the cross.  Listen, sin is not trivial; it is not to be taken lightly–we are not holy for the sake of being holy.  I heard a preacher once who said at the beginning of every message for the week, “…I am a sinner.”  I wanted to shout, “NO!”  Now be careful and don’t take me wrong.  We no longer practice sin, yet we may sin.  I wanted to say, “I am a saint!” because of the work of Christ.  He took away my sins on the cross, He delivers us from the power of sin and the pollution of sin.  It may have been Spurgeon who wrote, “In the past we were delivered from the penalty of sin.  In the present we are being delivered from the power of sin.  In the future we will be delivered from the presence of sin.”
       The past, on the cross, the awful penalty for sin was given with the work of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Right now, currently, we are being delivered, day-by-day from sin’s power.

               “We are growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord; we are increasingly being made to conform to the image of His Son.  We are being delivered–we have been, we are, and we shall be ultimately.”
                              –D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Live in the Light.  Live in the power of His resurrection.  Live in the knowledge of His sacrifice and substitution.  

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

The mountains do not mind the storms. There have been many storms upon these rocks.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Brionne)

 
       “A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”
                    –Isaiah 32:2 (NKJV)
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O lead me to that Rock…  When things begin to overwhelm you–go to the Rock of your salvation.  When you’re all alone, and it seems that no one cares–lean on the Rock.  When you can’t find the answers yourself, or when you make a decision and things fall apart, do not despair–go to the Rock.  Maybe friends and family have forsaken you–then go to the Rock that is higher.
       Some have titled Psalm 61, the “Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection.”  He is there, and no one, no enemy, no circumstance, no virus, no terror can shake Him.

            1 — Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer.
            2 — From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
            3 — For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy.
            4 — I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.                   Selah
            5 — For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
            6 — You will prolong the king’s life, his years as many generations.
            7 — He shall abide before God forever.  Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!
            8 — So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows.  (NKJV)

Many think this Psalm depicts the time when David was living in banishment from his son Absalom.  Think of the mighty king cowering from his son.  Think of a father whose son has rebelled and turned against him.  What is left?  What is there to live for?  David turns to his Rock.  The king, the supreme authority of the land, goes to the rock that is higher than himself.
       Hope is here; something that David never loses.  Notice also, one of the reasons that David wants his life preserved is to perform his vows.  Have you made promises to God?  Go to Him and begin to fulfill them.  In this time of “woke” of pseudo-truth of cancel culture go to the real Truth.  Trust in Him, be satisfied in Him, sing praises in the midst of any and all of your difficulties to the Lord who is your Rock.

               “How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,
               I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe;
               How often when trials like sea billows roll,
               Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.
               Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
               Thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in Thee.”
                             –William O. Cushing