A man has to face up to himself sometime or other.  You can go on being satisfied or ducking the issue only so long, and then there comes a time when you start asking yourself, not what you’ve done with your summer wages, but with your whole life up to that minute.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Hanging Woman Creek)

    “Arise, cry out in the night, At the beginning of the watches; Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord….”
              –Lamentations 2:19(NKJV)
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I like the Psalms.  I read them constantly, and at this point in my life I wish that I had memorized many more of them.  They are good for inspiration.  They are good for comfort.  They are good for guidance.  They are good to use in worship and praise to the Lord.  However, one reason I like them is that so many were written by David and they reflect the reality of his life and how he lived through the trials, troubles, and tribulations that came his way.
    Just contemplate the first two verses of Psalm 55,

         “Listen to my prayer, O God.  Do not ignore my cry for help!  Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my trouble.” (NLT)

Have you ever found yourself in that situation, praying that same type of prayer?  People declare they want a relationship with God, where here you have one.  David knew God.  David turned to God when he struggled with abandonment and betrayal.  It seems that he might have been concerned that God would leave him as well.  As we see in the next few verses, David is in anguish.  Why is this happening to me? he wondered.  God are you there? he questioned.  

         3 – My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats.  They bring trouble on me, hunting me down in their anger.
         4 – My heart is in anguish.  The terror of death overpowers me.
         5 – Fear and trembling overwhelm me.  I can’t stop shaking. (NLT)

In verse 4, the literal translation for “anguish” is “trembling with pain.”  Have you ever had so much pain that you actually trembled?  Has your body shook because of the pain and you think that you can’t handle it anymore?  Add to that the anxiety of those you thought were friends turning against you.  The NIV translates verse 3 and 5 this way:

         3 – at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger.
         5 – Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.

One would think that David was living in today’s society and facing the onslaught of the enemy.
    Many times I could have related to the final words to this first part of Psalm 55.  Let me go to the high lonesome; let me get away from all the stupidity and hatred around me.

         6 – Oh, how I wish I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!
         7 – I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness.  Interlude (Selah)
         8 – How quickly I would escape–far away from this wild storm of hatred. (NLT)

However, the Holy Spirit will not allow us to escape.  We are where He has placed us.  We are to be steadfast and trust in His leadership and guidance.  The Lord will give us comfort, He will not forsake us.  Fleeing is not the answer for there will the issues will follow and by fleeing there will be added problems.

         “Oh, were I a feathered dove,
          And innocence had wings.
          I’d fly and with the God I love,
          Leave all these restless things.”
                 –Isaac Watts

They rode because of loyalty to one another…  They also rode because in each of them there was a sense of what was right and what was justice, although none of them would have admitted to it or would have know how to phrase it.  They had never learned how to rationalize, and their world was a simple one where right and wrong were quite obvious.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Where the Long Grass Blows)

    “That they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
              –2 Thessalonians 2:12 (NKJV)
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I looked at the news on my phone (that sounds crazy) to see who won the Kentucky Derby.  All I saw was that the liberals went berserk because the anthem of the Kentucky Derby was played (“My Old Kentucky Home”).  The headline asked the question whether the song was pro-slave or anti-slave.  That’s what happens when the “woke” crowd speaks.  Did Stephen Foster have a political idea in mind when he wrote the song, or was it a depiction of life in Kentucky in the 1850s and nothing more?
    Frederick Douglas promoted the song and that it popularized the sentiment of abolishing slavery.  But the headlines of yesterday show the farce of the cancel culture crowd.  The song, part of history showing life in the South is now to be outlawed, castigated by the progressive of society.  Who cares about the race, the tradition, and the importance, all that matters is another chance by the media and the liberals to be vocal.  Oh, by the way, I did find out that “Medina Spirit” won the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby.
    The wokes, cancel culture, or progressive democrats–whatever name you want to give them–are some of the biggest hypocrites.  The bemoan the idea of slavery and yet they back the murder of infants with no thought as to race.  Studies show that black women have the highest abortion ratio in the country with 474 abortions per 1000 live births with black women making up 14 percent of the childbearing population.  Hmmm, slavery versus murder, where are those involved in the BLM movement regarding this?
    That same group will harp on racism, Jim Crow laws, and yet they will yield to the abominations of God’s Word.  They willingly condone the homosexual and transgender lifestyle yet complain about the racist ideas of police and conservative politicians.  It is not even mentioned that the President called the winner of the Masters, “an Asian boy”.  Where is the consistency?  There is none, because what they are screaming for really doesn’t matter.  What matters is their own self-centeredness and self-righteousness.  Who cares about the truth as long as we can cause chaos and mayhem?

         “…Yet you have turned justice into poison, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.”
                   –Amos 6:12 (NASB)

Isn’t the verse above indicative of the times in which we are living.  Where is justice?  Is it the whim of man or the agenda of the media?  Is it for the good of the people or for the elite ruling class?  Justice into poison, no wonder police officers are changing jobs or retiring.  
    I have been pondering the words of 2 Thessalonians 2:7, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” (NKJV)  It makes me think that so many of the liberal left are puppets of the lawless one.  Lawlessness is already at work–could it be that the Antichrist is alive and working, but is still being held in check?  Could it be that his influence is already guiding and fueling the lies and lives of many in the world, but his reins are still be held tight by the Holy Spirit?  Words to ponder my friend; words to judge your life by.  I don’t know about you, but I’m expecting to hear that trumpet sound.  Are you ready?

Black or white, right is right and wrong is wrong.  It doesn’t make any difference.”
              –Elmer Kelton  (Badger Boy)

    “He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”
              –Psalm 112:7 (NKJV)
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         “The spiritual leanness of so many Christians today is a direct result of getting into the flesh–trying to do kingdom work in our own power, with worldly methods.  Our values are becoming perverted.”
                   –David Wilkerson

Look around at those proclaiming “cancel culture” and see what is truly happening.  I am convinced that much of what is being said is to line the pockets of those already rich.  Find out who is making the money and you’ll find out who is pulling the strings.  
    Who does it benefit to change “culture”?  We should be concerned, yet we should be able to keep our sense of direction.  We are heaven bound.  Our values, our morality are based in the Word of God.  To live in this pagan, apostate, and foolish world we must dwell in the Word, we must have it etched deeply in our hearts.  I read a great article/sermon by David Wilkerson from which the above quotation is taken, he went on to say, “I confess to you that it has taken years for me to live only for eternal values.”
    I believe there are those especially called by God to preach the gospel and build the kingdom.  Wilkerson, Moody, Nee, Spurgeon, Graham and so many others.  However!  All of us are called to be a light where we are, whether in school, at church, on the job, at the ball park, anywhere and everywhere.  We must seek Him more and more each day if we are to survive in this evil world that is under the control of the “evil one.”
    Before going to sleep every night I pray that the Holy Spirit will give me a “midnight hymn.”  That is to say if I wake up during the night the words of a hymn will be in my mind, and there when I get up in the morning.  At the very beginning of the week I heard this in those early morning hours when I wakened.

         “Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
          Daily let me go;
          Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
          More of grace to know.”

Those words were penned by C.P. Jones and are so very true for the hour in which we live.  Daily to go deeper in Jesus.  Daily to grow in grace.

         “Deeper, deeper! blessed Holy Spirit,
          Take me deeper still,
          Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
          And His perfect will.

It may take a lifetime, and most likely will to get deeper in Jesus.  That is the job of the Holy Spirit to take us deeper and He yearns to do so.  What keeps Him from doing so is our self-centeredness and our self-interest.  We need to let go of our life and be wholly lost in Jesus and follow His perfect will which we can find in the Bible.  Let the Holy Spirit take you deeper.

         “Deeper, deeper! tho’ it cost hard trials,
          Deeper let me go!
          Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
          Let me fruitful grow.

          Deeper, higher, ev’ry day in Jesus,
          Till all conflict past,
          Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
          Perfected at last.”

Do not shun the trials and the troubles that come.  Let the Holy Spirit use them to develop you in Christ.  It may be a pestilence, a pandemic, a storm, suffering, or other things that are forced upon you.  The key is to stay in God’s Word and to seek Him in everything you do.  Perfection?  Not in this life, but one day–one day we shall see Him face to face and we shall be like Him.

                   “O deeper yet, I pray,
                    And higher ev’ry day,
                    And wiser, blessed Lord,
                    In Thy precious, holy word.”

We are to live by eternal values, not the values of a “woke culture.”  We are to go deeper into the Word of God, not listen to the voices of puppets and entertainers.  Take me deeper, O Lord, I pray and then lift me up into the heights of Your love.

The lure of the trail led him on.  There was always another bend, always another projecting rock around which he wished to see.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Fallon)

    “Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.”
              –Titus 3:3 (NLT)
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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)


I am going to dwell just a bit on loving the brethren, meaning all that are in the Church.  First of all John says that he gives no new commandment and then some added guidelines.  See, we need each other in this evil world.  There are times to pick up a weaker Christian, there might be times when you need guidance along the way and comfort.  Yes, for sure, there may be a time to walk alone, and true, we each have to walk our own road with the Holy Spirit only as our guide, but still we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
    First a little side thought.  For some reason the more enlightened church has dropped those respectful titles.  I believe we have lost something by doing it.  We are of the family of God, and therefore we are “brothers and sisters” to each other.  Too formal, I don’t think so.  It is showing relationship.  If we fail to love them, we interrupt or fellowship with God.

         “Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. 9 The one who says that he is in the Light and yet hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. 11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
                   –1 John 2:7-11 (NASB)

    The words of Leviticus 19:18 and John 13:34 were never truly possible until Christ.  Only through Christ are we able to really love our neighbor and forgive others.  Darkness has passed and we are living in the Light.  Unbelievers dwell in the realm of darkness; unbelievers eyes have been darkened, they are used to darkness.  However, the Christian is not the person they used to be.  The test of Light is in response to this commandment.  There must be love to be in the realm of light.  Despite defects in others we press on in loving them.

         “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.'”
                   –John 8:12 (NASB)

    Once we were unloving people, once we walked in the darkness, but now we have the Light.  The world controls those who are in darkness.  Unless drawn by the Light those in the world hide from it.  “The world hides itself; there is a superficial charm and manner, there is a superficial culture and chivalry that would hide this.” (Lloyd-Jones)  They claim to be “woke” more enlightened that those in the Church.  Their culture is better and not bigoted or racist.  They are controlled by this outlook.  Lloyd-Jones refers to this as a tragedy, “The tragedy of the nonChristian is that he is not master of himself or in control of himself; he is governed by his surroundings and circumstances.”  He is a victim of the darkness, and is under the control of the “evil one.” (1 John 5:19)
    Those in the darkness are blind; they do not understand the gospel.  They are blind to their eternal destiny for they are not looking for the heavenly city.  Many will mock that they prefer hell, for all their friends will be there.  The devil covers their eyes.  Therefore, we as Christians have an obligation to love those of the family of God so that our light might shine to those in darkness.
    As we love others, especially those of the faith, we find real purpose governing our lives.  Our eyes are open making it harder to stumble.  Oh, stumble we might; falter is possible, but we have the promise of 1 John 1:9 and can go to our heavenly Father.  Our journey is not one of continual falling, stumbling, and tripping for we are now walking in the Light.  Because of that we have a duty to not cause others to trip or stumble, but to draw out the best in them.