There are times when we must do that which is not ours by personal choice, but made necessary by external circumstances.  These are the tests which prove who we are.  What is our character?  Can we stand and make the tough decisions which will take us into harm’s way and put our lives at risk, or do we cower and make excuses for refusing to do what is required of us?  You have taken the path of hardship and courage.  Your mission will end one day.  Then, you will see the brightness of the future for the man who lives by truth and righteousness.”
              –Lloyd E. Foley  (Spirit of Lone Warrior)

    “That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
              –Philippians 2:15(NKJV)
———————-
Doctrine!  I’m saying it again–one of the major problems in the church today is that they either do not know the doctrines of God’s Word, or they ignore them.  It is doctrine, the teachings of the Bible, that will get you through the storms, the hard times, the persecutions, yes, and even the viruses of the world.  And, I want to mention that there are all sorts of viruses, not just the COVID.  There are heart viruses, emotional viruses, mental viruses along with the physical type that we are currently seeing.

         “It [doctrine] impacts what we think; it affects our worldview; it determines what we believe is right and wrong; it guides us in life, determines our convictions and standards, and affects all our actions.”
                   –Rick Renner

    Our knowledge of the Bible does affect our worldview, or it should if we are truly practicing what it says.  Our values system, our morals, and our character are all determined by how much we know and study God’s Word.  
    In all that I want to bring to you something from the last part of Matthew.  Jesus is ready to ascend to the Father and He leaves the disciples with these words:

          “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  Amen.”
                   –Matthew 28:20 (NKJV)

There are many Christians who question this statement of Jesus.  Oh, maybe not verbally but in their actions and how they face life they do.  Too many are fixed upon “feeling” and they focus on that rather than focus on the reality of it.  Some may wonder where God was when tragedy struck or when the COVID hit their family.  I’ll can easily tell them–He was there, right with them whether they “felt” Him or not.  He is always there!  
    Frances Havergal goes so far as to say that Christians call Him a “liar” by their actions and beliefs.  Here Jesus has declared that He is with us always.  Not sometimes, but always!  The way we act in times of troubles and crises seems to say that Jesus did indeed lie.  We say, “‘No!  He is not with me!’  All you can say is, ‘I don’t sense [feel] His presence.’  Yet He was there with you while you said it.  What must He have thought?” (Havergal)
    I am reminded of the storm that arose upon the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus was sleeping in the boat, while the storm raged and continued to grow in strength.  Even seasoned men of the sea were afraid.  They woke Jesus, and He looked at them disgusted at their lack of faith then calmed the storm.  They had not grasped the truth that He was there, in the midst of the raging storm.
    Going into 2021, get this doctrine, this great truth down in your heart.  Believe it, heed it, understand it, practice it, for no matter what, Jesus is with us “always, even to the end of the age”!

Sometimes I think the knot-heads in this world are taking over.”  
               –Lou Bradshaw  (Man With No Face)

    “The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness.”
               –Ecclesiastes 10:13(NKJV)
———————–
                 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
                              –John 14:1 (NKJV)

    There are many believers who are making themselves sick because of a troubled heart or mind.  They live in despair, despondency, fear, and anxiety and this then produces more troubles in the heart.  Why are so many believers fearful?
    I think that one reason is that there is a lack of sound doctrine being preached today.  Paul exhorted Timothy and Titus to “guard the truth.”  Our foundation, therefore our lives must be based on sound doctrine.  But, how can this be if the people in the church do not hear it?  Many Christians today have their foundation built upon an emotional experience, upon hype rather than in the truth of God’s Word.  Many Christians will even go so far as to say “in my opinion” rather than “thus saith the Lord.”  When we do not know God’s Word fears can assail and overcome us.
    So many cannot be still in front of the Lord meditating and contemplating upon His Word.  Lloyd-Jones said, “The greatest need of men and women in this world is the need of what is called ‘the quiet heart.'”  Even in church there is a tendency to let the emotions rule instead of quieting the heart to rid it of trouble.  People today are restless, fearful, and how do they try to overcome it–by more emotion.  There is a false teaching regarding worship–it is not hype; it is recognizing the Person of the Almighty God in all of His glory.
    In this world of turmoil there is the need of a quiet heart.  In this time of fear and depression due to a “virus” we need a quiet heart.  In the day of riots and terror there is a need of a quiet heart.  “My heart will not be really quiet until I have been told the very worst and faced it, and then I can surmount it.” (Lloyd-Jones)  Look at the world, not the fake world of the media; it is full of lies, turmoil, death, sickness, and then look into the truth of God’s Word.  Let the words of the Holy Spirit then begin to flow into your heart.  In the midst of all the world has to offer, our hearts need not be troubled.
    I urge you, as 2021 begins to get into the Word of God.  Tell God your difficulties and problems and troubles then delve into the Word and let the words begin to sooth, to calm and to comfort you.  Let the Holy Spirit guide you and to do that there must be a time of quietness, a time when you can listen to what He has to say.
    Rest in the calm assurance of His quietness; let Him ease your troubled heart.  Rest in Him!  Make the chorus of Manie P. Ferguson’s hymn bring a calmness to your soul this New Year.

         “Bless quietness, holy quietness,
          What assurance in my soul!
          On the stormy sea,
          He speaks peace to me,
          How the billows cease to roll!”

Fear is a weapon to be used by you if you control it, by your enemies if you do not.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (The Proving Trail)

    “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.”  
              –Proverbs 3:24 (NKJV)
————————–
Greetings!  Welcome to 2021, and welcome back to the Echoes From the Campfire.  Just sit there for a moment, take a deep breath and let your imagination begin to move.  Can you smell the smoke from the burning wood?  Listen to the crackle as the flames burn deep into the wood.  Now open your eyes, and gaze into the fire, notice the coals glowing as the wind breathes on them.
    Not real, you say.  Well, let me disappoint you again.  The number assigned to this year, 2021, isn’t magical.  The date on the calendar might have changed, but there are still the same problems.  There is still the “virus” to contend with, there is still violence on the streets, there are still foolish and power-hungry bureaucrats lurking around.  The same hatred and bitterness looms as larger now as ever.  
    Does that depress you?  Don’t let it for I’ve  got some good news.  I was reading in Matthew toward the end of last year and a phrase stuck out to me.

         “But the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.'”
                   –Matthew 28:5-6 (NKJV)

Focus on the phrase:  “do not be afraid.”  If you are saved, if you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ–do not be afraid!  There is comfort in those words.  I have in the front of one of my Bibles a quotation by Joseph Parker, “Fear God, and no other fear will ever trouble you.”  It is time for Christians to walk in the confidence and assurance of God.  He is with us, what comes our way He knows about.
    Perhaps you have phobias.  Some of them are understandable, yet some are part of our vivid imagination.  I want to share a little with you from Charles Spurgeon.

         “Did the earth quake?  Fear not:  God can preserve you though the earth is burned with fire.  Did the angel descend with terrors?  Fear not:  There are no terrors in heaven for the child of God who comes to Jesus’ cross and trusts his soul to Him who bled thereon.  Poor women, is it the dark that alarms you?  Fear not:  God sees and loves you in the dark, and there is nothing in the dark or in the light beyond His control.  Are you afraid to come to the tomb?  Does the grave alarm you?  Fear not:  You cannot die.  Since Christ has risen, though you were dead, yet shall you live.”

Many people, including Christians are living in fear.  Fear is the grand tool of the devil.  God uses love, Satan uses fear.  It is one of his choice weapons; therefore, do not let it control you.  
    There are so many voices out there, you better listen to the right One.  Listen to the guiding of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t run into 2021 with false expectancy or with fear in your heats, but go into it with confidence that the Holy Spirit is guiding your steps.  Be cautious and alert for the devil is there to destroy you by any means possible.  Trust in the Lord and in His might.  Let me finish this first Echo with words from Charles Spurgeon.

         “The past you need not fear, for it is forgiven.  The present you need not fear, for it is provided for.  The future is also secured by the living power of Jesus.  ‘Because I live, you also will live’ (John 14:19).  Fear!  How can it remain when Christ has risen from the dead?…  What is it you fear?  If an angel bids you to not fear, why will you fear?  If every wound of the risen Savior and every act of your reigning Lord consoles you, why will you fear?  To be doubting and fearing, now that Jesus has risen, is an inconsistent thing in any believer…  Therefore, do not fear.”

   Go now with confidence, the new year is here.  What it holds only the Lord knows, but do not tremble as you walk into the year.  Know that He is right beside you–have no fear.

Every man or woman who is genuinely American should read the signs of the times, realize the crisis, and meet it in an American way.  Otherwise we are done as a race.”
             –Zane Grey  (The Call of the Canyon)

    “You have shown Your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of confusion.”
             –Psalm 60:3 (NKJV)
—————————-
The year is coming to an end.  Many are ready to say goodbye to 2020, but I have a notion that it, or rather the things that happened in 2020 are going to leave us.  It is always good, at the end of the year, to look back, to reflect and to engage the lessons that should have been learned.
    There has been much discussion concerning the “pandemic” or the “virus.”  Some say it was from China (and maybe they are giggling at us), others say from the hand of God.  I want to say that I do not think this plague was sent by God.  Evil, death, confusion and chaos all come from the devil.  He did not create a virus, but he has been able to use it for his purposes.  However, in saying that, I believe that God takes what was meant for evil and uses it for good.  
    Even good Christians have been fretting, they have been filled with fear over the virus.  That is what the devil wants–fear.  He wants to destroy faith, he wants to disrupt the relationship with God, he delights in seeing believers go into a frenzy and even at times show hatred and bitterness.  In this year of the virus–Covid19–we should be looking at how we can come closer to the Lord.  How we can be more like Him, and walk in faith.  Not foolishness, but faith.  This has been an opportunity to study God’s Word more, to pray more, to meditate and contemplate upon His Word more not to let the devil stomp on us with glee.
    I sat out on the patio the other day, made a nice fire and began to think of the past year, but also began to think and plan for the coming year.  Of course, no one knows what will happen from day to day, but as I watched the flames twist and fight one another and heard the crackling of the fire I looked at the coming year, not with dread, but with knowing that God is in control.  As I watched the flames begin to dwindle into coals and ash, that’s the way I see the end of this year.  The moments of last year cannot be repeated and soon the year will be like my fire–ashes.  Oh, the memory of it is still there, and hopefully the knowledge of lessons learned, but nothing can be repeated.
    Our hearts and minds should not be troubled.  Dare to believe in God.  Realize the He is in control, even when the devil would try to destroy and bring mayhem and havoc upon the world.  Yes, the time of Jesus’ return is at hand, don’t let the devil steal that comfort from you.
    This is the last Echo for 2020.  I have been much in prayer for my writing in 2021.  I’ve asked the Holy Spirit to help guide my thoughts as to how someone may be encouraged, inspired, uplifted, comforted, and at times convicted by what I write.  These last days reflect on the Lord and what He has done in 2020, get out of a mullygrub or fretful state of mind.  Let the Holy Spirit renew your heart, mind, and soul and prepare it for 2021.