Evil men seldom rest for long.”
              –J. Lee Butts (Brotherhood of Blood)

    “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
              –Judges 21:25 (NKJV)
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In this time of concern, confusion, chaos, and consternation I figured I might try to write something “light” this morning.  The times are evil, the earth is filled with terror and wickedness and we must be mindful of that, however, sometimes we must stand back, reorient ourselves and take a short rest.  Rest is vital for a sound physical body; rest is vital for emotional and mental well-being; rest is important for our spiritual health to be renewed.  The problem with rest is that people can become lazy, they can become lackadaisical, they can become complacent if they continue in their rest.
    Our nation is in turmoil and it will not be solved by a presidential election.  There must be a national awakening in which God is one again exalted.  Unless the Holy Spirit sends conviction the country will continue on its downward slope.
In the midst of all this, and your own personal life, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses once in a while, but while doing so remember in the midst of rosebushes there are thorns.  In fact, it’s always good to remember not to walk barefooted in a rose garden.
    So here’s one story.  A family returning home from church began their devastating criticisms.  The mother objected to the sermon.  The father ridiculed the ushers.  The older sister made light of the singing.  But it was the little son that tore them up when he said, “Still it was a pretty good show for a dime.” (taken from Grandpa Was a Preacher, Leroy Brownlow)
    Deer season opens Saturday.  Now, I’m no longer a hunter, but I don’t mind a venison steak or chop, or even some good sausage.  For me, part of the enjoyment in hunting was to be able to get out in God’s great cathedral.  I remember when I first hunted in Texas, as I grew up in Colorado.  I was told to get in the stand and wait overlooking an oat field.  Some use corn feeders for bait.  I wasn’t used to that.  In Colorado there was more stalking instead of climbing up into a deer stand.  
    “‘There is no need to travel unless you know your direction,’ was one of grandpa’s mottoes.  He said that one Sunday they had a guest speaker, a student from a seminary.  After the service, grandpa overheard him ask one of the deacons, a grizzled, plain-spoken man, what he thought of the morning’s efforts.  ‘Waal,’ answered the old man slowly, ‘I’ll tell ye; I’ll tell ye in a kind o’ parable.  It reminded me of Sim Peck’s furst deer hunt when he was green.  He follered the deer’s tracks all right, but he follered ’em all day in the wrong direction.'” (Grandpa Was a Preacher, Leroy Brownlow)
    There’s much truth in that little story.  We must be headed in the right direction.  So much of our country has traded the right for the wrong, the good for the bad, and they will do anything they wish.  Go back and read the Book of Judges where it speaks of man doing right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)  Hmmm, looks like it could come right out of today’s newspapers(?), media sources.  Unless they don’t like the story and will not tell it if it does not fit their agenda.  Therefore, it is imperative that we follow God’s Word and keep our focus on Him.
    It was good to rest, check the back trail, reflect on where you’ve come from, but now it’s time to get your bearings and rise.  Time to awaken, put off the slumber, rest has been taken.  The Lord is in control, of that you can be assured.  Perhaps it is time to put aside all the things that weigh us down and look to Him for the guidance that we need for our lives.

A man living in wild country has to be aware of everything around him.  He has to keep his eyes looking, his ears listening, his every sense alert.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (The Lonely Men)

    “Now when these things begin to occur, stand tall and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] your redemption is drawing near.”
              –Luke 21:28 (Amplified)
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My morning devotions have been from the Book of Matthew and recently from chapter 24.  Some call chapters 24-25 the Olivet Discourse when Jesus tells the signs of the end.  Many believers in the world are saying that we are living in the end times, and that is most definitely true, but it is not the end yet.  Let’s see where the discussion by Jesus starts.  He sat down, whether to teach or to rest or to get away from the crowds.  From the wording, I believe He wanted to get away from people, to spend time privately with His disciples and His Father because the dreadful day of His crucifixion was approaching.

         “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'”
                  –Matthew 24:3 (NKJV)

    The words of Jesus immediately after these questions should grab our attention.  Jesus was warning His disciples and that warning goes out to us as well.  It is a warning as well as a command:

         “…Take heed that no one deceives you.” (24:4, NKJV)

Deception is the way the devil operates from the Garden to the events of our lives in this day.  It is so easy to be deceived and there are many places in the New Testament that tell us to guard the truth, hold on to faithful and true doctrine.  But the problem is that sound doctrine is not preached often today.  People hear fanciful stories that scratch their itching ears–deception.  People hear a doctrine, not sound but false, that tells them to “blab it and grab it.”  There are some churches which I wrote about last week that are promoting universalism and other false teachings.  It is important that we don’t succumb to every wind of teaching out there, but that we study it closely through the Word of God.
    That becomes another problem.  Besides the fact that many/most churches do not teach/preach a complete gospel the people are lazy as well.  Statistics show that only 11% of Americans have read the entire Bible.  Look at that in another way, 89% have not read the Bible.  That is alarming for a nation that was founded on the Bible and biblical principles.
    The disciples raised good questions; questions that you and I have asked and Christians throughout the centuries.  Jesus speaks much about His coming, but He doesn’t answer their specific questions, instead He says,

         “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (24:36, NKJV)

He then gives indication of what life will be like when He comes and what will happen, but He doesn’t tell them when.  He re-emphasizes the importance of watching.  This is the duty of the truly wise man–to keep watch.  Man must watch.  Joseph Parker says, “The watcher wins; the watcher reacts; the watcher sees the coming day.”  In the next few parables, though not necessarily stated, the term “watch” is emphasized.  We are to watch for His coming.

         “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”  (24:44, NKJV)

Do not be lulled to sleep–watch!  Do not be unprepared–watch!  To “be ready” is the consequence of watchfulness.  We must stay awake at this late hour.  Oh, sometimes it is so hard to stay awake.  “We are beset by perpetual temptations to sleep, to spiritual drowsiness and laziness.” (Alexander MacLaren) However, we must watch–we must be ready.  We are to be kept busy in expectation of His coming.
    I am thinking that this world is becoming more and more a wilderness.  Not in the sense of unoccupied, untamed forests, mountains, or deserts, but a wilderness of danger and terror that is filled with evil.  We have to stay alert, listening and watching.  The trumpet may sound–are you listening?  The Lord may come for those who are ready–are you ready?

I’d fear a brave man less than a coward.  The coward has no scruples.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (How the West Was Won)

    “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
              –Revelation 21:8 (NKJV)
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Tighten your cinch and hang on tight–Powder River let ‘er Buck!!  Here I wakened this morning to see no election.  I did look at a map and observed that if the President wins the states in which he is ahead, he will win the election.  This is no time to celebrate, but time to keep praying.
    As I am writing this, I’m looking at one of my favorite cups.  It is one I used to keep on my desk at school.  There is a saying on the front:  “Neither drought, nor rain, nor blizzard disturbs the joy-juice in this ol’ gizzard!”  Add to that any other type of storm, plus Presidential elections.  This ol’ gizzard is goin’ to stay cool, calm, and collected.
    The other day, in one of the Echoes, I used a phrase from an old song.  I thought with the elections and the commotion, and the soon-coming chaos that I would use the whole song this morning.  One thing I believe that many Christians are forgetting is that we are just pilgrims here on earth.  We’re just passing through.  It seems that some are wanting to settle down and become part of the world.  It would be good for those people to go back and read Matthew 24.

         I’m pressing on through this world of care
         Nobody knows what a load I bear
         But for my Lord I will bravely stand
         And I know my Lord’s gonna lead me out of this pilgrim land.

         He hears my prayers, for me intercedes,
         And He’s a friend everybody needs.
         He lifted me from the sinking sand,
         And I know my Lord’s gonna lead me out of this pilgrim land.

         I’m gonna rest on the gospel way,
         Just long enough to kneel and pray,
         I’m gonna cling to His precious hand,
         And I know my Lord’s gonna lead me out of this pilgrim land.

              I know my Lord’s gonna lead me out,
              I know my Lord’s gonna lead me out,
              I’m gonna pray and do the best I can,
              And I know my Lord’s gonna lead me out of this pilgrim land.
                       –Albert E. Brumley

    We all carry loads, and we are all concerned about the results of the election.  A person’s life may be at stake, and the life of this nation is at stake as well.  No matter the results we keep pressing onward and upward.  If we rest on the way it should be for a time of prayer; prayer for strength to continue and to keep ourselves from the onslaught of the world.  The old-timers used to say, “keep prayed up.”  Are you ready should the Master come today?  Rest in assurance if you are that the Lord will lead you out of this wearisome, pilgrim land.

To each of us is given a life.  To live with honor and to pass on having left our mark, it is only essential that we do our part, that we leave our children strong.  Nothing exists long when its time is passed.  Wealth is important only to the small of mind.  The important thing is to do the best one can with what one has.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Hondo)

    “Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”
              –Revelation 3:17(HCSB)
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Do you remember the story that Jesus told of the rich man who had great wealth?  He would tear down his barns to build bigger ones as he had so much grain.  He then figured he could sit back and enjoy his wealth.  God had another plan, for that night the rich man would die. (Luke 12:16-21).
    Listen, death is inevitable.  The wealthy are going to die just as the poor along with you and me.  They may leave behind a legacy of wealth (i.e., Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, etc.), they may have buildings named after them, schools may carry their name, but in the grave they are no different than anyone else.  Before commenting further, read the remaining portion of Psalm 49.

    10 – For one can see that wise men die; foolish and stupid men also pass away.  Then they leave their wealth to others.
    11 – Their graves are their eternal homes, their homes from generation to generation, though they have named estates after themselves.
    12 – But despite his assets, man will not last; he is like the animals that perish.
    13 – This is the way of those who are arrogant, and of their followers, who approve of their words.  Selah
    14 – Like sheep they are headed for Sheol; Death will shepherd them.  The upright will rule over them in the morning,
and their form will waste away in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.
    15 – But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol, for He will take me.  Selah
    16 – Do not be afraid when a man gets rich, when the wealth of his house increases.
    17 – For when he dies, he will take nothing at all; his wealth will not follow him down.
    18 – Though he praises himself during his lifetime—and people praise you when you do well for yourself—
    19 – he will go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see the light.
    20 – A man with valuable possessions but without understanding is like the animals that perish.  (HCSB)

    People tend to measure things in money or wealth.  Athletes, entertainers, powerful CEOs all point to the money they make.  Oh, some of them may make a token gift to charity and the media proclaims them great philanthropists, but really they should be asking themselves the question, “What will you give in exchange for your soul?”  
    So many people trust in their wealth, or in the wealth of their friends.  This Psalm speaks to those people.  John J. Durham said this, “It is foolish as well as dangerous to put one’s trust in something which is even less stable than the man himself.”  Listen–you can’t take it with you!  Why trust in something tangible?  Why put your money in stocks where who knows what could happen?
    I like the way George Wood puts it, “Things are turned upside down in the afterlife.”  We must, as believers grasp hold of the vital truth that we are but pilgrims in this world.  We are traveling to a heavenly city, so why encumber ourselves with the wealth of the world thinking that it can save you? Jesus said that it was hard for a rich man to get to heaven and one reason for this is that they trust in their riches instead of in the blood of Jesus Christ.  Being poor has that advantage–where can they put their trust?
    There are two key verses here.  The first, verse 15, look at your redemption.  From Who, from where does it come and what is the result?  Christ is our Redeemer!  He is the one Who will redeem us from the grave.  The second is verse 20.  The man with possessions is not the problem; it is the man without understanding.  “Don’t be overawed by the external glitz.  The splendor and the good vibes of others’ praise will soon be gone.  Worldly magnificence is only temporal.  The psalm closes–not by castigating the rich, but by condemning wealth ‘without understanding.’  If in order to be ‘wealthy’ in anything I have to deceive or take advantage of another person, trust myself rather than God, do it my way rather than His, then my so-called wealth will ruin me.  The only ones who don’t get this meassage are as beasts who perish.  How dumb!” (George O. Wood)

              “Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun,
               Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care;
               Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
               And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”
                       –James M. Black