I guess a man walks along the edge of the unknown all the time.”
              –Wayne D. Overholser  (Day of Judgment)

    “Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known.”
              –Proverbs 13:33(NKJV)
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Oh me, oh my — “There we saw the giants…” (Numbers 13:33).  These people saw things with one perspective, while there were two that said, “Sure there were giants but they are our meat.”  Quite a difference.  We are seeing that same thing with this “corona giant” that we are facing today.  Wear masks vs. no masks don’t help.  Stay inside vs. go about your own business.  Don’t group up vs. get back to school.  Who is correct?  For sure this is a “giant.”
    Even among believers there is a vast difference of opinion.  Can all be wrong, for sure they can’t all be right?  What about other giants that may come your way–a hurricane for example, do you board up and leave, or stay with your house and protect it?  Do you err on the side of precaution, or err in the midst of the storm?
    Let’s look at the account again and here I’ll borrow from Norman S. Marshall, as he tells the story.

         “A point of view is exceedingly important.  Israel’s spies sent into Canaan to estimate its riches, resources, and people brought back a majority and a minority report.  Ten spies spoke highly of the land and its treasures.  They saw walled cities and armies.  They said to Moses, ‘Surely it is a land that floweth with milk and honey.’ However, they added: ‘The people are strong’; ‘The cities are walled’; We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we’; ‘There we saw the giants.’
         The minority report came from two spies who saw all the same things and measured the same me, but they said to Moses: ‘Let us go up at once and possess the land’; ‘If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us’; Only rebel not yet against the Lord.’
         What a difference in report, in outlook, in faith!  All of us in every age, in every situation, face enemies and temptations and fears.  ‘If God is, then what ought to be can be.’  Love God!  Trust God!”

Now we are not to be stupid, but we are not to live in fear.  Fear counters faith.  We cannot deny that many believers have died in their faith.  There are those who died in war, by disease who were believers, did they not have faith?  Why didn’t God keep them?  He did!  He kept them in the palm of His hand.  In the midst of bullets flying, He was there.  On the deathbed, He was there.  Why didn’t He keep them alive may be a better question, but never deny that He did keep them.  
    Attitude is vital.  “He will deliver us from your hand, O king.  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods…” (Daniel 3:17-18, NKJV).  It would be better to be burned in the fiery furnace than to rebel against the King of kings.  Rebellion is one of the keys.  The ten rebelled against God’s Word, and against Moses.  Fear replaced faith.  They looked at the scenario in from of them and they knew they had a chance to die if they went into the land.  Here we see that leadership failed, for they were leaders of their tribes, chosen for this special task.  Yes, they might die, but they would serving God, but now, their bones would bleached white in the wilderness because of their unbelief.
    Now that doesn’t answer your questions about the “corona giant” that we are facing.  Or does it?  Do not rebel against God’s Word.  Do not let fear dominate your life.  Walk forward knowing that God is with you, no matter what happens.  And let me say, without sounding fatalistic or being morbid, when the Lord wants to call you home He will, no matter how many times you wash your hands, no matter how often you wear your mask, no matter how you try to avoid people, when your time comes you will go.

He has to worry about what might happen, so he will be ready for it if it does not happen; and the only thing he can’t be downright sure of is that if what he was afraid of doesn’t happen, something else will.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Chancy)

    “So brace up your minds, and, as men who know what they are doing, rest the full weight of your hopes on the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ reveals himself.”
              –1 Peter 1:13 (Phillips)
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I can stand to be around most people, that is when I want to be around people.  However, there is one group that just makes my stomach churn.  If anything can come close to putting me in a rage it is this type of person–the whiny baby!  There seems to be more and more of them showing up.  Smiles that gloat, but don’t dare ask them for an honest day’s work.
    The sniveller that is very annoying is the one who says “it is so hard to be an adult.”  Poor baby, boo-hoo.  Get on with life!  I have many thoughts regarding adolescence, most are not so good.  The old days are gone, at least in this country of going from childhood to adulthood.  We have stuck that awful version of “teenager” in the middle.  Perhaps it was necessary with the schooling that is now required, but in that same schooling we have coddled the juveniles for fear of hurting their self-esteem and have created a new being, call them the:  snowflake, the twinkie, the cupcake.
    These are those who are now currently crying out for the minimum wage to be raised to a ridiculous amount.  Why, well, their reasoning is absurd, but underneath it is that they can’t handle more than an entry-level job.  These are also the same ones who are crying for their student loans to be absolved, to be cancelled.  Why?  It’s a debt and they should have counted the cost before they took out the loan.  These are the same ones that are begging for socialism; they want you to give your hard-earned money to them, the reason–so they don’t have to work.  That shows how much they know about socialism for in that type of economic/governmental system the “state” places you in a position and the “state” gives you quotas.
    So hard, oh so hard to be an adult.  Well then, you probably weren’t raised to accept responsibility.  I had a student once ask me if I thought he was an adult.  My response was, do you accept responsibility?  He sort of hung his head and walked away.  I hope he has learned some lessons.  One of the most important things a parent can do is to “train up a child.”  Training involves discipline.  The job of the parent is to get a child ready so they can be an adult, not a whiny baby.
    The whiny baby is seen in Proverbs 26:13, “…There is a lion in the road!  A fierce lion is in the streets!”  The next verse continues, “As a door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed.” (26:14, NKKV)  Can’t you just hear the sniffing and the whiny as he makes the excuse, “I can’t be an adult, I can’t go to work–there is a lion out there”?
    One more thing to consider were the whiney-babies that Moses had to deal with.  “Oh, no, we’re but grasshoppers; they’ll kill us,” and with that whining they wandered in the wilderness until they were all day.  Beware of the whiners, the snowflakes, the twinkies for they will most certainly cause you problems.  Just think, whine, whine, whine and they were kept out of the Promised Land.
    So “brace up your minds,” or as the NKJV states, “gird up the loins of your minds,” or the NASB, “prepare you minds for action”!  Don’t be a namby-pamby, frilly, whiny baby sort of person.  Fulfill your purpose, grow up, face what the Lord has allowed come your way whether by your own foolishness, someone else’s, or the devil’s evil plans.  Just for goodness sake–quit whining!

Well, when the time comes that He wants to call me home, I’m willin’ to go.  I leave things to Him and don’t let worry mess with my sleep.”
              –Elmer Kelton  (The Way of the Coyote)

    “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.”
              –Hebrews 11:13-14(NKJV)
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There are two places I like to do my morning devotions and reading.  The first is a rocker in the living room; it sits by a little stove and in front of a window that faces the east.  This is my “reading station #1”  The other place is on the back deck.  We have a little table and I enjoy sitting there while reading, my chair there faces east.  I cannot see the sun on the horizon as it rises, but soon it is high and the rays shine through the trees.  
    The other day I was sitting at station #1 and some thoughts meandered through my mind.

         “I will meet you in the morning,
          Just inside the Eastern Gate;
          Then be ready, faithful pilgrim,
          Lest with you it be too late.

              I will meet you, I will meet you
              Just inside the Eastern Gate over there;
              I will meet you, I will meet you,
              I will meet you in the morning over there.”
                        –Isaiah G. Martin

         “Signs of the time are everywhere
          There’s a brand new feeling in the air,
          Keep your eyes upon the eastern sky
          Lift us your head redemption draweth nigh.”
                        –Gordon Jensen

Then I thought of the verse in Matthew, “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (24:27, NKJV)
    The eastern skies, the Eastern Gate are all related to the coming of the Lord.  We may use them metaphorically and symbolically, but they are more than that.  It was through the Eastern Gate that Jesus went from the Mount of Olives and entered Jerusalem.  “The Eastern Gate was sealed shut in AD 1540-41 by order of Suleiman the Magnificent, a sultan of the Ottoman Empire.  It’s believed that the reason for the closing of the Eastern Gate was to prevent the Jewish Messiah from gaining entrance to Jerusalem.  Jewish tradition states that the Messiah will pass through the Eastern Gate when He comes to rule.  The Muslim Suleiman was attempting to thwart the Messiah’s plans with sixteen feet of cement.”  (GotQuestions)
    There is much bickering and argument among scholars as to the gate, which one was the original, and other things that keep things astir.  However, there is much written, especially in Ezekiel about the Eastern Gate and Zechariah also mentions it.  In all of this the key thought is that we are to be looking for the coming of the Lord.  It seems that so many Christians are becoming bound to the land.  They are not homesick for heaven, their eternal home.  Perhaps it is because they have not seen it, but more likely they don’t want to leave “Sodom.”  They are satisfied here, becoming complacent and comfortable.  Roots have been put down instead of a tent that is moveable.  No longer do they consider themselves pilgrims but residents of earth.
    As for me, every morning when I sit and look at the eastern skies and see the sun shine through I will look for the coming of the Lord.  Listen, Christians, it is time to unshackle yourself from this old earth and begin to look up, stay alert, and be ready.

         “Keep your lamps all trimmed and burning;
          For the Bridegroom watch and wait;
          He’ll be with us at the meeting
          Just inside the Eastern Gate.”
                      –Isaiah G. Martin

I just don’t like to see a man shirk and hide when he has every right to walk with pride.”
              –Luke Short  (First Campaign)

    “And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”
              –1 Samuel 9:6 (NKJV)
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The first part of Psalm 45 spoke of the groom, this week we shall look at the bride.  The bride is supposed to be the focal point of the wedding, at least in modern times.  Even in a royal wedding, such as this is, the bride is who everyone talks about and gazes upon.
    Upon reading this portion of Psalm 45, you need to read it with the idea of a royal wedding, plus the grand wedding of the Groom–Jesus Christ, and His bride–the Church.

    10 – Listen, daughter, pay attention and consider: forget your people and your father’s house,
    11 – and the king will desire your beauty.  Bow down to him, for he is your lord.
    12 – The daughter of Tyre, the wealthy people, will seek your favor with gifts.
    13 – In her chamber, the royal daughter is all glorious, her clothing embroidered with gold.
    14 – In colorful garments she is led to the king; after her, the virgins, her companions, are brought to you.
    15 – They are led in with gladness and rejoicing; they enter the king’s palace.
    16 – Your sons will succeed your ancestors; you will make them princes throughout the land.
    17 – I will cause your name to be remembered for all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever. (HCSB)

    G. Campbell Morgan said this about Psalm 45, “Nowhere in the Old Testament writing do we find a nearer approach to the disclosure of the secret of the Church than in this psalm.”  The “Bride” is led into the presence of the King with “a joyful, enthusiastic procession” (NLT) to stand before Him, pure, clean, and holy.
    How can the Bride stand before such a stunning groom?  How shall she respond?  
         1)  There is a break with the past (vs 10).  Marriage does involve transfer of loyalty and affection.
         2)  There must be a genuine respect (vs 11).  One can marry from false motives–money, power, security.  When a couple truly love each other, they do everything possible to make honor and servanthood a two-way street.
         3)  There is pride in belonging (vs 12).  A bride not only marries the groom, but all he represents.
         4)  There is a delightful appearance (vs 13-15).  The bride is lovely.  Not all can dress lavishly and adorn themselves with expensive clothing, but all can enter their husband’s presence with “joy and gladness.”
         5)  From wife to mother (vs 16-17).  Smart is the bride who picks not only a good husband, but a good father; likewise the groom chooses not only the woman he loves, but also a great mother to his children. (George O. Wood)

    Perhaps one of the hardest things to do is to move away from parents.  I know of so many who must stay where the were raised.  They are bound to their homeland.  This is utterly wrong if they are a true servant of the Lord.  We must go where He sends us.  “When we commit ourself to God, it’s like a marriage.  We need to forsake all others…  Make the Lord the center of your attention and loyalty.” (William Petersen)
    Think back to your wedding.  I can remember mine and then the subsequent separation of my wife from all she knew.  She put her trust in me (and the Lord) and we moved 900 miles from her home, and 900 miles from mine.  We had to depend upon each other and the Lord.  One more thing in contemplating this Psalm.  Think of how the Lord delights in His Bride.  Think of how much He then delights in us.

         “The Bride eyes, not her garment, but her dear Bridegroom’s face;
          I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace,
          Not at the crown He giveth, but on His pierced hand;
          The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.”
                   –Anne Ross Cousin