Oh, well, nothin’ alarms him—not even refinement.”
              –Owen Wister  (“The Winning of the Biscuit-Shooter”)

    “When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.”
              –Numbers 10:9 (NKJV)
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Today I want to give you a few things to contemplate.  Take time and examine each thought, let them seep into your soul.
    Many have questioned why a good God would allow a “pandemic” to come upon the earth.  I would imagine that people through the ages have wondered the same thing.  When the world’s largest pandemic came upon the world in 1917-1920, the influenza, people must have wondered “why?”  The many times the “Black Death–the Plague” showed up, I am sure that believers wondered why God was not with them.  Tuberculosis, cholera, malaria, polio all took their toll upon mankind.  Add to that wars and famines.  “Why”?  
    Instead of asking why God allows war, perhaps we should ask instead, “Why does God not allow the world to destroy itself entirely in its iniquity and its sin?” (Lloyd-Jones)  Man is evil, look at the streets of the cities and see if that is not true.  Why doesn’t God just let man destroy himself with his sin?  To answer that perhaps is too simple:  God has amazing patience!
    With this let me interject here something from one of my favorite writers, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “God permits and allows such things as war to chastise and to punish us, to teach us and to convict us of our sins, and above all to repentance and acceptance of His gracious offer.”  Read that a couple of times, and instead of war, add “pandemic or covid-19”.  
    Notice first that He permits and allows.  He does not cause, though at times in history He has, but He allows it in His patience to do several things.  Often He needs to chastise and discipline us.  You cannot read very far in the Bible where there isn’t some pestilence or sickness that bring the people to repentance.  Therefore, that is good.  The soul is more important than the physical body.  Second, he allows things to come to bring us to repentance.  Repentance brings restoration and healing.  Repentance and acceptance of Christ is the most important thing that a person can do.  Lastly, He allows things to come to teach us, to develop our character.  

         “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
                   –James 1:2-4 (NKJV)

         “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character, and character hope.  Now hope does not disappoint…”
                   –Romans 5:3-5 (NKJV)

    The question now, are you a person of character?  More important, are you a person of godly character?  Is this pandemic or any other issue you find yourself in making you a better person?  Is it drawing you closer to God?  Remember, they are to develop us; they are to teach us.  We must make sure that we are learning the lesson that God wants us to learn.  We need to be in an attitude of repentance so that we can believe and trust in the hope that the Lord has for us.

Right is right.  I believe in you, and here’s my life to prove it.”
              –Zane Grey  (Riders of the Purple Sage)

    “Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
              –Mark 8:37 (NKJV)
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    “Those people must be getting hungry, I know for sure that I am,” stated Bartholomew as he rubbed his stomach.
    That brought a chorus of laughter from those next to him and a smart remark from one of the youngest, John.  “Old man you’re always hungry.  Whenever I walk beside you, I can hear that belly of yours rumbling.”
    “Let’s get rid of the crowd, I’m ready to go fishing!” exclaimed Peter.
    “Fishing?” questioned Thomas looking at the sun’s position in the sky.  “You won’t catch anything this time of day.”
    “Bah!  You’re always doubting,” responded Peter.
    Glancing at each other, they went to Jesus, then…

         “When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.  Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.'”
                   –Matthew 14:15(NKJV)

    Part of my morning devotions are from Matthew, and once in a while I am able to pause and ponder and get a glimpse of what is happening.  The above could have been a discussion among the disciples as they watched the crowd, but what I want to focus on is verse 15.
    They were near the desert on the edge of the wilderness.  Jesus had been dealing with a large crowd and evening was coming on and Bartholomew’s belly was rumbling.  The disciples were not unconcerned about the people for they said they should be allowed to visit the villages so they could eat.  But look closer:  they told Jesus, the Master, what to do.  Joseph Parker said this regarding the situation or any situation, “It is always wise to trust omniscience.  It is a continual mistake to be making suggestions to divine providence.”
    Jesus knows the situation.  Jesus knows the needs of the disciples and the crowds.  Jesus knows the time of day, He does not need to be reminded.  Yet, we are as bad as the disciples, and often not as well-meaning as they were.  We presume to tell God what to do.  We tell Him to answer our prayers, and to do it this way or that way.  Who are we to demand of the Master?
    It is almost humorous what Jesus told them to do.  “They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16, NKJV)  There was a rumble (perhaps from Bartholomew’s belly) and there was a grumble, and then there was a question:  “How?”  They surely were not expecting His response.  That’s the way it often is when we presume to tell the Omniscient Christ what to do.  He responds in a way that do not expect and often He tells us to do something to meet the need we have told Him about.  
    Is Jesus with you?  Then why the lack of trust?  If He is present with you, He has the power to meet every need, every care, every problem and bring comfort and/or delivery.  He does not to be told what to do, but we need to listen to what He tells us to do and obey.  

A man’s heart was filled with obscure promptings; it was a dark chamber of doubt and pride and honor and deceit and loyalty.”
              –Ernest Haycox  (Return of a Fighter)

    “He also taught me, and said to me: ‘Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live.'”
              –Proverbs 4:4 (NKJV)
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I recently read in Matthew about the death of John the Baptist.  I have read it many times before, however, this time several things struck me.  It is found in Matthew 14:1-12 where I was reading, but it can also be read in Mark 6 and Luke 3.
    John, that “wild preacher-man” from the wilderness.  The man who did not dress for the occasion and had special dietary delights.  John, the preacher who spoke the truth, did not compromise it nor water it down.  There’s the first lesson:  speak the truth without compromise.  Some of those who stand behind the holy desk should adhere to it.  Those in leadership positions should hearken to the words of John in regard to speaking the truth.
    Here is a man, Herod, who listened to the words of John.  They made him angry, they convicted him, but not enough to bring him to repentance.  He hated the words of John, but would not have him put to death.  He lived in the guilt and conviction that came from John’s message of the truth regarding him living in incest and adultery.  Being a Jew, he knew this, and he seemed to hear the message from John, but did nothing concerning it.  Alexander MacLaren writes, “Convictions not obeyed harden the heart to stone.  Frivolity, lust, and neglect killed the germ of a better life.”  Here was the chance for Herod to repent, but instead he hardened his heart.  The word was given; the word was neglected.  There will always be a response to the Word of God:  repentance or hardening of the heart.
    Herod was a man of weak character, who was lustful, superstitious, cunning, yet an easily frightened ruler.  He continued in his evil ways and because of that he was driven farther and farther into evil.  Then there came the party.  The daughter of Herodias, Salome, danced before Herod and the crowd.  It is not stated, but it must have been a sensuous dance and it pleased Herod so much that he made an oath.  When she asked for the head of John the Baptist he was aghast.   He was too weak of a man to renege on his foolish oath.  “Like most weak men.  Herod feared to be thought of as weak. (Plumptre)  He knew he should not have made the oath and he knew more so that it should not be kept.  Besides the fact that decapitation was against Jewish law.
    It has been said that no sin dwells alone.  Herod, the adulterer, had heard the words of truth spoken by John; he is lured into a false oath by the sensual Salome, and has John executed.  Here was a man to whom conviction came, he heard the word, but hardened his heart to it.  He could have changed, he could have repented, he could have broken the oath…but no, he was too weak of a man.  
    I wonder how many people have heard the Word of the Lord and have acted in similar ways to Herod?  I wonder how people can take the Word of holy Scripture and twist it to fit their evil schemes?  John was faithful, he preached the truth.  Herod would not listen and went deeper and deeper into the darkness.  When the Word is preached, faithfully and truly, we must hearken to it and neglect what is being said.  Do not harden your hearts to the wooing of the Holy Spirit.

The trouble with monsters is they’re hard to control once they get loose.”
              –Lou Bradshaw (Texas War Lord)

    “But these men revile (scoff and sneer at) anything they do not happen to be acquainted with and do not understand; and whatever they do understand physically [that which they know by mere instinct], like irrational beasts—by these they corrupt themselves and are destroyed (perish).”
              –Jude 10 (Amplified)
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In this day of attempting to destroy history and the legacy of the past this Psalm rings out.  This first part of Psalm 44 is a reminder of how God helped in the past.  How the nation conquered the pagan lands with the help of the Lord.  Just ponder verse one, “our ancestors told us.”  My, how important that is.  First, we think about the history of the events and people of the time.  Second, we see the importance of the elders in the family passing down stories to the younger family members.  I wish now that I had spent more time questioning my parents and grandparents of the past.

    1 – God, we have heard with our ears—our ancestors have told us—the work You accomplished in their days, in days long ago:
    2 – to plant them, You drove out the nations with Your hand; to settle them, You crushed the peoples.
    3 – For they did not take the land by their sword—their arm did not bring them victory—but by Your right hand, Your arm,
and the light of Your face, for You were pleased with them.

    Whenever we feel abandoned we are to remember how God helped our ancestors in the past, how He subdued enemies in the past.  Surely if He did so in the past He will be with each one of us.  We need that same power and that same guiding light in our lives today.  If God helped our parents and grandparents, won’t He surely help us in the midst of our troubles today?

    4 – You are my King, my God, who ordains victories for Jacob.
    5 – Through You we drive back our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
    6 – For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword does not bring me victory.
    7 – But You give us victory over our foes and let those who hate us be disgraced.
    8 – We boast in God all day long; we will praise Your name forever. Selah  (HCSB)

    It is God that brings the victory.  “Victory results from God’s activity and not ours; therefore, trust and praise are due Him.” (George O. Wood)  It is clearly seen that the victory is always the Lord’s not ours.  What our fathers did in the past was due to the guiding hand of God.  When we are weak we cannot trust our strength and that is when we realize that we must trust in the Lord.
    In this time of turmoil, strife, and doubt we need to understand that God has not changed and that He is with us through every trial and circumstance.  As evil in the world grows, God is in control.  As there are more and more attacks on the Word of God, God is in control.  When these things reach out to strike at your faith, God is in control.
    Be thankful for those who have gone before.  Learn from their lessons and their experience and their faith that God is the answer; has been and will always be.  I have told my kids and grandkids that trust in God is the key to life.  Always trust Him even when you do not understand.  If there was one thing I learned from my Grandma and Aunt, that was trust; and if there was one thing I would pass down it would be trust.

         “I am trusting thee to guide me–
          Thou alone shalt lead,
          Every day and hour supplying
          All my need.”
               –Frances R. Havergal