The ways of evil are always haunted, and evil breeds its own destruction.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (The Californios)

    “Rescue me, Lord, from evil men.  Keep me safe from violent men who plan evil in their hearts.”
              –Psalm 140:1-2 (HCSB)
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I trust that you’re handling the virus crisis all right, or any other troubles you might be facing.  This is a good time to practice the presence of the Lord.  Far too many think that it must be done in the church where you can go down to the front, hop around enough to get the do-dads moving.  There’s a good chance that He’s not present; the Lord is not someone you can conjur up.  Any by the way, you don’t have to have “worship” music playing.
    This portion of Psalm 37(from HCSB) shows us how to experience the presence of God.  The godly know right from wrong and that they fill their hearts with God’s instruction.  Therefore, to be in His presence, fill yourself with His Word.

    30 – The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom; his tongue speaks what is just.
    31 – The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.
    32 – The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous and seeks to kill him;
    33 – the Lord will not leave him in the power of the wicked one or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.

    We must be in the right attitude to be in His presence.  Paul writes for us, “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 2:5, HCSB) and he tells us that we are to, “Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men,”
(Ephesians 6:7, HCSB).  We must move steadily, not in a rush.  We must not get impatient with the Lord.  David Clarkson states, “He who truly trusts in God will wait in God’s time, use God’s means, and walk in God’s way, even though it may seem round about.”  God will take care of you, and the circumstance; God will judge the wicked–His Way, His time.

    34 – Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land.  You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.
    35 – I have seen a wicked, violent man well-rooted like a flourishing native tree.
    36 – Then I passed by and noticed he was gone; I searched for him, but he could not be found.
    37 – Watch the blameless and observe the upright, for the man of peace will have a future.
    38 – But transgressors will all be eliminated; the future of the wicked will be destroyed.

    We should strive to be in God’s presence whether we’re at the altar or washing dishes in the kitchen.  He should be on our minds whether it be at church or staying at home during this “pandemic.”  It takes time to “practice His presence” as the term is used by Brother Lawrence.  He says, “The time of busyness does not differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees.”

    39 – The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, their refuge in a time of distress.
    40 – The Lord helps and delivers them; He will deliver them from the wicked and will save them because they take refuge in Him.

    Begin today, during this time of “shut down” to get in His presence.  Start of the day by asking Him to be with you and help you apply His mind with you in your tasks.  He is interested in every aspect of our lives.

              “Wait on the Lord, you trembling saints!
               And keep your courage up;
               He’ll raise you spirit when it faints,
               And far exceed your hope.”
                        –Isaac Watts

Death situations quickly place priorities where they belong.”
                –Kenneth S. Pratt  (Willow Falls)

    “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
                –Matthew 6:20(NKJV)
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First of all, let me say that if you’re not receiving the Echo in a timely manner, I’m sorry.  It seems that either my computer or my provider has a glitch.  I’ve noticed some problems this week.  I’ll send the Echo, but then not everyone is receiving, including one of my addresses.  Hopefully it will not continue.
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My there is so much bellyaching about spending time at home and with family.  Jokes galore, about the wife or the husband.  I just don’t get it.  This should be a time where we look at what the Lord has done for us (maybe that is part of the purpose of this virus); we should be grateful for what we have.  

Question:  Could you live on today what you thanked the Lord for yesterday?

    That was a question posed by a friend of mine.  What if the Lord took away everything that you didn’t thank Him for, what would you have left?  Hmmm, would it be enough to survive?  So much we take for granted.  So much we don’t consider.
    I saw my Pastor’s wife on a broadcast and she said the most important lesson she has learned during this time of being quarantined is to prioritize.  First, we should look at what we have and be thankful!  Then we should look and see what we are doing with our time, our efforts, our money, our relationships.
    Who would have thought that there would be a toilet paper shortage due to hoarding.  Ha, a priority.  What if you had to pack up all your things in a wagon, such as the pioneers of days of old.  What would you take?  What would you leave behind?  Think about this:  What treasures are you laying up in heaven?  Have you spoken to family about heaven?  Maybe you’ve sent along your bank account as it will mean so much to you there.
    If you haven’t taken the time to prioritize during this shutdown of activity and business, then I pity you.  If you haven’t taken time to get alone with the Lord–shame.
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With what I mentioned above, I must ask where is your hope?  Let me give you a few words from A.W. Tozer to close this Echo.  You can take time to ponder them.

         “Hope is the drift and direction of the whole Bible.  It is the music of the whole Bible.  It is the heartbeat, the pulse, the atmosphere of the whole Bible…
         If you are going to heaven, you had better begin to live like it now, and if you are going to die like a Christian, you had been live like a Christian now!
         “The true Christian hope is not vague–it is valid!  The hope of the world is vain, but the hope of the Christian is a valid hope!”

They get drawn into the dark side of the law because they’re lazy and think it’ll be a quick way to get money.”
             –C.J. Petit (South of Denver)

    “Help each other to stand firm in the faith every day, while it is still called “today”, and beware that none of you becomes deaf and blind to God through the delusive glamour of sin.”
             –Hebrews 3.13 Phillips
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My mercy, what will be the next piece of mass hysteria?  I just read where the “experts”, whoever they are, said that we will not be able to cope with all of the PTSD that the coronavirus “pandemic” will have caused.  People will not be able to cope with life because of all the stress put upon them by the virus.  Goodness gracious, get a grip!  It´s no wonder with all the whining and crying out there from the youth.  How did we ever come to raise a generation or two of crybabies?  This is not America!  Where is the work ethic?  Where is the Yankee ingenuity?  Where is the faith in God?  I used to hand out whinybaby awards, but now I suppose that would be considered abuse or “racist” of some kind.
    Perhaps this epidemic will shake some people to realize that they need the Lord on their side, or perhaps they will go the way of Cuomo and say God is not helping us, we are winning this on our own.  Christians are more comfortable with this life that they are not looking to God and for heaven.  Lord, help us!

         “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”
                     –1 Timothy 4:1-2 (NKJV)

         “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”
                     –2 Thessalonians 2:3 (NKJV)

These verses should haunt us right now.  They should consistently be on our minds.  All of these verses bother me, and I see it in our country today.  One phrase the especially seems significant is the last one in Timothy, “having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”  When people thrive on hatred there is something wrong.  When people seek the legal death of a child through abortion their minds must be seared.
    I see where the virus is beginning to spread in Africa.  However, they are facing a more serious problem–that of famine.  These are all signs of the beginnings of “birth pangs” and it will only get worse.  It should be a wake up call for the true child of God–get ready the Lord is coming!
    Here is some sound advice from a friend of mine, Bob Paton(you might want to check out his blog:  “Learning Daily”):  “Your protection against such demonic deception and activity is to remain totally loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ, obedient to the Word of God, and to have a love for the truth.  Be aware of persons with such great charisma that people follow him and his deceptive teachings, teachings that are mixed with truth and error.  May this awareness be accompanied by a desire to do the will of God, to walk in His righteousness, and walk in the fear of God.”
    PTSD?  Mankind will completely lose its mind (and soul) after the Rapture of the Church.  Not only will there be mass hysteria but men will tear at men, chaos will abound and evil will reign upon the face of the earth.  

Evil men must not be allowed to persist in their evils…they are a blight upon the land.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Brionne)

    “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”
              –2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NKJV)
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What in the world is going on?  That may be the question on your lips.  In some places, mass hysteria–“we’re all gonna die.”  Stay home, don’t go out.  No groups of ten or more, and in some places no groups at all.  I remember hearing of Moscow during the Cold War.  Moscow was one of the largest cities in the world, but few people could own a phone.  The phonebook fit the size of a town of 8,000.  However, on the other side, almost everyone had a television.  Was that to appease the masses, to keep them entertained?  No, it was for control!  Stop the communication, don’t let people get together so they can’t plan.  However, feed them propaganda, keep their minds from the truth.  Is that part of what is happening today, in this hour?
    What is this–communist USA–where churches cannot meet?  Where there are restrictions of how many can enter a store?  Who and where people can go?  Is “shelter-in-place” the politically correct term for martial law?  I have always been one who does not believe in large scale conspiracies, but now I’m beginning to wonder.  But in one sense, I believe in the spirit of antichrist and that there is a satanic agenda and conspiracy out there, is what is happening now part of it?  I would say most definitely.
    We are living in the “last days.”  But didn’t Paul believe he was living in the last days?  Absolutely!  The last days began with the ascension of Jesus to His Father’s side.  Every believer, of every time, should believe that they are living in the last days and they would be right.  The last days, sometimes called the “Church Age” or the “Time of the Gentiles,” is upon us and will be until the Rapture of the Church.  One thing for sure today is certainly closer to the Rapture than Paul was, yet he was expecting it.
    One of the signs of the “last days” is that people will scoff.  They will laugh at such a notion of the Rapture.  Many in the church will not believe.  They will say it is but a myth.  They are simply fulfilling prophecy of the last days.  People no longer want sound doctrine and much prefer a church that will appease their vanity.  Again, a fulfillment of prophecy about the “last days.”
    Paul wrote to Timothy telling him to “guard”:  “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.” (1 Timothy 6:20, NKJV)  Don’t listen to the babblings today, and if you watch much of the news, that’s what it is – “babblings.”  Don’t heed the lies, the things that contradict the eternal Word of God.  Guard what was placed in your trust, make sure your children know the truth.  Be ready, for that “Day” is at hand.