It is not our God you do not understand.  It is our lives you do not understand—our failure to conform to our professed teachings.”
              –Zane Grey  (Captive of the Desert)

    “That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.”
              –Psalm 78:7-8 (NKJV)
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                   “Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
                    We will be true to thee till death!”
                           –F.W. Faber

There is so much disregard for our heritage today.  I was talking with a former history teacher who informed me that many universities are dropping history courses.  Students are no longer taking up history as a major.  Give us a generation and what will be our history?  It used to be that our fight was with the revisionists, but if history disappears anything can be made up.  We are seeing that already beginning to happen.

         “Faith of our fathers!  living still
          In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
          O how our hearts beat high with joy
          Whene’er we hear that glorious word.”

Oh, Lord, help us not to forget!  Despite who Senator Warren says is the backbone of our country is/was, don’t let us be duped by that foolish rhetoric.  We need to remember, not only the famous–men such as Washington, Henry, Hamilton and others–but also, those men of faith who came to America to worship freely.  Men who withstood the persecution and braved the onslaught of making a life in a new world.  

         “Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
          Were still in heart and conscience free:
          How sweet would be their children’s fate,
          If they, like them, could die for thee!

Remember men like John Bunyan, William Tyndale, and the Reformers.  Men who faced prison, some faced death but would not bow to their tormentors.  They stood, as the Apostle proclaimed, and after having done all continued to stand.  The Word of God would continue to go forward, but it would go in the hearts of men.  It would go to a New World, then from there missionaries would begin to take it throughout the world.  Men such as William Carey, Hudson Taylor, Morris Plotts, and thousands of others.  Their faith should help us to stand in the dark hours of our lives.

         “Faith of our fathers!  we will love
          Both friend and foe in all our strife;
          And preach thee, too, as love knows how,
          By kindly words and virtuous life!”

Virtue!  My what is that?  The world is telling us today that right is wrong and wrong is right.  Those who are truly virtuous are considered by modern society to be intolerant.  God loves all people, which is true.  God honors all ways to Him, which is a lie from the pit.  What will get you through this life, through the storms, battles, toils and troubles?  Faith!  What will bring you to Jesus Christ?  Faith!  How is one saved by grace?  Through faith!  Did our fathers of faith have faults?  Yes, but look beyond the faults and see the stalwart heart; those who worked, journeyed, toiled, gave sweat and blood.  Look at the faith of our fathers!

                   “Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
                    We will be true to thee till death!”

Take to heart the faith of our fathers.  This Thanksgiving take time to thank the Lord for those who went before on the road to glory.

There was nothing slower than time when you wanted it to move along.”
               –Lou Bradshaw  (Spirit Valley)

       “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
               –2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV)
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Last week we were interrupted in our study of the Psalms by Veterans Day.  Let’s get back to Psalm 31.  Only two verses today, so look at them long and hard.  Contemplate them and take time to meditate on them throughout the day.  We get so caught up in life and when the quandary comes our way, when trouble seems to stalk us we short-circuit.  All the time God is saying–“Trust Me.”

    14 – But I trust in You, Lord; I say, “You are my God.”
    15 – The course of my life is in Your power; deliver me from the power of my enemies and from my persecutors. (HCSB)

    What are you going to do with your life tomorrow?  Whatever God’s wills and allows.  How about next week?  The same, whatever God wills and allows.  If we would but get these Scriptures etched in our mind and heart I believe things would run much smoother.  At least the worry and anxiety would lessen.  

         “Let good or ill befall;
          It must be good for me,
          Secure of having Thee in all
          And having all in Thee.”
                 –Henry F. Lyte

    I certainly didn’t want to go to Vietnam, but when I entered the military there was a good chance I would be headed in that direction.  However, I had this confidence, God can take care of me there as well as walking across the streets in the U.S.  If I have to go, He won’t be surprised.  I ended up spending a year at Tyndall AFB, then was ordered to the Air Force Academy on a controlled tour.  Within that tour the war in Vietnam was over.  Do you think God was surprise?  Do you think that He was not in control?
    All of the questions of life are in God’s hand and under His control.  There surely will be some to come your way that you don’t understand and wonder why, but realize that He is with you.  I believed that God wanted me out of the Air Force, so on December 31, 1977, I was discharged.  A free man?  Now to find a job.  I went eight months without any real job.  There were other trials during that time, but Annie and I still trusted.  Wearied and frustrated at time, we still trusted.  Annie’s Dad gave me some advice–even if we make a bad decision God is still with us.
    Sometimes decisions that we make put us in a place of inconvenience.  Sometimes things others do to us make us scratch our head wondering.  But, all the time God is there.  He knows the future.  There isn’t a minute that goes by that He doesn’t know what we are doing.  He doesn’t turn away.  David was miserable, forlorn, downcast and his enemies were trying to destroy him.  In the midst of it all, he writes these two verses.  Strength of faith is when we are borne down by our sins, forsaken, and fighting difficulties a person can turn to God and say, “You are my God.”

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)

       “For where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.”
              –Matthew 6:21 (AMP)
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I wonder, how much time do we spend thinking of heaven?  If that’s where we are headed, don’t you wonder what it will be like?  Yes, there are a few songs out there about heaven, not as many as in years gone past.  Is it that we are too busy to contemplate life with the Lord?  A.W. Tozer said, “…the devil sees to it that we seldom get alone with time to think and meditate on the reality of the other world.”
    Of course many of the things we imagine are just that, imaginations.  There is actually very little to be said concerning it. We have the size of the New Jerusalem, a description of the walls and the gates, but little of heaven itself.  It is not a place where we go pick up body parts, for we will have a new body.  It is not a place where we’ll sit on a cloud plucking at a harp, for man was made to work.  We will not turn into angels!  We will have communication with them; we will talk with the men of renown:  Abraham, Moses, David and many others.  We will see loved ones who have gone before us in the Lord.  WOW!  It’s going to be amazing!
    Then why do we hunger and thirst so much for the things of this world?  “Of all the calamities that have been visited upon the world, the surrender of the human spirit to this present world and its ways is the worst, without any doubt.” (Tozer)  Ponder that for a few seconds.  I’m redoing a study of Judges, and their biggest problem was that of compromise; they became like the people they were to drive out.  They did what they thought was right, instead of following God’s ways.
    There is a much ado today about racism and slavery.  But there is more slavery today than in all of history with human trafficking being the largest illegal market in the world.  However, there is even greater bondage, and I dare say that most of the world, and even Christians get caught up in it.  There is a tyranny greater than we can imagine.  “The tyranny of things, of material things, temporal things, things which are and then cease to be–this has become a tyranny.”  (Tozer)
    Do we like it here so much that we don’t think of our real home?  The holidays, as wonderful as they are, can become a nightmare.  The message of this time of year is to be thankful, to think of how much God loved us by sending His Son to earth for our redemption.  Take some time before this year is out to think of life in heaven, our true home.

A man’s got his word.  If that’s no good, what is?”
              –Ernest Haycox  (Trail Town)

    “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
              –Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)
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I was reading an article from “Infinity” written by Bakajied Nongrum that discussed the plight of Diogenes. (“Infinity” is published Ravi Zacharias).  Diogenes went about the streets of Athens holding a lamp looking for a man who was honest.  He failed to find one before his lamps went out.  Maybe the fault lay in Diogenes; maybe he didn’t have enough oil in the lamp, or most likely he couldn’t find one honest man.  If he tried to do the same thing in Washington, D.C., what would he find?  Most likely that it was full of shysters, bureaucrats, and liars who are filled with hatred, seeking only to fill their own coffers.
    Where is the honest man?  Maybe Diogenes just shined his lamp in the wrong places, especially going out at night.  Night is where evil lurks.  Secrets and lies are told in the dark corners between men.  Hidden deals are made, money passed under the table.  Nothing only is there not an honest man, but where is justice?
    If you are a follower of Miles Forrest (by the way, buy my book, Return From Tincup) you understand that he often argues with himself about justice, about doing what is right.  Ah, but then, what is justice?  C.S. Lewis says this, “Justice means much more than the sort of thing that goes on in the courts of law.  It is the old name for everything we should now call ‘fairness’; it includes honesty, give and take, truthfulness, keeping promises, and all that.”  Life should be about justice; life should be lived in honesty.
    One thing we know for certain is that Diogenes was using the wrong lamp.  He was seeking a honest man using the standards produced by society.  Those standards are relative and arbitrary depending on the agenda of the one using them.  They can change on a whim.  The only real way to seek justice or to find an honest person is by using the true Lamp of the Word of God.  We don’t have to stumble along seeking in this dark world.  We have the Word of God to light our footsteps and shine upon our way.  
    Therefore, if someone says this is right and it is shown by God’s Word to be wrong, shun their saying.  Or something that is clamored to be wrong, and God’s Word says it is right continue following that path.  Take heed in the words of the prophet Micah: 
         “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?” (Micah 6:8 (AMP)