Sometimes we can’t always solve a problem, or right a wrong.  Sometimes the best we can do is just move on from it.”
              –Brad Dennison  (Wandering Man)

    “So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out.”
              –Nehemiah 4:21 (HCSB)
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I was frustrated when I went to write the “Echo”.  I read where Hillary said that any other person would have been indicted under the Muellar Report.  First of all, I doubt she read it.  Secondly, of all the people to talk about who should be indicted!  Therefore, I turned away from my thoughts, disgusts, and feelings that might cause my blood pressure to rise and turn to words from St. Francis of Assisi.

          “You are holy, Lord, the only God,
               and your deeds are wonderful.
           You are strong.
               You are great.
               You are the Most High,
               You are almighty.
               You, holy Father, are
               King of heaven and earth.
           You are Three and One,
               Lord God, all good.
               You are Good, all Good, supreme Good,
               Lord God, living and true.
           You are love,
               You are wisdom.
               You are humility,
               You are endurance.
               You are rest,
               You are peace.
               You are joy and gladness,
               You are justice and moderation.
               You are all our riches,
               And you suffice for us.
           You are beauty.
               You are gentleness.
               You are our protector,
               You are our guardian and defender.
               You are courage.
               You are our haven and our hope.
           You are our faith,
               Our great consolation.
               You are our eternal life,
               Great and wonderful Lord,
               God almighty,
               Merciful Savior.”

Whew makes me feel better, knowing that despite all the injustice that goes on in the world, all the terror and slaughter of innocents, all of the craziness and man mocking God, that He is totally in charge.  He revealed Himself to John on the island of Patmos this way,

           “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.'”
                        –Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

I read recently that Christians, and we are Christians despite what Hillary and the ex-President said about those killed in Sri Lanka, should stop looking for the signs of His coming.  They are already here!  We should be listening for the sound of the trumpet!  Amen!  Can I get a witness?

If we live long enough, we will all face the day when we won’t be able to ride up-slope.  We’ll be wanting a smoother gaited horse and a softer mattress.  There’ll be nights when sleep will be hard to come by and harder to hold on to.  It’s all part of the cycle of life.”
                  –Lou Bradshaw  (Buttercup Meets Cain)

       “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
                  –Hebrews 12:28(NKJV)
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I trust that the Lord touched you in a special way this Easter season.  My, my, it’s so good to know that the Lord looks after us and cares for us.  We’d sure be in an awful fix if He didn’t.  No hope, no future, no direction, but with Him we have all those things.  Hope is there, the future is brighter and eternal life is secure, our very steps are ordered by Him and the Holy Spirit is our guide.  Now for a look at the rest of Psalm 19 (HCSB).

    7 – The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.
    8 – The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the command of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up.
    9 – The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are reliable and altogether righteous.
   10 – They are more desirable than gold—than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey, which comes from the honeycomb.
   11 – In addition, Your servant is warned by them; there is great reward in keeping them.
   12 – Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
   13 – Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule over me.  Then I will be innocent and cleansed from blatant rebellion.
   14 – May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

My friend, if you’re not in the Word of God, get in it.  It is your life.  It is what guides us day-by-day.  It is how the Holy Spirit directs our footsteps and speaks to us.  His Word is perfect and trustworthy no matter what may be going on in our life.

              “I lay my sins of Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God
               He bears them all and frees us from the accursed load.
               I bring my guilt to Jesus, to wash my crimson stains,
               White in His blood most precious, till not a spot remains.”
                       –Horatius Bonar

If we believe what God said is true and trustworthy, the opinions of others do not matter.  If we believe God’s Word and truly trust Him, He will guide us and give us insight to life and that more abundantly.  Follow His commandments, in fact, Jesus said, if you love Me, keep My commandments.  They are not to be thrown out, or picked apart, or given your opinion.  They are to follow.
    Do you harbor sin in your heart?  David was concerned about sins of the unknown–sins that were in the heart that he didn’t know about.  Perhaps this is how people do things that they would never think they would do.  The heart is deceitful, so David wanted it taken care of as well as deliberate sins.  Do not follow the way of evil; do not let sin rule over your life.  
    Listen to yourself sometime, listen to those around you.  Are you not concerned about the words that are spoken, about the deeds that are committed?  Our lives, our thoughts, our words, our actions should all be acceptable to the Lord.  Or do we get used to it, become complacent or calloused to the things that go on around us and even in our own lives?  
    Then David closes with that all powerful, all wonderful concept of the Redeemer.  If you truly accept Jesus as your Redeemer then the whole person has been redeemed.  Let the Holy Spirit start working on you to let your complete life be acceptable to Him.  Ponder the words of G. Campbell Morgan this morning.

      “If our Rock were not our Redeemer, we would be without hope.  If our redeemer were not our Rock, we might be afraid.  Let us never forget that our redemption has in it the strength of the Mighty One.”
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Today in the Texas Revolution:  Santa Anna is captured.

Was it through such a silence as this that one could hear the voice of God?”
              –Zane Grey (Captive of the Desert)

    “This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
              –Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)
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Here’s a question to ponder:  If Easter is to be associated predominately with one emotion what would it be?  The key word to ponder is emotion.  Perhaps you said love.  That would be yes, and not, depending on whether you think love is an emotion.  I think if we choose to believe that love is an emotion we are in trouble.  However, love does give way to other emotions.
    Let’s try this one–joy.  Mary was grieving when she went to the tomb that morning.  Her heart was sick, and when she came upon the “Gardener” she told Him that they had taken the body of her Lord away.  Until!  Until she recognized the voice of Jesus and all of a sudden to despair and grief turned to joy.  Jesus had told them that their sorrow would be turned to joy (John 16:20).  Christians who walk about stepping on their lower lip need to understand the fullness and reality of Easter — joy!
    Yes, it is true, the world will know we are Christians by our love, but also by our joy.  Friday was a day of God’s wrath, it was doom and gloom, there seemed to be no hope.  The disciples had forgotten, in the words of the old preacher, that “Sunday’s coming!”  It is because of the sacrifice on the cross and the empty tomb that we should be singing, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart…”  Because of Easter our heaviness with the woes and worries of this life has been turned into joy.  
    Why should we be joyful?  First of all simply because He died and is alive.  We are well assured that He is alive, that He is reigning on His throne in heaven, but also that He lives within our hearts.  He triumphed over the grave.  Satan tried his best and is wasn’t enough.  I think it is interesting that Jesus never feared the grave.  He knew for certain that He would rise again.  He said I will rise again the third day.  It was that cross that loomed in front on Him, and even more so, sin.  He would become sin.  All the sin the world has known or will know would be placed on Him.  That is why He wanted the cup removed.  Because of His victory over the grave and death our heaviness is turned into joy.  Because He is risen we can sing the old chorus, “It is joy unspeakable and full of glory…Oh, the half has never yet been told.” (B.E. Warren)
    I like the way the Amplified puts the second part of Hebrews 12:2, “who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].”  Jesus was going to accomplish the goal of our salvation.  He received joy in that knowledge.  How much more should we be able to express joy in our lives because of His enduring the cross and His enduring work that resulted from it.  That’s why it’s called “Good Friday.”  Mankind has received the opportunity to live eternally with God because endured the cross and rose again.
    Let me leave you with the words of Henry Parry Liddon, It is of the triumph of Christ we should have joy.  “…they buffeted and spat upon, and mocked and derided, and nailed to the wood, and laid in the sepulcher.  It is all over now; His enemies have done their best or their worst; and He has swept it all aside, since, now that He is risen.  And we, as we kneel before Him, think, first of all, of Him.  It is His joy which inspires ours; it turns our heaviness into joy, and puts off our sorrow and girds us with gladness.”
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(Take the time to go to YouTube, or my FaceBook page and listen to Rev. S.M. Lockridge’s sermon, “It’s Friday but Sunday’s Comin'”.)

In the midst of all life, death is forever with us.”
              –J. Lee Butts  (Ambushed)

       “Men of Galilee, why do your stand gazing up into heaven?  This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
              –Acts 1:11 (NKJV)
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Many people are slaves to one thing or another.  Last week I came across a wonderful message to those who live in “slavish fear.”  These people live in fear.  Life becomes so overwhelming they are afraid to live.  Even those who were close to Jesus were often afraid.  John, while in exile, fell down in fear.  Jesus told him not to be afraid.

         “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
                   –Revelation 1:18(NKJV)

Jesus wants us to live a life void of fear.  He has risen to save us from the “slavish fear of life.”  That’s right, many are afraid of life, afraid to live.  Man, who wants to be autonomous, can never reach that state for he is always dependent.  He is dependent upon God and upon others.  From the richest to the poorest we are in need of “daily bread.”  Nature must provide the means for our sustenance.  Did you get in your car today? Think of all the times in your trip that you were dependent upon others.  The car, it was built by others.  The road was constructed by others.  
    Man often finds himself in fear of the mysteries of life.  Once a person starts to think those mysterious begin to invade.  One reason many do not like to quiet themselves is that they might have thoughts that they cannot answer flood their minds.  We are to fear God, but in the right manner.  As a Christian we fear Him because of His mighty natural attributes:  eternal, infinite, omnipresent, immeasurable, and so on.  There is the mystery of sin.  How did it gain so much power?  Perhaps it is better to not think of such things.
    Man also is afraid to face the responsibilities of life.  These are so numerous.  How do I get through this?  How can I ignore this relationship?  How do I get through the demands of the job?  Will I be a success in life or a failure?  Will I measure up?  In the job you are given a promotion and all these questions begin to fill your mind again.  The end of the day comes and we go home exhausted from the demands of the job and then we are faced with the demands of the home–being a husband or wife, a mother or father.  Oh me, oh my, too much, too much!  Then Jesus reminds us that we are not to fear to live.  Why?  Because He is alive.  He would say, “Whatever your task, your trust, your duty, your responsibility–fear not!  Go to that task or that post without hesitation.  Divine power and reinforcement are available for you.”  We are not to fear to live, because He is alive.
    Look at the second part of that verse.  “He would deliver us from the “slavish fear of death.”  Death – is it morbid and causes you to fear?  Some people cannot live because of their fear of death.  Some people will not attend funerals because “death” is there.  They do not want to think of the subject and how they are mortal.  Yet, Solomon says we should spend more time at funerals than at parties.  Stop and ponder that–why?  Death is serious; after death comes the judgment.  Most cannot even remember what took place at the last party, but I imagine they can remember the last funeral they attended.  One reason we fear death is that no one has come back to tell us about it.  Ah, no one but Jesus.  He conquered death–He is risen!  In death we trust the Lord; He says, “I am alive and I will hold thee, and I will guide thee, and I will keep thee, because I have conquered death for all my friends.”
    Now the last part of that verse.  Man is afraid of what happens after death.  Jesus has risen and is alive forevermore.  The Christian has no need to fear of anything beyond death.  Eternity belongs to him.  The Lord Himself prepared a place for us.  He is our hope forever.  But there are those who will enter the curtain of death to cross over who have no certainty of what awaits in the realm of the unknown eternity.  There is a judgment for the believer, but there is also a judgment for those who do not believe in the risen Savior.  That person surely has reason to fear immortality.
    The risen Lord gives us hope for life, in death, and for the unknown future of eternity.  Because He is risen we can live life in victory and in cheer.  Because He is risen we can face death with confidence that we will be resurrected as He is.  Because He is risen we will walk the streets of glory with Him.
(Some of the thoughts and quotations are from a sermon by George W. Truett, “Jesus Is Alive”)
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This day in the Texas Revolution:  Sam Houston and his army arrive outside Harrisburg.