A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner, so if one’s life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself.”
                 –Louis L’Amour  (Bendigo Shafter)

    “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell:  but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
                 –Joshua 24:15 (KJV)
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Call this a POT-pourri of Thoughts, or maybe a Plethora of Ponderin’s, maybe even better yet Miniscule Musings.  Nothing real special today so here are a few things that have floated through my wearisome mind.
    November, great month.  It’s the beginning of the holiday season.  November 11 will start off with a great thanksgiving and gratitude to our veterans.  After that it rolls through the New Year.  All regard a thanksgiving attitude, but November is when we normally think of being thankful.  Now is the time to start counting your blessings, being thankful for them, and showing an attitude of gratefulness to those around you.  You never know what they are going through and you just might be that special light in their day.
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I mentioned a while back something of the life of evangelist Sam P. Jones.  I came across some of his sermons.  Here are a couple of great thoughts from one of them.

         [In regard to putting one’s light under a bushel].  “Sometimes it is the bushel of neglect.  Sometimes it is the bushel of willful transgression.  Sometimes it is the bushel of avarice.  And thee are a thousand bushels that will be furnished you at any time you want one to turn down over you light.  And at any moment, if you put a bushel over your light–if your light was burning and you have taken and turned a bushel and put over it–you will find your light is out.  And don’t be foolish enough to think that the man that removed the bushel put your light out.  It was the bushel turned down over it that put the light out.”

         “Good Lord, give us a strong, sinewy, muscular religion!  Not this little, effeminate, weak, sentimental, sickly, singing and begging sort!  My Lord God, give us a religion with vim and muscle and backbone and power and bravery!  A great many people think that Christianity is just a little hot-bed of effeminacy–fellows crying ‘Peace! Peace! Peace!”
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It used to be customary for good friends, almost like family, to come over on election night.  We would watch the returns and eat popcorn.  Sometimes if my cousin was living with us he would bring some fried chicken hearts and they would be placed on top the furnace for us to grab from time to time.  But it’s no longer fun.  A person can’t stand to listen to the pundits, that is the media-mouths.  Now, I just watch the returns.  
    A word of warning to Texans.  The urban brand is on the land.  Look at the map.  Texas is primarily rural, yet the control is coming from the large cities.  I don’t know if any have to run to the security shelters at the colleges.  I know if the election had gone with a “blue wave” conservatives wouldn’t have been happy, but they wouldn’t have shrieked and pulled their hair.  They would have gotten up this morning and gone on with their daily chores.  See, there’s more to this than politics!  Figure it out!

There are some trails a man can ride that can be ridden by no other.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (The Californios)

    “Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].”
              –Ephesians 6:13 (AMPC)
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I just finished a chapter in my new book (The Shepherd) where the main character, Tom Franks, has just come through a deadly fight.  Bullets were fired, people were killed and Franks was wounded.  As he sat there in his pain, being tired and weary after what had taken place, he was alone with his thoughts.
    In our human battles; the physical, emotional, and spiritual, there is often a tremendous letdown after the victory has been won.  This letdown, after a fight, is often more dangerous to the soul, as there can be a lack of alertness.  We have stood in the evil day–now what?
    We know how to train and prepare.  We understand and fulfill our duty.  The enemy did not breach the wall and was turned back.  Now we are alone with our own mind.  “Lord,” we cry out, “arm me for the silence!”
    Think of Jesus in the agony of Gethsemane.  The weight was beyond His ability to withstand.  He pleaded for it to be removed–His Father didn’t hear Him.  He pleaded for His disciple to watch and pray with Him–they slept.  He was alone–in the silence.
    In the battle we grip and wield the sword with fury.  We slash at the enemy with all our being, now in the silence we need the breastplate–His righteousness.  It is not our righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ that we know that we have done the right.  We have served Him well and endured.  Then we can truly say, “I have done all, and I still stand.
    In closing this morning, I want to leave you with a prayer from George Matheson.  I ask that you ponder and contemplate it.

          “Save me, O Lord!  save me from my own companionship!  Protect me from the solitude of my heart; arm me against myself!  I have been strong in the hour of outward battle because I heard the voices of human sympathy; let me hear the voice of a greater sympathy for the watch of the night!  I was able to withstand in the day because there was work to be done; help me in the shadows when no man can work!  Teach me that the heart has a duty greater than the hand!  Teach me that I am not a perfect soldier when I can only fight!  Teach me that the courage which can endure is nobler than the courage with can strike!”

But I wasn’t looking for trouble only a fool takes chances.  Fools or children who don’t know any better.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Last Stand At Papago Wells)

    “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put aside childish things.”
              –1 Corinthians 13:11 (HCSB)
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November already!  How did that happen?  The world turns, we get caught up in our busyness and soon another year has passed.  We look back and what do we see?  Accomplishment or ruin, or maybe just the same old, same old.
    As we start to move out of this year of 2018, I would ask the question, “Are you a sincere person”?  I didn’t ask if you were consistent, but if you were sincere.  Sincerity must come before consistency.  As one grows in their consistency it will be added to their sincerity.  
    Some people are extremely zealous, but without any doctrinal backbone.  Some people think that the rah-rah is the way to show Christianity.  George Matheson wrote, “Do not pretend that thou hast to-day what waits to-morrow!  Do not seek to shine with more light than is in thee!  Thy light may only be a dawn, but God’s dawn is better than man’s gilding; be true to thyself, O my soul!”  Your witness is not built on your emotional state, but upon the sincere and secure Word of God.
    I might add another thought to this.  People may think they are sincere when they make a promise or vow, but they have not sat down to count the cost.  There was a man in our church when I was growing up that whenever a pledge was taken for a project or when money was needed for the church, he always made the largest pledge.  I found out that he rarely made good on his pledge.  His heart was not sincere to begin with.  Was it for show?  Was it to build himself up?  To be sincere means whole-heartedness.  Man pledges to be sincere when he comes to Christ; he pledges his whole-hearted being.  To do that one must guard against emotion and listen to the voice of God, then do what he can with what he has unless the Spirit tells him to do otherwise.
    We are often our own worst enemy.  What was it that the Pogo said in the cartoon strip, “We have met the enemy and the enemy is us”?  Often a person doesn’t grow up, or doesn’t want to grow up and still play childish games.  It seems that life to many is that–just a game.  They may talk a good talk, but when it comes to sincerity they rarely show it.  In fact, sincerity is not for show; it is something that is done because a person realizes their responsibility and has put childish things aside.

There are those who use a cause to cover their own lust for destruction and cruelty.  He who uses terror as a weapon does it from his own demands for cruelty and not because it succeeds, because it never has.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (The Mountain Valley War)

    “You hate good and love evil.  You tear off people’s skin and strip their flesh from their bones….Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them.  He will hide His face from them at that time because of the crimes they have committed.”
              –Micah 3:2,4 (HCSB)
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I made reference to the book of Micah several times last week.  Let me give you a look at the condition of the time in which Micah lived.  See if there are any similarities with today.

         1)  The priests were immoral and corrupt and prophets were hirelings.  (Did you see that group of “ministers” saying that they agreed with abortion, even late-term?)
         2)  Nobles took delight in fleecing the poor.
         3)  Greed and cruelty were prevalent.
         4)  Days were filled with unrest and insecurity.
         5)  People were selfish and materialistic.
         6)  There was a disintegration of personal and social values.
         7)  The people were scornful of religion.
         8)  Soothsaying, witchcraft, and superstition were prevalent.
         9)  There was a complacency in the approach to religion as a means of achieving human desires.
        10)  There was a threat of invasion.

My goodness, this could come from today’s newspaper, ooops, I mean media.  There leadership was corrupt and those that were trying to do right were despised by the rest of those in leadership.  Add to that the media of today and there is corruption from top to bottom.  The only thing that matters is their agenda, not right and wrong.
    Here are a few thoughts that Micah had concerning the Almighty, after all he said, “Who is like Yahweh?”

         1)  Micah wanted the people to know that every unsocial act was an insult to God.
         2)  Because of offenses the Lord is determined to bring them into judgment.
         3)  God is glorious in power, holy in character and aim, careful to make definite demands on His people.

Micah condemns and attacks the establishment for abandoning divinely ordained standards in favor of self-interest.  Look at our country.  There are those, primarily on the left, that are interested in self-aggrandizement, in self-promotion, and in self-interest.  Just the other day, Hilary declared that she wanted to be president.  
    I don’t have the space to write down the Scriptures that I would call of permanent value, but take time yourself to read Micah.  Things don’t really change much only in the light of time.  Many of the issues remain the same; they may get more complex, but essentially the same.  However, I will say one more thing.  In our time they are more pronounced and there is more evil.  The day is fast approaching of His appearing and the demons and devils are working feverishly.  There is a dark cloud of gloom hanging over the earth, but in spite of that there is the glow of hope; the hope of His appearing.