When you jump to conclusions, make sure you don’t land in a manure pile.”
              –Rod Collins  (Bitter’s Run)

    “Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?  Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.”
              –Psalm 15:1,3 (NLT)
————————-
Back from a wonderful time at my daughter’s house and relaxing trip.  On Monday I have been looking at the Psalms and we should be at Psalm 7.  Remember, the Psalms are very good for inspiration, and for helping a person learn and begin to praise.  However, they also show the reality of life and doctrine.

    “Often gigantic problems are created by seemingly small causes.  Sometimes it is precisely because the causes go unnoticed that the problems become so huge.” (William J. Peterson)  Maybe you have been there?  Things seem to go wrong and you begin to question what happened.  What did I do that was wrong?  Why is this happening to me?  Truth be known, there are those out there who would like nothing better than to see a Christian fail.  They want to see that because that person is a Christian, but also because they want to see how strong their testimony is.
    Psalm 7 is written for the believer who has been falsely accused.  As you ponder this Psalm you can sense the hurt of the individual.  Look at the news, especially the comedians, the cartoonists, and the late-night personnel.  See their mockery.  Before the Nazis began their program of extermination they started with scorn and mockery.  They caricatured and dehumanized their targets through ridicule and false accusation. Today, in America, those who are committed to biblical standards of morality are commonly typed as intolerant, hateful, or even dangerous. (George O. Wood)

          1 Yahweh my God, I seek refuge in You; save me from all my pursuers and rescue me
          2 or they will tear me like a lion, ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.
          3 Yahweh my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice on my hands,
          4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me or have plundered my adversary without cause,
          5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust.   Selah

“Selah” is my way of thinking — “Ponder This.”

    God, who judges the nations, also is concerned about each believer.  He will eventually judge those who slander His children, especially if it is unjust.  As you read this next section, look hard at verse 9.  Remember, this is a prayer of David.
    Do not neglect to take care of small problems.  Do it while they are still small; do not let them grow into big ones.  There is no issue insignificant to the Lord if it concerns you.  “Pain is hard enough to bear when you are mostly or partly responsible; it becomes a heavy cross when you are not at all to blame.” (Wood)

          6 Rise up, Lord, in Your anger; lift Yourself up against the fury of my adversaries; awake for me; You have ordained a judgment.
          7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around You; take Your seat on high over it.
          8 The Lord judges the peoples; vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity.
          9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous.  The One who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God.

                 “He is a Judge who is fair;
                  He is a Shield that is sure.
                  His mighty power is everywhere,
                  And His Word will e’er endure.”
                       –Old Scottish Psalter

When times seem tough.  When it seems you are losing the battle; that everything is going against you, turn to Psalm 7.  God will see you through to victory.  Keep trusting Him.

In this brief life, all a man possessed of value was his character.  That and the love of those who adorned his life.”
              –Ralph Peters (Valley of the Shadow)

    “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
              –Romans 5:3-4 (NLT)
———————-
I started out from Texas, about a month ago…now it’s time to be hitting the road again and return to my home, sweet home.  Don’t have much to be giving you today as I’ve got to get out and get the steel mount ready to go.  It’s been a grand time up here in Maryland with family, but now it’s time to get back to our little shack there in the Piney Woods.  You know one of the problems up here in Maryland is that I can’t see Texas from here.
    My mercy, October!  Where has this year gone?  Sure was plenty to be doing the first three quarters, only one left.  If you haven’t taken care of those resolutions you better get started.  Get it done!  If they were valid, and you haven’t started, well, get busy with them today.
    Life is short, so take some time to enjoy it.  Value the things that are important.  A few years ago, I took a phone away from a student; he was one of those punkist types, you know the type where the spirit of slap just wants to overcome you.  He said I couldn’t do it and that he had to have it back.  He said he couldn’t live without it.  My, what a life he had.  You better spend some time with the things that are important.  Take care to cultivate and maintain a good character, and then enjoy your family.  I know that you have to make a dollar, but get those priorities in line.
    I’ll leave you with just a few thoughts to ponder for I’ll be on the trail the next few days.  Oh, Miles might show up tomorrow before we head out.  I don’t think I’ll need him for a guide; I’m pretty good at following the trail myself.  Don’t plan on using any of those fast highways; going to stick to the less traveled way, plus I’ve got a good gal by my side, so if we get lost, who cares?
    Here are just a couple of thoughts to ponder.  A couple reminders for this wearisome age.

              “Look to the hills.  They are quiet.  The storms sweep over them, and are gone, and most of man’s troubles pass the same way.  Whenever you feel that things are getting too much for you, go to the mountains or the desert–it smoothes out the wrinkles in your minds.”
                        –Louis L’Amour

              “But I have this against you:  You have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.”
                        –Revelation 2:4-5 (HCSB)

See you back in Texas, and don’t worry, I’ll check my cinch.

He’s got worms in his craw where the sand should be.”
              –Alan LeMay  (The Searchers)

    “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”
              –1 Corinthians 2:14 (NLT)
———————–
Maybe you’ve known people like that–their insides are full of worms.  Instead of doing the right, instead of being steadfast, determined, and caring, they want everything for themselves no matter whom else it hurts.  They’ll worm in here and worm in there, until something that was once good is now full of their worms.
    People who are very anti-Christ have these worms.  They know it all.  They think the Christian is foolish, moronic, but they can’t see the truths of Scripture.  They mock God, they say there is no God, oh, but God says He will not be mocked and the day that they need Him, that is when he will mock.

         “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.
         23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
         24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
         25 Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke,
         26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,
         27 When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
         28 Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
         29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord.”
                     –Proverbs 1:22-29 (NKJV)

In truth, those individuals are not to be hated for who they are or for what they do.  Instead, they should be pitied.  Their arrogance will bring them down.  They will slide down their own slippery ways.
————————-
    We’ve traveled some this year and next week we’ll be heading back home.  I enjoy traveling this vast, wonderful country of ours.  I found the following from some of my reading this year.  Don’t forget about those wormy people, but take a moment to reflect on the creation of God.

         “You can’t live under this sky, having it as a sort of next-door neighbor all the time, and not lose a lot of pretensions.  What good are high places to a man if he’s not satisfied?  Why fight for something you’ve got no heart in?  And what more could any man want than this?  Look at the prairie sweeping off there.  It’s mine to ride on.  I sleep sound at night.  I go out in the morning and look at the sun coming up and I feel as if the day was made for me and nobody else.  A fellow loses himself and his troubles.  Time doesn’t count.  Everything marches along slow and a man lives slow–which is the way folks ought to live.  What’s better?”
                     –Ernest Haycox  (Free Grass)

Don’t matter how you look, don’t matter how you feel; you showed up on time, and ready to work.  That’s the kind of man I need.”
              –C.M. Curtis (Return of the Outlaw)

    “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
              –Matthew 6:33 (NLT)
————————
Some of the thoughts for today are by Gen. Jerry Boykin and Stu Weber.  Ponder over them.

“If you forget the lessons of the past, you’ll suffer in the present as well as destroy your future.”  Our Founding Fathers were historical thinkers and one aspect of their thinking was theological. That cannot be ignored.  Look for example at the Declaration of Independence.  It is based on a theological notion.
    “The founders held certain theological principles to be so utterly true they declared them ‘self-evident’–so true that they didn’t countenance any debate or argument, and any fool could grasp their realities.  Those principles stated that humans are ‘created’; that humans are ‘created equal’; that they’re ‘endowed by their Creator [yes, with a capital C in the original document] with certain unalienable rights,’ rights that are not derived from Washington, DC, or any other earthly government or authority.
    “Our founders also regarded freedom as a sacred and righteous cause; they therefore appealed to God, ‘the Supreme Judge,’ and expressed their ‘firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence’ for their cause and its sustenance.
    “Given those convictions they were willing to die on the hill of their Declaration: ‘We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
    “Our founders believed, according to their own words in the Declaration, that the major purpose of our national government was to ‘secure these rights’ that are sourced in God.”
    We have certainly come a long way from the thoughts, practices, and principles of the founding fathers.  “We’ve forgotten our roots; we’ve lost sight of where we came from as well as where we were originally headed.”
    It is vital that we understand our history and also its theological history as well.  The devil, with men as his instruments, is taking an axe to the roots of our foundation.  Solzhenitsyn stated, “To destroy a people, you must first sever their roots.”
    There are those who are doing their best to nurture the truth of America.  To give proper nutrient so that people will understand the underlying root system of our country.  But look around, there are those who are trying to dig up the roots; those who are trying to take an axe to them.  For example, just look at some of the words of Cory Booker, a supposed leader in our Congress.  By your actions or inactions, which side do you fall on?

         “I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States, and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who alone is able to protect them.”
                   –George Washington