I wanted again the dark and lonely canyons where only echoes lived, the crash and roar of waters charging between the boulders, hurling themselves against a rocky wall…I wanted to skirt the deadfalls, gather the dead sticks from the ground, build a fire of cedar or pine, and smell the smoke.”
              –Louis L’Amour  (Bendigo Shafter)

    “So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.”
              –Exodus 15:25 (NLT)
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                      “All day I face the barren waste
                       Without the taste of water,
                           Cool Water.”
                                 —Bob Nolan

Perhaps it’s the nostalgia brought on by old age, or the thought that there are places I’ve been that I’ll never get back to see.  Add to that the many places I want to go but the ol’ rheumatize won’t let me.  There are those dark canyons with the water roaring with its rush to lower elevation that I would like to see.  Guess they’ll just have to play in my mind.
    It makes me think of times when all I craved was a drink of cool water.  It may have been on the ballfield, on the job, while out in the woods, or just hankerin’ for that refreshing liquid.  “Gulp, gulp, gulp, ahhhh.”  Guzzle that water.  When the body is depleted nothing is better or more satisfying than cool water.
    The Israelites were thirsty out in the wilderness, when finally they came to water.  But the water was bitter.  I don’t know if that meant it was full of alkali or some other kind of mineral, but something made it so it was undrinkable.  Moses was instructed to throw a piece of wood in it and the water became “sweet.”  Now, I’ve had some bad water in my time.  There has been water full of sulfur that I’ve tasted, and other times it was full of sodium.  But then I’ve tasted the refreshing water of a mountain stream (sure can’t do that anymore because of the parasites).
    The first time we come to Jesus it is the same way.  He told the woman at the well that He offered water from which she would never thirst again.  When we truly come to the Lord the thirst is slackened and all we want is water from His never-ending stream.

                  “I thirsted in the barren land of sin and shame,
                   And nothing satisfying there I found;
                   But to the blessed cross of Christ one day I came,
                   Where springs of living water did abound.”
                            –John W. Peterson

    However, often there comes to the believer a thirst.  For some reason we find ourselves in a barren wilderness, not of sin, but one of drought, of harshness, of dryness.  Sometimes we get there by accident, sometimes of our own volition, and often we are sent there by the Lord.  Oh, just for a drink of that cool water when we are in the barren wilderness of the soul.  When the soul is depleted nothing is better or more satisfying than water–water that flows from the blessed Holy Spirit; water that burst forth from the Rock to quench our longing.

                  “How sweet the living water from the hills of God,
                   It makes me glad and happy all the way;
                   Now glory grace and blessing mark the path I’ve trod,
                   I’m shouting ‘Hallelujah’ ev’ry day.”

Drink at the spring of living water; it will satisfy the soul.  Jesus said that He gives water that “become a perpetual spring within…”.(John 4:14, NLT)  I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little thirsty; thirsty for some of that cool, clear water.

Sometimes responsibility had an uncomfortable fit, like a right boot on a left foot.”
               –Elmer Kelton  (The Day the Cowboys Quit)

     “Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
               –Jeremiah 23:4 (NLT)
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Did you let God be in charge of your life last week?  If so, did you have a week of praising Him?  Remember, God designed man to praise Him.  Last week we looked at two reasons to praise.
          1)  There is the necessity to praise.
          2)  There is the command to praise.
 
                    “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
                     He is also to be feared above all gods.”
                            –1 Chronicles 16:25 (NKJV)
 
          3)  We praise because of the worthiness of God.  We don’t have to have anything to praise God; we praise Him because He is.  Whenever I go to a church and they want me to teach I almost always start with a series, “Knowing God.”  We need to know Him, and the more we know Him, the more we will praise Him.  Stephen Brown wrote, “Thanksgiving is related to acts of God on our behalf.  Praise includes those specific acts, but it goes beyond the acts of God to the reality and identity of God.”
          4)  There is the praiseworthiness of His acts.  When given a gift we like to thank the person.  In life, we always have Someone to thank.  Be careful when the world gives you praise and acclaim.  If not careful, you might start to feel that God is fortunate to have you on His side, when it is the other way around.
          5)  The alternative to praising God are unacceptable.  
                  a)  Bitterness may come and if that happens you are making the statement that is inconsistent with the nature of God.
                  b)  Stoicism to the extent of fatalism.  “I can handle it” and it robs you of joy.
                  c)  The pretension that bad is good; hurt is only an illusion.  This will rob you of the reality of the world to which God has called you to serve.
                  d)  “Mine, mine, mine”  “It’s mine–I did it.”  People here don’t praise God because they think they did it on their own.  “Life has a tendency to erase megalomania, and when it does, the refusal to praise turns into panic.” (Brown)
          6)  There is a way to praise.  We do that in every way possible.  (i.e., Psalm 150; Colossians 3:17, 23)  In everything we do we either ignore, curse, or praise God.  “Praise is living in such a way that life–everything about it–points to and praises the Creator.” (Brown)
          7)  Things happen when we praise.  The world is different.  Armed with praise we can deal with any circumstance.  Praise shows that we are in cooperation with God.  “Praise is a matter of attitude, and an attitude of praise changes the way the world looks to the believer.” (Brown)  Praise show that we believe, we know for certain the truth that God is in charge.
     God is in charge, therefore, He deserves our praise.  He will work things out in the fallen world to His will and His glory.  A wonderful promise is given us by the Lord.  “Jesus said, ‘These things I have spoke to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.'”  (John 16:33)  Brown states that, “Praise is the essence of fulfillment.  Fear is transformed into trust, and darkness into light.”

Nothing in his life had prepared him for things to turn out right.  Whey they did, he was pleased, when they did not, he was ready.”
               –Louis L’Amour  (The Quick and the Dead)

     “Remove the impurities from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.”
               –Proverbs 25:4 (NLT)
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Friday!  Time to start thinking of the weekend but don’t go forgetting your duties and chores of the day.  Don’t be so anxious that you don’t get things done right.  I’ve been told never to purchase a car made on Friday or Monday.  People make mistakes on Friday because they are looking for the weekend.  People make mistakes on Monday because they are hungover or are still tired from the weekend.  Problem I always had with that saying is how does one know when the vehicle was made?
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                    “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”
                                     –Proverbs 17:22 (NLT)

Take a look at these and ponder the truth.  We sure do like to make excuses instead of getting on with life.
           When a horse dies, it will do no good to:
                1) change riders
                2) move the body to a new location
                3) get a sharper pair of spurs
                4) say, “It’ll be all right.  We’ve always ridden horses like this one.”
                5) complain about the state of horses these days
                6) tighten the cinch
                7) blame the horse’s parents
                8) have a committee work out a plan to get the horse back on its feet.
                                 (Texas Bix Bender)
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     My Grandpa Adkisson was a great storyteller.  I remember him saying that the only difference between him and George Washington was that Washington said he couldn’t tell a lie.  Grandpa said he could lie, but chooses not to do so.  So when Grandpa told a story, they were true.
     He also was quick with a reply.  One time he and I were fishing up in Nederland, CO.  Grandpa didn’t talk much when fishing.  We had been there a while when I spoke up, “Grandpa!  Do you see that tick on that tree across the lake?”  To which Grandpa replied, “Can’t see him from where I’m sittin’ but I could hear him walking.”  Then he chuckled and said, “Thought you got me that time, didn’t you?”
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     I was reading from a book the other day and came across this.  “A big city preacher requested grandpa to give him a statement of commendation for his new book.  Grandpa hated to decline, but had to on the grounds that it was not exactly in keeping with his views.
     The author replied, ‘You can’t appreciate it, because you never wrote a book.’
     ‘No,’ retorted the country preacher, ‘and neither have I ever laid an egg, but I think I’m a better judge of an omelet than any hen in the world.'”  (Leroy Brownlow)

Here’s one more from Brownlow’s book.
     “A man who always prayed the same prayer word for word was leading the congregation.  They could go three words ahead of him all the way through.  Part of it went like this: ‘Oh Lord, since we last called upon thee, the cobwebs have come between us and thee.  We pray that thou wilt remove the cobwebs that we may look upon they face once again.’
     Just at this point, grandpa spoke a little louder than he intended, ‘Oh Lord, kill the spider.'”
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A little fun today.  Smile, you just might shock somebody.  And remember, “You can’t convince a rooster he doesn’t know as much about singin’ as a mockingbird.”

It doesn’t do us any good to dwell on what could have been.  We just need to make the right choices in the first place.”
               –C. J. Petit  (Ben Gray)

     “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin.”
               –Romans 6:6 (HCSB)
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               “In every action we take, we are doing one of two things:  we are either helping to create a hell on earth or helping to bring down a foretaste of heaven.  We are either contributing to the broken condition of the world or participating with God in transforming the world to reflect His righteousness.  We are either advancing the rule of Satan or establishing the reign of God.”
                       –Charles Colson

               “It took one night to take Israel out of Egypt, but forty years to take Egypt out of Israel.”
                       –George Morrison

I’m currently reading a book about the reign of Nero and how he began to persecute Christians.  He took delight in watching the beasts tear them apart and used them as lamps for his new garden.  They were called “haters of humanity” by him.  Crazy as it sounds, those in authority can get people crazed for blood, and even the greatest pacifist can become vile in their sight.
     Listen to the atheists, the detractors and scorners, the pundits and the mockers, and Christianity must be lethal.  In a way it is because it scares them so they have to attack.  To attack so viciously they must have serious doubts about their own ideas, and there lingers within their hearts and minds the possibility of the truth.  It is, however, lethal to their way of life and their way of thinking.  “Do away with it,” they cry, for it affects me.  “If I deny it long enough it is no longer true,” they proclaim in their wishful thinking.  Just think of the many attacks on Jesus, the Word of God, and Christianity.  It is something that is dangerous–dangerous to their agenda and lifestyle.
     If a person is a good Christian, he is a good citizen.  How is that dangerous?  If a person is a good Christian then morality is a virtue.  How can that be dangerous?  The issue is that it is dangerous to those who choose to live an immoral lifestyle, yet it is not Christianity that is the danger, but their lifestyle.  Knowing the truth they choose to believe the lie.
     Years ago I read something from David Wilkerson.  He said, “The Holy Spirit either enrages or convicts.”  There is no neutrality when it comes to the person of Christ or the Bible.  When the heathen rage, know for certain that the Holy Spirit is at work.  They are showing their response to the truth that He brings.  I had a person argue that there is more than Christ to life.  He is too restrictive.  That says it–Christianity disrupts “their” belief system.  Beware when the decon-
structionists say this, “this is my opinion” of this or that scripture.  We do not add our opinion to what God has said.
     When you look at the dangers of Christianity it is not to society or to individuals but to the pleasures of self.  Let me, sin, but call it an alternative lifestyle.  Let me choose my own truth.  It is really after one becomes a Christian that the danger really begins.  Now the forces of the “evil one” are also against them.  To the fearmongers out there, what is it that you really fear?  Is it the day of truth that is in your future?  The only danger confronting them is the refusal of having the soul saved.  There is the danger that they know they are doomed without Christ.