I think there is something here, something more than all you see and feel…it’s in the wind… . But you do not know what music is until you have heard the wind in the cedars, or the far-off wind in the pines.”
–Louis L’Amour (Conagher)

“For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!”
–Amos 4:13 (NLT)
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“Listen to the wind, wonder what he’s sayin’?
See that will bend, everything is swayin’.
Seems to be a sadness in the sighing of the wind… .”
–Bob Nolan

March! Is the wind howling in your neck of the woods? Remember the old saying March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. So far, it isn’t much wind, at least not heavy. But I’ve been in a few windstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes aside.
It was a few years back. Annie and went camping in the high desert country on the border of Wyoming and Utah. Camp was set up but there was the threat of rain. The skies darkened so we went inside the tent. Sometime in the night the storm broke loose. It rained and the wind did really howl. I remember Annie asking if I thought that the tent might blow away. I told her that it would not blow away because we were in it, but it might come down. The sound of the wind in the pines was not a lullaby, more like Beethoven’s “Fifth.” The next morning, the skies were clear, the tent was standing and we had a good vacation.
I would like a little wind right now. We have had so much rain that we need some dry days to work on the house. If there could be a little wind, things would dry out much faster. Right now everything is muddy, with puddles all over the place. Wind would help them dry up. As a kid, back in Colorado, I can remember that sometimes we would get a Chinook wind. It would come in melting the snow.
But there is something about listening to the wind. It is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when the “wind” blows do we listen? He may sound like a “mighty, rushing wind” as He did when the Spirit was poured out upon those in the upper room. He may be a cooling breeze in the midst of a hot day. The question is, do we listen?
Ephesians 4:30 states, “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.” (NLT) Other versions say, “do not grieve” the Holy Spirit. Is there a “sadness in the sighing of the wind”? When God’s own people follow their discretions instead of following and obeying the Word of God there is sorrow in the Holy Spirit. It would behoove us to seek again our “first love” and listen to the sound of the “Wind.”
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Ponder This: “Lightning does the work; thunder takes the credit.”

But there’s more to being a good man on the trail than having a tough body. Whether you like it or not, you have to have a tough mind, and a tough hide.”
–Clair Huffaker (Cowboy)

“In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.”
–2 Corinthians 6:4 (NLT)
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Can you believe it? February is over, two months of 2018 is already history. What have you done in the past fifty-nine days? Have you become bitter because of people or circumstances or have you risen on the steps of adversity to be better? Have struggles already begun to burden you and wear you down, or have you learned to toughen yourself with the help of the Holy Spirit to stand in the midst of adversity?
Years ago I gave a birthday card to a friend. It was a picture of a bull with “Old Hide” branded on its side. He kept that card posted on the outside of the door to his office and workroom. He has gone on to be with the Lord, but was one to ride the river with. He learned that to make it through life you had to be tough. Paul uses terms such as, “wrestle,” “fight,” “endure,” “not despair” and others to show that life isn’t a tip-toe through the tulips affair.
Being tough is not always physical or mental, but it can also be spiritual. There are tools for us to use, yet, truthfully, many Christians do not lean on and use them. I recently read the following:

“Families are breaking up; people who walked faithfully with Christ for years are living in fear and defeat. Each of these people have been overcome by something–sin, depression, worldliness, covetousness–and year after year, their problems seem to get worse. Yet, what shocks me most about their letters is that very few of these Christians ever mention prayer. They turn to tapes, books, counselors, call-in radio programs, therapies of all kinds, but rarely to prayer.
Why is it so hard for Christians to seek God for their desperate needs when they are in times of crisis? After all, the Bible stands as one long testimony that God hears the cries of His children and answers them with tender love.”
–David Wilkerson

If this is you, take time to read the following promises from God’s Word. Psalm 35:15,17; 1 John 5:14-15; Matthew 21:22.
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Ponder This: Proverbs 18:1-2, “An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.”
To contrast this, a godly man pursues unselfish ends. He delights in the Lord. The fool listens to his own opinions. He wants to be autonomous pursuing selfish purposes and seeks to be self-directed.
The godly person wants to be separate unto holiness, the fool unto selfishness. Consider the source when you hear a fool’s opinion!

The trouble was, he was a man with a canker for a soul… It is wrong to believe that such men suffer in the conscience for what they do…it is only regret at being caught that troubles them. And they never admit it was any fault of their own…it was always chance, bad luck…. The criminal does not regret his crime, he only regrets failure.”
–Louis L’Amour (Lando)

“O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.”
–Psalm 5:4 (NLT)
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There are many things I surely do not understand. One of them is the use of profanity. First of all, it shows ignorance. A person does not have the vocabulary to correctly converse with others. He may try to cover his ignornace by cursing all the more. Second, it shows definitely a flaw in character. From the mouth proceeds the thoughts of the heart.
Last week, I saw on facebook the following, “How many times have you cussed before getting to work in the morning?” Now, this is not ignorance, but is close to mockery. I remember, a few years back, when there was a youth evangelist, speaking to students in chapel, and he used profanity. That is mocking the sacred desk of the pulpit. That is treading on dangerous ground, for he is to speak holy words, not profane words, especially in the hearing of young people. In fact, some of the leaders just sort of laughed it off instead of confronting the speaker.
Look at just a couple of verses.

“Let there be no filthiness (obscenity, indecency) nor foolish and sinful (silly and corrupt) talk, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting or becoming; but instead voice your thankfulness [to God].”
–Ephesians 5:4 (HCSB)

“Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.”
–Ephesians 4:29 (AMPC)

So, do you cuss, curse, use profane or obscene language? Are you crude in your jesting? If so, why? Notice, this type of talk should never come out of your mouth. The Christian should edify those with whom he is talking.
Back to the facebook post. The shame of what I read is that the person who posted it was one of my former students. One of those who commented was another. Both of them were smart-aleks in class. Guess they never grew up, however, it made me wonder, was there somewhere that I failed to live as Christ in front of them? What are the words of that old Sunday School song, “Be careful little lips what you say….”
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Ponder This: In reference to the above I would give you a little word study from the works of Rick Renner. One version of Ephesians 4:29, states, “Let no corrupt communication…” The word “corrupt” here means something that is putrid or rotten. It implies the smell of decomposing meat, or food that has rotted and was sickening.
Instead of spewing words of the world that stink, we should be a “wellspring of good words.” (Renner) Because of your speech, people should be improved by the words you speak.

But one never knows from any single minute to the next when the sudden change may come. One may drop from peace into horror in an instant.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Man From Skibbereen)

“Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”
–Luke 21:36 (NLT)
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An article by Ravi Zacharias caught my eye this week. He mentioned that he and his family were visiting Bedford, England and the museum of John Bunyan. He mentioned that Bunyan’s famous book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, has been translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible.
Now this is the interesting part of the article. As he was leaving he commented to the woman at the front desk, “Isn’t it amazing that a simple little book from the hands of a mender of pots and pans has won such worldwide acclaim?”
He said he was floored by her answer. “I suppose that is true, but I must confess that I haven’t read it.” The reason why, “I found it too difficult.”
Zacharias, after pulling himself back together wondered, “What does one say to the person who sells tickets to a museum, the existence of which is owed to one book, while she herself has left the work unread? I recommended that for the sake of sheer curiosity, if not propriety, she might at least try the children’s version so she could get a mild taste of what the interest was all about.”
Three other things he brings up in the article are the three angels that Christian encounters on his journey. The first met his spiritual needs, the second his physical needs, and the third his intellectual needs. In reading this little article I wondered how many professing Christians have not read the Bible because it was “too difficult”? “The Christian’s walk involves all three areas of life: the spiritual, the practical, and the intellectual. These are not mutually exclusive.” (Zacharias)
How can Christians go through life without the knowledge of the Scripture? The Word of God feeds us spiritually. It gives us direction to the practical needs of our life. It is also the guide and maps that instructs us along life’s journey. There are many who do not know what God’s Word says about their life, the things they are doing or not doing, and the direction they are going. Will they make it?
Zacharias finished with this, “God’s Word and his indwelling presence are given to us to inform, enrich, teach, correct, and guide us to the ‘Celestial City.’ If we lose sight of these realities, we have lost the light that guides us on the journey, whether it is through the valley or around the hope-filled bend.”
Oh, by the way–have you read The Pilgrim’s Progress?
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Ponder This: Proverbs 18:12, “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.”
I have enjoyed, for the most part, the Winter Olympics. Those individuals train hard to get to the Olympics. I enjoyed watching them extend themselves and give their all in their performances. One of the things I look for in interviews following is their humility. Are they honorable?
One skier from France, was sent packing because of his statement that he was only in it for himself, not the team, not the country. What a brazen attitude!
Christians need to beware. Sometimes man wants to create a name for themselves using the Lord as an excuse. “I did this, I did that, look here at what I did, and oh, by the way, thank you Lord.” Hmmm, perhaps ministers are some of the worst in this.
Don’t live your life for yourself, or even for others; only for God.