Don’t be a drifter. Always have some sort of a plan. It may not be much, but don’t travel through life aimlessly. The plan may change; it may be vague, but have some purpose in where you travel and what you do.”
                    –D.C. Adkisson  (The True and Unbiased Life of Elias Butler)

       “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
                    –Matthew 7:14 (ESV)
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     Give praise and thanks to the Lord that you are traveling this path that some call the narrow way, others the gloryland trail, while others the highway to heaven or the heavenly trek.  No matter what you call it, know this, that it is uphill and hard.  Always uphill, or upward to glory.  It is always onward as well, there is no turning back.  I recall the first stanza of one of my favorite hymns penned by Johnson Oatman, Jr.
               “I’m pressing on the upward way,
               New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day;
               Still praying as I’m onward bound,
               ‘Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.'”
     As Christians we are all on the same upward trail, or trek.  It is the same path for every believer, however, on this journey each of the travelers face different obstacles along the way.  There may be storms, battles, disease, death, financial problems, sorrow and sufferings of a myriad types, and on, and on, and on the list continues.  And we all face these trials in different ways depending on our experiences, training, attitude, personality, and character.  But now no matter what, it is upward.  We continue on.
     Some will walk the road slowly, but with certain steps.  Others will take great strides at times, but then falter and slow down, while for others there seems to be little progress just inching along, but onward and upward is the road.  That is certain.  Another certain thing, this road is not a tip-toe through the tulips waltz.  But is very often along a precarious edge of a cliff knowing that a misstep could be fatal.  That’s when we reach out with assurance to grasp the Master’s hand.  He is with us all along the way, but it is on those strenuous parts of the journey that we feel the touch of the Savior.  The words of Elmo Mercer come to my mind.
               “Each step I take I know that He will guide me;
               To higher ground He ever leads me on.
               Until some day the last step will be taken,
               Each step I take just leads me closer home.”
     There are those of you who say, “wait a minute,” I’m not always going upward.  There are times I’m down in the valley of depression or the slough of despair.  If you have ever traveled in the Rocky Mountains you will know that even in the high country there are small valleys and ravines that must be traversed.  In Colorado, there are those lark parks:  North Park, Middle Park, and South Park.  They are not rugged, yet they are at a high altitude so when you are in them you are clearly in the high country.
     You must walk the journey alone, yet in another sense there are others walking with you.  You face your trials and obstacles alone, however there are members of the “family” who are there to pray and help escort you along the way.  You work out your own salvation, but you know that others have gone the way before you and that others are following you so leave clear footprints for them to follow.
     Weariness may try you, but take time to look back at where you once were.  Look at the experiences you have come through and rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit was with you each step of the way; therefore rejoice and smile.  Keep moving, don’t stand still, the journey continues and you’re moving toward eternity and home in heaven.

We make our choices, and we pay the price. That’s the way life is.”
                    –Stephen Bly (The Long Trail Home)

       “Do not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways.”
                    –Proverbs 3:31 (NKJV)
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          “Work in me all the good pleasure of thy will, and I will only lie still in thy hands and trust thee.”
                         –Hannah Whitall Smith

     “The need is the calling,” declares Bill Wilson.  I emphatically decided to not go into education.  No way was I going to deal with a bunch of brats; kids who didn’t care if they received a proper education much less become a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Nine years later I was in the classroom.  Much had happened in my life over the time when I decided not to become a teacher and the time I entered the classroom.  One of those was that God was working in me His good will, the other was that I saw a tremendous need–the need of discipleship.  Why were so many of our church young people falling away from the faith?  There was a need, so I accepted the calling, and I would say that need is perhaps greater than ever.
     We live in an evil world, one that is arrayed against God.  Paul tells us what our relation to the world should be.  
               “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
                         –Ephesians 4:17-19(NKJV)
We must–we must–get this, we must think differently than the world.  There is quite a bit in these verses, but I want to concentrate on the futile mind.  Ray Stedman states that Paul “does not start with actions.  He starts with the thoughtlife, with the mind, and he declares that the world’s thinking is empty.”  The world lives in futility, emptiness of mind.
     Futility is being “void of purpose of appropriateness,” or in other words, “pointless.”  In the light of eternity the efforts, the philosophy of men, the thoughts and ideas are pointless compared to the truth of Jesus Christ.  As Christians we must realize that there must be a distinct line between Christianity and the world.  John writes, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15, NKJV)  James tells us, “…Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4, NKJV)
     “How close to the world can one live?” is often the question asked by, and let me call them by their right name, pseudo-Christians.  When the right question is, how close can I live to God?  Who is right then, the world or God?  “Christians must choose on which basis they are going to live their lives.” (Stedman)  As we follow Christ, we must change our thinking.  This is paramount.  “You must be willing to have your whole fundamental outlook on life drastically altered.  Christianity is not merely a change in outward action, or a bit higher moral or ethical level.  Christianity is a revolutionary change of government that results in a radical change in behavior.” (Stedman)
     Life is full of choices, and even when we have decided to accept Jesus we must then make choices on serving Him.  Every day there is a choice, there may be a great challenge to our faith, but even in the daily activities we decide whom we will give our allegiance.  The words of Joshua should ring out in our hearts and minds, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” (Joshua 24:15, NKJV)

Talking to them was like beating your head against an empty barrel, might make noise but accomplish nothing.”
                    –B.N. Rundell  (The Trail to Retaliation)

       “Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a fool with a rod to his back!”
                    –Proverbs 26:3 (NLT)
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This morning we look at Proverbs 10:13-14:
          13 — Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, but a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.
          14 — Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.  (NKJV)

          13 — Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
          14 — Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.  (NIV)

Jesus simply put it this way, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34, NIV)  Our words very often betray the heart, therefore, our “words should be words of kindness and truth, welling up from a godly heart.” (Beasley)  You don’t have to be around a person very long to know the condition of their heart by the words they speak.  Vile, foul, spiteful words tell that the heart is in the same condition.  These people, says J.L. Flores, “defraud the world of that which it is the duty of man to give it”  Man should build up, not tear down, should exhort, not curse, encourage, not spiel forth vileness.
     Dan Dick relays a story that has a lesson regarding this.  An old farmer was urging and encouraging a mule to move along, but despite the coaxing of the farmer the mule refused to budge.  The man tried to encourage, tried to move it with his words and efforts, but the mule held its ground.  In frustration the old man pulled a branch from a hickory tree, stripped off the bark, and fashioned a switch from it.  Moving around the mule to its hind quarters, the farmer swung back and laid a stinging stripe along the mule’s backside.  Without hesitation the mule was up and moving, motivated by the tender memory of the moment before.  
     Funny story, but the shame of it is that it is the disposition of a mule towards stubbornness.  A man chooses to be stubborn, to rebel, to not listen to the words of wisdom and truth.  There is no excuse for the man.  I have seen students (and adults) run and hit the wall, only to get up and run again hitting the same wall.  They are stubborn and bent on self-destruction when wisdom would encourage them to look to the right and see that there is a door open.  A fool can be beaten over and over again.
     The wise man continues to gather and gain knowledge.  They are always seeking.  The practice of the morally wise man is to lay up or store up knowledge.  He lays up wisdom and knowledge while the fool gathers more and more folly.  The wise man stores and gives out kindness, while the fool is devising treachery.  Note also, that this is storing up, that means for future use.  Also, remember that there is a difference between a wise man and a man of knowledge.  “A man may gather much intellectual knowledge without being able to make it profitable, or a source of enjoyment either to himself or others.” (Flores)  
     Flores states, “Spiritual knowledge and spiritual wisdom are never separated…  Where knowledge is in the heart there will be wisdom in the lips and life.”  A wise guy, who is arrogant or a wise person who “keeps his words for the right time and place, who does not squander it in unreasonable talk or babbling.” (Flores)   Solomon was known for his wisdom; his son, Rehoboam was known to be a foolish man listening to wrong advisors.  J. Vernon McGee says, “All the time the wise man is gathering up knowledge, the foolish man has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.”  There is so much truth there for if the fool continues on their course all that is left is the grave then the judgment.

A reputation doesn’t make a man tough.”