A real man finishes a job he takes on, and he doesn’t expect to be nursemaided along just because life throws a few potholes in front of him.”
–Douglas Hirt (The Kid)

“And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.”
–2 Peter 2:20 (NLT)
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Mom would bring it up sometimes to chide me, “Why didn’t you go to school here; there is a university right here in your hometown.” I can hear her today. I don’t know, I really didn’t want to go to the University of Colorado. I did have some inclination to attend Colorado State as I thought I might pursue a degree in forestry or breeding. However, instead I took off for Missouri, to a private school, no less, that cost much more than I would have paid if I had gone to CU.
But there were two factors really guiding me. First, I believed that this was the direction that the Lord wanted me to travel. Second, for eighteen years my family raised me to make it on my own. I wanted to go and see if I could do it. It was the right decision! I never went back home to live. I never went back to depend on them again. I just don’t understand those who, even in their thirties are still living at home and not making anything of themselves. I have a problem with Christians who say they will serve the Lord as long as it is at home. Thank the Lord there are still those with a missionary mindset, and listen to the words of the old song, “I’ll go where you want me to go dear Lord…”.
Maybe they are scared of what lies out there. If they serve the Lord… They may be of the mindset that it’s not safe and when hit with a circumstance they don’t like they seek a safe shelter. Crazy! There is no safe shelter in this world except in Christ Jesus. One of the problems is that so many do not have a solid base on which to live their lives. “To move into the world we must have a base. Our base is freedom, freedom from self-seeking and self-serving; freedom from living on our own resources; freedom to turn to God.” (Orris E. Kelly, Chaplain) We hear that clamor for freedom, but when you hear what is really being said, people are actually clamoring for slavery. To be truly free, God will become more and more the focus and center of our lives. This will help us meet the world and free us from self-anxiety. Our lives gain momentum, focus, and thrust. We are willing and able to complete the task the Lord has for each one of us to do.

A man should stop ever’ now and again and ask himself what he was doing, where he was going, and how he planned to get there. And the hardest thing to learn is that there aren’t any shortcuts.”
–Louis L’Amour (Tucker)

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.”
–Proverbs 21:5 (NLT)
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Over the years, especially the last few, I noticed that most students have no clue where they are going or what they want to do in life. Most will just say, “make a lot of money.” There is no real plan and when reality hits them they don’t know what to do. That’s one reason we see so many children living at home instead of going out, facing life, and making something of themselves.
Despite the attitude of the day, shortcuts don’t cut it. It’s not alright to do something wrong if it gets you ahead. Go to a prison and talk to the inmates. Many of them are there simply because they wanted a shortcut to wealth.
One more thing to consider–there are no shortcuts to heaven. There is only one gate, “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14, NKJV)
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I think it was de Tocqueville that said, “When America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” Our morals have dropped considerably in the name of political correctness and personal rights. Morals are not relative! Right is right, and wrong is wrong! However, what I want to bring to view is one of the great things about America was/is the great missionary mind it has. The gospel came to America and from here it has spread across the world. One of the reasons America has been so blessed is that it has sent God’s Word throughout the world.
I’d like to share a story from Robert J. Morgan’s book, On This Day. “Christian parents often worry about sending their sons and daughters to colleges and universities. Sometimes with good reason. Young people can ‘lose their faith’ there. But some lose it only to regain it later with added strength.
Adoniram Judson grew up in parsonages around Boston in the 1700s. He entered Brown University at age 16 and graduated valedictorian of his class. While there he became best friends with Jacob Eames. Jacob was a deist and, in practical terms, an atheist. Ridiculing Judson’s faith, he challenged him with the writings of Voltaire and the French philosophers. When Adoniram returned home, he told his parents that he, too, had become an atheist. His mother broke into gentle sobs. His father roared and threatened and pounded the furniture.
Adoniram, 21, migrated to New York City to establish himself as a playwright. But then, hearing tales from the American frontier, he saddled his horse and headed west. One everning, weary from traveling, he stopped at an inn. The proprietor said, ‘Forgive me, sir, but the only room left–well, it’ll be a bit noisy. There’s a young fellow next door awfully sick.’ Adoniram, too tired to care, took the key.
The night became a nightmare. The trampling of feet coming and going. Muffled voices. Painful groans. Chairs scraping against the floor. Adoniram was troubled by it all, and he wondered what his friend Jacob Eames would say about fear, illness, and death.
The next morning while checking out, he asked about the young man in the next room. The proprietor said, ‘I thought maybe you’d heard. He died, sir, toward morning. Very young. Not more than your age. Went to Brown University out East.’ Adoniram stiffened. The man continued, ‘His name was Jacob Eames.’
The West suddenly lost its lure, and Adroniram turned his horse toward home. Soon he gave his life to Christ, and, shortly afterward, devoted himself to missions. On February 6, 1812, Adoniram Judson was commissioned as America’s first foreign missionary. He, his wife, and companions sailed for Burma on February 18.”
I spent 39 years in Christian schools and there was one thing I was greatly concerned about–the lack of those who entered a full-time ministry. I fully understand that one does not have to become a pastor or missionary or evangelist, however, I wonder if people listen to the “call.” I have talked to many over the years and they will say they will do what the Lord wants, but then they give their conditions. It’s one of those things from which we can borrow a military term, “unconditional surrender.”
One reason America is great is became men such as Adoniram Judson heard and heeded the call!

They sat together, talking very little, enjoying the night, the rest, and the food as well as the smell of wood-smoke and coffee.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Californios)

“For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy.”
–1 Corinthians 7:14 (NLT)
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I’m not one to mark holidays or special occasions. If warranted I’ll remember. A good case in point is that I cannot give a date when Annie and I started dating. It was either the end of January or the first of February. I don’t reckon she was stalking me, but we kept running into each other so I figured it was divine Providence that I ask her out. I remember that first date: bowling, pizza, and then the possible fatal mistake–I started to take her back to her dorm an hour early. Dummy. I had no more money, nor a way to go somewhere to go and spend it. Instead we took a walk around the neighborhood. However, need I say more? The rest is history. I saw her every day, save three the rest of the semester and then the drought of summer.
I said all of that to say this–it was 48 years ago, that’s almost a half-century! In the ensuing years we have traveled many a mile, enjoyed many a night, tasted food of different variety, and to tell the truth I’ve found very little that can compare to hers. There have been numerous campfires and oh, my, who knows have many gallons of coffee we’ve drunk together.
Maybe I should, before getting too senile, write a few things down that I remember. It won’t be the dates, but the events are vivid.
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Ponder This: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.” (Proverbs 18:10-11)
Why do people pay so close attention to Wall Street? Are they really concerned about the security of the nation as much as they are their own personal wealth? What about retirement? How much have you stashed away for that day, that may never come for you? Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t plan and prepare, but where is your security?
This is a good picture of the difference between the spiritual person and the natural person. What is the real world? Think on that. It depends on whether or not a person has a spiritual perspective. The natural man spends energy storing up for the future. His wealth and confidence is in tangible things. The righteous run to the Lord; their confidence is in Him.
Are you righteous? Then what world do you live in? What world do you long for? The spiritual person accepts the Lord by faith, and his faith proves to him both the unseen and the future reign of his Savior. He longs for another world wherein dwells righteousness.

This was the virtue of training, of conditioning, that in an emergency one always knew what to do. Panic only entered the empty mind.”
–Louis L’Amour (Shalako)

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”
–1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)
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Throughout my life I have had plenty of training. First, it was my intent to play baseball, therefore, I spent every available minute practicing. After practice, I would go home and throw the ball against the rock foundation of our house. Practice. Then the military entered my life, or I entered the military. There was all sorts of training and classes. After that I became a teacher, and more training, especially with computers.
We should be involved in some sort of training all our lives. There are all sorts of diets and exercise programs out there to train and discipline the body. But I have found very little training for eternity. Oh, there is some, much of it “feel good” sort of stuff, more like milquetoast than rigorous Bible study. I came across the following by a Veterans Chaplain, William Swierenga.

“Our supreme ambition should be to fulfill a decisive role in the war on evil. Our deepest dread ought to be the prospect of losing our influence for any reason.
At times the demands of Christian love may seem to be downright unreasonable, a cruel denial of our human desires. Under abnormal conditions especially, it is easy to excuse lapses into loose living. But whenever we try to suspend the rules of God’s service, we find that we are being suspended from service. God wants folks to be fit for his use! The undisciplined Christian forfeits the deep satisfaction of being part of the answer to the needs of mankind. He suffers the misery of feeling that he is just one more factor in the overwhelming problems of the world.
God leads us in paths of righteousness, where we are often compelled to choose between the sensual pleasures of the moment and the spiritual joys which endure forever. God give us the grace to see life as the great apostle Paul viewed it and to respond accordingly!
Prayer: Father of Spirits, give us the manly resolution to subject ourselves to you will, that we may know the rich satisfaction of being in control of ourselves. Make us aware that the real satisfactions must forever elude from the self-indulgent. Forgive us for, and deliver us from whatever would make our witness ineffectual. Reinstate us in your victorious service, when we repend of our failures. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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I haven’t heard anything about the great weatherman Phil, yet. However, I figure that whatever he decides is for the most part phooey. Nature will take its course. Snow, freeze, rain, hail, wind, and heat will come and go; on the just and on the unjust. Ever stop to think about it? Weathermen and politicians get paid to lie. So whatever the weather the important thing is to remember: it is the day the Lord has made, rejoice in it, and be prepared for whatever may come.
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I just have to say something about the deplorable, no that’s not right, I’m a deplorable according to Hillary Clinton. For the disgusting way the Democrats reacted to the State of the Union. Sure they’re not going to agree on everything, but goodness…when there is something such as, the lowest unemployment rates for minorities in years, they ought to applaud. There were several things in the speech that were definitely bipartisan, a chance for a tiny bit of unity. All I saw was hatred.
By the way, I know Pelosi is not of Generation Z, but she sure looked as if she was sucking on  a soap pod.