There are many ways you can see things, aside from your eyes.  A man can see with his mind, his spirit, his heart.”
–Clair Huffaker (The Cowboy and the Cossack)

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
–Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
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                    “On famed, eternal camping-ground,
                     Their silent tents are spread,
                     And glory guards with solemn round
                     The bivouac of the dead.”
                            –Gettysburg National Cemetery

We took my grandson, Garrett, to Gettysburg the other day.  At the end of our trip, we went to the cemetery.  Of course, being a five-year-old he wanted to run, play, and climb.  Shauna was explaining to him that in a cemetery we are supposed to show reverence and respect.  That is a hard concept for a five-year-old, but he obeyed.  He didn’t step on the markers and stones that represented the final resting place of the known, and the unknown.  Hmmm, seems to me that there are some older than him that do not yet understand the concept of reverence and respect.
Now, as Christians we know that is not a final resting place, for after death comes the judgment.  Every man will stand before his or her Creator to be sent to either a resting place or a place of judgment.  We often forget that this life is a “training ground” for eternity.  Choices here reflect to an extend what happens there.  One for is certain the acceptance or rejection of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
A few years back an argument developed with a person in the church I was attending.  He insisted that Jesus had a sin nature.  I simply said “no” at first, but he kept pressing the issue.  I finally began to explain the doctrine of the incarnation to him.  That’s when he bowed his neck and kept insisting he was right.  I started to walk away, for you cannot argue with fools.  Finally, he said, “Well, can we agree to disagree?”  I quickly replied, “Not when it comes to matters of heresy!”
I’m kind of seeing the same thing happening now.  I saw where one person said that he teaches that tolerance toward all views should be accepted.  No!  Emphatically, no!  Heresy is never accepted.  False views are never accepted.  If a person believes in anarchy, that cannot be accepted.  Listen, there is a time and place to be dogmatic.  Agree or disagree, that is my belief toward the National Anthem.  I am a citizen of the United States, and we do have problems, but we face them and try to straighten them out, but not with disgracing the heritage of the nation.
Things have not changed over the last ten years, and much of this “protest” is not against problems, but simply against a man.  I read where thirty percent of the workers in the Department of the Interior are not in favor of President Trump.  So what!!  They have a job to do, not a person to bow to.  I had people in the military when I served that I didn’t necessarily agree with or like, but they gave the orders and as long as it was not an illegal order, I did it.  I didn’t go sit down and protest.
One more thought on the subject.  Since the 1970s, this country has slowly moved toward a postmodern culture.  When I taught my Bible class I told students that this is the most dangerous worldview.  It sneaks in, and seeks to destroy, dismantle, or disfigure truth.  This worldview ultimately is one of anarchy as they teach that each person is autonomous; right and wrong is up to the individual.  I read a good description of why things are happening.  It started under Bush, but was softened under Obama and therefore the concept gained strength.  But we have a “modern” President (the old values and principles) in a postmodern culture.  Ponder it!
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“One of the problems with the church is that we have created flowery, happy places where everyone appears to be an inch deep and a mile wide.”
–David Dusek

Could you sit down and have a discussion on the major doctrines of the church?  If not, shame on you, and shame on us.  I have heard people use the excuse that we should be “doing” and not be concerned with dogma and doctrine.  Listen!  You cannot have practical theology without first having doctrinal theology.  Your practice must fit your theology, not developing your theology to fit your practice–that is going to spell disaster.
Know what you believe!  The cross was not covered with flowers and sweet smelling candles.  It was covered with blood.  Why?  Because sin is terrible and Christ took sin upon Himself.  Sin is gruesome and to defeat it is a gruesome business.

By that toil and sweat, by the friction of horny palms, by the expansion and contraction of muscle, by the acceleration of blood, something great and enduring, something physical and spiritual, came to a man.”
–Zane Grey  (The Call of the Canyon)

“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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“The American populace must decide whether it is more important to be politically correct than morally correct.”
–John M. Vermillion

I don’t know whether to be angry, to grieve, or to puke, or maybe a combination of the three.  Enough is enough!  When a display in a store depicting fall items for purchase offends you–you have the problem.  Get a life!  The ignoramuses are coming out of the woodwork, not only in the political circles, but all over any place the media will promote.
This stuff about not kneeling when the National Anthem is played is ridiculous!  Do people have a right to protest, yes.  However, they are missing a very important component about rights, and that is RESPONSIBILITY.  What is their responsibility to their employer, teammates and those who purchase a ticket?  What is their responsibility to those who paid the price for them to protest?  Because of the great legacy and heritage of this country to fight to overcome wrongs they can protest, but how?  How can they disregard that sacrifice?
Each time they kneel it is a slap in the face to 56,000 names etched in a wall in Washington D.C.  My uncle’s name in on that wall.  Each time they kneel there is a rumble of men in graves throughout this country turning over.  Protest, yes if you must, but there is a time and place, and then there must be something that the individual does.  Just because they have a platform for protesting doesn’t mean they do not then have a responsibility to aid their cause.  Take away one paycheck and see how long they would protest.  True protesting, maybe so, but more than not they have the platform so are making a grandstand play.
These protesters need to talk with their ancestors to see how far this nation has come.  They need to see the sacrifices that make up the heritage to see where they are now.  Deprived, nonsense!  Whiny babies–yes!  And where is the club leadership… joining with them.  Now if that isn’t cowardice, what is?
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“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”
–1 Timothy 2:1-3 (NKJV)

Seldom do I remove someone as a “friend” from Facebook.  If they write something I believe inappropriate I simply delete the post or move on.  However, I did remove someone just yesterday.  The person stated that every NFL player should bow in protest against the “so-called President.”
There are a couple of things wrong here, the first is alluded to in the notes above.  The second is mentioned in the scripture from Timothy.  This political “junk” is entering the church and bringing a division.  The Church knows neither black or white, or Asian, or Indian, but the family purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Paul, living under the reign of one of the most vile people in history, Nero, said that “first of all” prayers, etc. should be made for kings (i.e., Presidents).  This is not the encouraging of people to reject and bow in protest.
Let me tell you, the person on Facebook is not derelict, nor deprived or impoverished.
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“When I do good, it is grace that does it; when I do right, it is grace that does it; when I do wrong, it is because I resist grace.”
–Fenelon

I’ll let the future take care of itself. Whatever falls, I’ll be ready.”
–Zane Grey (Riders of the Purple Sage)

“Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”
–Revelation 16:15 (NLT)
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“What had once been straightforward reporting and investigative journalism was now a witch hunt for the next salacious tidbit that they could throw across the airwaves.”
–T.R. Kohler

I tried to stay away from it, but there was no way it would leave my mind. Cotton-pickin’ it, I just could not let it go. It kind of reminds me of the Scarecrow of Oz who had a headful of straw, but this particular person must have a head full of cotton, it is so soft. Anyone you thinks that a display of cotton is insensitive and racist must have a soft head.
My mercy! My Grandma picked cotton in the fields along with the kids. Now, I must admit Grandma was only half Irish, however, the other half was Choctaw. Let me give you at least three clues from history.
1) Ten percent of plantations owned 30 or more slaves.
2) Most white southern farmers did not own a slave.
3) The small farmers who owned a slave or two worked in the fields right along with their slaves.
Oh, and let me throw in one more little fact. There were Indians, especially the Cherokee that owned black slaves, and earlier in U.S. history even white slaves. One more thing, most Indian tribes would make slaves of black or white captives.
So people, get a life!
I will add a couple of more thoughts to the quotation by Kohler. Journalism just ain’t what is used to be or should be. Sure, there have always been those who would make up stories; go back to Hearst and Pulitzer with their “yellow journalism.” But, not only today are their witch hunts nonsensical, there is what is now called fake news. Back in the day, that meant they were liars. There are particular groups out there, for some reason very left-wing and liberal, that have an agenda, that despite any truth or facts presented refuse to see it. Now, friends, that ain’t ignorance–that’s stupidity.
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We have spent most of the week walking the beaches in Delaware, watching the effect of Jose. The waves were crashing and the power of that mighty ocean with just a little wind was an amazing thing to behold. The result of the physical laws of nature that God created often result in storms. As I mentioned last week, this very God rides the wings of the storm. In fact, Scripture portrays Him sitting with a storm around Him.
“Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne seven blazing torches burned, which are the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit].”
–Revelation 4:5 (AMPC)
Take it or leave it, but I believe there will be more and more storms, of all various kinds, because nature is groaning. Phillips writes in his translation, “It is plain to anyone with eyes to see that at the present time all created life groans in a sort of universal travail.” (Romans 8:22) That was in the time of Paul, and if you study earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and tornadoes, the frequency and ferocity have increased.
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Pray for the victims of Harvey and Irma and for those in the islands, especially those in Puerto Rico. Also remember those in Mexico facing destruction and death from the earthquake, and also those in Montana and the West with those ferocious fires. And that is just within our hemisphere.

You can know a man if you follow his trail, if you follow long enough. By his tracks on the land the ways of a man are made plain–his kindness or his cruelty, his ignorance or his cunning, his strength or his weakness.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Key-Lock Man)

“Let no one disqualify you, insisting on ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm and inflated without cause by his unspiritual mind.”
–Colossians 2:18 (HCSB)
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My mercy, what in the world is going on? What is this country coming to? I came across an alarming report and statistic the other day. This is scary.

“Another stunning finding in the report: More than 70 percent of today’s youth are not fit to serve in the military due to obesity, or being overweight, criminal records, a drug misuse or educational deficits.”

Imagine! Seventy percent of today’s youth are not fit to serve in the military. There are five reasons, two of which are connected, but I can narrow it down to different reasons. The first is the home. What is not happening there? Where is the father? With runaway fathers and dead-beat dads, no longer there is this situation confronting us.
Closely related to the home being in jeopardy is that of the school. What values are being taught? What type of discipline is allowed? No wonder we are in the process of raising Snowflakes and they need security and safe zones.
Hats off to those that go against the tide of this statistic. There are some stalwart, strong young people out there, but they are in the minority. Folks, we better wake up! Hmmm, makes me wonder who are not fit to serve in the Kingdom of God.
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“Because there is a sovereign God, we have only three choices: We can ignore God, we can fight God, or we can submit to God. To ignore Him is foolish, to fight Him is silly, and to submit to Him is exciting.”
–Stephen Brown

Part of the problem we are seeing is due to the fact that man seeks to be autonomous. It just isn’t true and it won’t happen, no matter how hard he tries. Man is not God, and he will never be God. He will never be autonomous, for he was created and is sustained by God. He may not like it, he may deny it, but that’s still the way it is.
Man, including most Christians, hate the thought of a sovereign God. That is one reason they applauded when Frank Sinatra sang, “I did it my way.” No! That never happened for God is always in charge. Every life is controlled by a series of various unavoidable events, environments, and hereditary factors. “I was doing it my way, when, oops, Harvey came along.”
In that same mode of thinking, man actually has no rights. Everything is God’s. He gives, He takes away. Man is here today, clamoring for his rights, and tomorrow he is down among the clods.
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This retirement is hard work, so we are going to take a mini-vacation while we are on vacation to the shores of Delaware. So I don’t know when the next Campfire will be written.