He who leaps without sight always buys a bad bargain.”
–Ernest Haycox (Grim Canyon)

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.”
–Proverbs 21:5 (NLT)
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Ever wondered why resumes are wanted by an employer? Resumes are supposed to tell you something of that person’s history, his work and personal ethics, and his character. Oh, I know that some will put forth the shining paper, and that is why you interview them as well. When I was a principal and hiring prospective teachers I would ask two sets of questions. The first, give me your three strengths. My, oh my, they were shining examples of perfections, and they did not hesitate to give me their strengths. Then came the second question, what are your three weaknesses. Most of them had none, or maybe one. I always thought it amazing that they had no weaknesses, and most of the time told them so.
I get tired of people saying that integrity is what you do when there is no one else around. No, that is only part of integrity. Integrity is a vital part of a person’s character and thus it is involved with everything they do. If you want to know who a person is check out where they’ve been and what they’ve done. The words of a song come to my mind.

“If you want to know who we are
Check out where we’ve been.
From the frozen ground at Valley Forge,
To the trails of Ho Chi Mind.”
–unknown

What battles have you fought? What storms have you faced? What was the result after the battle or storm? Those things tell more about you than your hyped-up resume. As a Christian, part of our strength comes from the knowledge of who God is. How much do you trust Him? I found this in some of my old readings. It was written by Air Force Chaplain, Harry B. Ansted.

“Show me the size of your God, and I will show you the size of your man. It is easy to make little gods. In Isaiah’s time they made gods out of wood and stone. Life was cheap; man was expendable.
We make little gods too. Often we think our gods are big and powerful. We see the thrust of power in our military weapons and think this will save us. Sometimes we stand in awe of people of great importance and wonder if we are worth anything at all.
When your God is small like this, then your life is so meaningless that you give yourself to something that eventually destroys you.
The God of Isaiah was big. He was so big that the nations were like a drop from the bucket. When God is big, you become a person of importance. The fear of losing yourself is traded for confidence and faith because you belong. No more need you hang your head in feelings of worthlessness and failure. Therefore, when everything else seems to be crumbling before your eyes, you can have faith in a big God who builds your up rather than tears you down.”

A big part of your strength of character then comes from your view of God. How big a part does He play in your life? How big do you realize He is in comparison to the pettiness of man?

A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner, so if one’s life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself.”
–Louis L’Amour  (Bendigo Shafter)

“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”
–1 Chronicles 21:10 (NLT)
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          “Pecos roped through raging cyclone out of nowhere
           He saddled it and straddled it with ease
           While that cyclone bucked and flitted
           Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it
           And he tamed that ordinary wind down to a breeze.”
                    –Daniel Eliot

José is still hanging around, but Harvey and Irma are a memory and the cleanup and restoration is in process.  I read and heard several comments, especially concerning Irma about casting “her” into the Gulf in the name of Jesus.  People were trying to bind the hurricane.  Now, I’m not against prayer, and storms often bring out prayers from folk who haven’t prayed in years.  However, we have to be careful.  
First of all, God set natural laws throughout His universe.  With these natural laws storms often happen.  They run their course through nature.  Most of the time God does not step in and thwart His own natural laws.  When He does, that is called a miracle.  Because of that we also need to be careful about saying this storm is God’s judgment.  That is not to say that God does not used storms in judgment, but most of the time they come to get our attention.
A third thing that comes to my mind about those who would “bind”; they can be a hindrance to the Kingdom of God.  What happens if they are binding and rebuking and the storm doesn’t “buke”?  If there is a new, immature convert, what might he think when the storm was not cast back into the Gulf?  God is weak; God doesn’t care; maybe even to go so far as to say, there is no God.  One more thing about “binding the storm.”  The Holy Spirit will put it in your heart, it won’t be just a magical incantation.  
Fourth, why do you want the storm to dissipate?  Often those who want to bind do so for selfish reasons.  By binding and sending it someplace else, they may be sending it upon another group of people.  Then what?  More often than not it is “I bind”.  Who do they think they are?  God?  Interesting how these awesome storms of power are referred to as an “act of God.”
One more little thought along these lines.  A few years back, where I was working, there were some problems occurring.  The main supervisor said we need to rebuke Satan as he is trying to hinder the work.  We too often give Satan too much credit.  I went to this individual and said, “Do you ever think that the consequences are arising because of our bad decisions?”  Oh, my mercy, that surely wasn’t acceptable.  Then I took it one step further, “Perhaps we are being chastised by God and it isn’t Satan at all.”  Well, that wasn’t received any better.
So unless you’re as good a roper as Pecos Bill, make your prayers for protection, for wisdom, for strength.  Look at what God is doing in the midst of the storm; what He is trying to build in your character.
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     “Blessing is fruit out of all relation to what we are, results that are not just the working of cause and effect.  Blessing comes when God works wholly beyond our reckoning, for his Name’s sake.”
               –Watchman Nee

All blessings that we receive are ultimately for the glory of God.  That is perhaps why we sometimes do not recognize when something is a blessing.  We can call them “blessings in disguise.”  We pray for things, usually selfishly, and when God answers we can get upset that He didn’t answer the way we wanted Him to.
Most definitely God blesses us because we are His children.  May I ask this question?  Why do you discipline your children?  Is it out of hatred or out of love?  If it is out of love then the discipline is a blessing.  When God blesses us with discipline why then do we get angry, bitter, mad, dejected, etc.”  His blessings is to bring Him glory.
One more aspect is that we do not always understand the means and ways of His working.  Some may seem strange to us, but if we truly trust Him and recognize that He is in charge, then they will ultimately be a blessing to us.  That is one of the reasons Paul says, “Rejoice, and again I say rejoice!”

Either he must enter the unknown to seek, to strive, to find, or turn back and fail and never know and always haunted.”
–Zane Grey  (The Rainbow Trail)

“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
–Joshua 1:9 (NLT)
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“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”
               –George W. Bush

“Maintain the Rage” was the cry by many.  And what has happened since that fateful day in 2001?  Timidity.  Indecisiveness.  Groveling.  Overly tolerant to the point of political correct insanity.  When a country like North Korea dares to challenge the United States and in that, the world, what happen?  How did this come about?
But today is not the time to cast blame or point fingers.  Today, is a day to remember that tragedy sixteen years ago.  A time when war was actually brought to the civilian population of the United States.  For about a week, the politicians, or most of them, were united.  Remember the scene when Congress stood on the steps and sang “God Bless America”?  Now we are more divided than ever.
Let Patriot Day be the day when America comes to its senses.  When they recognize that there is a great moral code given by the Creator of mankind.  Tearing down statutes, violence and riots, only add fuel to those that already hate us.  With that is another good question:  why is the United States hated?  The main reason we are hated is because of our freedom.  With that freedom the people had a mind to work and built up a strong, powerful nation.  
Patriot Day is not the day to throw up our hands in despair.  There are so many good things happening.  Harvey was a good example of people coming together to help one another.  Again, salutes to the first responders of Harvey.  Patriot Day should be the day when we see the unification of the nation.  When people work on problems, legitimate problems, properly through the system that was created in the Constitution.  Patriot Day should be a day when common sense is again gained and used by the populace instead of casting blame and making excuses.
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Let me throw a few thoughts out to you.  I just finished reading David Jeremiah’s book, “I Never Thought I’d See the Day!”  He discuss some things he thought he would never see in the United States.  A challenge was made in the last chapter of the book to believers.  He says that Christians must have a rational determination.  That is a word that needs to become major in every Christian’s life and vocabulary.  Failure to make this determination will weaken us and we will not be able to stand against the conforming powers.
          1)  We will come to question the very existence of God.
          2)  We will be victimized by Satan in spiritual warfare.
          3)  We will be fearful of identifying publicly with Jesus Christ.
          4)  We will question the necessity of entering into, or remaining in, marriage.
          5)  We will lower our moral standards.
          6)  We will find ourselves spending less and less time reading and studying the Bible.
          7)  We will become disinterested in and uncommitted to our local church.
          8)  We will grow fearful and confused about the rise of rogue nations.
          9)  We will put America at risk by growing complacent about the future of Israel.
If any of these things have crept into your life, go back to the altar and “determine” that you will take the stand that God has called you to in these days and times.
Some of the words of that old chorus come to mind.

                “I am determined, I’ve made up my mind,
                 I’ll serve the Lord.
                 I’ve left this world and its treasures behind,
                 I’ll serve the Lord…”

Every morning, first task was to bask in the peace that vista brought to his heart.”
–C. Wayne Winkle (One Last Chase)

“You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!”
–Psalm 128:2 (NLT)
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The ol’ steel mount is packed and we’re ready to head out in the morning. Not sure when I’ll get back online, but we’re heading east at our leisure. Don’t worry, I’ve packed some coffee just in case we pull off the road somewhere to just enjoy life. So you keep a-looking and as was a slogan in our family, look for me when you see the dust flyin’. Hopefully while on our trip I’ll finish my book.
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I’m going to borrow some thoughts from my pastor’s sermon yesterday; commentary is mine. The title, “Lessons From Harvey”.
1) There are a lot of good Samaritans. I’ve written often about the wickedness of man’s heart and the evil of the world. However, man can and does do good. The Good Samaritan in Scripture was not particularly a “good man”, but he stopped and did “good” for his fellow man. James Michener said that war made good men better and bad men worse. That is true of any kind of war.
2) If you have befriended someone in the storm, maintain the contact afterward. Helping someone along the road is one thing for the chance that you’ll see them again is slim. But someone who might be in your neighborhood, try and contact them after the storm.
3) Your stuff matters. We often fall into the cliché, I have my life and that is all that matters. To a point that is true, but “stuff” does matter. The question is what stuff? Pastor made mention of a man whose wife died a few years ago, and now he has lost all his stuff in the flood. He is in his 80s and is too old to go back to work. Those things that were lost to him that do matter. Be careful of being too trite.
4) There are many different types of tears. Jesus asked Mary why she was crying and she gave an answer that her Master’s body had been taken away. Some cry tears for various reasons, there are even tears of joy. Be sensitive to the tears and the situation.
5) You can make an impact if even to only one person. Our church is doing quite a bit to help, especially locally and in those little towns that are never mentioned in the news. No, we cannot reach the whole region, but you might be able to help right where you are.
6) Jesus is the firm foundation. No matter the type of storm. No matter what was lost. If you have Jesus as your Rock and Refuge, you can hold on and make it through.
7) God rides on the wings of the wind. I almost can picture the Lord mounting the wind, one hand in the air, “yeehaw” He shouts. “And He rode upon a cherub [a storm] and flew [swiftly]; yes, He sped on with the wings of the wind.” (Psalm 18:10, AMPC) Storms do not phase Him. He rides on the wind and He can walk on the raging sea.
8) God gives the ability to rebuild. Nehemiah is a great story about rebuilding and there is a key verse, 4:6, “the people had a mind to work.” To rebuild you must have the mind to clean up the rubble, get the tools and equipment, and start the work. One of the most important phrases in all of Scripture are two words, “But God.” When life comes at you like a storm, “but God.” When there is no hope, “But God.” Try adding that phrase to areas of your life.
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Principle of the Big Squeeze
What comes out under pressure. It all depends on what was in before the pressure.