A man’s needs run accordin’ to the country he’s in and the job he has to do.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Tall Stranger)

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.”
 –Philippians 4:11 (NLT)

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Have you ever thought about the travels of the early pioneers?  Imagine loading up your wagon with all of your worldly possessions and heading out for Texas or Oregon.  First, there is the excitement.  There may be a little anxiety, but there is excitement about making a move that will change your life.  There maybe a little trepidation as well, leaving the known for the unknown.
Then you begin to think of the unknown that the trail may hold.  Obstacles, dangers, perhaps even evil, but the trip has already been decided upon and you are loaded up.  Remember, most of those that went West did not ride in the wagon, or on horses, but usually traveled by mare’s shank, that is, by foot.  And come what may, you continued on to your destination, or died along the way.
Travel has greatly changed since then, but I have been thinking of when my Dad’s side of the family moved from Oklahoma.  Dad would have been 14 and they traveled up near Pitkin, Colorado.  Grandpa, Grandma, and four kids, my Dad was the oldest.  They moved from LaFlore County, packed up all their goods in a late Model T; they probably looked like the Clampetts driving down the road.  People sure didn’t have as much back then as they do now. 
Well, all that said to say this.  Today is moving day.  The movers should be here sometime this morning to pack up all our goods.  Sure has been an undertaking, and we’re only going over to East Texas region, not across the country.  Now, we have done that more than a couple of times, but that was back in our younger days.
So the day is upon us.  Here we go on another part of life’s journey.  Sure good to know that each time we have traveled the Lord was right there guiding and traveling with us.  His hand has always protected us, and He surely won’t stop now.
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I’ve been pondering a portion of Scripture that I’ve read several times, but not necessarily in this light.

“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”
–2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NASB)

Now ponder these thoughts from the passage.  First, God is for us!  Second, God accepts us!  Be glad also, that His acceptance does not depend on our performance, but because of Christ on the cross.  Third, God has purpose for us!  We need to realize that God really doesn’t need our help, but He allows us to be part of what He is doing. 
Back a few years, well, several now, the Assemblies of God’s youth program was called Christ’s Ambassadors.  Of course, our more modern and enlightened youth would think that term silly.  But there is tremendous truth behind it, for it shows our purpose.  An ambassador is a person who represents the government of his country; he speaks the words that his government leader would speak.  Therefore, our purpose is to represent God to this evil and fallen world.  The Father has given us the privilege of being His ambassador in the world.

All a man could do was go on; but I had found that many a problem is settled if a man just keeps a-going.”
–Louis L’Amour (Killoe)

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
–Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)
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“Leaning on the old top rail
Of the big corral…”
–unknown

Now, here’s an important point, so listen up. A person could not lean on the old top rail, nor could they sit there if it wasn’t held up by a couple of ol’ fence posts. Rails are easily repaired, painted, and/or replaced. The same is not true with the fence post. That post has to be solid, firm in the ground so that rails and other such items can be attached.
It’s very important that fence posts are made and set in the ground to withstand the weather that may come its way. Let the winds howl, the rains and snow come, and the fence post will still be there. That is determined primarily by how deep it was posted in the ground, and let me tell you that takes work. I was ponderin’ that with all of the gyms around today such as Gold’s and how they promise you bodies made of steel, silver, or diamond, there should be manly men out there to bear the storms. By the names of the gyms they attend they should be glistening and really, that is about as far as it gets. The problem they have is they are not posted deep. They may look good, and may look like they could bear the storms, but if they are not posted deep and solid, they are in for the short haul. And if they really want a workout they should try digging a few post holes, especially in rocky, rough, uneven terrain.
Solid is the key; unwavering no matter the blast. That only comes through study in the Word, not just a little dab here and there. There is so much to dig deep into, so much that God has if only we would take time to dig the posthole deep. It is only then that man can withstand the storms of this life.

“There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth.”
–Psalm 78:69 (NLT)

The Lord made His sanctuary as solid and enduring as the earth. Hmmm, seems to me I recall that now, we are the temple, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we should look to see if we are solid. Perhaps we should allow the Holy Spirit to post us.
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I think that maybe the thing that the devil detests most is marriage. There is so much to write about marriage and it even goes into the theological realm. Let me give you one thought of why the devil hates marriage. Marriage is a unity! It is one, yet it consists of two people. Man and woman become “one” and it is the same term and thought of the Trinity where the Bible declares, “The Lord is one!”
Lucifer wanted to be “god” and do it by himself. He could not stand the thought of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He could not stand the unity of the Trinity. He sees that same thing with a husband and a wife. A couple now become one and if they are believers they can add God to their unity. Look at the attacks on the family. Look at the attacks on marriage. Now, look at the current attacks on gender. All seek to destroy the marriage the way God intended. No wonder God exclaimed, “’For I hate divorce!’ says the Lord, the God of Israel. ‘To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ‘So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.'” (Malachi 2:26, NLT)
The idea is that in marriage God has put them together–they are one. “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” (Mattew 19:6, HCSB) Since marriage is from God the enemy of our souls seeks to destroy it. He will do anything in his power to rip apart oneness.

Some people have to blame everyone else for their failure. They love success, as long as it’s theirs and hate it when someone else has it.”
–Lou Bradshaw

“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”
–Joshua 1:8 (NLT)
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One of the things I am looking forward to is taking my time and reading through the Bible. I have some thoughts of how I might incorporate some of it here. I have always been interested in reading biographies, so that will definitely be one aspect in my study. In recent years Abraham has become one of my favorite characters. This was a man of tremendous faith, courage, and endurance. I found this little nugget years ago in reading.

“As You called Abram at the beginning of history,
so You call us in modern history to follow You in faith.
…
Your calling in an ongoing challenge to walk by faith and not by sight.
Your call is always to the unknown road, the unnamed destination;
It is a call to live in expectation; to dare to walk the untried road;
to watch You build something completely new in our lives.
You call us to the road less traveled,
the narrow road that leads to life…”
–unknown

Abraham walked where Jesus walked. Not only was it in the same region, but he understood something of the coming Messiah. He lived the life of faith, and he understood personal sacrifice.

“The LORD said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’ So Abram left, as the LORD had told him.”
–Genesis 12:1,4
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Some of you may remember the television show, “Rawhide.” It was about the trail drive–driving longhorns from Texas up the trail to the market in Kansas. I had a friend I called “Old Hide” and have known some others in my life the fit the name “Rawhide” very well. They were men and women who were able to stand the test of time and the storms of life. In fact, they were toughened by the experience.
In my reading I found this information from Armour Patterson. “No two items could seem more disparate than rawhide and pansies. Rawhide, sometimes called ‘Mexican iron’ in early Texas, functioned as such for a time in both Texas and California when cattle and their hides were about the only things of value in both states. In addition to its use in lariats and saddles, rawhide was also used to make chairs, hats, chaps, bullwhips, playing cards, book covers, horseshoes, shields, bridles, nails, and anything else the fertile frontier imagination devised. Rawhide offers extreme toughness, flexibility, and durability–all attributes that the delicate petals of the pansy can never match.”
Today, we have a new term–“snowflakes.” They are about the opposite of rawhide. They look nice, and they seem to have some intelligence, but when the storm comes, when the battle rages, they tend to melt and complain, and whimper and cry. I see athletes rubbing creams on their bodies to keep them smooth and tender; that definitely does not bring rawhide to mind. I reckon that is something they can talk about with their sweet-thing–which type of lotion smells the best. My, my we’ve come a long way. There once was a day when men were men and women were glad of it. But now women want their men “sweet,” and we’re finding that there’s quite a bit of confusion out there for many males think they are “sweet” as well.
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You know love is a wonderful thing when it follows God’s guidelines. However, when love tries to disguise itself in narcissism, self-indulgence and deceit, it become something sordid and dangerous.

Without duty, life don’t make any kind of sense. If folks are going to live together they have to abide by some kind of rules, and the law is those rules. The law doesn’t work against a man, it works for him.”
–Louis L’Amour (Catlow)

“Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him.”
–Deuteronomy 11:22 (NLT)

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Driving over to Kimberly’s on Sunday I heard an old, magnificent song. It is my custom to try to play the hymns on Sunday and this one came up twice on the trip. It was written by Geoffrey O’Hara, “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked.” Take a look at the first verse.

“I walked today where Jesus walked,
In days of long ago
I wandered down each path He knew,
With reverent step and slow.”

Of course the song deals primarily with the last days of Jesus when He took those awful steps from the Last Supper through Gethsemane and up Calvary’s hill. But it made me think of other places He walked. We only have about three years that show us the footsteps of Jesus. He walked through the region of Galilee and even once took that little walk on water. He walked, as was His custom, to the temple weekly. He walked to visit friends and meet the needs of the multitude.
But what of the other approximately 30 years? Where did He walk? Did He journey out of Nazareth? Most likely He visited Jerusalem, because He enjoyed His Father’s house. I came to the conclusion that He walked the same way we walk as we follow Him. Day-by-day, He guides our steps, they are “ordered” by Him. We are to worship in “truth” or reality, in other words as we walk this everyday life we are to walk in His steps.

“I walked today with Jesus walked,
And felt Him close to me.”

Can you feel Him as you walk through the day, or do you just go on and ignore that He is walking there beside you? Put aside that weighty walk that Jesus took to Calvary and remember it was because of that walk that we can have a daily victorious walk.
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I know some of the current generation of millennials will work but I read this story last week. It seems a girl from Harvard found a job and work on Friday. Over the weekend, she and her friends celebrated her new position. Come Monday morning and she arrived at work at 10:30, she was supposed to be there at 8:00. The boss fired her. She went into a tirade and blamed the boss. She was tired from celebrating and needed her sleep. She was entitled to the job and she called him a “white, patriarchal supremist.” After all she was a graduate from Harvard.
Poor girl definitely needs to wake up and look at life. Punctuality is an important virtue. Being tardy is the same thing as stealing–stealing time. Remember what I wrote last week? “You can’t insult arrogance.” So many think they should start at the top and not have to pay their dues.