“He is…one man…who cannot and will not turn his back on trouble, especially if there are innocents in peril.”      –Lou Bradshaw (Blue)

“Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”      –Micah 6:8 (HCSB)

I just don’t know anymore. I know there have always been the namby-pambies out there, but I just don’t know…. I was reading that SEAL training is now too harsh and horrible. There was a trainee who died. The article said that the instructor was harassing him too much which led to his death. It also mentioned in the article that he had asthma. My question in the world was he allowed to try for the SEALs? It was not the fault of the instructor, if anything it was the fault of the Navy for allowing him to try.
Then we have the journalist who now has PTSD from firing an AR-15. He will probably ask for compensation because his shoulder hurt so bad. The problem is that folks want protection, but they don’t want to know, or they don’t want to pay the price for protection. It’s an evil world out there and it takes tough men who might have to go through terrible ordeals to protect the namby-pambies.
There are folks out there that bleed, body and soul, to protect the innocent. Very few can see with their eyes, bleed through their wounds, and weep through their tears. However, we can become aware of their sufferings and discouragements. We can feel the burden of their task and be affected by their oft-time loneliness. Most people would do this, but there will be those naysayers who say training is too harsh, and the bleeding-heart journalists who proclaim they now truly understand. There are those who lie about the troubles in their life, such as one who says she came under sniper fire.
There is one person I for sure would like to see attempt any type of Special Forces training. In fact, I would like to see him in Basic Training. Imagine a DI in the face of a certain Barak Obama. Oh, that’s right. They are not allowed to do that anymore because of sensitivity training. It just might hurt someone’s feelings.
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One thing I have trouble with is “canned laughter.” If something is funny, it is funny. Laughter should not have to be manufactured. A former chaplain in the Air Force wrote, “‘Manufactured’ happiness, ‘put on’ comedy, is shallow, easily detected. The radiant. merry heart, however, cannot be faked, for it stems from God.” (Berge A. Hoogasian)
He further writes, “There is something infectious about a ‘merry heart.’ It buoys up the spirit of its owner and attracts others simultaneously. The disenchanted, the cynic, the pessimist languished in the mire of his self-induced prison. The vibrant, joyous, effervescent soul, however, soon permeates his surroundings and finds himself eagerly sought out by all. Others want joy to rub off on them. Surely they wonder, ‘What is the source of the gladness which emanates from his heart?'”
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“It’s better to be a has-been that a never-was.”
“The easiest way to eat crow is while it’s still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.”
“If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen are defrocked, shouldn’t it follow that cowboys would be deranged?”

“Every wrinkle or line on [his] face he could match with another, for the years had marked his cheeks with experience, with laughter, with tears, with anger and with sadness, until there was left only a vast patience.”      –Louis L’Amour (The Shadow Riders)

“These are the nations the Lord left in order to test Israel, since the Israelites had fought none of these in any of the wars with Canaan. This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.”      –Judges 3:1-2 (HCSB)

Let your mind do some pondering of the following verse:
“A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a trustworthy envoy bring healing.”      –Proverbs 13:17

There are a few things that come to my mind.
–When people distort the Word of God they also destroy its power and truth. If people find that they do not see the power of the Word in their lives, it may be because they are distorting the Word.
–Wicked messengers are big trouble. A wicked messenger is one who goes against the Word of God. They are kind of like the serpent in the Garden, “God has not said…”. These are people who call evil good and good evil–wicked messengers.
–Part of the blame is on the listener. They accept the message of the wicked; they do not cherish the true Word. They are like those that despised the prophets and went listening to a message that satisfied what they wanted to hear.
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When George Washington was the chairman of the Constitutional Convention he heard a proposal for the Constitution that the United States could only have a standing army of 7,000 troops. His comment from the bench was that it was a good idea as long as there was put within the Constitution as well that any attacking army cannot be larger than 5,000 men.
That brought to mind a statement by Charlie Daniels, “Now they’re tryin’ to take my guns away, And that would be just fine, If you take ’em away from the criminals first, I’ll gladly give ya mine…”. Safe zones, no guns allowed, but it seems that people take them in there and for some reason (evil/wickedness) they use them against innocent people.
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“Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!”
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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“Quit spitting on the handle and get to hoeing.”
“Some fellas have more wishbone than backbone.”
“Just because you are traveling a well-marked trail, doesn’t mean whoever made it knew where they was going.”

“Pride is nothing more than artificially inflating your sense of self-worth based on accomplishments, which is not the same as feeling self-respect because of who were.”      –Brad Dennison (The Long Trail)

“A man’s pride and sense of self-importance will bring him down, But he who has a humble spirit will obtain honor.”      –Proverbs 29:23 (AMP)

I saw that heroin addiction has dramatically increased, and that the number one cause of death for teenagers is suicide. In my poor pea brain that is hard to compute (Maybe that’s why I dislike computers so much). But these facts led it to some pondering.
The spirit (the heart, if you wish) is relatively easy to take care of–all it needs is a good dose of Jesus. For the body we have aspirin, pills, shots, surgery, diets, and we do a fairly good job of taking care of physical problems. But the mind is a different matter. The mind is closely related to the body; the mind can have tremendous affects on the body, and the body to an extent can affect the mind. However, the mind is very close to the spirit. Ravi Zacharias states, “I must understand in my mind what I believe in my heart.”
Because of this relationship the mind can be put into turmoil. Humans try to escape the fight in the mind and they often do it through drugs, and some will choose the end of all escapes–suicide. There are ideas out there that are an attempted panacea to the mind, but they do not deal with the spirit. These are false religions and heresies, cults, vain philosophy, and also the occult. They do not deal with the heart issue, but they attempt to bring relief to the mind.
Scripture warns over and over not to be taken over by false teachings but to cling to sound doctrine. The Holy Spirit will guide into the truth, so do not be thrown to the wayside by the teaching of the world.
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How are you doing with your reading? I’m going to start with a book by Arthur Pink, not sure which, as soon as I finish 2 Peter by William Barclay. Plus I have to reread a book for my AP class, “Children of the City.” I tried to read “Rough Cut Men”, but stalled out. It was not a hard read for sure, and the title I liked, but I could not relate to much of what was written; too contemporary for me I guess. I’ll finish it before the year is out, but for now it is on the shelf.
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Trust you had a good 4th of July. It was John Adams that stated that the day should be celebrated with all kinds of fireworks, enjoyment of all sorts, for it was the birth of a great nation.
How strong is our nation? I’ve been pondering that. One thing I do know! It is as strong as the people within it. When the people begin to become complacent; when they begin to compromise morals, honor, and dignity; when they lose sight of the foundation upon which the country was built, then the country becomes weak. The Constitution rightly said, “We the people…” When the people become duped, when they no longer believe in absolute truth and choose to believe liars, then the country becomes weak.
How far does it have to goes before the scales of God’s justice tip? When He decides that judgment must come. And as He allows individuals to become reprobate and believe lies, it is shown that He also does the same with nations.
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How about a few more common sense sayings?
“It is hard to make a comeback, when you haven’t been anywhere.”
“Going fast while you are lost won’t help a bit.”
“You cannot blame a worm for not wanting to go fishing.”

“A man went ahead doing the best he could, but it always seemed there was more trouble lurking just around the bend in the road.”      –Louis L’Amour (Hanging Woman Creek)

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”      –1 Peter 2:11 (NKJV)

There was an old song that is never heard anymore. Postmodern folk think it is one of defeatism and it doesn’t bring joy and fun to life. The beginning of the first verse, “I am a poor wayfaring stranger traveling through this world below.” The first argument would be the word “poor.” The church today claims the riches, and look at the way they live. They act as if they are rich. However, don’t misunderstand, we have the riches of heaven when we get there; we have the hope of life eternal, but we should not want the riches of the earth. Being a pilgrim doesn’t mean to wander aimlessly, for we are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God.
Might as well look at the beginning of the second verse as well, “I know dark clouds will gather o’er me, I know my pathway is rough and steep.” A person who denies that also denies reality. I have always said the best thing for an idealist, or someone with their heads in the sky, is to give them a good dose of reality. When reality hits, when the pathway is rough and steep, do you still trust in Jesus? That is the key for the Christian who is not protected against adversity. Life still happens.
The rest of the song goes on to say that the pilgrim, wandering here below is traveling amid this world toward that place that is prepared for him. He is traveling toward that “bright land for which I’m bound.”
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There are many people down here who are not pilgrims. They have not accepted the journey that is there, for they have chosen the wrong road. They remind me of the words from the old Sons of the Pioneer’s song,
“Cares of the past are behind,
Nowhere to go but I’ll find,
Just where the trail will wind,
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.”
–Bob Nolan

I know tumbleweeds, I’m from Colorado. Those things roll across the plains, sometimes by the thousands. They go where the wind takes them, unless they are caught by a fence along the way. Now as a Christian we should definitely be putting the care of the past behind. The old life has gone away, there is a new life. Sure we don’t know what is along the trail, but we know that the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord.
However, let me throw in a little analogy. Perhaps it is stretching it some, but one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is the wind. It is the wind that blows the tumbleweeds along. The difference is that when the “wind” of the Spirit blows us along, He know where His is blowing us. Perhaps we need to be more directed by the “wind of the Holy Spirit.
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The year is half over! Sure hope you’ve been on the right trail and that your trust is in the Lord. Of course if you’ve a mind to, you can trust in the bureaucrats. They have all sorts of promises to take you to a “promised land” of their own.
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“You generally learn the value of money from the lack of it.”
“There is a high cost to low living.”
“Never slap a man who’s chewing tobacco.”