Echoes from the Campfire

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

It is good to see the beauty even when there is such evil.”

                    –B. N. Rundell  (Tincup)

       “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
                    –Habakkuk 3:18(NKJV)
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I want to give a bit of assurance today–God is adequate!  He is there with each of us all the time and He is adequate for our needs.  “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31, NKJV)  or as the Living Bible puts it, “What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can ever be against us?”  
     There is no opposition that can crush us for God is our Sovereign Protector and has made an eternal commitment to us.  When days seem dark and gloomy be assured that God has not forgotten or overlooked our need.  The problem is that what we think our need might be could be different than what God knows our need to be.  Be assured when you pray, that He hears you.  Have confidence that He hears our cry.  Have the assurance, that trust, that He will belay all fear.
     As a child of God we can depend upon our heavenly Father.  As a child of God we should praise Him for who He is and for His wondrous deeds.  God always fulfills His word and revelation; His promises are sure and He will act accordingly.  As a child of God we should be prompted to pray.  It should be our purpose and aim to develop a deepening relationship with God.  Communion with Him should be life’s goal.  As a child of God we should pay our vows of faithfulness and thanksgiving.  

               “A sovereign protector I have,
                    Unseen, yet for ever at hand;
               Unchangeably faithful to save,
                    Almighty to rule and command.
               He smiles, and my comforts abound;
                    His grace as the dew shall descend,
               And walls of salvation surround
                    The soul He delights to defend.”
                             –Charles Wesley

     There is no good thing withheld from us.  Just ponder our redemption.  Think of the cost, how effective it is, and the consequences of our redemption.  Where is the accuser?  He has no hold on us for it is God who justifies.  No accusation from any quarter or person can ever disinherit us.  Know this–be assured–that Jesus is effective in His mediation.  The words of Paul should bring us comfort, “who can separate us?”  Rest assured–God is our keeper.  Rest assured–God’s love has no end.  These thoughts should help us keep our priorities straight.  Yes, Father, help us:  “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek.'” (Psalm 27:8, NKJV)
     I would encourage you to contemplate the rest of the week, Psalm 16.  Read it over and over.  I will close with two verses from this magnificent psalm of assurance.  “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot…  You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (16:5,11, NKJV)

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

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)

       “These little troubles (which are really so transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious and solid reward out of all proportion to our pain.”
                    –2 Corinthians 4:17 (Phillips)
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This morning we look at the second part of Psalm 121.  This is one of my favorite psalms and much can be gained by contemplating this short psalm.  If you use the NIV for your reading you’ll notice that the word “watch” is used five times.  That means, as George Wood says, “far more than the Lord looking at you.  He’s looking out for you, guarding and protecting you from the hardships and terrors of the trail, including exposure to sun and moon.”

          5 — The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
          6 — The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
          7 — The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
          8 — The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.   (NKJV)

Notice that the Lord watches, He is your shade, He keeps, He stands beside, He preserves, He never sleeps or slumbers — do you think the Lord is trying to tell us something?  “He knows when the sun, the heat of circumstances, is too much for you.  He will give you shade.  But, He also knows when the moon tears at your viscera–when it brings you haunting memories of an action which caused you great injury…  He won’t let that ‘moon by night’ harm you.” (Wood)  
     Along the journey there are potential dangers and disasters that may come our way.  Jesus told us that we are not immune from trials; He said, “…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer…” (John 16:33, NKJV)  We are not immune to trouble, just look at the life of Paul, or maybe better, take a glance at your own life.  No matter what, “we can never be separated from God’s love or God’s purposes.  He promises to preserve us from evil but not to pave over every pothole in life’s road.” (William J. Petersen)  Eugene Peterson explains further, “Christians travel the same ground that everyone else walks on, breathe the same air, drink the same water…The difference is that each step we walk, we know we are accompanied by God, we know we are ruled by God, and therefore no matter what accidents we experience, the Lord will preserve us from evil.”
     We are continually “going out” and “coming in.”  Every morning there is the getting up and going out to work, school, or some activity, and every evening there is the coming in.  Guess what?  The Lord was with you.  There is the going out to the workforce with all its complexities, stresses, temptations, and difficulties that may make the body weary and the heart sick.  Guess what?  The Lord is with you.  There is the peril of going out; there are dangers all around from terror, to threatenings, to shootings, to pestilence (remember COVID?)  There is the danger of being around those with “warped judgments, confused reckoning, and narrowed outlooks” (Percy Ainsworth)  Guess what?  The Lord is beside you.
     One of the real battles of life, says Ainsworth, is “not the toil for bread.  It is fought by all who would keep alive and fresh in their hearts the truth that man doth not live by bread alone.”  It is thus with all the other things that might affect.  There is also the coming in.  Ainsworth continues, “No home is safe unless faith be the doorkeeper…  Peace and safety were not of his making, but of God’s giving.”  There may be the coming of pain, of sickness, of death, but the Lord is there.  Even in the seasons of life there is the going out and the coming in.  Life moves on from one time in life to another; it cannot be stopped.  Once there was youth, now there is the graying of hair.  Once there was strength and vitality, now there is frailty and feebleness.  Guess what?  The Lord is there.  When troubles, doubts, pain, hardship, heartache, etc., approach, think of Jesus and remember — “it wasn’t until Easter morning that the preceding Friday was called good.” (Wood)

               “From God the Lord does come your certain aid;
               From God the Lord who heaven and earth has made.
               Above you watching, He whom you adore
               Shall keep you henceforth, yes, for evermore.”
                        –John Campbell

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Faith and fear cannot be in the same place at the same time… You either live in one, or you live in the other.”
                    –Dan Arnold  (Bear Creek)

       “When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.'”
                    –Luke 5:4 (NKJV)
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I was sitting the other morning in my chair, doing my morning devotions.  I paused to look out the window and gaze at the little forest where our cottage is nestled.  It won’t be long, progress they call it, that the trees will mostly be cut down and it will be part of “suburbia.”  I don’t blame folks for wanting to get out in the woods, wherever they might live, but my question is why?  But that’s a debate for another day.  As I was quietly sitting and gazing, an old hymn came to my mind.  I haven’t heard it in ages and it is one that I don’t know well.  In fact, I could only remember two phrases:  “Launch out into the deep, Oh, let the shore-line go…”  
     I turned to one of my readings that I do every morning and here is what came up.  “All great voyages begin in the same way.  Once all the passengers board, the ship’s horn sounds, and most of those on board rush up onto the deck.  The thick ropes that held the ship to the dock are let go.  Then the vibration of the engines can be felt in the steel beneath your feet.  Moments later, the dock and shoreline begin to slip away.” (James Merritt)  Coincidence?  Maybe, if you believe in that, but perhaps more, something that I was to ponder, something from the Lord.  So let’s take a look at that old hymn by A.B. Simpson and mesh it with what I read that morning.

          “The mercy of God is an ocean divine,
          A boundless and fathomless flood;
          Launch out in the deep, cut away the shoreline,
          And be lost in the fullness of God.”

Finally, the ropes have been cast off.  The lines that held the ship secure are no longer there and it is free to move into open water.  The journey has begun, and I like what the hymnist said, it begins out in the ocean of God’s mercy.  “Freedom and enjoyment in life start with casting off.” (Merritt)  We now are free to let go of the old life and enjoy life without the anxiousness that often besets us.  God has put us on a new journey and has good plans for our life. (Merritt)

          “But many, alas!  only stand on the shore
          And gaze on the ocean so wide;
          They never have ventured its depths to explore,
          Or to launch on the fathomless tide.”

Why, oh why, I have often wondered?  Why do people refuse the love, grace, and mercy of God?  Why do they stand in their selfishness bound by the ropes to the dock when God has provided a wonderful venture of life in His mercy?  Why do they purposely reject the grace that He offers?  All they have to do is get on board, because the crew does the work of casting off.  The journey has already been paid for.  Step out into the ocean of His mercy.  Put away the worry that may beset you.  Let go, “because God will provide sufficient grace for every trouble you face.” (Merritt)

          “And others just venture away from the land,
          And linger so near to the shore,
          That the surf and the slime that beat over the strand,
          Dash o’er them in floods evermore.”

Have you ever been to the docks?  The grease and crudge and slime lie all around.  The smell can knock you down.  Ahh, but out on the sea, the fresh air blows, the water is clean and clearer than at the docks.  Why stay moored to your old life?  “You don’t have to stay docked to your challenges any longer, moored to every piece of bad news, or tied to those things you cannot control.” (Merritt)  Look up at the bridge and see the Captain.  Just think, even the winds and waves obey Him, therefore the “storms of life cannot sink you on your journey.” (Merritt)

          “Oh, let us launch out on this ocean so broad,
          Where floods of salvation e’er flow;
          Oh, let us be lost in the mercy of God,
          Till the depth of His fullness we know.”

There is no need to look back at the dock–that old way of life.  Look forward to the journey, enjoy His grace and mercy, as you travel in faith with Him on this voyage.  I have written many times what my Pastor used to say, “Live Is Living!”  Then live it to the fullest with Jesus Christ and let the Holy Spirit guide you along the way.  Look at the freedom you have in Christ; no longer bound by the ropes of sin, worries, frets, and depression.  Look forward to the journey of God’s grace.  And if the storm clouds roll in don’t fret, the Savior is there to secure our safety.

          “Launch out into the deep,
          Oh, let the shoreline go,
          Launch out, launch out in the ocean divine,
          Out where the full tides flow.”

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

There are always those who are willing to earn what they get and those who work, being too lazy or immoral to honestly build their own lives.”

                    –B.N. Rundell  (Escape to Exile)

       “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”
                    –Proverbs 24:10 (NKJV)
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There is a verse tucked away in that wonderful thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians:  “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (13:11, NKJV)  One of the saddest, and perhaps most shameful things in life and more so in the church, is the man or woman who continues to act like a child.  They may have been a Christian for thirty years, but they display the attitudes and actions of a four-year-old.  It ought not to be.
     A couple of my grandkids like to watch “Dude Perfect.”  I watched it a couple of times and it seems that they display the symptoms of Peter Pan Syndrome.  I couldn’t watch much of it because of its silliness, but then I began to ponder–childishness.  I have a hard time putting up with so-called adults who act like children whether in the workforce or at church.  How many do you know who have this “syndrome”?  
     The definition of the Peter Pan Syndrome is, “never-growing adults who have reached an adult age, but cannot face their adult sensations and responsibilities.  They engage in activities associated with childhood rather than taking on the responsibilities and challenges of adulthood.”  Play rather than work.  Work to many of them is a dirty, four-letter word.  Behaviors associated with immaturity and a reluctance to grow up are their forte.  Traits that may be seen are:  avoiding responsibilities, resisting commitment, seeking constant fun and excitement, and displaying a lack of ambition or direction in life.  A dangerous situation, for the individual and the nation, and I believe we are seeing more and more those who display this tendency.
     Paul writes, “That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” (Ephesians 4:14, NKJV)  When we are born again, we are like little children spiritually.  We then begin to grow, just like children.  Sometimes the growth is gradual and sometimes there are those growth spurts not much different than natural growth.  However, grow we must!
     Do not measure your growth by comparing it to someone else.  Yes, there are common characteristics of growth, but some may reach a mature point in their lives quicker than someone else.  The question to ask yourself is:  “Am I moving away from childish attitudes?  Am I forsaking infantile behavior?  Am I still governed by childish reactions and outbursts?” (Stedman)   And, to shame, there are those who never grow up.  A word of warning:  do not use the phrase that God wants us to be childish.  That is not true.
     The Scripture does exhort us to be childlike at times, but never childish.   Ray Stedman describes it this way, “Childlikeness is that refreshing simplicity of faith which believes God and acts without questioning.  But childishness is described here [Ephesians 4:14] by the apostle as instability and naivete.”  Children are fickle; their attention span is short.  They are carried about with fads, fashions, infatuations, and changing circumstances.  They play in dangerous situations, with questionable companions, without knowledge or awareness of the threat.  They will run out into the street without looking or considering what may happen.  Put that in a spiritual context and who comes to mind?  Think of those who hop from church to church, who dabble in the things of the world, who adopt the fashions of the world and its entertainment.  Think of those who are mixed with Belial, those who lack the commitment to marry, those whose tongue is as salty as the devil.
     I had a student ask me one time, “Do you think I am a man?”  I replied simply, “Do you accept responsibility?”  Hmmm, do we take our work seriously?  Do we do all for the glory of God?  Do we do it the best we can, giving quality time for quality work?  Do we live to have fun, or do we live to bear a cross?  Do my work ethics glorify Christ, or do I just get by?  In other words, put away the childish things–become a man/woman of God!