“Our great security against sin lies in being shocked at it.”          –Moffat

“No man need be the slave of the environment in which he happens to find himself.”          –William Barclay

I’ve been reading about some of the early cowtowns, such as Abilene and Dodge City.  They were rough and rowdy places.  For a short time in both of those places there was no law, and when they did bring in the law they had to bring in hard men to enforce it–men like Hickok and Earp.  I’ve also been reading about the early mining towns, primarily in Colorado.  If possible, they were worse than the cowtowns in rowdiness and bawdiness.  Tincup, for example, boasted that it had never had a church.  Four of the first five marshals were killed and the fifth one went insane.  Boswell stated that in his first year living in Central City that there was a murder every night.  Wickedness prevailed and in the mining towns little was done to stop it, especially since many of these places only lasted a few years.
I’m still in my study of 2 Peter and have been dwelling on Lot.  I have often pondered Lot.  I understand why he went to Sodom, but it escapes me why he stayed.  The place was pure evil, but Peter writes that Lot was righteous and was even tormented day to day by the people around him.  Look at 2 Peter 2:7-9:

“and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteousness soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)–then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations…” (NKJV)

Why did Lot stay in such a place?  Perhaps it was because that the Lord didn’t tell him to leave.  It seemed though that he was preserved from the infection of sin.  He was oppressed by what was happening around him; his righteous soul was tormented, but still he remained.  No matter the reason he did not accept what was happening.  The true danger is when sin is accepted as part of the normal order of things.  This is now happening in America.  It is important that the believer does not become complacent with his environment and accept it as the routine part of life, and compromise truth and thus his soul.
Also, remember there was a time for Lot to leave Sodom.  God sent special visitors to Lot and they had to convince him to leave.  In fact they had to take him by the hand.  It is a terrible story to read of that night in Sodom and the events that transpired.  Sodom was already doomed, but before the destruction Lot was rescued.  Hmmm, this old earth is doomed, but before the destruction the trumpet shall sound!

“Free institutions are safe only when the great majority of the people have that reverence for law which can spring only from reverence for God.”          –Josiah Strong”
        
“We need an absolute guard against which no encroachment of prejudice or preference may interfere.  There must be a foundation that the winds of change and the waters of circumstances cannot erode.  There must be a basis for truth and justice that can be depended upon at all times, in all places, and in every situation.          –George Grant

How about a little quiz.  Mark each one of the following individual if you have heard of them.  Give yourself a bonus point if you can tell something about them.  Ready?  Here goes:  John Lewis Dyer, William D. Bloys, Daniel S. Tuttle, Charles Sheldon, Wesley Van Orsdel, Sheldon Jackson, and Peter Cartwright.  How did you do?
Okay, quiz number 2.  Do the same thing with the following, only this time no bonus points.  William F. Cody, Pat Garrett, Bill Hickok, Butch Cassidy, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Calamity Jane, Jesse James, and William Bonney.  How did you do this time?
One more quiz (maybe this is a trick question) but in which category would you have belonged?  Gotcha?  The first group of men were ministers that actually “shaped the contours of western life” (Szasz).  They were the ones to bring Christianity to the West and with it a more civilized society.  They were not high profile, but they did more to help settle the land than those of the second list.  True, some on that list were lawmen, but the law can only work in a society in which there are morals to guide men to keep the law.
Just for example, John Lewis Dyer was a Methodist circuit-riding preacher in Colorado.  He was named one of the sixteen founders of Colorado.  Wait a minute!  What about the miners; the cattlemen?  A preacher?  His portrait is in the dome of the Colorado capitol.  During his life he was known as the “Snow-Shoe Itinerant.”
Szasz writes, “They formed the first churches and Sunday schools, which promoted social stability while reining in local violence; they developed a distinctly western style of Christianity that emphasized a non-denominational message of salvation and personal ethics; and they helped lay the institutional foundations–orphanages, hospitals, and schools–for scores of western communities.”
Then why do we tend to hear about the other list?  Do we seek notoriety rather than morality?  Are we drawn to the infamous more because of our base nature?  Wyatt Earp in Dodge City and Tombstone, and then what?  Hickok in Wichita and Abilene, and then dead in Deadwood.  I think our society continues to seek out those are on the edge of society or may even be in the shadowy area.  Even good men are now derided and it is popular to show how men of renown were frail, weak humans.
Something to think about.  Oh, one more thing.  Some of you may remember a song, “Deck of Cards.”  It was popular during World War II.  The deck would represent different themes from the Bible, i.e., the Ace–one God; the deuce–Adam and Eve; the trey–the three wise men.  This was actually a sermon given by the Reverend Melton Jones who preached it in a Clifton, Arizona saloon in 1899.

“They seek Me day after day and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not abandon the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.”   –Isaiah 58:2 (HCSB)

A few decades ago, the Cosmic Humanists (New Age) came out with the new hope of mankind.  They said it was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, but their hope was shattered.  It was a false hope to begin with, and the world has continued to spiral downward.  Chaos, insurrections, war, terrorism, famine, disease, pestilence and the list could continue.  All is delusion, false hope, for nothing can give true hope unless it is Jesus Christ, and when He does those things don’t bother the soul of the believer.

          “My hope is built on nothing less
           Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
           I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
           But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”
               –Edward Mote

The storms come, and some even face the dark of night.  That time in life when all seems bleak and there is no hope.  Even for believers there are those times when the face of Jesus doesn’t seem to shine down on them.  (Read “Dark Night of the Soul”)  However, because of Christ, even in the darkest of nights, even in the fiercest of gales we can continue to hold on.

          “When darkness seems to hide His face,
           I rest on His unchanging grace;
           In ev’ry high and stormy gale,
           My anchor holds within the veil.”

His promises are sure.  When we falter remember that.  When despair rushes in–His promises are sure.  When doubts assail and you feel as if you cannot go on–His promises are sure.  When the tempest comes and all seems to be destroyed–His promises are sure.  In this we see the truth of faith, hope, and love for His promises are sure.

          “His oath, His covenant, His blood,
           Support me in the whelming flood;
           When all around my soul gives way,
           He then is all my hope and stay.”

This is one of my top ten favorite songs.  I might add that I mean the old version – not one that is sometimes sung now in churches.  Maybe it means more to me now that I’ve entered the autumn of my life and faced that heart attack a year ago.  Do I have one day, one month, or another year; no I don’t dwell on it, but it does enter my mind.  How can I possibly enter the throne room?  Only by the grace and through the blood of Christ.  My hope has to be in Him and then He will dress me in His righteousness.

          “When He shall come with trumpet sound,
           Oh, may I then in Him be found;
           Dressed in His righteousness alone,
           Faultless to stand before the throne.”

               “On Christ, the solid Rock I stand;
                All other ground is sinking sand,
                All other ground is sinking sand.”

“Rise up, O men of God,
Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kinds…”
               –William Merrill

“The real problem is in the hearts and mind of men.  It is not a problem of physics but of ethics.  It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil from the spirit of man.”          –Albert Einstein

The memory of 9/11 should greatly overshadow a jerk that is intentionally wanting personal notoriety, and calling it something different.  He should have been living back in the 1960s or at the turn of the 20th century if he wanted to see oppression.  Sure, things are not perfect, and they never will be, but give me a break….  I refuse to write his name, can’t spell it anyway and not about to learn, but he needs to get busy helping rather than degrading the flag that has done so much for the underprivileged in society. His actions are a slap in the face to men who served and many of whom are lying in cemeteries like Arlington.
How much did he suffer for his country?  Nothing like those who were innocently murdered on 9/11.  An act of war–certainly, and yet today so many forget what happened.  It’s just life as usual.  The rage has gone.  It was done by a random few with an axe to grind against America.
Why is there no outcry for those who are suffering; such as Christians in the Middle East?  Why is there no outcry for the millions of babies aborted?  Wrong have been committed against self, society, and above all, God.  Broken lives litter the highways of life.  However, not standing during the National Anthem does nothing to help.  Gary Inrig tells us something about the situation of any society.  “Suffering is not always a consequence of direct personal sin, but it is always the result of living in a fallen world.”
Christians, in light of the solemnity of yesterday, maybe it is time to take a stand once again.  I’m so sick of this political game that even now Christians are becoming involved in.  Look at the cost that is coming; look at the person who is in favor of abortions and see if you can actually see that person as President of the United States.  Do what is right–always; and you may take it on the chin once in a while, but following God’s Word is what is important.  Perhaps it is time to take the ridicule, the slander, the sneering comments, or any other form of scorn when you take your stand for what is right and good.  It’s time to live up to and stand up for Christian convictions and becoming in this day of evil committed to the cross of Christ.

“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.”       –2 Peter 3:17 (NKJV)