Scripture

No enemy attacking the walls, but peace everywhere. No crime in our streets. Yes, happy are those whose God is the LORD {Jehovah}.

~Psalm 144:15, TLB

Quote

As we pour out our bitterness, God pours in His peace.

~F.B. Meyer

I am reading through the Psalms in the NiRV and I read Psalm 144 yesterday. It is a Psalm of David where he asks the LORD to take care of his enemies. David is surrounded by enemies, and he feels threatened. David was probably referring to flesh and blood enemies but when I read this Psalm, I think about my spiritual enemies that are all around me. There is first the unbelieving world that tries to conform me to their unbelieving ways. Then there is pure evil like what I see on TV and in Washington D.C. Drugs and violence are everywhere. Fifty years ago, no one locked their doors. Matter of fact, my mother and daddy never lived in a house where you could lock the doors. I put the first lock on their door in 2010, after both had been promoted. No one dares to leave doors unlocked these days. Then there is PRIDE. I hate pride. Pride is a snake in the grass, you don’t know he is there until you feel the sting of his bite. Then there is the flesh and all its lustful cravings and while I swing at all these enemies with the sword, I am having to shield off fear and doubt who are attacking the flank. Every now then I long for peace. So did David and so he dreamed of heaven. He dreamed of a time when the pastures would be filled with livestock, abundant grain in the field, produce in the garden and fruit on the tree. A time when our barns and pickups are filled to the brim and there is no more sickness or death. No funerals to attend; no hospital visits to make; no wars to fight; and no violence to police. All is peace forever more on that happy golden shore.

We have a lot of folks who don’t like CHRISTMAS, some because they don’t like CHRIST and others because they don’t like giving. I can’t imagine a year without Christmas. The White Witch in Narnia canceled Christmas. The spirit of the White Witch is alive and well today but as for me, I need a little Christmas and sometimes, I need a little CHRISTMAS now! Remember the story about the three boys in a bragging contest. The first boy was the son of a banker: he said, “My dad owes the bank and all the money in it.” The second kids’ dad was in real estate, and he said, “That is nothing, my dad owes this entire subdivision and three more just like it.” The third boy was a PK {preacher’s kid} and he said, “Shucks, that is nothing compared to what my dad owes. “What does he owe?” The other two asks. “He owes hell,” said the PK. No one owes hell the others protested. What on earth would give you such an idea. He said, “When Dad came home from the deacons meeting last Monday night, my mom said to him, ‘What happened tonight?’ and dad said, ‘The deacons gave me hell.'” We all have enough hell to deal with; what we need is a little heaven. Dallas Willard’s, the great apologist of our day, last words to his granddaughter were, “Give them heaven.” Yes, we need a little heaven now.

Extra

I saw something yesterday that astounded me. I stopped to get a coke at a gas station and the man in front of me at the checkout got two cartons of cigarettes and it was $135.00 and he paid for them without complaint. My daddy smoked three packs a day so a carton would last him four days. Can you imagine spending 135 bucks every eight days for cigarettes? Unbelievable!

LORD willing, we are going to Guntersville today to watch the DHS varsity play basketball and to visit an old friend Anthony Patterson.

Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.