Be it THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS DAY, or THE FOURTH OF JULY

¶ Having recently traveled through that most magnificent display of the year, the Lord’s Great Grand Finale, which, as I have said before, symbolically speaking, signals the final stages of Life, I found myself riding beneath the tattered remnants of what was once the indescribable, ever-changing, artistry of the Lord, His Great Grant Finale, The Fall Of the Year. Each masterpiece above and all about me, of which there were myriads, even though they faithfully tried to cling to the Branch, did descend from their lofty heights; some, one by one, some fifty to one hundred to thousands at a time  Some drifted down with all the grace of a butterfly to rest gently upon the earth, while some, in wild array did show their stuff in the whirling winds of Autumn. Others, relieved of all life while carrying out a very commendable, stubborn endurance to maintain their illustrious glory, were, in a most berated manner, driven to the bleak and barren ground of humility below by the stiff and rakish winds of winter. Nonetheless, all of them found their appointed place in the fields and forests of the wilderness through which I ride this day for that City Not Made By The Hands Of Man. 

¶ Now I’m not sure where these thoughts come from, but I’d like you to hang on to this one.  I find it quite astonishing that the Joy of Spring, the Rich Abundance of Summer, and the Majesty of Fall are, by an Unseen Hand, so neatly folded up and tucked away for the Winter to rest neath the tranquility of the Season; not to be awakened again until that Lucky Old Sun, that Ain’t Got Nothin’ More T’ Do but Roll Around Heaven All Day, decides to draw near by crossing that Stellar Equatorial Line in the Great Celestial Expanse of the Heavens Above to beckon a Dozing Treasure asleep in the Earth below to awaken out of the serene solitude of a long winter’s night – to come forth and Show Her Stuff.

¶ Up ahead, however, it looks as though the fiery brilliance of God’s Great Grand Finale has given way to the harbingers of Old Man Winter. As the ominous weight of the End of Days does, day by day, descend upon the earth, and the golden rays of the Autumn sun are splintered into nothing more than razor-like slivers by the cold, grey steel of winter, there is a Peace that surpasses all understanding and a Joy unspeakable that has colonized my heart. Honestly, it is not me, but only this body that has grown old and is about to return to the dust, and at that, only for a season. For like the One Who is not ashamed to call me His brother¹, this old body will, like HIS, in the Final Spring of the Year, come out of the grave in all its glory and live forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17, Hebrews 2:11, ¹wcv&²)

¶ Why, I can hear the earth as never before, moaning, groaning, and weeping for His Return. (Romans 22-30, ¹wcv)  Having come through the Joy of Spring, the Abundance of Summer, and the Fiery Fall of My Years, I must now traverse the Last Leg of My Journey wherein lie the greatest tests and trials of all, for it is there that the stiff, cruel, and heartless Winds of Winter along with Satan’s Icy Leviathans, Hateful Harriers, Pulpit Bullys, False Prophets, and Fleecers of the Flock; Bushwhackers, one and all …must, in all finality, be overcome by the Warm Wisdom of God. Not only are the heavens lowering, and the days growing darker by the minute, but the neck-a-the-woods through which I must now pass seem to have become the rendezvous of every Icy Leviathan, Hateful Harrier, Pulpit Bully, Bushwhacker, and Fleecer of the Flock on the planet. Shadowy Figures they are, some, lovely to look at but in the Eyes of the Spirit they are gaunt, lean, and fiercely bent; icy-hearted creatures you dare not trust and with whom you do not parley. (Revelation 18:4, 2 Corinthians 6:16,17, ¹wcv&²)

Oh, that I might come across, in that vast wilderness that lies out there before me, a Lodging Place for wayfaring men, such as myself, that I might get out from amongst these harriers and bushwhackers, for they are a treacherous bunch. (Jeremiah 9:2, ¹wcv&²)

…. Nonetheless, Be it THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS DAY, or THE FOURTH OF JULY,  I will, whether in the safety of a Lodge or in the perils of the wilderness, come hell and high water or a bright Son-Lit-Day, LIFT UP MY HANDS and PRAISE YOU, and WORSHIP YOU, and THANK YOU, O LORD, FOR YOU HAVE BEEN SO GOOD TO ME!!!

1 Oh, Lord, how amiable and pleasant is Your House.   

 

2 My soul does long and my heart does yearn for You, my LORD, even my flesh cries out for You! 

 

3 Yes, in Whose House even the sparrow has found a place of rest, and the swallow is allowed to build a nest, where even they may lay their young upon the alter of Your Great Love, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

 

5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You. Whose heart is set upon the Road to the City of their God, that City Not Made By The Hands Of Man.

 

6 Blessed are those who, when passing through the Valley of Weeping make it a place of fresh water springs for the thirsty, causing the Oak and the Mulberry Trees to spring up.

 

7 Yes, we who go from Strength to Strength (travelling this Old Heartworn Highway) when we finally gaze upon Your Face, will enjoy You forever in the City of Our God, that City Not Made By The Hands Of Man.

 

10 Far better is one day in Your house than a thousand elsewhere. Why, I would rather be a Keeper of Your Door than to rule in an earthly palace of the wicked.  (Psalm 84:2,3,5,6,7,10, ¹wcv & ²)

 

Summary

¶ On this long journey Home I have witnessed much. I have seen men spend their whole lives Beating a Dead Horse! I have seen men spend their entire lives chasing tumbleweeds through a land so dry and barren that they themselves became one! I have seen men spend their entire lives pursuing mirages until they die of thirst. I have seen men gain the whole world and lose their souls all because they refused to “Look Up”!  This very “HOUR”, I see multitudes swallowed up in the “Christian Cultures” of this here Land of Ours who want Jesus Christ as their Savior but refuse His “Lordship”.  Christ Himself says in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me Lord and not do what I say?…Do you not know that FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD is HOSTILITY TOWARDS GOD, THAT WHOEVER IS A FRIEND OF THE WORLD IS AN ENEMY OF GOD” (James 4:4)  It doesn’t get more clear than that!

Truly, I do Love ’em but I ain’t of ’em!

You see, if JESUS CHRIST is truly our “LORD”, EVERY DAY is THANKSGIVING DAY!

Now AIN’T THAT SO!?

¶ And so, as for me and mine, “come hell or high water”, we’re ridin’ on out of this “present, evil, world” taking as many with us as we can to that City Not Made By The Hands Of Man, where we will “Dance the Dance of All Dances” on streets of gold in the City of our God, that City Not Made By Man!

HANDS ON THE WHEEL  by Will Callery / Waylonson Pub. Co. ©1975 BMI

 

¹wcv / My Emphasis, My Version (always taken from the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, & Arabic translations, definitions, and connotations)

² / My Insert(s)

AIN’T IT SO is published by William & Cynthia Pub. Co. ©2023 {All Rights Reserved}

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