discretion, dimensions, honor
This portrait, painted by Mindy Trent, is a precious gift that captures our FIRST MILE of #TheLongWalkUSA down on the beach near Cape Hatteras, NC. The shells on the frame were collected from the starting line.
Greetings, beloved brethren in the name of the Jewish Messiah and the Saviour of the world, the LORD JESUS CHRIST. He is the only hope for the people of the United States of America in this, our nation’s demise and inevitable fall.
My friends, we are watching the demise and fall of our country. And yet, the simple ONE WORD that could stem the tide, the ONE-WORD SOLUTION cited time and time again in the Scriptures and spoken directly by Jesus Christ Himself in the very first sermon of His public ministry (see Mark 1:15) and in the red letters of FIVE of His missives to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3) remains COMFORTABLY AVOIDED in America's pulpits and NOTICEABLY CANCELLED on America’s streets. This word is so obvious that I don’t even need to tell you what it is. What I will tell you, however, is that as we get back to walking, we will be heralding that ONE-WORD SOLUTION to a great big spiritual problem again, again, and again in the highways and byways … as we have for 3,326 miles already, in the spirit of watchmen upon a wall (Ezekiel 3:17-18).
It’s been a nice little spring break. Nagging injuries have healed up; Bethany was able to make great progress toward finishing up her senior year of high school; and Eric and I both got to edify and encourage the saints through the preaching of the Word from behind a pulpit, as opposed to our customary sides of the road. We enjoyed some sweet fellowship with family and friends, worked a little in the garden, put out some mulch and pine needles, got sick from pollen, and mowed grass. Now, it’s time to get back out; and our progress is such that it takes two long days of traveling just to get back to the spot we stopped walking. Needless to say, it will be a good while before we can take another break that justifies a return drive to North Carolina.
One of the great blessings of this little break was a gift I received from Eric Trent’s wife, Mindy. She gave me the painting pictured above, a portrait which captures the first mile of #thelongwalkUSA back on March 1, 2021 when Bethany and I walked down the beach at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The shells decorating the frame were taken from the "starting line," and the photo below is the one upon which the painting is based. Eric Trent's wife is a very talented artist, and I will treasure this portrait for the rest of my life. By God's grace and since that first mile and our first encounters with fisherman on that beach, we have walked 3,326 miles and have enjoyed 1,782 Gospel encounters. We are excited to get back to it in Oklahoma and Kansas in the coming days.
Bethany and I walk down the beach on Hatteras Island, the first miles of #thelongwalkUSA. This photo was the basis for the painting pictured above.
Your prayers as we head back to the route are much appreciated and cause for our daily thanksgiving unto God. It gets lonely out there, but knowing people are specifically praying for us is always a shot in the arm and strength to take another step for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus the Messiah.
Now that #TheLongWalkUSA has exceeded a year in time, I often like to go back and reflect upon what we were doing a year ago to the day, or to the week. One year ago this week, we were walking in the North Carolina Piedmont, and I had been contemplating at the time some of the things we had stumbled upon and stumbled into those first 300 or so miles. I wrote about it in ODE TO A STUMBLE, a post you might enjoy over a morning cup of coffee. Anyway, in the context of I Peter 1:8 and Jesus’ own words in Matthew 21:41-42, I asked a poignant question:
If the preaching of the Cross does not offend, then are we preaching the Messiah as He is in truth? I think about this a lot as I walk down the road. And, I have made it a point NOT to mince words and NOT beat around the bush when confronting folks in my path with the wickedness of America and Jesus Christ the Messiah, the only escape from the coming judgment. It serves no purpose to speak of America’s sin as a little thing or to speak of Jesus as a little thing in the path one can just step over or around. Back in the early days of Full Proof Gospel Ministries, when I was riding a bicycle across America, we used to describe our ministry strategy thus: Making the Gospel of Jesus Christ an UNAVOIDABLE ISSUE for as many people as possible. We make the Messiah an unavoidable issue when we preach Him as He is, a stumblingblock and a rock of offense. When we declare Him to both Jew and Gentile as the ONLY WAY to escape God’s wrath and judgment, He becomes at once to the hearer an unavoidable issue.
All these many miles later, and well beyond the Mississippi River, we are still laboring to make Jesus an UNAVOIDABLE ISSUE to all who cross our path. There is no hope for AmericA, but there remains hope for AmericANS. There is only one hope, but it remains—Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. We stumbled into some good Gospel encounters a year ago, and I trust there will be more of the same in the coming weeks.
A year ago, I stumbled upon this abandoned tuberculosis sanatorium in Hoke County, North Carolina. The county’s highest elevation point was at the northeast corner of the double razor-wire fence. We have walked over many county highpoints since.
Perhaps you are wondering what’s with the title of this newsletter. What does any of this have to do with discretion, dimensions, and honor? Well, if we hadn’t shown a little discretion, studied a few geographical dimensions, and conducted ourselves with some honor, we wouldn’t have been able to walk a 3,326-mile path through some pretty rough areas. I lightheartedly explained to someone the other day that when the typical American (who flees when no man pursues, see Proverbs 28:1) cautions us not to walk through a certain “dangerous area,” we generally oblige, through not always, by purposefully routing through that area. Many times, we are rewarded with great Gospel encounters or divine appointments. The next time an American tells you not to do something because it isn’t “safe,” oblige them by doing it anyway. Use a little discretion, note some dimensions, and conduct yourself with honor. You may find a real blessing. Ok, none of that really has anything to do with the title of this post either. Before hitting the road, I simply wanted to share two messages I had the privilege to preach during this “spring” break” of sorts and one of our family devotionals. I pray you will find them a blessing in these dark days when “judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14).
discretion
It was a great honor to preach an Easter exhortation this past Resurrection Sunday, not from the Gospel accounts, but starting from Proverbs 2:10-11 and with a survey of Psalm 14-16. While knowledge is the accumulation and retaining of facts, and while wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge to one's own circumstances; DISCRETION is the capacity to view the bigger spiritual picture through the lens of knowledge and wisdom: to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and truth from error, and to know what WE ought to do. The Bible says THE FEAR THE LORD is the beginning of true knowledge (Proverbs 1:7) and true wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). The fear of the LORD is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). So, you can't have true knowledge or true wisdom without hating evil. As for DISCRETION, it only comes when wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is present in your soul (Proverbs 2:10-11). When you have true discretion, you can look at an event like the resurrection of Jesus Christ and see the bigger picture, knowing therefore what we ought to do in the here and now in light of what has happened before. So, by looking at the bigger picture of the Resurrection in the Psalms (the same Scriptures the Apostles first preached when with great power they gave witness of that resurrection of the Lord Jesus—see Acts 4:33), it is made clear:
We are helpless without a Messiah (Psalm 14)! We are hopeless if there is no Messiah (Psalm 15)! There is a Messiah, and He is risen from the dead (Psalm 16)! For Christians who believe upon the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, what, therefore, ought we to do in these dark days? We must PREACH (Acts 4:33). We must PRAY (Hebrews 4:4-16). We must PREPOSSESS our own guaranteed resurrection (Philippians 3:20-21). In other words, change your focus, stop standing around as silent witnesses to evil deeds, quit living in fear, cease clinging to this world, live your eternal life NOW, repent, stop making excuses for your flesh, and, for Christ's sake, BE SATISFIED.
It’s interesting. Psalm 16, which tells us how to identify the true Messiah, is neatly followed by Psalm 17, a model intercessory prayer (note “us” in 17:11) that prophetically hearkens to the Messiah’s ministry of intercession for the saints after His resurrection (see Hebrews 4). The last verse of Psalm 17 is especially interesting, not as much for the prophetic testimony of David, but considering these were the last words of a famous preacher who suffered much for the Gospel of Christ. On September 30, 1770 in Newburyport, Massachusetts a bedridden, exhausted, and sickly George Whitfield repeated this verse (17:15) several times. He then sighed and said “I will be satisfied.” There was a pause, and then Whitfield uttered his very last word this side of eternity: SATISFIED. If we truly understand and appreciate the Resurrection of our LORD with biblical knowledge, wisdom, and discretion … we ought to be as satisfied every moment of every day as George Whitfield was in his last moments on earth. Are you satisfied in Christ?
I have posted this Easter exhortation below. I trust you will find it a blessing. You can also listen to it on APPLE PODCASTS.
dimensions
During this little spring break, I also had opportunity to preach another message in my long EXEGETICAL STUDIES IN REVELATION series, a sermon series that began back in January of 2013. Has it really been almost 10 years?
I continued where I left off back in September in Revelation 21, amidst the detailed blueprint of the New Jerusalem, the Lamb’s wife, as unveiled in Revelation 21:10-22:5. The particular focus of this message is the city’s DIMENSIONS (21:15-17), and its CONSTRUCTION (21:18-21). People go to war, fight, connive, betray, deceive, flatter, steal, worry about, lose sleep over, hoard, destroy, and wreck their lives over a cankered version of what will one day be pavement under the feet of the saints. Take a moment to comprehend that. My fellowsaints, the Revelation 21 glimpse of the future inheritance of the Church for us HERE & NOW ought to effect the same response purposed for the detailed blueprint once given to Ezekiel to show unto the people of Israel: “Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern” (Ezekiel 43:10). Moreover, the trial of our faith and the pursuit of true wisdom in this life are of far more value than than all these riches and valued materials in their earthly forms (I Peter 1:3-7, Job 28). For trials and wisdom now prepare us for eternal treasure later, “where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:20).
I have posted this sermon concerning DIMENSIONS below. I trust you will also find it a blessing in these dark days. You can also listen to it via APPLE PODCASTS.
honor
Around our breakfast table, our family just finished a devotional study of Psalm 119 that we began before the last walking leg. This Hebrew acrostic, sometimes referred to as The Great Alphabet, is amazing in its cataloguing of the powers of God’s Word and what we ought to do in view thereof (i.e. discretion). God’s Word undefiles, cleanses, opens eyes, quickens, teaches, liberates, comforts, bands, afflicts, companies, unfeigns, sets, educates, lightens, execrates, works, illuminates, purifies, nears, endures, troves, and seeks. Wow! Therefore, we ought to keep it, never forget it, delight in it, run in it, incline to it, seek it, remember it, intreat it, learn it, hope in it, never forsake it, consider it, carry it everywhere, rejoice in it, hide in it, esteem it, step in it, love it, meditate upon it, never decline from it, stand in awe of it, and choose it. That’s a mouthful, but a hearty mouthful.
With only one day remaining before we depart, I didn’t want to start another study that would get broken up by my travel. Therefore, I decided to share something I stumbled upon concerning Christian HONOR. I wrote these words back in July of 2020 and then tucked them away. While many parents around America daily send their children off to public schools to be indoctrinated and groomed in the spirit of anichrist, sexual perversion and dishonor, I had the great privilege of teaching my children AT HOME something they would never learn in the dens of godless lies and iniquity that are American public schools and many, many so-called private “Christian” schools. I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Luke 16:15: “that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” Did you know the converse is also necessarily true? Often, that which is abomination among men is highly esteemed in the sight of God. “Woe unto them that call evil good, AND good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).
Here is a little something about honor that America of today deems evil. It is greatly satisfying to be able to teach such things to my children while the federal government in Washington and its hellish Department of Education is powerless to stop me. I wrote this back on July 8, 2020 following the dismantling of the statue of Confederate General JEB Stuart in Richmond, Virginia. This morning, it was our family devotion around the breakfast table:
Sadly, the majestic memorial to Confederate Major General J.E.B. Stuart that has graced Monument Avenue in Richmond for more than a 100 years was removed yesterday. Stonewall Jackson and Matthew Maury were removed last week, simply by the fiat of a tyrannical mayor and in opposition to state law. The courage, virtue, honor, and exploits of Stonewall Jackson are well known. As for Maury, he was a famous oceanographer who served as an ambassador for the Confederate States of America to Europe during the war. In his life, he made many important new contributions to charting winds and ocean currents, including ocean lanes still used by ships today. I loved seeing and learning from those statues as a child when I visited Monument Avenue and even went back several times in college and while I was teaching United States History at a local Christian high school. It really is sad. The craftsmanship and beauty, in and of themselves, were amazing.
Like Thomas Jackson and Robert E. Lee, I believe JEB Stuart, the Confederacy’s chief cavalry officer, to have been one of America’s greatest patriots and heroes, a true model of noble Christian character, whose life, particularly his last few hours, can teach us much about HONOR. Oh, if more Christians had Jackson’s CHRISTIAN COURAGE, Lee’s CHRISTIAN VIRTUE, and Stuart’s CHRISTIAN HONOR!
That honor, aside from many other exploits, probably shone brightest on May 11-12, 1864, his last hours this side of eternity. During the Battle of Yellow Tavern, he was shot in the abdomen by a retreating Yankee soldier who indiscriminately fired off one last round of his 44-caliber revolver while running away. Stuart personally led his cavalry forces to intercept a huge raid on the city of Richmond and had fought valiantly to save it from capture. The Yankee forces under the notorious Phil Sheridan were ultimately repulsed. While rushing to intercept the flank of the oncoming raid, Stuart detoured briefly to a farm where his wife and children were staying and awakened his wife with whom he had a brief conversation. He simply wanted to hold her one last time, telling her goodbye, as if he knew it was his day to go.
After his wounding, he was carried via detour by ambulance on a roundabout circuit to Richmond. All along that bumpy ride, he kept sitting up and in great pain rallying his halted troops to “Go back, go back and do your duty, as I have done mine, and our country will be safe.” Those attending to him in that ambulance tried to give him whiskey to dull the pain, but he demurred, making it clear that he had never even tasted alcohol because he had once promised his mother he would not do so. Thus, a dying man shows himself more concerned with keeping his word than dulling his own pain. Where would you find that kind of honor today? He also turned to tell one of his staff officers: “Well, I don’t know how this will turn out; but if it is God’s will that I shall die, I am ready.” If it’s God’s will for you to die today and meet Him, are you ready?
Upon his arrival in Richmond, it was obvious that the General would not last long. Notwithstanding, he himself was more concerned with getting his affairs in order. To a staff officer the morning of May 12, he made sure that his two fine horses would be given to two particular individuals who had earned them. Moreover, he was adamant that a small Confederate flag folded up and hidden in his famous cavalier’s hat be removed and returned to a lady of Columbia, South Carolina who had made it for him to carry in battle. He had promised to one day return it to her. And again, in those moments of painful agony at death’s door, he was most concerned about keeping his word. He had a set of spurs and made sure it was understood that these were to go to a lady of Shepherdstown, Virginia—again, something he had long ago promised to do when he was done with them.
After concluding such business, he heard nearby cannon fire and sat up in pain: “What is happening?” He was told that the Federals under Sheridan had breached the outer defenses but that Stuart’s men were rallying to trap them and drive them back. The General responded, “God grant that they may be successful [they were]. But, I must be prepared for another world.”
Not long thereafter, around noon of May 12, President Jefferson Davis came into his room and asked, “General, how do you feel?” He responded, “Easy, but willing to die if God and my country think I have fulfilled my destiny and done my duty.” The President had the good taste not to stay long and departed. Thereafter, Stuart was overwhelmed with seizures of intense pain, sinking in and out of delirium. He kept asking when his wife would arrive. And then, amidst all that pain and delirium, one last matter was addressed:
Henry Pate had commanded the 5th Virginia Regiment of Stuart’s cavalry corp, and there had been a long-standing and bitter conflict between Jeb Stuart and this man. The two did not like each other and were both very bitter about it. Prior to Stuart’s wounding on May 11, there was intense hand-to-hand fighting in Pate’s regiment as they tried to stop the Yankees from penetrating their line. It was a critical point in the battle. Jeb Stuart saw the melee and rode straight into the madness to implore Pate to hold his position until reinforcements could arrive. Pate looked squarely into the face of the man he disliked and replied, “I will do it.” Stuart then thanked him and commended him for his courage. Colonel Pate walked over to the man he had deplored and offered his hand. Stuart shook his hand, and it was as if all difference and conflict was immediately resolved. Pate made good his promise to hold his position in the hours that followed, and he paid for it with his life.
News of Pate’s death got back to Stuart not long thereafter, and in his last agonizing hours of pain and delirium, he recalled that he had been alone during his last interview and words with Colonel Pate on the battlefield. He sat up in bed and called for one of his staff officers, and in intervals between the fits of pain, he made sure that his staff officer took down the details of his reconciliation with Pate and wanted to make sure that everyone would know how bravely and splendidly his former enemy had given his life. He winced, “Let them know that under that deadly fire, we were made friends . . . and please let his friends and family know of my commendation of his gallant conduct, how he gave his life for his country.” Stuart was most concerned that his former enemy to whom he had been reconciled was properly honored, quite unconcerned with his own honor.
At the end, a brave man was more concerned about another man’s honor than he was of his own. That, my friends, is HONOR. I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:12: “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
Stonewall Jackson’s last words amongst fits of delirium were “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” Jeb Stuart’s last words were the lyrics of that old hymn “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me.” At 7:48pm on May 12, 1864, the gallant Christian cavalry officer who had kept his word in his last hours and had humbled himself to honor another man was then exalted to New Adventure in the presence of the LORD. His wife, delayed by the fighting close to Richmond, never made it to his bedside in time.
Perhaps one of the greatest compliments paid to General Stuart was not from his own countrymen or friends, but from one of his adversaries. Union General James Wilson finally submitted a detailed report of the operations of May-June, 1864 when the war was nearly over. In this report, he made it clear that the superiority of the Yankee cavalry over its Confederate counterpart could only be considered or dated AFTER the death of General Stuart.
It’s also interesting that the famous M3 Tanks supplied to the British by the United States in WWII and used by the Allies to beat back the Nazis were dubbed BY THE BRITISH the “M3 Stuart” in honor of this fallen cavalry hero.
The monument of JEB Stuart that the mayor of Richmond unlawfully ordered removed yesterday summed up the last hours of this man’s life succinctly: “He gave his life for his country and saved his city from capture.” But oh, there was so much more to those last hours . . . a testimony to TRUE CHRISTIAN HONOR AND INTEGRITY.
There is so very little courage, virtue, and honor in America’s churches today. And instead of seeking to learn from those qualities in the lives of saints who have gone before, we are cancelling them. Such disdain is what the Scriptures refer to as “implacable,” and this is a characteristic of the wicked as described in Romans 1. And for the implacability of this nation, God’s judgment is coming.
God Bless the Testimony of General JEB Stuart. I am reminded of his witness and his honor daily as I look to his portrait hanging above my office closet which contains a healthy supply of our Bibles and evangelism materials. I have written today of the last hours of JEB Stuart’s life as a testimony of HONOR, but his entire military service was what one described as “a powerful witness for Jesus Christ to countless soldiers who served in the War Between the States.” There is an interesting little biography of JEB Stuart that was written in 1914 by a Mrs. ML Williamson and reprinted by Christian Liberty Press in 1991. It’s simply entitled: “The Life of J.E.B. Stuart.” I highly recommend it. It’s better to read about and model a Christian life than to revere a bronze statue anyway. For, “seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
This portrait of Confederate General JEB Stuart hangs on the wall of my office back home in North Carolina. ‘Tis a portrait of Christian honor.
This biography by Mrs. Williamson is a great read for your children concerning Christian honor and integrity. Children will NEVER learn such things in any of America’s public schools nor in most of it’s so-called “Christian” schools.
My friends, there was a time when Christian men considered keeping their word to be of such importance, that they labored to fulfill it even in their dying moments. Today, few in the churches keep their word. It’s nothing to tell a man you will do something and then fail to do it. It’s nothing even in the churches. I gave my word to the LORD and to many of my brethren that I would walk across America. We took a short break. It’s time to get back to it. God forbid that I would fail in this to keep my word.
God’s blessings be upon you all as you endeavor to walk in the Spirit with discretion, dimension, and honor:
“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life” (Philippians 2:15-16a).
If this long walk across America has edified you in some way, please consider sowing into our ministry. We have needs, and gas is real expensive these days. Anything you can share, if the LORD should lay it upon your heart, is a blessing that will be used faithfully and with account. All contributions are tax-deductible. Thank you in Jesus’ name. Learn more . . .
Stay tuned for more adventures as we continue our long walk into Oklahoma & Kansas! You can keep up with our progress at thelongwalkUSA.com.
In Messiah, our ONLY HOPE,
Jesse Boyd