FLESH ZOMBIE WEAPONRY: THE GARLIC CONNECTION

Greetings O Ye Lovers of Garlic. Not only is garlic a delicious addition to meals...and depending on who you are listening to...very healthy for you...it is a retardant for those pesky zombies and vampires. For our purposes...we will be talking about GARLIC as one of our weapons against the FLESH ZOMBIES that rise again...and try to convince us that our old nature rules. Sometimes my flesh reminds me of our friend...Rondo Hatton...star of multiple B-movies...who is also known as THE CREEPER. Everyone tip your hat and say hello to Rondo. His big hit was in the 1946 movie House of Horrors..but he reprised the role in many movies in the 40's. In our last Ramblings...the first weapon that we looked at was LIGHT...when we walk in the light as He is in the light...we have fellowship with one another...and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (I John 1:7) In this light...the sin is revealed...we confess the sin (confession=homo-legos=same word)...we say the same word that God says about our sin...we have fellowship...something in common with other believers...and the BLOOD OF JESUS is applied to our sin...and we walk forgiven. A lot of stuff happens...but it starts with LIGHT.
Weapon #2 is GARLIC: Garlic...a bulbous plant of the lily family (Jesus is know as the LILY of the Valley). Garlic is a strong smelling bulb that is made up of small sections called CLOVES, use as seasonings in meats, salads, crafish boils, and warding of vampires and zombies...especially the FLESH kind. Vincent Price in THE LAST MAN ON EARTH... would place garlands/wreaths of garlic on his doors and around his neck. The doorway represents the ENTRANCE way into a house...or the ENTRANCE way into your mind, will, emotion and your very life. The purpose of the GARLIC was to REPEL the ones trying to enter into your DOMAIN. Domain is your place of AUTHORITY.
Garlic...very offensive to some...especially if they have not been partaking...but to some it is a sweet SAVOR. I know that at a crawfish boil...they cook that sweet meat with seasonings...potatos, celery, corn, mushrooms...and clove after clove of GARLIC. This is my lovely wife's favorite part of the meal. Since we both partake...that offensive GARLIC smell now becomes a SWEET SAVOR as we smooch.
The GARLIC in our war with the FLESH...that we hang on our doorways is the doorway to our minds...our wills...our emotions...our lives...to keep out the FLESH ZOMBIES from enter in is defind in II Corinthians 2:14-17. That GARLIC is "the knowledge of Him in every place." Remember...it's not what you know...it's WHO you know...and when you know JESUS... that gives you the advantage in the battle. "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in HIS TRIUMPH, and manifests through us the SWEET AROMA of the [knowledge of Him in every place]. For we are a FRAGRANCE of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to one an AROMA OF DEATH, to the other AN AROMA FROM LIFE to LIFE. For we are not like many peddling/corrupting the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we SPEAK in Christ in the sight of God." (II Corinthians 2:14-17)

NOTE: If you eat enough GARLIC...it will not only manifest itself on your breath as you SPEAK...but it will come out the pores of your skin...and you will be a walking garlic perfume factory...with that fresh and new fragrance...Ode De Le Stinko...or Ode De Le Lifo...depending on your perspective and your nasal sensibilities.

Another place to put GARLIC ( in the movies and folklore)..is in the MOUTH of the vampire/zombie. This supposedly keeps the creature of the night in his place. We need to keep a clove of GARLIC in our MOUTHS...so that our SPEECH will not ALLOW the entrance or the exit of the old creature. Jesus used SPEECH to deal with the devil as he quoted Scripture...and then took authority over the devil and told him to leave...begone...get out...scat. (Matthew 4/Deuteronomy 8)

"Let no (don't allow it) NO unwholesome word proceed from your MOUTH, but only such a word as is good for edification (building up versus tearing down) according to the NEED OF THE MOMENT, that it may give GRACE to those who hear." (Ephesians 4:29)

The attacks come through the mind...drops into our hearts...and then comes out our mouth...that will eventually result in our actions. If we put a GUARD of GARLIC in place on what tries to come in...then we will have control on what comes out...of our lives. When we RESTRAIN...put a RESTRAINING ORDER on the old things trying to come back...we are exercising the EXOUSIA...power...delegated authority that we have. When we combine this with the DUNAMIS...power...dynamic ability that we have...we have a powerful one...two...punch over the sin, the flesh, and the devil. WRITE THIS STATEMENT DOWN AND HANG IT AROUND WHEREVER YOU CAN SEE IT...

UNRESTRAINED THOUGHTS...PRODUCE

UNRESTRAINED WORDS....RESULTING IN

UNRESTRAINED ACTIONS

What we think...produce what we say...resulting in what we do.

NEXT TIME: The weaponry of MIRRORS.

Love and Pungent Kisses
Rodney "Sweet Savor" Boyd 

MEN'S BREAKFAST

MEN...AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

ARE YOU TIRED OF THE OLD MAN...RISING UP AND TRYING TO DRAG YOU BACK INTO YOUR OLD WAY OF LIFE?

ARE YOU TIRED OF THINGS THAT YOU THOUGHT WERE DEAD TO YOU...PULLING YOU AWAY FROM WHO YOU REALLY ARE?

FEAR NOT...THERE IS HOPE FOR YOU.

INVITATION TO THE MEN'S BREAKFAST

????????????????????????????
WHO: You
WHAT: Men's Breakfast
WHEN: Saturday, September 2nd, 2006...8:00 A.M.
WHERE: SMYRNA ASSEMBLY..FELLOWSHIP HALL
WHY: Food...Fellowship...Freedom
HOW: Mark it on your calendar...get up...and come
SPEAKER: Rodney Boyd...Freedom Fighter

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rodney Boyd
Home# (615) 890-3209
Cell # 415-4177
ruminator12@comcast.net

NOTE:

a. If you can't come...pray
b. Women...if you are reading this...pass it on to your man

 

DEFENSE SYSTEM AGAINST ZOMBIES OF THE FLESH

Greetings Oh Ye More Than Conquerors,

Well...welcome to Part 2 of our Adventures of Zombie Slaying...or that FLESH nature that tends to raise it's ugly head periodically and try to recaputre you and drag you back into your old way of life. As you can tell from our first picture...we are still referring to my favorite B-Movies. This first picture is from what some have called THE WORST MOVIE OF ALL TIMES. That's right...PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. Sometimes I feel as if these walking dead are trying to fulfill their PLAN in my life...but never fear...we have WEAPONS.

When the sun is slowly setting...and the fear begins to creep in...as you realize that those things that should be dead...will be coming for you again...to bring you down to their level...the level of the living dead. In our last Rambling...we began to explore how what shouldbe DEAD in our lives...will sometimes...appear to REANIMATE themselves...and begin to pull us BACK DOWN to where we were before we were believers. Sometimes we FEEL HOPELESS...because over and over and over again...we have tried not to do certain things...and we fail...we feel condemned...and we reason that we can't live the life...we MIGHT AS WELL NOT EVEN TRY. Well...just like Vincent Price in that great flick...THE LAST MAN ON EARTH...he faced the same thing...whenever the SUN WOULD GO DOWN. Let's look at some ot the things that he used to combat these ZOMBIES...and see if there is any correlation with any of the weaponry that we have at our disposal...to combat our reanimated FLESH MONSTERS.

Here are a couple of things you need to know before you begin:

(1) Jesus Christ has done everything that there is to be done when he (a) allowed Himself to be crucified (b) when He was buried (c) when He was resurrected...raised from the dead. There is nothing else that we can do to add to that fact. We will talk more about this point.

(2) You have what is known as VOLITION...free will...the right to choose what you do. Flesh is not an excuse to SIN. The power of SIN has been broken...and you have POWER to stand against it. POWER= (a) exousia which is delegate authority from the top...backing power (b) dunamis which is dynamic ability to carry out the exousia.

3. Our enemies are not NATURAL...and neither is our weaponry.

"For though we walk IN THE FLESH (our human bodies...not the flesh nature)...we do not ware according to the flesh, for the WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE are not of the flesh, but DIVINELY POWERFUL for the DESTRUCTION OF FORTRESSES (pulling down of strongholds). We are destroying SPECULATIONS and every LOFTY THING raised up against the KNOWLEDGE of God, and we are TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish ALL DISOBEDIENCE, whenever your obedience is complete. You are looking at things as they are OUTWARDLY..." (II Corinthians 10:3-7)

"For our STRUGGLE is not against FLESH and BLOOD (humans)..but against (a) the rulers (b) the powers (c) world forces of this darkness (d) against the spiritual forces of wickedness... in HEAVENLY PLACES" (Ephesians 6:12)

Now...let's take a look at Vincent Price's bag of weaponry that he used...and see what we can use against some of the LIES that rise up against us. They will work with either the old nature trying to recapture us...or some scheme of the devil (little d) to pull us away from who we really are...or just plain old sin...as we journey in this land of life that we call nitty gritty.

#1 LIGHT:(I John 1:5-7)

"And this is the message that we have heard from Him and announce to you, that GOD IS LIGHT and in Him there is NO DARKNESS at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not PRACTICE THE TRUTH, but if we WALK IN THE LIGHT...as He Himself is IN THE LIGHT, we have fellowship (something in common) with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from ALL SIN."

In vampire/zombie movies...one thing that they can't stand is LIGHT. They only come out at night. It was in the light that Vincent Price could GET HIS REST. It was in the light that he could accomplish his work and prepare for the attacks that will come (and they will come against us) in the night. In any dracuala (little d) movie...there would always be the showdown...where the hero would be fighting against the evil...and old drac would inevitably lose track of time...and the hero would drag himself over to the curtain...rip them down and the LIGHT OF THE RISING SUN (RISEN SON)...would shine it's rays on little d...like a laser beam...and his strength would be zapped and depleted..and eventually die or shrivel up like an orange peel in the sun.

As TRUE BELIEVERS...in the D.B.R...nothing more...nothing less...we are called to "walk in the light as He Himself is in the light." Our first weapon is to walk in forgiveness...because we ARE forgiven...the accuser has nothing to throw at su. As we WALK IN THE LIGHT.. our sins are REVEALED...and as our sins are revealed we
(1) confess them...homolegos them...say the same word that God says about them (2) apply the blood of Jesus to them to be cleansed (3) have fellowship with other believers (have fellowship with God Himself. When we WALK IN THE LIGHT...no darkness can have ANY POWER over us.

These zombies/vampires/creeps...are just like COCKROACHES...they scatter when the light is turned on. As we WALK IN THE LIGHT...as the enemy is revealed...as the schemes are BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT...we must then (like the Old Orkin Man)...find the NEST...where the enemy retreats to so they can regroup, reproduce, and replicate each other... and deal with them at the root level...and not just the surface, superfical stuff...and REVELATION is the first step. The other weapons will help to deal with the flesh...sins (plural: what we do)...and sin (singular: who we were). Go to a good concordance and begin to look up some LIGHT scriptures.

NEXT TIME: The Garlic Connection

Love and Light Kisses
Von Rodsing...or woulth that be Van Heavnsing..surely not Van Helsing

NOTE: Van Helsing was the one who fought against the evil dracula...with the same weaponry that we are using. 

VAMPIRES AND ZOMBIES OF THE FLESH

Hello Fellow B-Movie Fans....

Forget about all of those Oscar nominated movies... give me a good old Saturday afternoon B Movie...the B stands for Bad. If I can see the strings on the special effects...all the more better.

Many moons ago (back in the 70's)...I taught a message to a group called Follwers Fellowship (a Chi Alpha Assembly of God College Ministry) At Middle Tennessee State University...entitled CHRISTIAN VAMPIRES AND ZOMBIES. Many years later when I started e-mailing out the Ruminator Ramblings...I sent it out and revised it. Well...with the advent of the blog...look out...here it comes again...like a vampire or a zombie...this time with pictures...LOOK OUT FOR THE WALKING DEAD.

DEFINITIONS:

CORPSE: (1) a dead body, esp. of a person (2) something once vigorous, but now lifeless and of no use.

VAMPIRE: (1) in folkore and popular superstition, a CORPSE that becomes reanimated and leaves its grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping persons (2) an unscrupulous person who preys ruthlessly on others, as a blackmailer or useuer

ANIMATE: (1) to make alive, fill with breath (2) to make energetic or spirited (3) to stimulate to action or creative effort; inspire (4) to give motion to; put into action

REANIMATE: To give new life, power, vigor, courage, etc.

ZOMBIE: (1) in West African voodoo cults, they python diety (2) any voodoo snake deity, as in Haiti and parts of the U.S. (3) in West Indian superstition, a supernatural power through which a CORPSE suposedly is brought to a state of trance-like animation (or reanimation) and made to obey the commands of the person exercising the power

THE NUT FACTOR

Books and movies have used these concepts to thrill, chill, scare...and make money for years. Of course from the Christian perspective...once you are dead...you are dead in the physical. "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to DIE ONCE...and after this comes judgement." (Hebrews 9:27) Remember that this old body is just a shell..and the spirit...who is the real you is gone once you are dead. It is like a peanut shell and the actual peanut. When you or your loved one dies...what you see is the peanut shell...the NUT is gone. For some of us...that NUT comment is more true than we realize. Sometimes you feel like a nut...sometimes you don't. As Barney Fife say about Ernest T. Bass...HE'S A NUT!!

MOVIE MADNESS

Years ago...in 1964 there was movie starring Vincent Price (who I met at MTSU lecturing on art and gourmet cooking) called THE LAST MAN ON EARTH. It was later remade with Moses...I mean Charlton Heston, in 1971 as THE OMEGA MAN. In both movies there was a cataclysmic disaster that left the world in turmoil. They thought that they were the last (omega) man surviving...everone else was voted of the planet...the tribe had spoken (for all of you Survivor fans). To their surprise...there were a few humans left...and a lot of mutant...zombie like creatures running around. These REANIMATED creatures were intent on one thing...GETTING VINCENT and CHARLTON. They would come out at NIGHT..and beat on the doors...break through their windows...to try and bring our heroes down to their level. The movie revolved around all of the various ways that they tried to avoid becoming ONE OF THEM...and killing them off...one by one.

OUT WITH THE OLD...IN WITH THE ALPHA
It hit me one day...that I was a NEW CREATION in Christ...an ALPHA MAN...not an OMEGA MAN. "Therefore if any man IN CHRIST..he is a NEW CREATION...the OLD things passed away, behold NEW THINGS have come." (II Corinthians 5:17). I was no longer an unrighteous sinner...that had fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23)...and I was not righteous in my FLESH...but I was...and am...the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST. (II Corinthians 5:21) Outside of Christ I was the same old, same old...but IN CHRIST I was and am DIFFERENT. I looked in the mirror...and saw that I had pimples before I became a Christian...and I still had pimples after I was a Christian. Some INNER process had changed...but I still had some of the old things in my life that I had experienced for 18 years (shaped by my experiences...good, bad and ugly)

HERE THEY COME

I would find that I would be walking around on CLOUD 9 (...happy to be a changed man...when out of the blud...THE OLD MAN would become REANIMATED...and drag me down (by my permission) to my former self. I would do things (and still find myself doing some of them) that were consistent with my old nature. I felt like the Apostle Paul (a former murderer and zealot against organized Christianity)

THE PROBLEM DEFINED

"For I know that nothing good dwells IN ME, that is MY FLESH for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concure with the law of God in THE INNER MAN, but I see a different law in the members of my body WAGING WAR against the law of my mind, and making me a PRISONER of the law of sin which is in my members. WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM! Who will SET ME FREE, from the body (corpse) of death??? (Romans 7:18-24)

THE PROBLEM SOLVED

"Thanks be to God through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!!! So then, on the one hand I MYSELF am serving the law of God, but on the other with MY FLESH the law of sin." (Romans 7:25)

THE EXPECTED OUTCOME

"What then shall we say to these thing? IF GOD IS FOR US...WHO IS AGAINST US? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will he not also with Him freely give us all tings? Who will BRING A CHARGE against God's elect? GOD IS THE ONE WHO JUSTIFIES: who is the one who CONDEMNS? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was RAISED, who is at the right hand of God who also INTERCEDES for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Chrsit? Shall tribulation, or distres, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? Just as it is written, "For thy sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to the slaughter...BUT...in all these things we OVERWHELMINGLY CONQUER, through HIM who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, no powers, nor height, nor depth, nor ANY OTHER CREATED THING, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE OF GOD...which is in CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD." (Romans 8:21-39)

THE REANIMATED OLD SELF

Well...like the ZOMBIES that rose up against Charlton and Vincent...I found that my OLD ROD...my OLD SELF would raise up his ugly head when I least expected it. I would feel condemned and felt like a failure and hypocrite. At times I would succumb to those feeling and think...well maybe I am not changed...maybe I am the same old Rod. I would come into agreement with my emotions...what other people would say...and reason logically...that I might as well go back to my old lifestyle and live my life honestly instead of trying to delude myself...because I sure ain't living the new lifestyle. I smoked more dope...drank more booze...did more stupid things after I was a Christian than before I was a Christian. I was SAVED in 1970...been to a Bible College...married in 1972...and backslid (actually I slid face forward..actually a triple sumersault with a twist)...and returned to the Lord in a couple of years and have been standing since 1974 (It is currently 2006...at the first falling I was 21 years old...and now I am 55 years old..double nickles). I AM STILL faced with the zombies of my flesh rising up...sometimes I fall..but I am learning THE SECRETS OF COMBAT AGAINST THE FLESH...and the LAST MAN ON EARTH/OMEGA MAN movie is a prime example for how we as believers can COMBAT the old ways from capturing us...and making us like them...and how we can become conformed to His image...that is changing from day to day moment by moment.

Thanks to the true ALPHA and OMEGA...FIRST and LAST.. BEGINNING and the END man...Jesus Christ.

NEXT TIME

OUR WEAPONRY OF OFFENSE AND DEFENSE AGAINST THE ZOMBIES OF OUR FLESH.

Keep Mooin' and Chewin
Rodney (The Alpha Man) Boyd 

THE HERD HAS HEARD (Burning Hearts)

Greetings all you Mooers and Milk Shakers... how's life in the herd?

In our last Rambling we talk about the CORAZON DEL FUEGO...the HEARTS OF FIRE...and we had the burning desire to learn the SECRETS OF THE HEART.


If you will recall...that the story on the back of Captain Rodney's Pirate Gold Hot Sauce revealed that Captain Rodney might share with you the SECRETS OF THE HEART... for a price. Well...the price has been paid for you...and the secret is no longer a secret.

In Luke 24:1-35...there is a report of women finding an empty tomb. They were told that, "He is not here...HE IS RISEN." Starting with verse 13...we begin walking with two disciples...walking to the village of Emmaus. This was
about 7 miles from the city of peace...Jerusalem. As they were walking along the road...they were conversing with each other about all the things which had taken place. While they were in the process of discussing these things...JESUS approached them...and began traveling with them. There eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. If you see the picture above...you see a man who has been on the Emmaus walk...and his eyes have been opened. Aaaaaaaaaaah refreshing. Jesus began to question them about what they were talking about. At this point they stopped...stood still...and looked sad. One of the men named Cleopas...answered Jesus' question with a question..."Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?" NOTE: I've got a feeling that Jesus had a clue about what was going on. Jesus answered there question with another question and said, " What things?" The began to tell Him about about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and the people. They told Him about how the chief priests and the rulers delivered Him up to the sentence of death and crucified Him. They then begin to open up to the real problem. They were hoping that it was He who was going to REDEEM ISRAEL. They related how 3 days later...the women found an empty tomb...and claimed they had a vision of angels telling them that HE WAS ALIVE...but they did not see Him. It seems that the root of their sadness was LOST HOPE. The man who they thought would redeemed Him died...and even His body was gone.
Jesus pointed them back to the PROPEHTS...who wrote that the CHRIST/MESSIAH had to suffer these things and enter into His glory. He then began to lay it out by chapter and verse (there really was no chapter and verse at this point...He did use the Word)...beginning with Moses and the Prophets and explained to them the things concerning Himself in ALL THE SCRIPTURES. NOTE: The next time you read the Old Testament...read it with Jesus in mind.

As they approached Emmaus...it was getting toward evening. Jesus (they still did not know who He was)...acted as if He would walk on farther. They convinced Him to say and have a little supper with them.

ALERT...ALERT...ALERT....SECRETS OF THE BURNING HEART ABOUT TO BE REVEALED.

REVELATION IN THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD

vs. 30: He reclined at the table with them
vs 30: He (a) took the bread (b) blessed it (c) broke the bread (d) gave it
vs 31: Thier eyes were OPENED...and they RECOGNIZED Him

At this point He vanished from their sight. Here is the statment that many have made since then..."Were not our HEARTS BURNING WITHIN US while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?"

That is what happens to us. The seed of the WORD is planted in our hearts...and when he take the bread/manna of the Word...BLESSES it, BREAKS it apart for us...and GIVES it to us...our eyes are opened...and we recognize Him. This is the type of HEARTBURN that you do not want to apply Tums... Prilosec....Nexium...Gaviscon...Alka Seltzer...Pepto...etc

May the BURNING never leave you. Notice after the expereince...they arose...returned to Jerusalem...and found others to declare: THE LORD HAS REALLY RISEN....and then they began to RELATE THEIR EXPERIENCES on the road and how He was recognized by them IN THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD.

That's all being a witness is about. Have a burning...RECOGNIZE Him...known that HE REALLY IS RISEN...and RELATE your experiences to others.

Love and Risen Kisses
Rodney "A Hunka Hunka of Burning HEART" Boyd 

CORAZON DEL FUEGO (Secrets of the Heart)

Aaaaaaaaarg Matey....Avast ye landlubbers....Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum...X marks the spot as we look for buried treasure filled with gold doubloons and pieces of eight...15 men on a dead man's chest...Yo Ho, Yo Ho, the pirates life for me. Shades of Captain Jack Sparrow. You may be asking yourself...Self...Why all the pirate lingo? Well...it is just a way to proclaim that my name is on a bottle of hot sauce. That's right...my name is on a bottle of CAPTAIN RODNEY'S PIRATES GOLD HOT SAUCE. It would be enough that my name is on the hot sauce...but what really caught my eye was the story on the back of the bottle.
I love old pirate movies. they tend to romanticize the scruvy lot...but I love to see that old swashbuckler Errol Flynn yielding his sword and controlling an uruly lot of peg legs and eyepathes. He brings a Robin Hoodesque character to the scourges of the open sea. He could swing from the yardarms with the best.

One of my favorite pirate movies of all times was...and still is...the Crimson Pirate starring Burt Lancaster. Burt is a former circus acrobat before he became a movie star...and he does his own stunts in this movie. It is a funny...adventure filled flick. He is swinging around...turning flips...commanding his crew...all with the his trandmark smile.

Now back to the matter at hand...hot sauce.
Here is the tale found on the back of Captain Rodney's Pirate Gold Hot Sauce.

"For generations, explorers have searched for the CORAZON DEL FUEGO...the HEART OF FIRE. Captain Rodney has discovered the SECRETS OF THE HEART, and for a price, he might be willing to share them with you. Using the famous Jamacian Scotch Bonnet Pepper, and his own blend of spices, the Captain has captured and bottled teh very ESSENCE OF FIRE. Not a sauce for the faint of heart, only the bravest can enter the HEART OF FIRE...the CORAZON DEL FUEGO."
What are the odds...that the storyof a ot sauce would mirror the fact that I have REALLY discovered the SECRETS OF THE HEART. I really have captured...or more like it has captured me...THE ESSENCE OF FIRE. I want you to begin a journey with me...that will take us to the next Rambling where we will join two distraught followers of the Nazarene. We will be joining two travellers on the road to Emmaus...and see what we have in common with them...and the HEART OF FIRE. Next time we will truly learn the SECRET OF THE BURNING HEART...and how you can experience the ESSENCE of that FIRE for yourself.

For now...can anyone tell me what a Hogshead is in pirate lingo?

Love and Burning Kisses

Rod "Could You Call Me Captain" Boyd 

PEOPLE...NEED THE LORD

Hello People..."For God so loved the PEOPLE/WORLD...that He gave His only begotten Son of God...that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Last year...I was blessed to be able to be part of a team that went to Kenya Africa...and participate in teaching at a Youth With A Mission (YWAM), Discipleship Training School (DTS). This was my second trip to Kenya...and it was like a homecoming. In the picture...you see me teaching at the base. If you look to the right...on the wall...is a picture of Africa with the scripture..."Listen to Me O' Islands and let the PEOPLE renew their strength." (Isaiah 41:1) The New American Standard version says..."Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, and let the PEOPLES gain new strength."

God has a heartbeat for PEOPLE. When John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the WORLD...", it does not mean the dirt of the earth...but the PEOPLE. From the moment that we took of from the Nashville International Airport...the Lord began to speak to me. After returning, I was able to distill down to three specific things that was impressed deep in my spirit. (1) Teach the full counsel of God (2) The condition of the land/dirt of Africa, the condition of the people of Africa, the condition of the world, and the condition of me specifically. The condition was the same for each one of those areas...dryness...brown patchy land, with remnants of lushness and life. (3) PEOPLE NEED THE LORD

Years ago...on the 700 Club...there was a commercial that featured the music of Danibelle Hall...and the song that she sung as images of various PEOPLE, flashed across the screen was PEOPLE NEED THE LORD. It was that one line of the song that kept rewinding throughout my mind, morning, noon, and night...and still rings in my ears.

My mentor and pastor...Bruce Coble...told me after one of our mission excursions...that once you have been on a mission...and connect with the PEOPLE...that you can never...JUST...take a vacation...because everywhere you go...there are PEOPLE that God loves...that God died for...that NEED THE LORD. When you are a believer...you are the temple of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God dwells in you.
(I Corinthians 6:19,120/I Cornithians 3:16,17/I Cornithians 2:10-16)

When any man/woman is IN CHRIST...in the anointing and His Anointed One is in us...we are NEW CREATIONS...the old things past away...new things are constantly coming. (II Corinthians 5:17). Because of this change in our lives...we begin to view PEOPLE differently. "Therefore...from now on...we recognize no man ACCORDING TO THE FLESH...even though we have know Christ according to the flesh...YET now we know Him thus no longer." (II Corinthians 5:16) We no longer view PEOPLE...in the flesh (with our flesh nature...or by their outward lives). We begin to see them...as God sees the...and God loves them...and poured out His live to them on the cross...as Jesus became the substitute...the propitiation...the satisfaction for our sins.

It's hard to hate someone when you see them from a God's Eyed View.

PEOPLE NEED THE LORD...and for some reason...God has chosen us to be the avenue of the message. We are now ministers and ambassadors of the message that (1) God loves you (2) God gave His Son up as a substitute and satisfaction for our sins (3) If you believe in the DBR..then you (a) Will not perish (b) Will have eternal life

"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION, namely, that God was in Christ RECONCILING the world/PEOPLE to Himself, NOT COUNTING THEIR TRESPASSES AGAINST THEM, and He has committed to us the WORD OF RECONCILIATION. Therefore, we are AMBASSADORS for CHRIST, as though God were entreating THROUGH US, we beg you on behalf of Christ, BE RECONCILED TO GOD IN HIM." (II Corinthians 5:18-20)

The last verse of II Corinthians 5...lays out how Romans 3:10...can be changed. Romans 3:10 states, "As it is written there is NONE RIGHTEOUS...no not one." Apply the D.B.R. to the quotient...and we see that unrighteousness...becomes righteous. "He (God The Father) made Him (Jesus the Son) who new no sin to BE SIN on our behalf, that we (people who need the Lord) might become THE RIGHTEOUSNESS (in right standing with Him) OF GOD IN HIM." (II Corinthians 5:21)

If you can...find a copy of the song PEOPLE NEED THE LORD...by either Danibelle Hall or Steve Green)...and join me at looking at PEOPLE a little more differently than you have before.

POWER OF GOD TO THE PEOPLE

Love
Rodney 

55 AND COUNTING

Hello friends and neighbors...blessings upon you in your remaining years.

Hmmmm...what an odd blessing..."in your remaining years" They say that the only thing that is certain in life is (1) death (2) taxes.

Yesterday...I celebrated my 55th birthday. That's right...fifty-five...55...double nickles. If I live to be 110 years old...I can consider myself to be middle aged. I am like a fine wine...aged... delightful bouquet...or like a chunk of cheese...moldy and stinky. I guess it all depends on how you view me. In the picture above...I am like my Canadian friend Red views me as Cute Little Rodney (CLR). I guess she sees the inner me versus the outer me. It reminds me of that old song...You must have been a beautiful baby...because you sure are ugly now.

In reality...I am actually 36 years old. I was born on August 15, 1951... a bouncing baby boy to Lonnie and Elizabeth Boyd...but in the fall of 1970 I was "born again" and became a bouncing baby Christian. From that point until now...I have been learning and growing by making mistakes...falling down...getting up...and walking again. God has taken everything in my life that happened in my life pre-1970...the good, the bad and the ugly...and everything post-1970...and has redeemed my life. He has forgiven my past... and now I am walking towards the future. Destiny is at hand...and like the exiles that were captive in Babylon...there was still a PLAN for them. I was exiled because of disobedience in the GARDEN...and restored because of obedience at the CROSS. (II Corinthians 5:14,15)

"For I know the PLANS that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for WELFARE and not for calmity, to give you a FUTURE and a HOPE. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you, and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all of your heart. And I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile." (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

For 19 years...I wandered in an exile...as a result of original disobedience...(Romans 5:12)...and then in the Fall of 1970...I was released from exile...because of the D.B.R. Ever since then...I have been on a journey...and adventure. I have made a few wrong turns...but always returned back to the correct path.

I am now 55 years old chronologically...and 36 years old spiritually... and I am alive and kickin'. As Johnny Winters...the albino blues man states..."I'm still alive and well..though it's kinda hard to tell..." On the outside...I may be decaying...the muscles, joints, and ligaments not as loose as they use to be...the kicks not as high as the younger bucks...but I am still kicking.

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our OUTER MAN is decaying, yet our INNER MAN is being renewed DAY...by...DAY."
(II Corinthians 4:16)

We started of this Rambling with a blessing upon your REMAINING years. Until we take our last breath...and assume room temperature...we all have the same amount of time...24 hours in a day...7 days a week...365 days in a year...and we need to make the most of the time we have. We can consume the time on our self...or for Him. It really is a wonderful life.

Love and Timely Kisses
Cute Little Rodney...in the Spirit 

TOP TEN REASONS IT'S OK TO BE NEGATIVE

Hey all of you POSITIVE people...or Hey to all of you NEGATIVE people.

You know...NEGATIVE people get a bad rap. Why are you POSITIVE people so NEGATIVE about us NEGATIVE people. Yes...I'm talking to you...I'm POSITIVE.

In the past...I have sent out Ruminator Ramblings about The Top Ten Reasons...(fill in the blank). Since this is a new forum for the Ruminator...I thought I would pull out a golden oldie of Top Ten Reasons. Check out the picture. It is a pair of glasses..with a plus and minus sign...plus=positive and minus=negative. It all depends on how you look at something. You can look at the same thing...and come to different conclusions. Take for example: GODISNOWHERE. You either see GOD IS NO WHERE...or you see GOD IS NOW HERE. It all depends on how you look at it. Is your glass half empty...or half full? So many times we are surrounded by so many negative people...that their negativity infects everyone...and every situation around them. The negativity drains the energy out of you like the Bernoulli effect on steroids. It is hard to soar like an eagle...when you are sourrounded by so many turkeys. If people want to sow in negative seeds into the garden of life...who am I to prevent them from reaping a harvest of misery. I've got my own garden to think about. WELL...I've had enough!!! I'm tired of always being the positive one!!! I'm going over to the dark side!!! I am going to become negative like the rest of the stinking world.!!!! Sooooooooooooooo....here are the TOP TEN REASONS IT'S OK FOR ME TO BE NEGATIVE:

#10 Lower expectation levels means that when something POSITIVE happens ...I'll be pleasantly surprised...but I know that I WON'T have to worry about that happening any time soon.

#9 If opposites attract...then I want to attract something positive...so if I'm negative...positive will come...if I am positive..I will attract negative...so by being negative...I am in reality being positive.

#8 Why should I always be frustrated when someone is being negative...I can join the crowd of negativity and avoid all that frustration?

#7 Why should I have to listen to people whining all the time about their problems. From now on...when people come to me...complaining about their situation...I can join their PITY PARTY..and just agree that they are right...that their life sucks. I will be positive that their lives are a mess and will never change. That should make us all happy.

#6 We live in a fallen, deparaved world that is WITHOUT hope. If they want to live that way...what's it to me?

#5 Life gives me lemons...I make lemonade...and choke on the seeds. "It's a dog eat dog world...and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear." (Norm on Cheers). I can't win for trying. Oh well...bottoms up..over the lips and over the gums...look out tummy...cough, choke..seeds going down the wrong way...here misery comes.

#4 What???Am I my brothers keeper? Let him keep himself. I bigger worries to worry about other than my brother.

#3 I believer in THY WILL BE DONE. If negative happens...then that must be my lot in life...my karma...que sera sera...whatever will be will be. Why expend a lot of positive energy when negative is going to happen no matter what I do? I might as well reduce my Christianity to some other religion that believes in a caste system...and if a fly is on my nose.. then that is what is suppose to be.

#2 People thrive on their pathetic Soap Opera Experiences. Why can't I join the cast and feed into their negativity?

And the NUMBER ONE reason that it is O.K. for me to be negative:

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME BABY...IT' ALL ABOUT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well...there you have it. I've got to go now...I'm feeling a little depressed and I can't quiet put my finger on why?

Love and postive kisses
Rod "God is NOW here" Boyd

FLESH IN THE CROSSHAIRS

Greetings...welcome to the FLESH FREE ZONE. We have seen in the past few Ruminator Ramblings...that if we don't deal with the flesh...the flesh will deal with us. The flesh has being identified as that nature of man that rises up in opposition to the Spirt of God. We have also seen that God's will for us...His wish...His desire for us is to walk in FREEDOM...and NOT to be subject again to a YOKE OF SLAVERY. We also saw that we have a calling in our lives...we have been CALLED to FREEDOM. As creatures of FREE WILL...we have the ability to make choices that will determine if we will be bound by the FLESH...or free by the SPIRIT. We can take our freedom and turn it into an OPPORTUNITY for the FLESH...and opportunity does not only knock once...it is constantly knocking. (Read Galatians 5:1, 13)

Notice the picture of the WOLF...in the crosshairs. I chose a picture of the wolf...because the WOLF represents danger to the flock. The wolf may be getting a bad rap...but throughout history the WOLF has been pictured as someone who sneaks in and tries to hide in SHEEPS clothing who at an unsuspected moment attacks the SHEEP. The WOLF kills Grandma...poses as who he kills...and then plots and schemes to eat Little Red Riding Hood. One of my favorite Lon Chaney Jr. movies is The Wolfman. In the movie they quote a line through out the movie... that for some reason I remember after all these years..."Even he who is pure in heart..and says his prayers by night...can become a WOLF when the wolf bane blooms and the autumn moon is bright." When someone was bit by a werewolf...they became a werewolf. The only way to deal with the werewolf...shoot that thang...with a silver bullet or kill it of by beating it with a silver tipped cane. Hey...I had to work that wolf picture in here somehow.

If you don't deal with the flesh/wolf...the flesh/wolf will deal with you. The question is: "How do we deal with the FLESH? ANSWER:

1. Walk by the Spirit...and you will NOT carry out the DESIRE of the FLESH. (Galatians 5:16) For me...this is my gauge...indicator how I am doing. If I find myself carrying out the desires of the flesh found in Galatians 5:19-21...I know that I am NOT walking by the Spirit. I can either get depressed or condemned about it...or I can now specifically deal with the issue.

2. Walk by Faith: If I am carrying out the desires of the FLESH..I am NOT able to do the things that I PLEASE. (Galatians 5:17) I know that without FAITH...it is IMPOSSIBLE to PLEASE God...and I want to be a GOD-PLEASER. Applying my faith...to FLESHBUSTING...is (1) Coming to God (2) Believing that God is (3) Believing that God is a Rewarder (4). Diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) Faith must become my LIFESTYLE...the just shall LIVE by faith (Romans 1:17/Habakkuk 2:4/ Galatians 3:11/Hebrews 10:38). We can't go by what we see. In the FLESH...we see what we were...satan condemns us as we walk in the FLESH...but when we WALK BY FAITH...and not by sight (II Cor. 5:7)..we begin to CALL things that are NOT as though they WERE (Rom.4:17).

3. We become DEAD MEN walking: We belong to Christ Jesus...not satan...the devil...or the FLESH. Since we belong to Christ Jesus...we HAVE CRUCIFIED the flesh. The flesh has PASSIONS and DESIRES.. and by FAITH...we crucify the flesh. This simply means that we identify with the D.B.R...NOTHING MORE...NOTHING LESS. Galatians 2:20 Paul states, "I HAVE BEEN (past event...how does it feel to be a has been?) CRUCIFIED with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but CHRIST LIVES IN ME; and the life which I NOW (present) in the FLESH (this tangible body...that the flesh nature manifests itself) I LIVE BY FAITH (substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not seen) who LOVED ME...and delivered Himself up for me.

We are dead men walking...but as we identify with the death of Jesus... and relate it to the death of our FLESH...we also identify with the RESURRECTION of Jesus as we are RAISED TO WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE. (Romans 6:4) This is what is identified in as we get baptized (totally dipped and immersed in water and brought back out again.. Romans 6:1-7) This is what breaks the pattern of slavery to sin. Paul identified with this one time event...D.B.R. and realized that He was killed on the cross with Christ...but he identified with this event...dealt with the flesh daily...as he pointed out in I Cornithians 15:31 "...I die DAILY." We must DEAL with the flesh DAILY...or it will DEAL with us.

4. MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT WALK: If we LIVE by the Spirit...we need to WALK by the Spirit. This is manifested by the way that we treat one another. "Let us NOT become boastfull, challenging one another, envying one another." (Galatians 5:26) Walking is putting one foot in front of the other.

5. PROPER MIND SET: We need to renew the mind (Romans 12:1,2)...and we must have a proper MIND SET..."...who do not WALK according to the FLESH, but according to the SPIRIT. For those who according to the FLESH....SET their MINDS on the things of the FLESH, but those who are according to the SPIRIT...the things of the SPIRIT. For the MIND SET on the FLESH is DEATH...but the MIND SET on the SPIRIT IS (a) LIFE (b) PEACE." (Romans 8:5-6) The MIND SET on the FLESH...is HOSTILE towards God. (Romans 8:7/Galatians 5:17)

6. SPIRIT FRUIT: Fruit is the production of ...the produce of...the end result of the SPIRIT. The end result of the outworkings of the FLESH is death. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentelness, and self-control...Against these things...there is NO LAW." (Galatians 5:22,23) Let the fruit grow.

Well...that is it for now. Deal with the flesh...or the flesh will deal with you. The will of God is you to have dominion over the deeds of the flesh.

Thanks
Rodney 

THE ART OF DEALING WITH THE FLESH

Dear Friends...Beware the flesh eating ants.

Back in 2001...I went to Kenya Africa to participate in a Discipleship Training School (DTS) at a Youth With A Mission base (YWAM) at the Kenya Island Mission (KIM). My name is Rodney Lewis Boyd (RLB)...or as my Canadian friend Red calls me...Cute Little Rodney (CLR) Sorry...I got carried away with these initials (SIGCAWTI). We had a long flight, very long and harrowing road trip...when we arrived at the base. We traveled down a long, narrow, dark road from the road... and then we had to walk down to the tents that were set up on the shores of Lake Victoria. As Don...the leader of the base and naturalist extrodinaire was leading us down into the darkness...he suddenly stopped us...shined his flashlight on the path where there looked like hundreds of large ants were crossing. He then looked at us and gave us the ominous warning, "These are FLESH EATING ANTS!!!!" Not just dangerous ants, not just fire ants, not just biting ants...but FLESH EATING ANTS!!!!" Yikes!!!Later on...these lovely ants began to make way to the tent area. The way to deal with these FLESH EATING ANTS....burn them out. NOTE: I had another run in with ants in Peru as the strategically encircled the banyo...and bit my boo-tay...but that's another story for another time.

I said all of that to say this...If you don't deal with the FLESH EATING ANTS....they will deal with you...as SUPPER. The same with with the FLESH (sarx) in your Chrisitan walk. If you don't DEAL WITH THE FLESH...it will eat you alive. If you don't RESTRAIN the FLESH...you will constantly manifest the DEEDS (outworkings) of the FLESH in your life.

Remember that we do not want our Christian walk to be ...CHRISTIAN CON CARNE (khan...with flesh)...we want CHRISTIAN SIN (seen...without flesh). We don't want to walk in immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery (enchantment with drugs), outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envyings, drunkenness, carousings, and things like these. (Galatians 5:19-21) The cause and effect of those who habitually practice these things...is the danger of not inheriting the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21) I'm not talking about those who slip, stumble, and fall, and repent and receive forgiveness...and go back to walking in the Spirit...but those who practice these things until they perfect them in their lives. At the very least...those who practice these things...will not inherit...righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)

PROBLEM DEFINED

"For the FLESH sets its desire AGAINST the SPIRIT, and the SPIRIT against the FLESH; for these are in OPPOSITION to one another, so tht you MAY NOT DO the things that you please." (Galatians 5:17) Ain't that the truth!!! Your heartbeat is to PLEASE GOD...but the FLESH is in opposition to PLEASE GOD. This opposition to God, manifests itself in the way we act towards one another with the deeds...outworkings of the flesh (Galatians 5:20-21) It's like the Apostle Paul said, "For that which I am DOING, I do not understand; for I am not PRACTICING what I would like to do, but I am DOING the very thing I HATE." (Rom. 7:15)
Paul knew the source of the problem..."For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is IN MY FLESH; for the wishing is present in me, but the DOING OF GOOD IS NOT." (Romans 7:18)

GOD'S WILL IN THE FLESH MATTER

1. FREEDOM: "It ws for FREEDOM that Christ set us FREE... " (Galatians 5:1)

2. STAY FREE: "...therefore KEEP STANDING FIRM, and do not be SUBJECT AGAIN...to a YOKE OF SLAVERY." (Galatians 5:1)

3. YOU HAVE A CALLING: "For you were called to FREEDOM, brethern." (Galatians 5:13)

4. DON'T USE FREEDOM AS AN EXCUSE: "...only do not TURN YOUR FREEDOM...into an OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FLESH.." (Galatians5:13)

5. LOVE AND SERVE: "...but through LOVE...SERVE ONE ANOTHER"
(Galatians 5:13)

We can see God's mind in the matter of this flesh thang...but how do we get from practicing the deeds of the flesh...to walking in the Spirit. How do we get from NOT doing the things we don't want to do (walking in the flesh and opposing God)...to doing the things that we want to do (walking in the Spirit and pleasing God)?

NEXT TIME: Aiming at the flesh in the CROSShairs.

Love
Rodney "I Want To Be A God-Pleaser" Boyd
_ 

DEEDS OF CON CARNE

Hey friends...Who ya gonna call????
FLESH BUSTERS!!!!!

For those of us how have confessed with our mouths that Jesus is Lord (resulting in salvation)...and have truly believed in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead (resulting in righteousness...right standing...standing upright)...WHY are we still going through STUFF in our lives. Sometimes I feel like the apostle Paul as he laments, "For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am NOT PRACTICING what I would like to do, but I am DOING the very thing I hate." There are three areas that the believer has to stand against. (1) The world: that cursed system that we walk in that does not yield to the will of God. It has a strong pull on us and it's desire is for us to walk in it (the world) instead of the Kingdom of God (righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost Romans 14:17) (2) The flesh: The human nature with it's frailities (3) The devil (little d): Who has well orchestrated schemes to tempt us...to pull us away from who we really are...Ephesians 6:10-12/I Peter 5:8,9). In our previous Rambling...we talked about the flesh...in the form of chili. It comes two ways...chili CON (khan) carne (with flesh) or chili SIN (seen) carne (without flesh). For the Christian...we need to lean toward the sin carne. I find it interesting that sin...pronounced seen...is spelled like that with which we want to avoid...but in the flesh battle we want to embrace.


In the faith...we go after the things of God like a BIG DOG...but in the battle of the flesh...the big dog is after us. He is flesh hungry...and we must starve that mutt.

The deeds (outworkings) of the FLESH...are listed in Galatians 6:19-21. They are not limited to the list as evidenced by the phrase..."and things like these". Here are just a few of the outworkings of the flesh:

(1) immorality (2) impurity (3) sensuality (4) idolatry (5) sorcery
(6) enmities (7) strife (8) jealousy (9) outbursts of anger (10) disputes
(11) dissensions (12) factions (13) envyings (14) drunkeness
(15) carousings (16) things like these.

Now that is a fine list of what we would call sins...and especially sins of those filthy, dirty, rotten, no good, non-Christians. The only problem is that this list is written to Christians. It's kind of like the check list of the church in Corinth. Why...why can't we just get saved and enjoy life... without having to deal with the old way of life trying to raise up it's ugly head and recapture us? Some say that Christianity is for the weak who use their religion as a crutch. Well...a crutch comes in handy when you're crippled. It takes a real man and a real woman to stand up under the pressures of conforming to the image of the world and to stand/resist the schemes of the devil.. Believe me when I say...it is EASIER to just not do the right thing...and yield to the desires of the FLESH instead of saying NO to yourself and others...and say YES to God. The real wimps are the ones who do what they want. It's easy to cop out. I know...I have been on both sides of the spectrum. I have returned to the dog days of my vomit eating ways...and I have walked in obedience and eaten the fruit of the Spirit (Read Galatians 6:22-23). I vote for the fruit of the Spirit versus the vomit of the flesh.

NEXT TIME: Flesh Busting Freedom Fighters (How to Deal with the flesh)

Love and Flesh Free Kisses
Rodney "In The No Flesh Zone" Boyd 

THE CHILI FACTOR: Kan versus seen

Ola all of you chili lovers. I love chili. I love the smell...the taste...the variety...hot...mild... con...sin...I LOVE CHILI. I have sweet childhood memories of every other Wednesday night in the Boyd household. That would be the day that my Dad would get paid. The check would get cashed...and we would head off to the store and buy groceries. Once we returned home... Mom would put on a pot of coffee to brew...and then shou would open a CAN of chili con carne...and open up a can of tamales...and heat them up on the stove. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....the combination of smells of chili and coffee still stimulate my #1 Cranial Nerve...the Olfactory Nerve. Even to this day...that smell still evokes memories of "the good times" in our household. There are two camp of chili lovers. Camp #1 loves chili CON carne (chili with flesh/meat). See the bowl of chili above. Camp # 2 loves chili SIN carne (without flesh/meat). Chili wise...I fall in the con (khan) camp...Spiritual wise...I must go with the sin (seen) camp.

There are two types of Chrisitan camps. Christian CON (khan)CARNE....and Christian SIN (seen) CARNE. The FLESH (sarx) is defined as:

Sarx: flesh as stripped of the skin, that is, the meat of the animal (as food) or by extension the body, as opposed to the soul/spirit, or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred, or by implication HUMAN NATURE WITH IT'S FRAILTIES...physically or morally and passions. Specifically, a human being. (E-SWORD).

The struggle between the human spirit...and the soul...is where the battle of the flesh occurs. When the soul with it's mind (renewed or unrenewed), it's free will, and it's emotions...comes into conflict with the human spirit...where the Holy Spirit resides....there is struggle and opposition. What to do...what to d0!?!

NEXT TIME: The Freedom Factor in the Battle between Khan and Sin

Love and Habanero Kisses
Rod "Sin Carne" Boyd 

THE LINK PART 2 (Heart to Heart)

Welcome back...if you are just joining us...be sure to read Part One of THE LINK. We have seen that we are created beings...designed with the capacity to receive and transmit communication with God. He desires to SPEAK...we have EARS to HEAR...
beyond the mere sound of words...but filtering through a RENEWED MIND by the WORD of God. The next level in our communication process is for the WORD OF GOD...to drop deep into the center...the core...the heart of who we are. Now we are not talking about the HUMAN PUMP aka The Heart. We are talking about the LAMP OF THE LORD...THE SPIRIT (Proverbs 20:27) This is the point of REVEALATION....Spirit (Holy) to spirit (human). "For to us God REVEALED them (read I Corinthians 2:9 for what is revealed)...through the Spirit (Holy); the Spirit searches all tings, even the depths of God (Read Romans 8:27)...For who among men knows the thoughts of man except the spirit of man, which is in him? Even so the THOUGHTS of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might KNOW the things freely given to us by God." (I Corinthians 2:10-12) So we see that God is a revealer...and that what the Spirit has found out from the depths of God...He SPEAKS to us in our spirit. What do we do with what He speaks to us.? That takes us to the next step.

The MOUTH....the lips...the tongue...the articulators. We take our thoughts and speak them out. Of course if we speak from an unrenewed mind...we are not speaking from a God perspective but a SELF prespective. Have you ever given someone a piece of your MIND. Well, you did it through your mouth. "Death and Life are in the power of the TONGUE, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. (Proverbs 18:21) The question is...what are you speaking...what are you eating? NOTE: Recommended Reading: Joyce Meyer's book ME AND MY BIG MOUTH (Your Answer is Right Under Your Nose). What is in your mouth is what is in your heart...or as the Word puts it, "Out of the abundance of the heart...the mouth speaks." If you take a cup of coffee and shake it violently...to the point of where coffee spills out everywhere..you must wonder...WHY DID COFFEE COME OUT OF THAT CUP? The obvious answer is because you shook the cup. But in reality...the shaking only revealed what was in the cup. Why did coffed come out of the cup? Because that was what was IN THE CUP. What comes out of our mouths...whether it be anxiety, worry, tension, anger, doubt, unbelief, sarcasm, faith, believe, postive, etc...is revealed when we are under pressure. If our communication link is clear...if our minds are renewed...if our minds are stayed on the word...there is a peace that should flow over our lips. Speak words of God...life....speak words of yourself with an unrenewed mind...death.

Anyone can talk the talk..but can you walk the walk. "But prove yourselves DOERS OF THE WORD, and not merely HEARERS who delude themselves. For if anyone is a HEARER of the word and not a DOER, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirro; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was."
(James 1:22-4) Hearing is important...but doing is effectual. "But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and ABIDES by it, not having become a FORGETFUL HEARER...but an EFFECTUAL DOER, this man shall be blessed in WHAT HE DOES." (James 1:25)

In the Ruminator Sunday School Class we have a saying:

UNRESTRAINED THOUGHTS (what we think) PRODUCES
UNRESTRAINED WORDS (what we say) RESULTING IN
UNRESTRAINED ACTIONS (what we do)

Proverbs 29:18 states that "Where there is no vision/revelation, the people are UNRESTRAINED, but happy is he who KEEPS the law."

When we hear the word...filter the word through a renewed mind...plant that word in the soil of our heart...speak out of the abundance of the heart...and do what the word says instead of being unrestrained...but restrained by the Word of God...then we accomplish the purposes of God in our lives and become an communication tool to a lost and dying world.

Keep da faith baby.
Love and Spoken Kisess
(Rod "Clear Channel" Boyd 

THE LINK: God's Communication System (Part 1)

Hello all of you transmitters and receivers. How's your connection?

The heartbeat of God is to communicate with us. The word for communion, communicate, common (as in have all things common), fellowship...is a word called KOINONIA...that breaks down to sharing life in the Son.

Phase one of the communication process was the creation of the transmitter and receiver. We were created a triune being...spirt, soul, and body (I Thessalonians 5:23). (1) The spirit (pneuma) the core...the heart of who we are...the linking sight with the Holy Spirit. (2) The soul (soo-kay/psyche)...the mind, the volition (free will) and the emotions (3) The body (soma)...flesh, blood, bones, etc. We are known as the temple (naos)...the inner sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 6:19,20)

After God created the world and all that is within it...he crowned creation with his masterpiece...man/woman. He had an executive board meeting and declared his next step. "Then God said, Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every CREEPING thing that CREEPS on the earth. And God created man in His OWN image, in teh image of God He created him; MALE AND FEMALE He created them." (Genesis 1:26-27) NOTE: Notice the authority that God gave man and woman over the CREEPS...that includes serpents that would try to pull them away from who they really are (aka temptation). Genesis 2 fills in some detail on the process of this man/woman creation. "Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed (ruach, rushing violent wind/breath) into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7 [The 1st CPR) Now the Link Up...the connection had been made. Body...soul...and Spirit were now connected. God...began to SAY things to His new creations...He began to SPEAK...to COMMUNICATE...His thoughts, wishes, and desires.

"Having eyes, do you not see? And having EARS do you not HEAR?" (Mark 8:18) Now that's what I call a set of ears. Of course Jesus was not talking about the things on the side of your head. Hearing takes place deeper...in your heart...the core of who you are...deep in your spirit. The human spirit is called "the lamp of the Lord." Proverbs 20:27 "The spirit of man is the lamb of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being." The entrance way for God may be the things on the side of the head. Faith comes via this way.
"So faith comes from HEARING, and HEARING by the Word of Christ." (Romans 10:17) In the natural...the two things on the side of our head (pinna or auricles)...collects the sound...and through a series of changes...goes from the outer ear...to the middle ear...into the inner ear...into the BRAIN...where the sound is decoded. So it is with our spiritual ears. Let him who has ears to hear (the ones on the head)... hear (perceive in your spirit/heart/core of who you are).

The brain represents you MIND...that thang that you thank (think) with. The mind is one of the components of what we are calling our soul. The mind, the free will (volition), and our emotions. Prior to becoming a Christian... depending on what chronological point that you stepped into the stream of Christianity... your mind had been conditioned by experience...good, bad, and ugly. Your thinking had been based on what you have been taught. When God begins to try a linkup...there may be some serious static on the frequency band of your mind...and you may be getting confusing and conflicting signals. To correct this you must...as Bob Dylan sang...CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING. We must RENEW our minds. "I uuuuuurge you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your BODIES a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed (crammed into) to this world, but be transformed (metamorphised...changed like moth to a butterfly) by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1,2)

NEXT TIME: Thus far we have seen that: God speaks...we hear...filter what we hear through a renewed mind. Now it is time for what God spoke to drop into the HEART...we SPEAK...and we Do.

Love
Rodo