SURPRISE HAPPENS (The Joseph Principle)

Hello fellow Pilgrims...Gomer Pyle said it all when he uttered those three words..."Surprise, Surprise, Surprise." Along with those three words of surprise...he underscored them with one little word of amazement..."SHAZAM." I have noticed that a lot of people are walking along in their own little worlds...much like I am walking along in my little world...when all of a sudden SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE...we are hit with news that rocks our worlds. Things are going good...and then BLAMO....we are knee deep in the HOOPLA. Jobs are lost...Doctor's give their pronouncements...death of loved ones (expected and unexpected)...expectations of others are dashed on the rocks of reality...SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE. All you can do is drop your jaw and proclaime SHAZAM!?!?!?

I've written about this phenomenon before...and you've seen the lyrics from this Bruce Cockburn song THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY, about ..."sometimes a wind comes out of nowhere...and KNOCKS YOU SIDEWAYS and look...see my tears... they FILL THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY..." Another line talks about..."derailed and desperate...how did I get here...hanging by the TATTERS OF MY FAITH." SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE...SHAZAM!?!? I remember the first time I fought in a Karate Tournament. I was nervous...but I had been practicing in class...advanced in the belt ranks...felt pretty good about my abilities for...at that time...a 51 year old man. I was doing kumite...free style sparring. There were rule to be followed and one of those rules were DO NOT HIT IN THE FACE. I assumed...that the refs were on my side..and would enforce the rules. Someone forgot to tell the referee and my opponent my expectations. We faced off...bowed to each other out a respect...and BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes a FIST comes out of NOWHERE...and fill my FACE. My opponent was a lean, mean fighting machine...looking like Major Payne (a movie character)...but felt like Major Pain. he hit me square in the nose...which happens to be, the last time I checked...attached to my face. It knocked me back...stung...my head good woozy...my knees wobbly...and I looked over to the ref with the expectancy to call a foul and deduct a point. To my SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE...he gave the point to Major Pain. Out of 14 fighters I came in fourth place...but learned a valuable lesson. LIFE AIN'T FAIR...and the devil cheats. So what are we to do when SURPRISE HAPPENS??????

We apply THE JOSEPH PRINCIPLE. Joseph...was despised by his brothers...they faked his death...threw him into a pit...sold him to some travellers... carried off into a foreign land...
who sold him into slavery... was put into prison. STUFF HAPPENS!!!!!!! Joseph was elevated into a place power to the point that it is the first recorded incident of a TENNIS GAME... where Joseph SERVED in Pharoah's COURT. Sorry about that...

When Joseph's brothers had to come to Egypt because of a famine in the land...to negotiate for relief services...and when they realized that they were standing before the brother who they betrayed...the became very afraid. Joseph's response to them was YOU MEANT IF FOR HARM...GOD MEANT IT FOR GOD. He underscored this twice. He was living the Romans 8:28 principle...before Romans 8:28 was written. Look up this verse if you want to see how to handle the GOOD..the BAD... and the UGLY surprises in our lives.

When I went to Africa...God gave me this principle to hold onto as I went out into the UNKNOWN. No matter what happened...I loved the Lord..I was called to His purposes...and ALL THINGS (good, bad, ugly) were working together for GOOD. The key verse for me that got me through a lot of the SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE in Africa was found in GENESIS 50:19-20..."But Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid, for AM I IN GOD'S PLACE? (the answer is Yes...I am in God's place) And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God MEANT IT FOR GOOD in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."

No matter what you are going through...God can take what was meant as an evil thing against you...whether it be corporations cutting out your job...people working against you...the devil throwing sickness, disease, poverty, etc at you....God can take that same thing...and turn it around for GOOD. Take DISappointment...and make it HISappointment in your life. After all...ARE YOU NOT IN GOD'S PLACE. That's the PLACE that I want to REST in.

Whatever has HIT you in the pit of your stomach...whatever sucker punch has pounded your face...whatever knife has pierced you between the shoulder blade....take a deep breath...regain your focus...and press into God. Let Him wash you with the water of His Word....let Him apply the anteseptic cleansing of His Blood...let Him rub in the anointed oil of softening...let Him refresh you with Rivers of Living Water of His Spirit. The circumstance may NOT change...immediately...but the way you approach it can get you THROUGH it...as these TEMPORAL (temporary) setbacks happen. Read the Word...Believe the Word.. Confess the Word...and Act on the Word.

Love and Faith Kisses
Rod "God... Not Rod Is In Control" Boyd 

THE ART OF THE SHAKEN CUP

Greetings Cupbearers...how's your cup? I was at a funeral home for visitation the other night...and I was reminded of a Rambling that we did a while back about the cup. This person ( Brother Fred...the Kiing of Carpets) shared that at his business they still use a phrase related to that Rambling...WHAT'S IN YOUR CUP? In the Ruminator Sunday School Class... I will periodically...depending on if we have new people in there...use an example about how we speak...by taking their coffee cup in front of them...and SHAKE it violently to where coffee comes splashing out . I then ask them..."Why did coffee come out of that cup?" The answer is usually..."Because you shook it." While that is technically true... the answer that I am looking for is..."The reason coffee came out of the cup...is because THAT IS WHAT WAS IN THE CUP...the shaking only revealed what was in there." At my friends business...when ever someone gets frustrated...angry...emotional...someone will ask that person..."WHAT'S IN YOUR CUP?"


Have you ever had HOOF/FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE? I do quite often. I have read the instructions and now do it so naturally...I don't have to read the instructions any longer: (a) Open Mouth (b) Place foot in mouth. When the pressures of this life SHAKES ME...what is in me is REVEALED. What is in my HEART is manifested on my LIPS.

"For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit; nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his HEART brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his MOUTH SPEAKS from that which FILLS HIS HEART." (Luke 6:43-45).

These verses speaks of the heart condition that is manifested on the lips...but the next verse drives the point home...that what is in our hearts and manifested on our lips is fleshed out in what we do..."And why do you call Me Lord, Lord...and DO NOT DO WHAT I SAY?" Ouch...that one hurt myself. I gotta be careful in the Ramblings...and not self inflect conviction on myself.

The ultimate MOUTH MANUAL...is found in the book of PRO-VERBS (the book of professional, postive action words). NOTE: A Pro-verb a day...keeps the flesh away. There are 31 one chapters in the Book of Pro-verbs...on for each day of the month. One of the jewels of widsom found in PRO-VERBS...that deals with the MOUTH.. is found in PRO-VERBS 30:32. The next time you are shaken...by the swirl and circumstances of the world...and you have the urge to (a) open your mouth (b) inset your foot...consider these words of wisdom..."If you have been foolish in exalting yourself...or if you have plotted evil....PUT YOUR HAND ON YOUR MOUTH..." Loose talk really can cost lives. Loose lips really can sink your ship. Verse 33 demonstrates the cause and effect of what happens if we do not control our speech.

"For the CHURNING of milk PRODUCES butter...and PRESSING the nose BRINGS FORTH blood; Soooooooooooooooooo....the CHURNING of anger PRODUCES strife."

Your mouth is a churn...and what you place in the churn is determined by the storage of what is in your heart. If you have anger in your heart... the churning...or the talking...release of words...spilling out of your cup...produces STRIFE...unrest...and undercurrent in your life that is evident in your life...and spills out on all of those who are around you. Your mouth...will spread hoof and mouth disease quicker than a package of contaminated fresh spinach will spread E-COLI.

However...if you have peace...the Word of God...faith...love...joy...peace in your storage container (heart)...and you place this in your churn (mouth)...and begin to agitate an stir this up (speak)...the you will produce PEACE....and this will evident to all and it will spread...like rivers of living water...giving life to all who come into contact with you.

To misquote an Elvis Presley song...if you have love in your mouth...and begin to churn that....You will have a HUNKA HUNKA OF CHURNIN' LOVE....thank ya...thank ya very much.

RECOMMENDED READING: One of the best books on the subject is by Joyce Meyer...ME AND MY BIG MOUTH (Your Answer Is Right Under Your Nose)

Love and Peaceful Cups
Rodney "Well...Hush My Mouth" Boyd 

THE CROSS: IT IS FINISHED

Hello fellow believers. This is the final Rambling...about the LAST MAN ON EARTH...and how he dealt with those pesky...troublesome...zombies. Light, garlic, mirrors, and the cross are the weapons that he used...and so are we as we walk in the light as He is in the light, as we utilized the sweet aroma as a stench of death of the garlic...as we look intently in the mirror of the Word...and we are ending up with the big gun, THE CROSS. To some the point of life...to others a nice piece of jewelery to hang around their neck. Of course the CROSS was the instrument of death used for other people other than Jesus. It was the means of capital punishment for troublemakers...including thieves...political prisoners...murders, etc. If Jesus came in modern times...we might be wearing a cute little gold, diamond encrusted ELECTRIC CHAIR around our necks...or if He came in the Old West...we would be wearing a cute little noose with a hangmans knot around our neck.

In the movie...Mr. Price thought he was the last man. In the Bible...Adam was the first man...but someone came along to clean up the mess that the first man made...and that is the TRUE LAST MAN....Jesus. "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that ONE died for ALL...therfore ALL DIED...and HE died for ALL...that they who live should no longer live for themselves...but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." (II Cornithians 5:14,15) The First Man was the root of SIN that was spread to this world..."Therefore, just as through ONE MAN sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to ALL MEN..because ALL sinned." (Romans 5:12)

ADAM #1 brought in sin....ADAM #2 was CRUCIFIED on a CROSS for those sins. "So it is written, 'the FIRST MAN, Adam...became a living soul. The LAST ADAM (Jesus) became a LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT. However, the spiritual is NOT FIRST...but the natural; then the spiritual (Adam...then Jesus). The FIRST MAN (Adam) is from the earth..earthy...the SECOND MAN (Jesus) is from heaven." (I Corintians 15:45-47) Who is this LAST MAN? "I Am the Alpha and the Omega...the first and the LAST...the beginning and the END." (Revelation 22:13)

For years now...I have listened and watched my mentor...Bruce Coble in action. I have learned a few lessons from him. This picture is of us in Kenya. Bruce is a man of God...that I aspire to be. Some of the things I have learned from Bruce includes:
(1) Worship is critical
(2) Serve Others
(3) Love Jesus with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. (4) The first will be last and the last first. Always see where Bruce is in line at a cover dish dinner (5) Always go back to the CROSS. NOTE: I guess you can blame Bruce for me always going back to the D.B.R. As the song states it was... at the CROSS...at the CROSS where I first saw the light...and the burdens of my heart rolled away...it was there by faith...I received my sight...and now I am happy all the day [Issac Watts and Ralph Hudson]. It is at the CROSS that I first received forgiveness...and at the CROSS where I go back to when I lose my way. It is at the CROSS...that I use as a touch point to deal with sin (the things that I do) and sin (the nature) so I am no longer a slave to sin. It is by the EMPTY TOMB...that I can look into...and know that it is also an EMPTY CROSS...where the work has been done.

Jesus spoke SEVEN WORDS (statments) as He hung on the CROSS as the sinless lamb...who became the propitiation...substitute...satisfaction..
scapegoat...in our place. The last statement that He made was..."IT IS FINISHED". After He bowed His head...he GAVE UP His spirit.
(John 19:30) His work was done...and now...all we can do is accept what God accepts.

As the FLESH rises up in our lives...we can choose to yield to the flesh..or embrace the work of the CROSS. When those FLESH ZOMBIES of the old nature rise up...we take a stand in power and authority...and declare with assurance...YOU ARE DEAD...BY FAITH...LEAVE IN THE NAME OF JESUS. Shine the LIGHT....whip out the GARLIC...reflect the MIRROR...and stand next to the CROSS...and they must leave.

"I have been CRUCIFIED with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me, and the life which I NOW live in the FLESH...I live by FAITH in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20)

"If then you HAVE BEEN RAISED UP WITH CHRIST...keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. SET YOUR MINDS on the things above...not on the things that are on the earth, for you HAVE DIED and you rlife is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life is revealed...then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)

Thanks for hanging in there through this series.

Mooey Kisses
Ramblin' Rod 

WEAPONS MANUAL (Caught In the CROSSfire)

Greetings O Ye Warriors of the Faith. We have been chewing on how to DEFEAT THE FLESH ZOMBIES. Vincent Price had quite an arsenol at his disposal to ward of the creatures of the night who became reanimated and were trying to capture him...and so do we. We have discussed the things that he used...and are relating them to our battle with the old nature, the devil, the world...that is doing everything that they can to tempt us...to pull us away from who we really are...and that is NEW CREATIONS IN CHRIST...THE OLD THINGS PASSED AWAY...BEHOLD NEW THINGS HAVE COME. (II Corinthians 5:17)

In our weaponry arsonal we have discussed (1) light (2) garlic (3) mirrors. Now we bring out the BIG GUN..the CROSS (of the highest CALIBER). We laid out in the last Rambling how the D.B.R. brings us the victory...but now we want to break down the NOMENCLATURE of the CROSS. The pre-requisite for the use of this weapon...is that you have to become a FOOL. "We are FOOLS for Christ's sake." (I Cornithians 4:10) Let's take apart the CROSS and put it back together and get a look at some of the stuff that this CROSS does and it's cause and effect in our lives. Remember...the enemy...can't stand the CROSS...because it represents a FINISHED work. Jesus died once for all...and he does not have to keep nailing Himself back up on the cross and atone for our sins...and we do not have to keep crucifying ourselves to try to get forgiveness. The only thing that we have to do is IDENTIFY with the FINISHED WORK...and die to our SELF...daily. (I Corinthians 15:31 and Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 3:1-4)
FOOL'S WISDOM: "But we preach CHRIST CRUCIFIED...to Jews a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the FOOLISHENSS of God is wiser than men...and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (I Corinthians 23-25)

PROPHETIC WARNING: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on your head and you shall bruise Him on the heel." (Genesis 3:15)

TOTAL PACKAGE "Surely our griefs (sicknesses) He Himself bore, and our sorrows (diseases) He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted BUT He was pierced through for our transgressions (sins...going beyond the known limits)...He was crushed (bruised) for your iniquities (sins...missing the mark)...the chastening for our well-being (peace) fell on Him, and by His scourging (stripes) we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..but the Lord has caused the iniquity (sin) of us all to FALL ON HIM." (Isaiah 53:4-6)

SPECIAL DELIVERY: "An it came about that when Jesus had finished all these word, He said to His disciples, YOU know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be DELIVERED UP TO BE CRUCIFIED." (Matthew 26:1,2)

RISEN INDEED: "And the angel answered and said to the woman, Do not be afraid; for I know that you are LOOKING FOR JESUS who has been CRUCIFIED. He is not here for HE HAS RISEN, just as He said, Come see the place where He WAS lying." (Matthew 28:5,6)

BAPTISM VERSUS THE CROSS: "For Christ did NOT send me to baptize...but to preach the gospel (good news about the D.B.R.)...not in cleverness of speech, that the CROSS OF CHRIST should not be made void. For the Word of the CROSS is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being SAVED, it is the power of God."
(I Corinthians 1:17,18)

POWER SOURCE: "For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL (good news about the D.B.R.)...for it is the POWER of God for salvation to everyione who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)

BOASTING RIGHTS: "But may it never be that I should boast...except in the CROSS of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been CRUCIFIED to me, and I to the World. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a NEW CREATION." (Galatians 6:14)

HUMBLE PIE: "And being found in appearance as a man, He HUMBLED Himself by becoming OBEDIENT to the POINT OF DEATH, even DEATH ON A CROSS." (Philippians 2:8)

ON A HILL FAR AWAY..STOOD AN OLD RUGGED CROSS...THE EMBLEM OF SUFFERING AND SHAME...AND I LOVE THAT OLD CROSS...WHERE THE DEAREST AND BEST...FOR A WORLD OF LOST SINNERS WAS SLAIN...SO I CHERISH THE OLD RUGGED CROSS...TILL MY TROPHIES AT LAST I LAY DOWN...I WILL CLING TO THE OLD RUGGED CROSS...AND EXCHANGE IT SOME DAY FOR A CROWN.

The Old Rugged Cross
George Bennard (1913)


NEXT TIME: Cross Nomenclature Continued

Love "I Am A Has Been" Boyd 

ZOMBIE DEFEAT: D.B.R...Nothing More...Nothing Less

"And the hammer fell....on the wooden nail...through His flesh into the tree...and they laughted at Him...as He cried for them...there He hung...the fautless one." This is a line from the song by Randy Matthews called Didn't He. No...the CROSS is not a pristine...pretty...art gallery painting with Jesus in flowing robes ...carrying cute little sheep and spreading love around like a 1960's flower child. It was a BLOODY MESS. In our fight against the FLESH ZOMBIES...we now bring out the big guns. In my old Bible School days...back in 1971...I put a sign on my door...that read...JESUS HUNG UP FOR OUR HANGUPS. They made me take it down...but it still rings true for me in 2006...He paid a debt He did not owe...I owed a debt I could not pay...I needed someone to take my sins away...and now I sing a brand new song...Amazing Grace how sweet the sound...Christ Jesus paid a debt... that I could never pay. (Song we use to sing in the early 70's).

In the movie THE LAST MAN ON EARTH...Vincent would take a piece of wood and carve out many stakes in preparation for the warfare with the zombies. He would wait for them to sleep (during the light hours) and track them down and drive a stake through their hearts...the very core and center of their life. For our purposes the CROSS represents the stake...that we drive into the old FLESH as it rises up to recapture us. What we are doing...is using the CROSS OF JESUS as the point of identification where we died with Him...and where we live with Him. "I have been (it feels good to be a has been)...CRUCIFIED with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives...but Christ lives in me...and the live that I NOW live in the FLESH (my physical body)...I live by FAITH in the Son of God...who loved me...and delivered Himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20) Another line from the Randy Matthews song DIDN'T HE...says..."we didn't take His life from Him...He gave it willingly."

Jesus's sacrifice...propitiation...substitute...satisfaction for God was an act of obedience. As we IDENTIFY with the cross...in an act of obedience...we appropriate that NEW LIFE for us in the here and now.

The key to all of this is the EMPTY TOMB. D.B.R. Without the resurrection all we would have would be the D.B. Christianity claims that its founder...was killed in our place...buried...and then resurrected. If you take a cursory look at all of the grave sites of other founders of other religions...denominations...cults..famous people...etc...you will find OCCUPIED TOMBS. Buddah...Buddah bones...Elvis...the pelvis bone is not shook up any longer...even Napoleon...his bones-a-part. But Jesus has an empty tomb...because HE IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD...INDEED!!

How does this relate to the FLESH that rises up and becomes reanimated...and how does it relate to some old B-Horror movie...about old zombies trying to recapture our new creation..pull us into sin and in essence...pull us away from who we really are? It has everything to do with it.

Either these past few Ramblings are true...or they are false. Either I have been lying to you or I am delusional. Either they are reality or a fantasy. I have been called a FOOL for believing these things. I have been called intellectually defiecient for living my life based on some fairy tales. Some have said that I have wasted my life by trying to follow Jesus...a dead man. Some say that my entire existence since 1970 has been based on a made up character of folklore proportions who was also a delusional madman on the level of Charels Manson..or a liar who deceived the world as we know it...or someone who was the way, the truth and the life. All I know is that for 36 years...my life has been changed for the better. There have been ups and downs when I allowed the old FLESH ZOMBIE to rule...but everytime I brought out the weaponry...the light, the garlic, the mirror, and the cross...I became centered again. My life has changed for the better. I look around me and I see supposedly FREE men and women with FREEDOM being defined as doing anything that they want with no limitations of pleasure...living their lives on an endless search for peace, love, intimacy, sanity, (fill in the blank)...but always coming up short...living their lives like a SOAP OPERA ROLLER COASTER.

NEXT TIME: The Final Chapter (The Cross Revealed)

Rodney 

MIRROR MIRROR: Flesh Zombie Weaponry Continued

The Last Man On Earth has been used in our last few Ramblings to show us how we can fight that old nature, the devil, temptations...that rise up against us to pull us away from who we really are. We have seen how light is a powerful weapon against those FLESH ZOMBIES. We also have seen how garlic is the stench of death to some and the breath of life to others. The mirror is also reflected in our writings as the Word of God. There are a few things about this MIRROR...this image that we see that I want to finish up with this Rambling...before we bring out the big gun..the Cross.
The MIRROR is very offensive and repels the FLESH ZOMBIE...because if we look intently at it...and do not walk away and forget what we saw...the Lord can deal with us...and with the same mirror...show us not only who we are in our flesh...but who we are in Him. The Word of God...the mirror...shows us who we were...who we are...and who we will be...as we submit ourselves to Him.
"Therefore we do not lose heart, but thought the OUTER MAN (what you see in the mirror) is DECAYING...yet (I like the yets in my life) our INNER MAN (who were really are) is BEING RENEWED day by day. For momentary light affliction is PRODUCING for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we LOOK NOT at the things which are SEEN; for the things which are seen are TEMPORAL (a moment in time...subject to change)...but the things which are NOT SEEN are eternal." (II Cornithians 4:16-18)

The devil, the accuser, the liar, the thief, the condemer, ther murderer, the finger pointer, the serpent, the angel of light, the snake in the grass, aka satan...wants us to focus on WHAT we were and not on WHO we are in Him. When we bring out the mirror...the FLESH cringes...because it knows that the more we read it...the more we find out WHO WE REALLY ARE...a new creation in Christ...the righteousness of God in Christ. (II Corinthians 5:14-23)
"Got myself some wisdom, from a leather bound book...Got myself some wisdom when I took a second look...I opened up the pages and what did I find...a black and white portrait of Savior who's a friend of mind..Hey...Hey...what a day..Fooools Wisdom." This was a song by Malcom and Alwyn back in the Jesus Movement (late 60's and early 70's) When you look at the BOOK...and actually believe what is written in it...and actually act as if it is true...then in the eyes of the world...you are a fool...but in the eyes of God your are wise...thus FOOLS WISDOM. As Gary S. Paxton sang once..."I am a FOOL for Christ...tell me whose FOOL you are." Everyone is someones fool. As Bob Dylan states..."You got to serve somebody...it may be the devil...it may be the Lord...but you got to serve somebody." There ain't no middle ground. How you see yourself...as you look deep into the mirror...the Word of God...will determine who you serve...either the Lord...or the flesh/devil/world/self, etc.
We were created originally in HIS IMAGE (Genesis 1:26,26), but with disobedience in the GArden...the IMAGE was distored..twisted..bent. The D.B.R. was designed to (1) Get us back to the place that we were before the fall (2) get us beyond the Garden to what were created for in the first place. The two-fold aspect is that (1) none is righteous (Romans 3:10) and (2) We are the righteousness of God in Christ (II Corinthians 5:21). When a gold or silversmith...takes a precious metal and removes the impurities...he puts it in the CRUCIBLE...lights the fire and as the impurities in the molten mix begins to rise to the top...he takes a paddle...and skims those impurities or dross...off the top. This takes time and patience (how long have you been in the fire of the crucible?). You may be asking yourself...Self...how long does the process take???? The answer is...AS LONG AS IT TAKES. For us...as we yield to Him...the process is quicker. Fro the silversmith...the job is complete when he can look into the post and SEE HIS IMAGE. God sees HIS IMAGE in us NOW...but for us that realization is a process...and we have to see it by faith. DON'T GIVE UP. When the FLESH ZOMBIES rise up...and they will rise up...pull our the mirror...see who you really are...A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST...and tell them to begone...they have no right to God's property...UNLESS...you just swing the door wide open...and invite them back into your life.

NEXT TIME: The Big Gun...THE CROSS.

Love and NEW CREATION kisses
Rodney "Looking good from the Inside Out" Boyd 

A STRONG TOWER

Hello Friends. Today is September 11, 2006. It is another day. It is 5:39 in the A.M...my alarm went off...I got a cup of coffee....life continues. Five years ago...I probably went through the same routine...pray...read the Word...brush my teeth...drive into work...but this day would be different. Two planes slammed into two towers as the world watched in TERROR. As as was watching...Proverbs 18:10 kept running over and over in my mind....
"The NAME OF THE LORD is a STRONG TOWER; the righteous run into it and is safe." Obviously man-made towers provided little safety on that day...but for the righteous...in the midst of crumbling towers...they still had an alternate tower to run into... a tower where no terrorist could strike....THE NAME OF THE LORD. This verse is found in one of those PRO-VERBS...Positive Action words that reveals our man made towers...of pride, wicked ways, self-sufficiency, fools lips, snares of the sould, whispering words, rich men's wealth, imaginations, haughty hearts, folly and shame, and broken spirits...are contrasted to THE STRONG TOWER.
This is a picture of a church that I saw in Kenya Africa in some little town that we were passing through on our journey. It struck me what an odd name for a church. I preached in a church in Africa in 2001 called The Church of the Redeemed By The Slaughter House Next To the Lake. Very descriptive. This Church is called Welcome To Jesus Elevation Tabernacle A Ministry of Redeemed Gospel Church International. What struck me in the name is the ELEVATION part...a lifted up...high place.

When Proverbs 18-10 speaks of the STRONG TOWER...and the ones who CHOOSE to run into it are THE RIGHTEOUS (Romans 3:10 is trumped by II Corinthians 5:21)...the TOWER is THE NAME OF THE LORD. A name is a representation of who you are. My name is Rodney. When you hear that name in context of me...everyone who knows me...has an idea about who I am...and what that name means. To some...a good-looking, muscular...stud of a man...to others...a gopher looking...overweight...dud of a man. The name of JESUS (God is Salvation)...EMMANUEL (God with us)...I AM...Jehovah...Yahweh...Wonderful...Counselor...Prince of Peace...Jehovah-Shalom (Peace)...Jehovah-Raphe (Healer)...Jehovah Jirah (Provider)...Jehovah-Tsidkenue (Righteousness)...plus many, many more.

This STRONG TOWER is still standing. The RIGHTEOUS still run into it. How can you get righteous to run into it. The same way everyone else ran into it...through the door. The door is made of wood from a CROSS that Jesus hung on and died in your place for your sins. This door is covered in blood...that was shed for you and me. The door is called the D.B.R...Death, Burial, Resurrection...nothing more...nothing less. It is the door that is open to all...whosoever...but the choice of going from unrighteous to righteous...from cursed to blessed...from death to life... is a choice. More attacks will come...are you ready?

Love
Rodney 

ZOMBIE WEAPONRY # 3: MIRRORS

Hello fellow Mirror Gazers...or is that Mirror Gavotters? Have you ever checked yourself out in a mirror lately? Have you walked by a window and saw your reflection and then adjusted yourself? How long did you stand in front of your mirror and primp and preen...making sure every feather was juuuuuuuuuuust right? Or did you look at the mirror and turned away in horror at the giant zit that has appeared on the tip of your nose? Or maybe you looked and said, "Lord...bless this mess."...and then headed out the door. Or did you pull a Fonzie...look in the mirror...begin to comb your hair...and then wonder why mess with perfection? In the old karate dojo...we have a wall of mirrors that we can watch as we perform the various techiniques, kicks, punches, etc...and realize that the MIRROR DOES NOT LIE...it merely REFLECTS what we are. It's like that old Carly Simon song...YOU'RE SO VAIN....
"You walked into the party...like you were walking onto a yacht...your hat strategically dipped below one eye..your scarf was apricot...You had one eye in the MIRROR, as you watched yourself GAVOTTE...and all of the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner, they'd be your partner...and YOU'RE SO VAIN, you probably thing this song is about you...YOU'RE SO VAIN...I'll bet you think this song is about you...don't you...don't you." GAVOTTE?????????? In all these years...I never knew that she sang GAVOTTE!!! Have you watch yourself GAVOTTE lately? It is a 17th centuray dance like a minuet...but faster and livelier. The Gavots were a people of the Hautes-Alps in France. Store this for your next Trivial Pursuit game.
VANITY: (1) Any thing or act that is vain, futile, or worthless (2) The quality or fact of being vain or worthless; futility (3) The quality or fact of one being vain or excessively proud of oneself or one's qualities or possessions; self-conceit (4) A small table or ledge with a MIRROR for use while putting on cosmetics, combing the hair, etc. SYN. PRIDE. In our THE LAST MAN ON EARTH scenario...Vincent Price...strategically places MIRRORS in various places...where the zombies can see themselves. In all the vampire movies...the walking dead are REPULSED by MIRRORS and cannot stand before them as they see themselves. They see either there lack of reflection (as a vampire)...or they see their reflection and are reminded of who and what they really are...dead. Who wants to be reminded that they are dead? Hopefully...we do....Oh Vanity of Vanities.
"This you KNOW, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to HEAR, slow to SPEAK, slow to ANGER; for the anger of man does not achieve the rightousness of God. Therefore, PUTTING ASIDE all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, IN HUMILITY receive the WORD implanted, which is able to save your souls. 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 the MIRROR; for once he has LOOKED at himself and gone away, he has IMMEDIATELY FORGOTTEN what kind of person he was. 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 1:19-25

The MIRROR is the WORD OF GOD. It reflects who we were...who we are...and who we are going to be...and as we walk by faith and not by SIGHT...we see the old man...but also see that when we are in Christ..the old things are passed away...behold NEW THINGS HAVE COME. (II Corinthians 5:17).

When we reflect on the list of deeds or outworkings of the flesh found in Galatians 5:19-21...we need to understand that they are alive and well because of our vanity. We do these thinkgs because...they are...ALL ABOUT ME BABY...ALL ABOUT ME. Everyone can justify why they have a right to do certain fleshly things...but the bottom line is that we are WALKING...OR GAVOTTEING in the FLESH...not in and by the SPIRIT.

The solution...the same thing that is used to bring us down...the MIRROR.

NEXT TIME: The Mirror Solution (The Word Reflection)

Until next time...May I have this Gavotte?
Rodo