AIN'T NUTTIN' BUT A THANG

Hello friends...how's life? Are you going through a THANG (that's slang for thing). If you are breathing...then most likely you (1) have gone through a thing (2) are going through a thing (3) or are smack dab in the middle of a thing currently. The key is...you will GO THROUGH IT. The old saying goes..."If you are going THROUGH hell...DON'T STOP...keep going until you come out the other side."

Notice the first picture. If you ever saw the Addams Family.. you will recognize the hand with the finger pointing up. That is THING. He would make various appearances around the house when you would least expect him. As with the rest of the family... he was "creepy and spooky...all together ooky."

If you have been reading these Ramblings long...you know that I like old movies...and especially those sci-fi movies...that are not necessarily the quality of STAR WARS...to the point that I like seeing the strings attached to the monsters. This picture has something in common with Gunsmoke and Matt Dillion. Yes...this movie starred James Arness as THE THING.

THING DEFINED: (1) Any matter, circumstance, affair, or concern (2) That which is done, has been done, or is to be done; happening, act, deed, incident, event, etc. (3) That which constitutes an end to be achieved, a step in a process, etc. (4) A being, object, or concept the exact term for which is not known or recalled or is avoided (5) A point of contention (6) A complex, often neurotic liking, fear, aversion, etc, with regard to some person, thing, or activity

A THING can be (1) NOthing (2) SOMEthing (3) EVERYthing. A thing can be real or imagined. A thing can be (1) Good (2) Bad (3) Ugly

Ain't that how life is...good, bad, ugly...on any given day. Stuff Happens. Some of it within our control...the majority, out of our control. Some is a direct result of the sowing and reaping principle...the cause and effect laws...the Barney Fife Syndrome (where Andy told us to keep our bullet in our pocket...but we loaded up anyway). Some things are as the insurance company says...ACTS OF the devil. NOTE: The insurance company does not ever call something bad and act of the devil...it is always called an act of God.

"We know that we are of God, and THE WHOLE WORLD... LIES IN THE POWER OF THE EVIL ONE." I John 5:19

QUESTION: What's a person to do...when bad and ugly stuff happens to us? ANSWER: The exact same thing that you do when good stuff happens.

Above my computer desk...there is a print by an artist named Jim Harrison. It is a picture of a barn with the Morton Salt girl/logo painted on it. The line "When It Rains...It Pours is underneath the pictures. The girl is smiling...the umbrella is out...and the rain is pouring.

It's how we handle THINGS...that determines the levels of righteousness, peace and joy in our lives (Romans 14:16,17)

As believers...we believe that God...is in control of our lives...as we yield everyTHING to Him. This does not mean that we adopt a Que Sera Sera...Doris Day type of faith...that just accepts everyTHING that comes down the pike as God's will (wish/desire) for our lives. But we do...acknowledge that God is our help in the (1) Good
(2) Bad (3) Ugly.

"And in the same way the Spirit also HELPS our WEAKNESS; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the WILL OF GOD. And we KNOW that God causes all THINGS to work together for good those those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:26-28)

When it RAINS...we will either REACT in the flesh...or RESPOND in the Spirit. The circumstances may be the same...on the believer and the non-believer...but how we react or respond will determine levels of peace and joy.

"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 LIFE and PEACE, because the mind set on the flesh is HOSTILE TOWARDS GOD...for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh CANNOT PLEASE GOD." (Romans 8:5-8) NOTE: See Hebrews 11:6 on how to please God.

I started thinking about this Rambling about THINGS...as I read in I Thessalonians 5:16-28. Back in the early 70's...we use to sing this passage. It is an encouragement to speak, act a certain way in the face of THANGS. (1) Rejoice always (2) Pray without ceasing (3) In everyTHING (not just the good...but the bad and the ugly also) give thanks.

In the midst of everyTHING...we are told to GIVE THANKS...and then Paul underscores that THIS is God's WILL (wish/desire) for you in Christ Jesus. NOTE: This does not mean that when you are IN the middle of cancer...that you thank God for the cancer...because sickness and disease are NOT the will of God for you...HOWEVER...Giving thanks to God in the middle of the UGLY...IS the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. You fill in the blank for whatever you have, will be, or are going through...and it is always appropriate to thank and praise Him for being your Rock, Deliverer, Healer, Shepherd, Provider, Peace, etc.

Paul also underscores in Philippians 4:4 that we are to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS...and again I say REJOICE. He goes on in the same book on how we are to respond to ANXIETY...as he tells us to, "Be anxious for noTHING (that would be NO thang)...but (in contrast) in everyTHING (that would be all in the nothing column)...by (1) pray (2) supplication (3) with thanksgiving...allow/let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6,7) The cause and effect of taking this approach to the THINGS in our lives...is a PEACE THAT PASSES ALL COMPREHENSION/UNDERSTANDING. He then goes on to outline what we should allow our minds to DWELL on versus dwelling on the THINGS.

When we take this approach...then we can be assured that..."I can do all THINGS through Him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

What is going to get you through the THINGS? ANSWER: The Love of Christ.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? NOTE: The answer to all of these bad and ugly THINGS...NO!

Just as it is written, For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 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, not THINGS present, nor THINGS to come, nor 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 8:35-39).

After all...when you factor God into the good, the bad, and the ugly...IT AIN'T NUTTIN' BUT A THANG!

Love and Nuttin' Honey Kisses
Rodney "Ain't Nuttin' Like The Real Thang Baby"Boyd