The Herd and the Word

Happy Moo Years to you and yours. As I sit hear typing this Rambling...it is New Years Eve. We are on the cusp of new and exciting things as 2007 breaths in it's last dying gasp....and 2008 breaths in deep the breath of life.

Brenda, Phillip, and myself went to Famous Chinese Resteraunt for a Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago...and when Brenda paid the bill...she came out with a nice, new, 2008 calendar...compliments of Famous Chinese. Brenda informed me...that she had been informed that 2008 is THE YEAR OF THE RAT. Yikes!!

I informed her that I am declaring it to be THE YEAR OF THE COW!! Of course I was kidding...but then it dawned on me...it really was the year of the cow...or at least in my Ruminator imagination it is. What do I mean by year of the cow? Am I talking about the elevation of the sacred cow to be worshipped along with golden calves? No...have you not HEARD about the HERD that gathers every Sunday Morning in Ruminator Central (the fellowship hall of Smyran Assembly)...where the Ruminators congregate as we MOO AND CHEW the CUD of the WORD OF GOD. When I delcare the year of the COW...what I am really saying is...that I am declaring THE YEAR OF THE WORD OF GOD. Of course...it is always the YEAR OF THE WORD....every year...but this year...EVEN MORE SO.

Yesterday's sermon by Pastor Ronnie Meek was great. Each year...we have sermons based around Advent, Christmas, Easter, etc. But you can count on a message to be preached every year...no matter what...a message encouraging us to READ THE WORD OF GOD for the coming year.

I really do believe that the devil (little d...he does not deserve capitalization)... truly counts on and desires for us NOT to read/listen/hear the WORD OF GOD. He knows that if we HEAR the WORD OF GOD...that FAITH will come... and we will not only HEAR it...but also RUMINATE/MEDITATE on it...and then DO IT. The little d will do anything that he can to steal the WORD from us... choke the WORD OUT by the cares of the world and lust for things...make it ineffective from the ROOTS UP. (See the Rambling on the Sower...or Read Mark 4).

Remember the HEARING of the Word...is more than those big old flappers attached to the side of your head...much like this dog has (those are some big ears). The auricles/pinna that you see on yours and others heads...are really just part of the ear system. They really are more of the collectors of sound versus the actual hearing.

THE HEARING PROCESS: (1) Sound is produced from a sound generator. The voice produces sound by the vocal folds that vibrates and travels through the resonating cavities....and is articulated by the tongue, lips, teeth, soft palate, etc (2) Sound travels out of the mouth... or from some other source...and travels through the air and are captured by the auricle/pinna/ears on the side of your head) (3) The sound travels down the ear canal and hits the tympanic membrane (aka the ear drum) and sets into motion 3 bones (mechanical motion).
(4) These bones are attached to the INNER EAR and the mechanical process sets into motion fluid in the inner ear (hydraulic motion).
(5) Fluid then goes around and back over and over again and snaps little tiny hairs (cillia) in the inner ear that sparks (electrical energy) set a various frequencies (6) This information is sent thorough the VIIIth Cranial Nerve/Acoustic Nerve (neural energy)...to the specific area of the brain that decodes and encodes information.

This is the PHYSICAL HEARING PROCESS. This is how we gather information and respond. In the area of FAITH...and FAITH coming by the hearing of the WORD...Jesus over and over again would say things like LET HIM WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR...HEAR. He is not talking about the flappers on the side of the head...or even the HEARING PROCESS...but actually LISTENING with the HEART versus the EARS OR EVEN THE BRAIN. We listen with our spirit (little s...human spirit) filtered through our RENEWED MINDS (with the washing of the water of the Word).


God's heartbeat has always been COMMUNICATING with his CREATION. The fall...as a result of disobedience gummed up the communication system... and added static...to where we could no longer communicate as we were designed. Jesus came and re-established the communication system...and tweeks the dial to get us on frequency.

Even now...there are things that will cause static...fear, doubt, unbelief, unforgiveness, anxiety, cares of the world, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life, etc.





One way to get back to basics is the WORD OF GOD.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the WORD OF GOD shall stand FOREVER." (Isaiah 40:8)

If you have a heartbeat for the WORD OF GOD...and would like to delve more into the WORD....this is an open invitation to come to THE RUMINATOR'S SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS every Sunday at Smyrna Assembly. We meet at 9:00 for food, fun, and fellowship...and break the BREAD of the WORD.

Also...if you are in the area...for the next 3 months on Wednesday night...we will be studying....THE BAPTISM IN/WITH/OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: A STUDY OF RELEASE..

If you can't make the classes...keep your eyes open for further RAMBLINGS


Love and Moo Year Kisses
Rodney "Lovin' the Word" Boyd