HELP...I NEED SOMEBODY

HELP...I NEED SOMEBODY
HELP...NOT JUST ANYBODY
HELP...YOU KNOW I NEED SOMEONE
HELP!

So goes the title song from The Beatles second movie (in colour).

In this crazy mixed up world...where wrong is considered right...and right is considered wrong...where STRENGTH IS KING...and weakness is sneered upon...it is becoming increasingly evident...to me...that I NEED HELP.

The collage is a collection of HELPERS...in the TIME OF NEED. They are considered the good guys. Just in the nick of time...within a 30 minute time span...including commercials...they swoop in to save the day. These are just a few of my favorite celluloid heroes. You get extra credit if you can name them... or the show they were own. HINT...there are a few who are real life heroes.

PRIDE prevents us from availing HELP. When the pressures of this world is cooking...when the events of the day are too much to handle...when I get to the point where the question WHY cannot be answered...when my back is against the wall...and I cannot solve, resolve, or be involved anymore...I NEED HELP.


In 1970...my back was against the wall. I was a skinny kid...with not much of a future. I had no direction or drive. I was not a very good student. My idea of a good day... was sniffing paint thinner, gasoline or some other chemical (I was looking for a cheap high)...going into some psychedelic world of dreams...where my mind was expanding...but in reality it was imploding. In 2008 my cheap high is now reaching $4.00 a gallon. On top of the various chemicals...I would like to numb the pain with the old pain number alcohol. My number of choice was vodka and orange juice aka SCREWDRIVER. I went from being a social drinker to becoming a SOCIAL DRUNK. I thought I was in control...but I was a mere puppet...with depression, paranoia, and illusion pulling the strings.

There were a couple of events...that begin to change my direction. One thing was dating that sweet little Baptist girl...Brenda Sue Williams. I started to go to church...so I could catch a little extra time with my hunny bunny. I made sure that everyone knew that I did not believe in all that religious crap. I made sure that when everyone would bow their heads in prayer...that when they opened their eyes...that they knew that I had not bowed my head...because I would be staring them in the eyes as they opened. Humph...that showed them. Little did I know...that faith comes by hearing...and hearing by the word of Christ...and that I was hearing the gospel every Sunday...and I was being prepared for a life changing moment. During this time...I was still getting high...sniffing, guzzling, and popping.

NOTE: I received Jesus in the fall of 1970...and by January of 1971 I was enrolled in a Bible School in Chattanooga. By 1972...I had BACKSLIDE...FACE FORWARD...back to the old ways of my vomit. "As a dog returns to his vomit..."

I was working at a factory...and was taking "getting high" breaks. I would dip a rag in a cleaning solution...and wring out the rag...leaving only the fumes. I would then go to the bathroom stall...and sniff the fumes and go on a little trip...the pause that refreshes. I remember one little journey...where I would be listening to the conversation going on in the restroom as people were standing around and smoking as they were on break. As they left the building...I thought I had SUPER HEARING...and as I strained to listen to their conversations...as they went out the door....I felt my body...following them...and when they would turn a corner...I would enter into the concrete wall and listen as they walked down the aisle. It was so real...I could feel the concrete scraping my body causing much pain. Of course...I woke up and I was still in the bathroom. Another day...same bathroom...I heard a voice say..."You can always tell an addict by the way he holds his rag." I woke up and the realization was so overwhelming...that I was holding my rag in that special way. Another time...that I got high, I was on another bathroom break...and I found myself strapped onto a large stone altar...with a knife poised above. I heard a voice say..."Choose Big Rod....choose life or choose death." I sensed that my lungs were being filled with the fumes...and that I was coming close to my last breath. Just before the knife came crashing down...I threw down my rag...and woke up...with a gritty taste in my mouth...like grit from a large stone altar. I wish I could say that I came back to God...but I did not. I did not huff any more...but I did RUN FROM GOD...for a couple of years.

WHY AM I OPENING UP AND SHARING THIS INFORMATION? I needed HELP...and I know that if God can help me...he can help anyone. Do you need help?

"May the Lord answer you IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! May He send you HELP FROM THE SANCTUARY, and SUPPORT you from Zion." (Psalm 20:1,2)

"Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who FEAR HIM...on those who HOPE for His lovingkindness, to DELIVER their soul from death, and to keep them ALIVE in famine. Our soul WAITS FOR THE LORD...He is our HELP and our SHIELD. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we TRUST in His holy name. Let Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, according AS WE HAVE HOPED IN THEE."
(Psalm 33:18-22)

"Let us therefore, DRAW NEAR with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may RECEIVE MERCY...and may FIND GRACE...to HELP IN TIME OF NEED." (Hebrews 4:16)

"...I will never desert you...no will I ever forsake you...so that we confidently say...THE LORD IS MY HELPER...I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. What shall man do to me." (Hebrews 13:6)

"Therefore...if ANY MAN...is IN CHRIST...he is a NEW CREATION...the OLD THINGS passed away...behold...NEW THINGS have come. (II Corinthians 5:17)

The bottom line...JESUS HUNG UP FOR MY HANGUPS...and He HUNG UP...for YOUR HANG UPS ALSO. I wrote a song...years ago when I came back to the Lord...called WALKING ON THE WATER. The idea was that when things are going good...I am WALKING ON THE WATER...but when I got my eyes of of Jesus (like Peter did)...and began STANDING ON THE WATER...I started sinking.

I'm standing on the water...the storm is all about...earthquakes, famines, and spirits of doubt...my loved ones are dying...my money just won't last...I TOOK MY EYES OFF JESUS...NOW I'M SINKING MIGHTY FAST....SO when your sinking...just REACH UP...and He'll pull you out again...even though you're sinking...He will lift you up...from YOUR PAIN WITHIN.

The KEYS TO GETTING HELP...is found in the above Scriptures...(1) realize where your help comes from in the day of trouble (2) fear Him (3) hope in him as deliverer (4) wait for the Lord (5) realize he is our help and shield (6) trust in His Name (7) draw near to him
(8) receive mercy (9) find grace (10) Get IN CHRIST....by the D.B.R...DEATH, BURIAL, RESURRECTION...NOTHING MORE...NOTHING LESS.

Well...thanks for letting me ramblin' on...about where I came from....and reflecting on where I am at now. I know many of you have the same...but different...story...where you came to the END OF ROPE...and fell into the ARMS OF JESUS. For those who say that CHRISTIANITY IS A CRUTCH...as Andrae' Crouch says..."A crutch is a pretty good thing...if your crippled." As John Lennon says..."One thing you can't hide...is when you're CRIPPLED INSIDE." And again...as Andrae said..."If Jesus is a crutch...then give me two."
I am not talkin' about religion...but a relationship.

Love and Crippled and Healed Kisses
Rod "Ain't Huffin' No More" Boyd