HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS

Hello Hopeful Ones. How's your HOPE FACTOR?

HOPE: elipis (el-pece')= to anticipate (usually with pleasure), expectation, confidence, confident expectation.

"Now...faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we] HOPE FORE, being the proof of things [we] do not NOT SEE and the conviction of their reality--faith PERCEIVING AS REAL FACT...what is NOT REVEALED TO THE SENSES." (Hebrews 11:1 The Amplified Bible)

Sometimes what we assume is HOPE...is really WISHFUL THINKING. The worlds hope is wishing something will happen...but probably won't. It is usually the last straw...the end of the rope...the fading wish. Biblical HOPE is confident expectation that God's word is real. Our hope is not in human beings, situations, circumstances, politics, religion, dreamed up dreams...but in GOD HIMSELF. As soon as something shifts in our expected results...our hope dissolves into fear, doubt and worry. We become like George Baily in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE... when everything falls apart...where dreams of leaving Bedford Falls is constantly deferred...where our wishes and dreams become dashed nightmares on the shores of our "hope"...we are pushed to the brink of suicide.

When we are faced with HOPELESSNESS....we need to have our EYES ENLIGHTENED...to the HOPE that will get us through in the face of the impossibility of our abilities to accomplish anything. Sometimes that means our dreams of visions dying to how we have envisioned them being accomplished.

God has been called the God of 11:59...who comes in just before 12:00 strikes the clock...BUT sometimes...there are a few more clicks on the clock after 12:00 before God comes into play...and if we have abandoned hope because we have put God on our timetable...then we give up.

Abraham...had a PROMISE from God...BUT the promise was way beyond Abraham bringing it to pass. As I have said many times in the Ruminator Sunday School Class (that meets at 9:00 A.M. Central Standard Time at Smyrna Assembly in Smyrna Tennessee)...Abraham had dried up and Sarah's womb was a tomb. All Abraham could do...was look down at what he thought could bring about a child...and only see the place of circumcision...a symbol/sign of THE COVENANT PROMISE. All he had left was the PROMISE. It was way past 11:59...into the wee hours after 12:00. ONLY GOD COULD MOVE ON HIS BEHALF NOW.

"As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. He was appointed our father---in the sight of God in Whom he believed...who GIVES LIFE TO THE DEAD...and SPEAKS OF NON-EXISTENT THINGS that [He has foretold and promised]...AS IF THEY [ALREADY] EXISTED. [For Abraham, human reason for] HOPE BEING GONE...HOPED ON IN FAITH...that he should become the father of many nations, as HE HAD BEEN PROMISED, so [numberless shall your descendants be (Genesis 15:5). He DID NOT WEAKEN IN FAITH when he CONSIDERED the [UTTER] IMPOTENCE of his own body, which was AS GOOD AS DEAD because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he CONSIDERED] the BARRENNESS OF SARAH'S (DEADENED) WOMB. (Genesis 17;17; 18:11). No UNBELIEF or DISTRUST made him WAVER or DOUBTINGLY QUESTION concerning the PROMISE OF GOD...but HE GREW STRONG and was EMPOWERED BY FAITH....AS HE GAVE PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD...fully SATISFIED and ASSURED THAT GOD WAS ABLE AND MIGHTY TO KEEP HIS WORD...AND TO DO WHAT HE HAD PROMISED." (Romans 4:17-21 The Amplified Bible)

HOPE was gone...but Abraham...HOPED ON...in FAITH. So many times... we desire to "see a miracle"...but to see a miracle...you need a miracle...where there is no way on earth...that you by your own means can pull off that needed miracle. Usually we see that our HOPE was not in the Lord...but in our own abilities...or our hope was not really hope...but WISHFUL THINKING ON OUR PART. We are walking along on the water...UNTIL WE SEE THE WAVES...and then FEAR sets in. We begin to look at our ability to walk on the water (which is not our ability in the first place)...and then SINK...until Jesus comes along...and reaches out...and lifts us up out of our HOPELESS IMPOSSIBILITIES. (If you see me with my guitar...ask me to sing you WALKING ON THE WATER...a song I use to sing with that rockin' little trio...Hosanna...who could not only sing...but praise the Lord just as much as we want [tip O da hat to Archie Bell and the Drells).

If you are going through a HOPELESS TIME...I would like to join in agreement with the Apostle Paul as he prayed in Ephesians..."I do not cease to give thanks for you...making mention of you in my prayers. {For I always pray] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, that He may grant you a SPIRIT OF WISDOM and REVELATION--OF insight INTO MYSTERIES AND SECRETS--in the [deep and intimate KNOWLEDGE OF HIM. By having the EYES OF YOUR HEART...flooded with light...so that you can KNOW and UNDERSTAND...THE HOPE to which He has called you and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints--His set-apart ones." (Ephesians 1:17-18 The Amplified Bible)

Listen...I don't want to be someone who gives you FALSE HOPE...getting your HOPES UP...only to be dashed again by reality...BUT...I will say that REALITY is...well...REAL. We don't deny what is going on in our world...BUT...Jesus defined what is TRUTH..."sanctify them by truth...Thy Word is TRUTH. (John 17:17) I am convinced...that TRUTH trumps REALITY...if we have a WORD... a PROMISE from God.

"Remember...that you were at that time separated (living apart) from Christ--excluded from all part in Him; utterly estranged and outlawed from the rights of Israel as a nations, and strangers with NO SHARE in the sacred compacts of the [Messianic] promise--with no knowledge of or RIGHT in God's agreements, His covenants. And you HAD NO HOPE--NO PROMISE...you were IN THE WORLD WITHOUT GOD. But now...Christ Jesus...you who once were [s0] fare away...through (by, in) THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAVE BEEN BROUGHT NEAR." (Ephesians 2:12,13)

This is talking about...the inclusions of the Gentiles (you and me)...into what was once for the Jews (to the Jews first...then also to the Greeks/Gentiles Romans 1:16). This is the great MYSTERY that has been revealed. The way that you go from NO HOPE to HOPE...is JESUS THE CHRIST (yoke breaking, burden lifting, oppression removing, healing power of the Holy Ghost).

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY.

The last picture is a picture of a set of SURPRISE LILLYS in our yard. The neat thing about these flowers...one day...they are not there... and then the next day...SURPRISE. Oh they may have been silently growing...but I never noticed them...until one day BAM...full bloomed SURPRISE LILLYS. HOPE...does not go based on what we see or don't see on the surface...but one day...when you least expect them...BAM...what we have been praying for...trusting for...believing for...even in the face of NO HOPE...we HOPE ON.

Love and Hopeful Kisses
Rodney "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise Lillys" Boyd

TAKE ME BACK...TAKE ME BACK DEAR LORD

Howdy-do all of you pilgrims...how's the journey down the Mystery Highway (shameless plug for Phil Keaggy and Randy Stonehill's new release).

Sometimes we are so intense on our journey...for our search for the "deep things of God"...that we miss the fact...that like her journey to Oz...what she was looking for...would lead her BACK to where she began...HOME. A click of the heels of her ruby red slippers...that she had with her the entire journey through OZ...and on her lips the phrase..."there's no place like home...there's no place like home." She opens her eyes...and she is surrounded by her friends and family...what she was searching for all along. She was blinded to the fact by circumstances, situations, the mundane rut that she had been digging...when it was right before her very eyes...all the time.

Sometimes I wish I had a pair of ruby red slippers (to go with my alabaster complexion)...but no matter how many times I close my eyes...and click my heels...I open my eyes...and I am still stuck in OZ.

When I started out my journey of faith back in the fall of 1970...I had no idea how great the adventure would be...and I had no idea how complacent I could become with all of my pleasures, my life, my blessings, my trappings. Sometimes...I feel trapped in my life...and the joy that I once knew...the simplicity of my faith...the childlike anticipation of the next day...the pleasure of loving God seems to have been buried underneath this thing we call "the good life." I go to other countries...where they do not have an iota of what I've got...but they appear to have what I don't...a joy and faith in their God.

Back in the 70's...Andrea Crouch and the Disciples released their 6th album called TAKE ME BACK. The whole album was inspiring to me...especially the title track...TAKE ME BACK. I am listening to this song...as I write...and it takes me back...in my mind...to what I desire in 2009.

TAKE ME BACK (Andrae Crouch)
Take me back
Take me back dear Lord
To the place where I first received you
Take me back
Take me back
To the place where I first believed
I feel so far from you Lord...but I still hear you calling me
Those simple things that I once knew...the memories are drawing me
I must confess Lord...I've been blessed...but yet my soul is not satisfied
Renew my faith...Restore my joy
And dry my weeping eyes
I tried so hard to make it all alone
I need your help
Just TO MAKE IT HOME


This picture...with Bruce Fortner (lead singer in the band THE BLIND DISTORTION)...Debbie Pearson (Brenda's best friend during those days)...Brenda (the love of my life 39 years later) and a very dapper and stylish me...was one of our very first dates (a bonfire for the homecoming and brief meeting as Sir Pizza with a large hamburger/mushroom pizza...maybe two pieces eaten)...says it all...HOMECOMING.

The saying goes..."you can't go home." That is true...if you try to live in the past...you will never walk in the now...and will never experience you full future. The children of Israel tried to eat old manna...that turned bad. There are many aspects of my journey...my life...my experiences that I would not change...but that's not what I am talking about when I desire for the Lord to TAKE ME BACK.

What I am talking about...is getting back to the BASICS. Getting back to...as the Beatles sang...to where you once belonged. In the words of Wayne (the clown)...to a group of religious people who were trying to dominate and dictate his life by rules, regulations, etc..."You guys are making it too hard."

Complicated relationships...ecclesiastical gymnastics... a never ending subversive power struggle over who is right and who is wrong...growing pressures to perform and live up to expectations that can never be met (spiritually, physically, emotionally)...new and deep revelations...until the newer and deeper revelation is discovered....my church is better than your church (nana nana boo boo)...ball of confusion...and the band played on.

The ideal would be...to isolate, separate, segregate, abdicate...and become an island unto yourself...start a church where you are the only member...or at least only surround yourself with people that you like...or at the very least are CLONES...of you and speak your form of Christenese (I WANNA BE A CLONE...Steve Taylor style). Secluded monasteries...comfort of your home...cathedrals with the comfort of the rituals...charismatic, free wheeling rip roaring houses of worship...(fill in the blank). But this is not what I'm talking about. You have to live life among PEOPLE. Sometimes I feel like Barry McGuire did as he searched for truth in all of the religions...and came face to face with Jesus. His only problem was that he "dug this Jesus cat...but he could not stand His followers." As Pogo said..."we have met the enemy... and the enemy is us." Groucho Marx once stated...that...he "would not belong to a club that had him as a member."

Well...what's a guy gotta do...to GET BACK. The answer is found in the Book of Revelation.

The church of Ephesus..."I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not and you found them to be false, and you have perseverance and have endured for my name's sake, and have not grown weary." (Revelations 2:2-3) SO FAR...SO GOOD.

"But I have this against you...that you have LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE." (Revelation 3:4)

WOW...you can be doing all the right stuff...working hard...and even be doing it...for MY NAMES SAKE...but still...be missing the mark. The key is in the next verse...

"Remember, therefore from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you die AT FIRST..." (Revelations 2:5) NOTE: The cause and effect would be removal of their lamp stand unless they repent.

1. Remember: Conjure up the images of where you use to be.
2. Repent: Change of heart, mind, direction. Do a 180 back to "where you once believed."
3. Do the deeds you did at first: Get back to the basics

This of course can apply to our interpersonal relationships...back in our "dating days"...but especially our spiritual early days. Sure...we are called to progress...to mature...BUT...that does not mean that we have GROWN SO MATURE...that you can't go back to the BASICS.

1. Read the Word of God
2. Act as if what you just said was true NOTE: I see people all of the time who thing they have matured beyond the Bible. They called
it an antiquated book for ignorant, superstitious people who have no intellectual credence or open mind to reality. Why is it that those
consider themselves so open minded and intellectual...love to put down anyone with a different opinion (Christian and non-Christian)?
3. Spend time with the one you love...in prayer (not just asking) but intimate conversation.
4. Praise Him. Have some rejoice time.
5. Worship Him. Have some time face forward in front of Him
6. Obey Him. As you hear His voice...rise up...and do what He said.
7. Thank Him. Thanksgiving before you see anything you have asked for. Thanking Him just to be thanking Him
8. Develop a MIND SET ON HIM...with the cause and effect...PERFECT PEACE
9. Allow your mind to be dwelling on the true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, good report, excellence.
10. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength...and love your neighbor as yourself.
11. Fellowship...get together with other believers...and have a little KOINONIA TIME...around the Son.
12. Share your faith...don't hold it it and let it stagnate...don't just soak in the Word of God...release it and don't experience the SPIRITUAL
SPONGE BLUES (for those who were there back in the day)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

At the same time that you get back...to where you first believed...where you first received...PRESS ON TOWARD THE HIGH MARK OF THE CALLING OF GOD.

Love and First Love Kisses
Rodney "Take Me Back Lord" Boyd

WHATCHA NEED...IS A CHANGE OF HABIT

Greeting Oh Ye Creatures of Habit...need a CHANGE OF HABIT? Back in 1969...Elvis Presley released his 31st...and last movie called CHANGE OF HABIT. Elvis had just had what came to be known as his comeback in an explosive T.V. special (the one where he wore the black leather suit)... started touring around the country (I saw him for two shows at the Houston Astrodome)...and then taking Las Vegas by storm. The movie...CHANGE OF HABIT starred Elvis as Dr. John Carpenter who runs and inner city clinic. Mary Tyler Moore and Barbra McNair starred as nuns who went undercover without their HABITS (robe and headdress) to see if they could be more effective in their quest to serve the community. Elvis and Mary start to fall in love...and she had to make a choice...her calling or Elvis. Instead of the usual 12 songs that Elvis normally sings in his travelogues... he only sings four songs...the title song, Rubberneckin', Have a Happy, and Let Us Pray.

NOTE: I would like to go on record that I enjoy the Elvis movies...no matter how much corn or hokum there is...even if he breaks out singing Old McDonald Had A Farm (sung in Double Trouble). I know...I know..this may hurt my credibility as a music aficionado..but so be it.

HABITS...can be good...HABITS can be bad...HABITS can be uplifting...HABITS can be detrimental to your health, mind, and life. Depending on the HABITS you choose...you may need a CHANGE OF HABIT.

HABIT: a manner...a repetitive patter...an acquired behavior or pattern regularly followed until it becomes almost involuntary.


Over the years...I have made a PRACTICE...a HABIT...of getting up early. Even if I go to bed late... I get up early. I will be laying in bed...sound asleep...and at 5:00 A.M. Central Standard Time...my eyes open up. I will try to break this habit by rolling over...closing my eyes...count cows leaping over a fence...but still...by HABIT...I am awake. It is like God is giving me a nudge...to get up. "Oh God You are my God...EARLY WILL I SEEK YOUR FACE." (Psalm 63). In the morning you hear my voice O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer for you, a sacrifice] for you, and watch and wait [for you to speak to my heart]. (Psalm 5:2)

I remember back in 1971 when I was at Tennessee Temple Bible School...that I developed a HABIT of getting up....taking a shower....and while in the shower...would PRAY. My modus operandi (M.O.) would be...that I would put no food or drink (ie. coffee...not water). in my mouth before I had time with the Lord. I did this habitually...and there were sweet times with the Lord...where I heard, gained knowledge that remains with me until this day.

Well here is our old friend...Phil Keaggy...jamming. As I write this Rambling...I am listening to Phil's CD...JAMMED...currently with the song Sherloch Ohms playing...going to the next song...Elect Rick. Note in the picture Phil is playing his Les Paul...eyes shut...in the groove. Some would feel that Phil came out of his mother's womb with a mini Les Paul...with his gift in full bloom...playing a rockin' version of Mary Had A Little Lamb. The reason Phil is so good... of course is his natural talent...giftings...abilities...BUT...one of the main reasons is that Phil is always playing...practicing...noodling...jamming. He has a HABIT of picking up his guitar...and running his fingers up and down the fretboard...experimenting with sounds...until it becomes SECOND NATURE. I heard someone say that they went by Phil's hotel room after he had finished playing a concert...and they heard him...still playing his guitar.

There was a group in the 80's called RECESS...who had a song called DISCIPLINE OF THE GROOVE. The song was about how we need to get into the DISCIPLINE OF THE GROOVE in our spiritual walk...and become HABITUAL IN THE THINGS OF GOD.

The NAVIGATORS have a thing called THE TOPICAL MEMORY SYSTEM...where you memorize various verses and study the surrounding context. The first section is an illustration called THE WHEEL. The WHEEL is broken down into various parts...including the hub, the rim, the spokes. If anyone of these sections is not aligned correctly...then you are in for a rough ride. The HUB is CHRIST THE CENTER (II Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 2:20). The next section is the RIM...OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST (where the rubber meets the road) with (Romans 12:1,2 and John 14:21)...and so forth.

One section of the SPOKES... is FELLOWSHIP. One of the scriptures for this section is...Hebrews 10:24,25 "and let us consider how to STIMULATE one another to love and good deeds...NOT FORSAKING our own assembling together AS IS THE HABIT/MANNER of some...but ENCOURAGING ONE ANOTHER...and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." NOTE: Still listening to Phil jamming on the song WATT EVER.

Jesus of course is our ultimate example of the habitual...disciplined Son of God. Jesus DISCIPLINED Himself to listen for the voice of the Father...YIELD His will to the Father...and OBEY the Father.

Jesus practiced the HABIT OF PRAYER. In Luke 11:1 we see Jesus..."And it came about that while He was praying...IN A CERTAIN PLACE...after He HAD FINISHED..." Jesus was (1) praying (2) was in a CERTAIN place (3) finished what he had started. After this His disciples said to him...LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY...just as John taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1) This praying was observable...and desirable...but the question is...did the disciples want to DEVELOP THE HABITS...THAT JESUS WALKED IN? In answer to their question...He gave what is known as THE LORD'S PRAYER...and then gave an example of how to be PERSISTENT IN THIS HABIT. This leads into how we are to pray...with HABITUAL PERSISTENCE..."So I say to you...Ask and keep on asking...and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking, and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking...and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives, and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds, and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking...the door shall be opened." (Luke 11:9-10)

FINAL THOUGHTS FINALLY

This thing called HABIT...takes discipline. They say (who is this they)...that to effectively change a habit...break a habit...it takes 21 days of changing the patterns of what you are doing before it becomes NATURAL...without thinking...where it becomes involuntary. If you put your right leg in your pants for 58 years...and then start to put your left leg in first...it will be awkward...until around 21 days. If you have not prayed...read your Bible...fellowship with other believers...witnessed to others about your faith...it will SEEM VERY AWKWARD...until...it becomes A SPIRITUAL, HABITUAL, PATTERN in your life.

In I Timothy chapter 4:7,8,12...Paul encourages Timothy...his son in the faith...to not allow his YOUTHFULNESS...to be a cause for people to look down on him...but to SHOW HIMSELF AN EXAMPLE of those who BELIEVE. If we say we are BELIEVERS...it should be OBSERVABLE. I am convinced...that if we don't DEVELOP the HABITS OF A BELIEVER...people won't see our EXAMPLE OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE...and this comes with US...DISCIPLINING OURSELVES with a PURPOSE...and this PURPOSE...is godliness as seen in
I Timothy 4:7..."DISCIPLINE yourself...for the PURPOSE of godliness." This SELF-DISCIPLINE...this HABIT..."holds promise for the PRESENT LIFE...and for the LIFE TO COME." (I Timothy 4:8)

DISCIPLINE: to practice naked (unencumbered) in the games, to train.

AREAS OF SELF...HABITUAL DISCIPLINE (I Timothy 4:12)

1. Speech (what you say)
2. Conduct (what you do)
3. Love (your motivation)
4. Faith (what you believe)
5. Purity (what you put into yourself spiritually and physically)

This is possible...by GIVING ATTENTION (habitually) to public reading of the Scripture, to exhortation, and teaching. It comes by not NEGLECTING (habitually) the spiritual gift within you which was bestowed upon you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. (I Timothy 4:13-14)

For this to be accomplished...it takes discipline...habit...

"TAKE PAINS with these things...BE ABSORBED in them...SO that your progress may be evident to all. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION to YOURSELF and YOUR TEACHING...PERSEVERE IN THESE THINGS." (I Timothy 4:15,16) The cause and effect of HABITUALLY DOING THESE THINGS....(1) you will insure salvation for yourself (2) those who hear you.

FINAL THOUGHTS FINALLY...NO REALLY...I MEAN IT THIS TIME

When the writer of Hebrews...was talking about Jesus...and those who HAD BECOME DULL OF HEARING (bad habits developed)...the writer encouraged them...to PRACTICE (same word for discipline) their senses to become TRAINED...to discern (1) good (2) evil. If you do NOTHING...you are actually DEVELOPING BAD HABITS. This HABITUAL LIFESTYLE FOR THE GOOD...is a choice...and must be with KEEPIN' ON KEEPIN' ON...PERSEVERANCE...HANGING IN LIKE A BITIN' SOW...WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE...AND WHEN YA DON'T FEEL LIKE IT.

Love and Habitual Kisses
Rodney "Change of Habit (the bad ones)" Boyd

GOSPEL VERSUS A DIFFERENT GOSPEL

Greetings and Salutations Oh Ye Followers of Jesus...are ya still STANDING and HOLDING FAST? In this ever changing world...in this complex evolving and progressive life....in this confusing, swirling, ball of confusion that we call planet earth...we are in need of something that is CONSTANT. The church is not much different...as we try to integrate our lifestyle into our faith with a seeker sensitive...emergent...post modern...tradition rejecting...tradition embracing....ego stroking...old/new wineskin mentality. In our effort to be hip and happenin'...so we can relate to the people of this world and their moral and ethics....sometimes...we lose sight of the basics...OR EVEN WORSE...we begin to preach a DIFFERENT GOSPEL...which is really not a gospel at all. (Galatians 1:6,7) Of course there is nothing new under the sun...ESPECIALLY with the latest church fads. NOTE: I am not against new and exciting ways to present the gospel to a lost and dying world. I attend a church with a creative cutting edge...using arts, music, dance, and anything else at our disposal to catch the ear of the lost...to present the D.B.R.

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a DIFFERENT GOSPEL...which is really not another ; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to DISTORT the GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a GOSPEL contrary to that which we have preached to you...let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:6-9)

GOSPEL= Death, Burial, Resurrection ANOTHER GOSPEL= Death, Burial, Resurrection PLUS (fill in the blank).

As some know...I became a follower of Jesus in the fall of 1970. If my calculations are correct...2009-1970= 39 years. Over the years many things have changed. My physical body...my mental acuity...my spiritual viewpoint... my focus of importance. I remember Dr. John McCray (former pastor and Middle Tennessee State University religious study teacher) told us..."Always underline and write in the margins of your Bible with a pencil...so when your perspective changes you can erase and rewrite).

Here is something that has NOT CHANGED..."Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today, YES and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

I have been up and down...spiritually white hot and on fire for the Lord... spiritually cold as an ice house...lukewarm spit...backslidden...faceforwardslidden and anything in between...BUT again...the CONSTANT is NOT CHANGE...but the CONSTANT...is JESUS...THE GOSPEL. Sometimes in our spiritual walk... we tend to think that we become..."MATURE"...and need some kind of deeper revelation. There AIN'T NOTHING DEEPER THAN THE D.B.R. Bruce Coble taught me three things (actually more than 3...but everything else taught me flows out of these 3 things) (1) Never get away from the cross/gospel (2) Worship is critical (3) Serve Jesus and the Father...by serving others. Everything flow out of our relationship with the Father....who we have access to via the CROSS OF JESUS. That is the GOOD NEWS...THE GOSPEL.


Paul stated..."For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL for it is the power of God, for salvation to everyone who BELIEVES...to the Jew first and also to the Greek/gentile." (Romans 1:16) Jesus bridges the GAP between us and the Father.

THE GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL (I Corinthians 15:1-4)

Paul...makes known...THE GOSPEL in this passage. Here is the progression of how the GOSPEL was presented, received and retained along with the cause and effect of this GOSPEL. IT=GOSPEL

1. It was PREACHED
2. It was RECEIVED
3. It was BELIEVED
4. By it we were SAVED
5. If we HOLD FAST to it
6. In it we STAND

Romans 10:6-17...also written by Paul...underscores what was taking place in these steps....as we call upon the name of the Lord...believed in our hearts and confessed with our mouths... and are SAVED.

Well...what was preached, received, believed, held fast and stood in...that we believed in our hearts and confessed with our mouth with the cause and effect of being saved? THE GOSPEL.

1. Christ died for our sins =DEATH
2. He was buried= BURIAL
3. He was raised on the third day= RESURRECTION

"For I delivered to you as of FIRST IMPORTANCE what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..."
(I Corinthians 15:1-4)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

Well...that is really just too simplistic. This really offends my theological sensibilities...my highly trained intellect...my complex reasoning's in this post-modern...emergent...seeker sensitive world. Hmmmm...there may be a reason why it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle...or narrow gate and wide ways seem restrictive...and this JESUS...becomes a SCANDALON...a ROCK OF OFFENSE...a STUMBLING STONE/BLOCK that was REJECTED...THIS BLOODY ALL INCLUSIVE BUT RESTRICTED to WHOSOEVER...IF...you accept what/who is the SATISFACTORY SUBSTITUTION...WAY, TRUTH, AND LIFE...whereas...no one comes to the Father but via JESUS. All roads do not lead to heaven.

Love and NON-CHANGING KISSES
Rodney "D.B.R...Nothing More...Nothing Less" Boyd

ROOTED AND GROUNDED

Greetings Strong Rooted Ones. Are ya still standing? If you ever been through...or been close to a tornado...you know that nothing is immune to the strong winds...and the strong winds are no respecter of persons. Big T can level a house or gently take the pictures out of a picture frame and leave the frame intact on the wall. Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief can either be spared or killed at the hand of the mighty rushing winds. Oh sure...insurance companies pontificate that these destructive forces are "acts of God"...and to be sure...swirling winds are no match for the power of God...but how about passing on some of the blame as an "act of the devil". This first collage is a picture of a tree that was once a mighty tree guarding my property...until a high wind caught it and brought it to the ground like David bringing down Goliath. On the surface the tree looked pretty much intact except for a few dead branches here and there...but once it was brought down....the true ROOT of the problem was exposed....DEAD ROOTS. On the surface...good...below the surface...bad.

So it is with our spiritual lives....looking good on the surface...but then BAM... caught in adultery...WHOP...arrested for drunken driving...KA-BLOOM... caught in a lie...KER-BLUNK...conflicts with the pastor, other church members, someone didn't speak to you...you take an offense (of course you didn't have to take it) and off to the races as you enter into the steeplechase in your quest to find the "perfect church" (except it ceased being perfect when you arrived). Why? I think...especially as I look at ALL OF MY LOW POINTS IN MY CHRISTIAN WALK (I know you find that hard to believe...since I am perfect)...goes deep to a POOR ROOT SYSTEM. NOTE: Please don't write me and remind me that there is only "one perfect...and that is Jesus." I was speaking with TONGUE IN CHEEK.

Here are a few ROOT FACTS:

The ROOT SYSTEM...is usually:

--underground
--Anchor the plant/tree in soil
--Absorb water and nutrients
--Conduct water and nutrients
--Food storage

Bad ROOT SYSTEMS....will not act as an anchor...will not provide needed nutrients...will be poor conduits for what is need to survive...and will not store food...when there are droughts and dry spells. So it is in our spiritual lives...been in a dry spell lately...how's your ROOT STORAGE SYSTEM.

We are called to be ROOTED and GROUNDED in LOVE..."That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be STRENGTHENED with power through His Spirit in the inner man...SO...that Christ may dwell in your hearts, through faith; and that you being ROOTED and GROUNDED in LOVE..may be able to comprehend with ALL THE SAINTS what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST that you may be FILLED UP WITH THE FULLNESS OF GOD." (Ephesians 3:16-19)

ROOTED: To become stable
GROUNDED: To lay a basis for, erect, settle, foundation

These words speaks of a stability in stormy times. It speaks of the basis for safety. It speaks of something established in me...versus being tossed about between two waves on the winds of doubt, fears, frustration, unbelief, etc. (James 1:1-12)


What really kicked off my ruminating on roots...was reading the PRO-VERB (positive-action word) for the 12th....in Proverbs 12:3..."A man will NOT be ESTABLISHED by wickedness...but the ROOT of the righteous WILL NOT BE MOVED." I understand that there is NONE righteous no not one (Romans 3:10)...but I also know that "the righteous" shall live by faith (Romans 1:17)...and I also know that we are the "righteousness of God...IN CHRIST." (II Corinthians 5:21). Between no one being righteous...and the righteous walking by faith...is THE CROSS...D.B.R...NOTHING MORE...NOTHING LESS. This is where our ROOTS sink deep into. If they don't...then the ROOTS...become ROT...and there ain't nothing worse than ROTTED ROOTS...cause that's when the winds can wreck havoc in our spiritual lives.

Our ROOT SYSTEM is determined by where we walk (counsel of the wicked), stand (path of sinners) ,and sit (seat of scoffers). (Psalm 1:1) NOTE: Notice the progression of downfall is walking....stopping to a standstill...until you are sitting with no movement)

The key is DELIGHT AND MEDITATION (music to a ruminator's ears). Delights in the law...and meditates day and night on His law (mooing and chewing on the Word of God)
(Psalm 1:2)

The cause and effect of doing this is...(1) be like a tree FIRMLY PLANTED by streams of water (2) the leaf will NOT WITHER (3) whatever he does ...HE PROSPERS. (Psalm 1:3)

The contrast is that the wicked are not so...(Psalm 1:4-6) IT IS ALL BASED ON WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED AND WHERE YOU SET YOUR ROOTS.

We are called to be rooted and grounded in LOVE (Ephesians 3:16,17).

We are called to be (1) steadfast (2) immovable (3) always abounding in the work of the Lord (4) knowing that our toil is NOT IN VAIN...IN THE LORD (Outside of the Lord...it is vain) (I Corinthians 15:58)

As we enter this thing called the "kingdom of God"...it does not mean that the troubles of life cease...just we have ability to go through the storms now. We are called to kingdom living of (1) righteousness (2) peace (3) joy...all in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17). Acts 14:21 talks about new believers/disciples...
"STRENGTHENING the souls of the disciples...ENCOURAGING them to CONTINUE in the faith (of the D.B.R.)...and saying...Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:21,22). I am convinced that Paul is talking about laying down DEEP ROOTS...because the ride is going to get rough.
It is interesting that the ROOT word for the word KINGDOM...is basilia...the basis...which means...footing, foundations...

Mark 11:20, Jude 1:12, Mark 13:21...speaks of poor ROOT SYSTEMS in the face of tribulation.


FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

I hope...this encourages you...I know I needed to hear this...to be more careful about my ROOT SYSTEM...and the things that tend to choke out my garden and fruit production (Read the parable of the sower/soil/seed). When it looks like the STORM is winning...when evildoers and wrongdoers seems to...appears to be getting away with murder...take the advice of the Psalmist in Psalm 37:3..."Trust in the Lord...and do good...dwell in the land...and CULTIVATE FAITHFULNESS/feed securely on HIS FAITHFULNESS." (NASB) I like the idea of CULTIVATING....removing weeds, watering, keeping away birds (devil) from the seed...allowing the ROOT SYSTEM to develop... so we can stand...and experience harvest in Him.

Love and Windblown...but not Devastated Kisses
Rodney "Rooted and Grounded in Love" Boyd

DAT'S JUST DA BEAST IN ME!

Greetings Chewers of da Cud...how's the beast? Back in 1957...I was 6 years old...I saw a movie at the Starlight Drive-In....with my Mom and Dad...called JAILHOUSE ROCK. The EP record...(EP=a 45 rpm piece of vinyl that was not a full album but held 5 or 6 songs. VINYL= round pieces of plastic with grooves cut into them that when a needle is place on them and they revolve around...emits sound from a record player)...was one of the first record I owned.

As some of you know...when my friends were listening to Mary Had A Little Lamb...I was singing..."the warden had a party in the county jail."

The movie was the picture that Elvis never watched...because his co-star...Judy Tyler was killed in a car wreck after she made the movie. It is the tale of a truck driver who gets into a bar fight...and he kills a man in the fight. He is sent to prison...meets up with someone who teaches him how to play the guitar...and soon is elevated to the national limelight...with a song called Jailhouse Rock. When he gets out of prison...the story continues with him meeting a girl who promotes his music...and he skyrockets to the top. Elvis' character gets caught up in himself and turns into a jerk...and then through a series of events...comes back to being a good guy. At one point he gets into another fight and receives a punch into his larynx (lar-inks) and loses his voice. I consider it to be one of Elvis' better movies (although I like them all...even the bad ones...with King Creole being my favorite).

One of my favorite scenes is where Elvis and Judy are walking down the street...and Elvis stops and grabs her...and plants a wet, sloppy kiss on her resistant lips. She pushes away and says..."Don't use those tactics on me." Elvis responds with QUOTABLE QUOTE. He looks at her...and smiles a sneer...and says..."Dem ain't tactics...dat's just da BEAST in me."


Funny line...but at times...a little close to reality in me.

"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)

Well...one would wish...that...this was the end of the story. I once was a boogerhead...and now I am not a boogerhead. But over the years...the NEW CREATION...at times...acted like the OLD CREATION.

"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 don 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." (Romans 7:19-21)

I find myself...trying to excuse myself for my actions...by saying..."Dem ain't tactics...dat's just da beast in me." Well...that excuse does not hold water for the believer.

"Even he who is pure in heart...can become a wolf...when the wolf bane blooms...and the Autumn moon is bright." (From the 1941 movie The Wolfman starring Lon Chaney Jr.).

A cursory reading of New Testament epistles (letters...not the wife of an apostle)...shows that a lot of them are letters of correction for believers...who are not acting like believers. They are people who lack no spiritual gift, like the church in Corinth, whose beast manifest in the form of partisanship in the church, getting drunk, spiritual pride, sexual immorality, chaotic services etc.

Other letters reveal Paul rebuking Peter for acting one way around one set of believers...and then acting another way around others.

The book of Galatians is written to FREE PEOPLE....NEW CREATIONS...who go back to their OLD WAYS...like dogs back to their vomit.

"It was for FREEDOM that Christ set us FREE...therefore...KEEP STANDING FIRM...and do not BE SUBJECT AGAIN...TO A YOKE OF SLAVERY." (Galatians 5:1) In other words...KEEP THE BEAST IN LINE.

"For you were CALLED TO FREEDOM...brethren...only DO NOT TURN YOUR FREEDOM... into an OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FLESH...but through love serve one another."
(Galatians 5:13) It appears this BEAST...is kept at bay...by LOVE...expressed towards one another.

The key to victory over this beast...is like Paul said in Romans 6:24-25...
"Wretched man that I am! Who will SET ME FREE from the body of this death?" The answer is the same ONE who originally set us free...and who can restore us..."Thanks be to GOD through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD..."

"You foolish Galatians...who has bewitched you...before whose eyes...JESUS CHRIST WAS PUBLICLY PORTRAYS AS CRUCIFIED. This is the only thing I want to find out from you; did you receive the Spirit by the WORKS of the Law, or by HEARING WITH FAITH? Are you so foolish? Having BEGUN by the SPIRIT...are you now being PERFECTED BY THE FLESH?"
(Galatians 3:1-3)

"But I say...WALK BY THE SPIRIT...and you WILL NOT...carry out the DESIRE OF THE FLESH." (Galatians 5:16)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...against such things there is no law."
(Galatians 5:22)

"Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have CRUCIFIED the flesh with its passions and desires...If we LIVE by the Spirit...let us also WALK BY THE SPIRIT." (Galatians 6:22-25)

"I HAVE BEEN...crucified with Christ...and it is no longer I who lives...but CHRIST LIVES IN ME..and the life which I NOW LIVE...I live by FAITH in the Son of God...who DELIVERED HIMSELF UP FOR ME." (Galatians 2:20)

"I protest, brethren...by the boasting i you...which I have in Christ Jesus...I DIE DAILY." (I Corinthians 15:31)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

God's heartbeat for us is NOT...that the BEAST/FLESH in us would dominate us...but that we would WALK IN FREEDOM. The answer to that freedom is the same answer that got us there in the first place...FAITH IN THE D.B.R...DEATH, BURIAL, RESURRECTION...NOTHING MORE...NOTHING LESS.

We can only identify with the cross...the blood of Jesus...mercy...grace...love...faith....and believe that the PROPITIATION was enough.

"He SAVED us...not on the BASIS OF DEEDS...which we have done in righteousness...but according to HIS MERCY...by the (1) washing of regeneration (2) renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)

Love and Non-Beasty Kisses
Rodney "Beauty and The New Creation" Boyd

BIRD ATTACK

Hello Bird Lovers...Back in the 1950's and 1960's...there was a place that I use to go just about every Saturday (more in the 60's than the 50's)...where I could lose myself in the convolutions of my imagination...THE PRINCESS THEATER. Where else could you go and see an absented minded professor fly a FLUBBER mobile...a magical coin become powerful by uttering the words ZOTS...or Hercules performing mighty feats of strength while Jason and the Argonauts met with Cyclops. It was at THE PRINCESS THEATER that I would sit and watch the movie A HARD DAYS NIGHT starring a little known rock and roll band from England called THE BEATLES. What was strange was...I could not hear the movie for the girls screaming. Saturday afternoons you could get in for a double feature...and sit and watch it again and again and again...and not get asked to leave. Milk Duds...popcorn...cokes...Sugar Daddy's...Chocolate Covered Peanuts...seeing friends...girls you liked...and oh yes...ELVIS MOVIES. I remember in 1965...standing in a line for the movie TICKLE ME...that wound down the street...past the Post Office (later the library)...curving around and extending down the block. On the side of the theater there was a large billboard advertising the coming movies. I remember one day...passing by the theater in 1964...and seeing a gigantic billboard advertising the latest Elvis movie...ROUSTABOUT. Elvis straddles across a motorcycle...looking back... and the promise of a rocking good time. Wow...what sweet memories. Oh yes...there was that little thing called RACISM...where the "coloreds" had their own entrance and designated area to sit...upstairs in the balcony...behind the white people...and separate drinking fountains and separate access to the candy counter. Some call it the "good old days"...but that part of the "good old days"...were really the "bad old days."

It was in 1963...that I went to see an Alfred Hitchcock movie called...THE BIRDS. It was a movie based on a novelette by Daphne Du Maurier...aka Lady Browning. Ms Du Maurier also wrote other books that Alfred Hitchcock made into movies including...REBECCA...and JAMAICA INN. This movie was about...a quaint, little, quiet San Francisco town...whose peace was disturbed by a sudden uprising by BIRDS. They appeared...and began to attack the people from little children to old women...and everyone in between. The BIRDS did not discriminate with their attacks.

After the movie let out...I had to walk home down Maple Street that was surrounded by row after row of trees on each side of the street...lining the sidewalks like a parade. Guess what was hovering in those trees. You got it...what appeared to be hundreds...no...thousands...wait...tens of thousands of BIRDS....watching me take step by step...in an effort to get home before they could attack. Well...so much for imagination unrestrained. The only thing that may have happened... would be a little bird poop on my shirt (or did I imagine that also).

You may be asking yourself..."Self...why the Bird Blog?" Well...I'm glad you asked. The other day...I was driving down Rucker Lane...on the way to church...and I noticed a field of freshly planted SEEDS of some sort. At the time I did not know what the SEEDS were...but later found out it was soybeans. SIDE NOTE :(aka Bunny Trail)...growing up in the midst of the soy beans were scattered remnants of the old crop...corn. That got me to thinking about the parable of the WHEAT AND THE TARES...but that is for another Rambling...another time. BACK TO THE BIRDS: As I was thinking about the Princess Theater...and the movie THE BIRDS...I began to think about the BIRDS in my spiritual life since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour back in 1970. Various scriptures speak of if God provides for the fowls/birds of the air...will He not provide for you/me? In the Old Testament...ravens brought food...God sent quail for food. Back in the New Testament...God knows when one bird falls...again how much He cares for you.

One negative connotation of BIRDS...is found in THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER/SEED/SOIL (depending on how you view and read it). There are three places where this parable is told and explained...(1) Matthew 13:1-23 (2) Mark 4:1-20 (3) Luke 8:4-15

Now...this Ramblings is not meant to go into detail about this parable...that is for another time...but there are some common threads that deal with THE BIRD.

In all of the parables there are some common threads.

1. The SEED is the Word of God.
2. The SOIL is the heart.
3. The condition of the SOIL will determine the amount of production/fruit.

In Luke...the GOOD SOIL is defined in Luke 8:15..."And the SEED/WORD in the GOOD GROUND...these are the ones who have (1) heard the word in an
(2) honest and good heart (3) and hold it fast (4) and bear fruit (5) with perseverance/steadfastness

One of the attacks was by THE BIRDS. This was not just a random attack. It was not just an uprising of THE BIRDS like in the movie that was never explained. No...these attacks are thought out...well orchestrated...schemes. The BIRDS in all of the versions liken the BIRD ATTACKS to (1) the evil one (2) satan (3) the devil.

In the Matthew account it says..."the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart."

In the Mark account it says..."...the word is sown...and when they hear...immediately satan comes...and takes away the word which has been sown in them."

In the Luke account it says..."then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart...so that they may NOT BELIEVE and be SAVED."

This attack...this snatching....this taking away of the seed...the Word...is deliberate and malicious. This comes as no surprise to many who are aware of the devil...satan...the evil one...the liar...the stealer...the killer...the destroyer. We see in Ephesians 6:11-12..."Put on the full armour of God...that you may be able to STAND against the SCHEMES of the devil. For our STRUGGLE is not against FLESH and BLOOD ...but against (1) rulers (2) powers (3) world forces of this (present) darkness (4) spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (realm).

We see the nature of this WARFARE/BIRD ATTACK in II Corinthians 10:3-6..."For though we WALK IN THE FLESH (not flesh nature but the physical being)...we do not WAR ACCORDING TO THE FLESH...for the weapons of our WARFARE are not of the FLESH...but DIVINELY POWERFUL for the destruction of FORTRESSES. 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."

This attack by the bird/satan...just like in the movie...wants to peck your eyes out so you cannot see. This is why we need to WALK BY FAITH...AND NOT BY SIGHT (II Corinthians 5:7)

The question still remains...why the attack on the SEED/WORD. Here is my humble opinion...

1. Faith comes by hearing...and hearing by the SEED/WORD of God. (Romans 10:17)
2. If you have faith..you will not be moved by what you see...hear...feel...you will only be moved by the Word that is real...the Word that
came to life...that came to me. Thanks and a Tip O Da Hat To Janny Grein for Covenant Woman (Hebrews 11:1)
3. The bird/devil/evil one...does not want the WORD OF GOD IN YOUR MOUTH (Romans 10:6-17)
4. If faith comes...and you begin to walk by faith and not by sight...you will PLEASE GOD...by coming to him...believing that He is...
believing that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and not be a passive inquirer. (Hebrews 11:6)
5. You are now a danger to the bird/devil/evil one.

NOTE: In the book by Frank Peretti...called THIS PRESENT DARKNESS...it is about how when a believer...begins to PRAY...he becomes a danger to the enemy...and the schemes are thwarted. As the enemy faces one of the characters in the book...he hisses out...Oh...it's you praying one."

FINAL THOUGHTS FINALLY

It is time for us to deal with the birds in our lives....protect that SEED/WORD. Keep going to the FEED MILL (gathering of believers) for some more SEED/WORD. Start CULTIVATING your SOIL on a regular bases...get rid of the WEEDS (cares of the world)...and begin to BEAR MUCH FRUIT.

Love and SEEDY Kisses
Rodney "GET OUTTA HERE BIRDS" Boyd