Wednesday, November 24, 2010

FULL OF IT: The Art of Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving O Ye Chewers of the Cud.

In the words of my friend Ivette...my Cuban-American friend....FELIZ DAI DE ACIONDE GRACIAS...Happy Thanksgiving.

(Sung to the tune of Deck The Halls)
"Tis da season to pig out...gobble gobble gob..gob gob gob gob...people gather with their favorites...gobble gobble gob...gob gob gob gob..now we don our stretchy clothing... gobble gobble gob...gob gob gob gob...coma from a tryptophan overdose..GOBBLE GOBBLE GOB...GOB GOB GOB GOB.

Thanksgiving defined in its simplicity is...the giving of thanks. Every year... one time a week...we gather together with friends and family for a day of eating. Some may take time to reflect on what they are thankful for...but most...eat, drink, watch football, and unbutton their pants...and sleep.

NOTE: A combination of an amino acid...tryptophans (C11H12N2O2)... lots of food filled with carbohydrates and alcohol...lulls us into this wonderful state of suspended animation...aka...sleep.

A couple of definitions from a Hebrew and Greek perspective gives some insight into what TRUE THANKSGIVING should be like...not just one day a year...but 365 days a year.

PICTURE #1 is a Cajun injected, deep fried turkey at one of the previous gatherings at the Boyd Household. PICTURE #2 is Phil Keaggy from the What A Day album...with arms stretched out in joyous giving of thanks.

PICTURE #3 is me with my arms stretch out in Kenya with arms wide open in thanksgiving.

TODAH: (to-dow): An extension of the hand, adoration, specifically a choir of worshippers--confession (sacrifice of) praise, thanks (giving, offering)

EUCHARISTA (you-kar-is-tee-ah): gratitude, grateful language to God as an act of worship, thankfulness (FULL OF THANKS)

When you combine the Hebrew and the Greek meanings of thanksgiving... you have an extension of the hand and mouth with the language and action of worship...as you are FULL OF THANKS.

PICTURE #4 Delmar (in O Bother Where Art Thou)...as he comes out of the baptismal waters...and declares... "come on in boys...the water is fine."

The outstretched arms...the open hands...can be acts of surrender... acts of receiving...acts of throwing/tossing our offerings. When we are FULL OF IT...thanksgiving that is...to make room for more...we need to give out to God what we got. When we hold onto what we are thankful for...we may be FULL OF IT...but we must make room for more.

FINAL THOUGHTS...THANKFULLY FINAL

This Rambling has merely scratched the surface about thanksgiving...but this year...maybe we can use this ONE day out of 365 days...as a launching pad for BEING FULL OF THANKS...for the next 354 on a daily basis. If we would have THANKS on our lips...everyday...there may not be room for the negative stuff we throw out throughout the year.

"In EVERYTHING give THANKS...for this (the giving of thanks IN everything) is the will of God concerning you in Christ Jesus." (I Thessalonians 5:18)

"Finally, brethren...whatever is true..whatever is honorable...whatever is right...whatever is pure....whatever is lovely...whatever is of good repute/report...IF there is any excellence and IF anything worthy of praise, let/allow your ind to DWELL ON THESE THINGS (ruminate)." (Philippians 4:8)

"Where you're dwelling...will be telling." (Unknown)

"Unrestrained thoughts (what you think)...produces unrestrained words (what you say)... resulting in unrestrained actions (what you do)." (Unknown)

So...renew your mind with the Word...store thankfulness in your heart...stretch out your arms... open your mouth...and let the treasure of thankfulness flow.

Love and Very Thankful Kisses
Rodney "FULL OF IT" Boyd

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Thursday, November 11, 2010

TOP TEN REASONS AND ROADBLOCKS TO BECOMING A CHRISTIAN

Hello friends and neighbors....

I became a follower of Jesus Christ (aka...a Christian) back in the fall of 1970. To some this would be a good thing...to others it would be something to endure...to others it would be an act of intellectual suicide. For me it was life.

I was 19 years old...confuse, paranoid, depressed, impressionable, rebellious, independent, a LEMMING (thinking that I was an independent thinker... but really running over the edge of the cliff with the rest of the independent thinkers). I considered myself at that time to enlightened and free. That was the era of FREE LOVE...where free meant NO RESTRAINTS...FREE to do whatever you wanted to do...as long as you did not hurt anyone...but of course since I was NOT an island unto myself...my actions always affected someone...BUT in my free and selfish state of mind...it really did not matter because IT WAS ALL ABOUT ME BABY...ALL...ABOUT...ME.
The anthem was IF YOU CAN'T BE WITH THE ONE YOU LOVE...HONEY LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH.

Even back then (pre-fall of 1970)...I had the spark of a writer in me (or so I thought). I would write stories about Jesus and His band of merry men who were really not merry...but gay...homosexuals... sodomites...as they travelled around the country side giving themselves holy kisses. I found myself become more and more CYNICAL of ORGANIZED RELIGION...and about life in general. Remember... I had grown up in "THE CHURCH."

I was in a band at the time (The Blind Distortion) ...and we were practicing across from the church that is famous for putting on the Bethlehem Market place. It was a Sunday night (I had long ago quit going to church)... and we were rockin' and rollin'. Someone from the church came over and demanded that we stop the loud noise. My response...as they turned around to go back to church...play a rock and roll version of bringing in the sheaves. Boy...was I open minded passing around some of that free love mentality.

This was in the time when JESUS and "spirituality" were in vogue. ON the radio...you were encouraged to "put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water"...as George Harrison was singing to his "sweet Lord" (who happened to be Krishna)...while Ocean was taking "one toke over the line Sweet Jesus"...and Judy Collins was singing about His "Amazing Grace" (along with every drunk at Willie Nelson's Picnic)...and the Beatles were having visions of Mother Mary who told us it would be alright if we would "let it be". The radio air waves were charged with this religious fervor. The Edwin Hawkins singers were singing "Oh Happy Day...since Jesus washed my sins away"...as Norman Greenbaum (a Jewish rocker) was singing about "the Spirit in the sky" and informed us that he "never was a sinner...I never sinned...I've got a friend in Jesus"...and The Lord's prayer was in the Top Ten and Jesus Christ was a Superstar on Broadway and on the radio. In the Weber and Rice play...Mary Magdalene informed us that she was confused about her love relationship with Jesus...because she did not know how to love him...and Judas was just a misunderstood disciple. Another Broadway show told us to take it..."Day by Day...and to pray three things...as the Byrds and later on the Doobie Brothers (as they toked their doobies) proclaimed that JESUS WAS JUST ALRIGHT WITH ME.

Remember...this was not church and Christians singing about God and Jesus...it was your average everyday, recording artists. This was the atmosphere...that the JESUS MOVEMENT (Jesus moving among people) was birthed within. It was your average everyday hippie...accepting Jesus...becoming BORN AGAIN (a phrase found in John 3:3) and brought to the forefront by Jimmy Carter...the President of the United States...and later by a book by Chuck Colson...the Richard Nixon head henchman).

Lots of people were making decisions to accept Jesus and become a follower...or NOT accept Jesus...because they were open minded...intellectually superior than those weak minded fools. Lots of people had reasons and excuses for NOT becoming a Christian...and it was not limited to the 1970's or even the 1960's. From the time that Peter preached his first sermon after Pentecost...people have made the choice...and people have their reasons and excuses...their ROADBLOCKS FOR NOT BECOMING A CHRISTIAN.

With all that said....here are THE TOP TEN ROADBLOCKS TO BECOMING A CHRISTIAN.

NOTE: These were reasons and rationalizations that I used over the years. Others may have their own top ten lists.

#10 It would be crimp in my lifestyle. It's kinda hard to get drunk, do drugs, have sex with a male or female or both, watch pornography, cuss, commit adultery (fill in the blank of your favorite sin)...when you are suppose to ACT (definition of a hypocrite) like "A CHRISTIAN".

#9 I'm not WORTHY to be a Christian...so I will clean my act up first and then become a Christian. NOTE: Of course the self cleansing never takes place...because the more I try to clean...the dirtier I become.

#8 I keep 6 out of 10 of the Ten Commandments..and I'm pretty sure that is good enough to get me into heaven (if heaven really does exist).

#7 My sweet, dear, old Grandmother Boyd was a Christian...and she was praying me in before she died...and she told me this many times. I know that God will answer her prayers and I will slid on in...on her prayers.

#6 I like that Jesus do...he's just alright with me...but it's His followers that I can't stand. if I've got to be like THEM...then I would just as soon go to HELL. NOTE: This is usually followed by "I don't like ORGANIZED RELIGION".

#5 Until I have every answer to ever secret of the universe...or at lease to where all of my questions about God are answered...I WILL NOT BELIEVE. And even if I do have all the answers...I may or may not become a Christian...after all...it is very inconvenient and might disturb my free loving, free thinking lifestyle.

#4 I refuse to become a LEMMING like those people who watch the "T.V. Christians"...and send my money to those big haired, tear crying, charlatans. I am too WORLD SAVVY to be taken in by them.

#3 Christianity is an insult to my INTELLECTUAL PROWESS. I refuse to commit intellectual suicide for a fairy tale about some poor Jew...who thought He was God's Son...and allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross...to become a substitute for my sins...die on that cross...and then was buried..and three days later...rose from the dead. NOTE: This is also known as D.B.R... Death, Burial Resurrection...nothing more...nothing less. I would rather teach my kids that a bunny rabbit came in the middle of the night and left a bunch of candy and eggs or that a fat man in a red suit infiltrates our home in the middle of the night leaving gifts and eating cookies. At least those are more credible than that Jesus thing. After all...it is all about the children...isn't that what Easter and Christmas is all about?

#2 One word...HYPOCRITES!!!!!!!!!!! I refuse to become a HYPOCRITE like them. I would rather be a HYPOCRITE like other people. They say one thing and live another. They act like a saint one day a week and live life like hell the other six. They dress up in their fine clothes...while the rest of the world suffers. They are nothing but a club for the rich. The preacher makes more money than some of the people in his congregation. Some of those deacons are driving better cars than I am. All they want is MY MONEY. They want to tell me what sinner I am...and then do the same thing they condemn me about. Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Eddie Long, John Welsey Fletcher, those pedophile priests, Tammy Faye Bakker, Benny Hin (fill in the blank of whatever current religious person that failed to ACT like a Christan). Of course the ratio of believers who never steal, lie, cheat, commit adultery, etc... is NEVER taken into consideration. The bulk of the New Testament is written to "believers" who were still sinning and not ACTING LIKE A CHRISTIAN...and had to be corrected. Consider the church of Corinth...who lacked in none of the spiritual gifts, eagerly waiting for the coming of Jesus, were selfish, divisive, getting drunk at the Lord's supper, having sex with their mother in laws, not being considerate at the cover dish and eating up all the food, out of control...you know...HYPOCRITES. NOTE: I glad that the Bible was written to cover up the sins and fault of those HYPOCRITES...oh yeah...it didn't.

AND THE #1 REASON AND ROADBLOCK TO BECOMING A CHRISTIAN:

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME BABY....IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well...that's a few of the reasons and roadblocks that I HAVE USED in the past...and sometimes still use. you probably have your own...or have heard others.

COMMERICAL BREAK

Has God been speaking to you about getting connect with the church again? Have all your reasons and roadblocks and excuses for not being a Christian left you feeling just as empty as before. I would like to invite you to ease back into a new life...by attending the Ruminator Sunday School Class...meeting every Sunday Morning at 9:00 A.M. at SPRINGHOUSE WORSHIP AND ARTS CENTER. We meet in the Fellowship hall for food, fun, laughter...and then at 9:30...we begin to chew on the Cud of the Word of God.

Love and Removed Roadblocks Kisses
Rodney "Reasons No More" Boyd

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT...STUFF HAPPENS.

Hello Ye Ole Cud Chewers. Stuff Happenin'?

I found a copy of a collection of Ruminator Ramblings today...called MOO GOT MAIL (Ruminations From The Rambling Ruminator). As I was thumbing (or would that be hoofing) through the book...my eyes caught a Rambling that I wrote back on 10/1/2003 08:23 A.M. In light of many, many people that I talk to...who are going through STUFF in the lives...I thought I would drag out this old chestnut...dust it off...revamp it...add some pictures (those old Ramblings had no pictures)...and let it escape once again. So hold on...here's hopin'.

DERAILED AND DESPERATE...HOW DID I GET HERE...HANGING FROM THIS HIGH WIRE...BY THE TATTERS OF MY FAITH...SOMETIMES A WIND COMES OUT OF NOWHERE...AND KNOCKS YOU OFF YOUR FEET AND LOOK...SEE MY TEARS...THEY FILL THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY...THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY...SOMETIMES A WIND COMES OUT OF NOWHERE...AND KNOCKS YOU SIDEWAYS...AND LOOK...SEE MY TEARS...THEY FILL THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY...THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY. (Bruce Cockburn "The Whole Night Sky" from the album The Charity of Night)

This is one of my favorite albums in general...and one of my favorite Cockburn (Co-burn) albums. The song quoted here...really speaks to my situations...that I go through...and many of the people that I talk to...and currently...many of my Facebook friends that they post about. Some (me at times) grumble and complain about the STUFF that is happening...others roll over and play dead... others run away from God...while others press into God.

Have you ever been standing in the field...chewing your cud...ruminating away...the sun is shining...the birds are singing...an occasional human being drives by and bellows at you with a moo and laughs as their car speeds on by...and you just keep on chewing that cud...when all of a sudden...BAM...your world falls apart. Your peace is dissipated...your world is rocked...your COMFORT ZONE...suddenly becomes and uncomfortable WAR ZONE?

I mean...there are times when all is right with the world (at least in your private, personal world)...where God is on His throne and you have enough money to meet your needs and an overflow to help out others (true Biblical prosperity).

NOTE: It's pretty easy to believe in healing when you are well. It's pretty easy to trust God for your finances...when you have money in the bank...a job that pays well...401 K...insurance and credit cards to back you up. I mean...why would you need THE Master...when your master is your MasterCard?


One of the phrases in the Bruce Cockburn song that appears three times ( I didn't write all the verses) is SOMETIMES A WIND COMES OUT OF NOWHERE. The word NOWHERE is what takes us by surprise. When I entered my first karate tournament in 2002...I was very nervous. I had been practicing in class...advanced in the ranks...felt pretty good about my abilities for an overweight...at the time 51 year old man. I entered two areas of competition..(1) Kata (no contact in this one...just running my various moves) (2) Kumite (free style sparring). There were rules...referees..my opponent...and Ruminatin' Rod. My expectation was that the referees would enforce the rules and Old Rod would be O.K. Someone forgot to tell my opponent and the referee.

We face off...bowed to each other (out of mutual REI-spect) and BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SOMETIMES A WIND (or a fist) COMES OUT OF NOWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My opponent (see the picture of me and him hugging)...who was a lean, young, mean, fighting machine...looking every inch the spitting image like Major Payne (the Damon Wayans character)...came forward (out of nowhere)...and hit me square on the nose...which happened to be attached to my face). It knocked me back...stung...my head got woozy...my knees wobbly...and I looked over to the ref with the expectancy of him calling a foul and deducting a point. To my surprise...he did none of that...and motioned for us to continue fighting. Long story mad short (oops...to late for that)..OK..long story made even longer..this guy..out of 14 fighters WON...AND I came in 4th place.

My lovely wife Brenda...documented the exact point of contact on my nose...on film...and my son gave me words of advise after the event...when he lovingly told me..."Dad...next time duck." I learned a valuable lesson that day...PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS PLAY BY MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE RULES. Neither does satan...(little s...he does not deserve capitalization)...and neither does the world.

NOTE: A year later...Major Payne...came to a seminar at our school...Bill Taylor's Bushido School of Karate...and came up to me. He said he wanted to apologize for hitting me in the face...he has felt bad about it for a year. Then we took the picture you now see. Of course after the photo op...I place a ureken across the bridge of his nose. (Just kiddin')

We live in a fallen world where the curse is rampant, there is a devil (little d..he does not deserve capitalization)...who is out to steal, kill and destroy you. Little d is out to accuse you before God...the heavenlies...your brethren and sistern...and even yourself. And when the fallen world...the curse...the devil does not get you...we then pull a Barney Fife and shoot ourself in the foot...by LETTING OUR GUARD DOWN...and ALLOWING STUFF into our lives...OUT OF NOWHERE. Bumper sticker wisdom states that "s*** happens. The sanitized version is STUFF HAPPENS....but I saw a bumper sticker from All Saints Episcopal church that states GRACE HAPPENS. Each one is true...it's how we DEAL WITH IT...that will determine if we STAY KNOCKED DOWN and OUT...or will we RECOVER and CONTINUE ON.

Sensei Bill Taylor has a quote..."Fighting is a game of adjustments." This is so true. If you don't adjust...you will be trying to to a front kick while you are face down in the ground. You must adjust the fight...or you will lose the fight.

This picture is found on the wall at the Broad Street location of Bill Taylor's Bushido School of Karate...and it really is W.O.A.W. (Wisdom On A Wall) It shows the progression of how we should learn things...(1) Stances are the number on foundation. If you don't have a good foundation...you will have ineffective techniques (2) Posture is next. If you are running your techniques with your head looking down...you will miss the moves of your opponents. If your core is bent over your power will be depleted. I your knee is not positioned high for the kick...it will follow the path of where it is pointed...and that is not good if you want to hit the head...and your need is pointed lower. (3) Technique will be executed more strategically precise...when stance and posture are correct.

So it is when SOMETIMES A WIND COMES OF NOWHERE. You need to know how to adjust in the spiritual...because your emotional...and you physical will follow suit.

In Josh McDowell's book EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT...he put a little thing that stuck with for years....

GODISNOWHERE

NOTE: Read the above phrase...then write down what you see...and say out loud what you wrote down. There were TWO CHOICES:

(1) God is NO where...OR... (2) God is NOW here

Two perspectives...two views...two interpretations...ALL DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT.

In the Book of the Cud (for Ruminators...that is the Word of God)...we are extolled and encouraged to be ready...stand our ground...keep our guard up...keep our lamps filled with oil and the wicks trimmed...live in expectancy. Expectancy that there ARE enemies...that there are lands to be taken...that there will be opposition...that we can be laid low in the wilderness...that we can stumble...that we can be taken by the very thing that we correct others in...that temptation can not only pull us into something...but that it really pulls us away from who we really are. Expectancy that we can be more than conquerors...the head not the tail...blessed not cursed....blessed beyond the curse for His promises are sure.

Do bad things happen to TRUE BELIEVERS? Do bad things happen to FAITH PEOPLE? Do the winds come out of NOWHERE and knock us off our feet and knocks us sideways...catching us by surprise? Do the fighters and referees always play by the rules..and do you sometimes get hit square in the face? Do the fighters in the street play by the rules and regulations?

The answer is...YES...STUFF...UNFAIR...UNEXPECTED STUFF HAPPENS...and NO...LIFE IS NOT FAIR...but HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT (His favor, gift, divine influence in our heart manifested in our lives)...because in the midst of the NOWHERE WINDS....is His NOW HERE PRESENCE and HELP.

NOTE: You may be doing ALL THE RIGHT THINGS...and still STUFF HAPPENS. It is not a badge of your spiritual maturity...or a gauge of your faith if STUFF (good or bad) HAPPENS TO YOU. If could mean that you are SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS WILL AND WALKING LIKE YOU SHOULD BE WALKING...walking by FAITH...and not by SIGHT (II Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:1, 6)

Here' some STUFF to do...whole you are in the midst of your STUFF:

1. Test yourself to see i you are still in the faith (II Corinthians 13:5)
2. If there is SIN in your life...deal with it (by repentance and confession) and be done with it
(I John 1:5-10)
3. If there is a devil trying to pull you into something and away from who you really are...then
RESIST him. (Matthew 4:1-11; I Peter 5:5-11)
4. If our are LAID LOW in the wilderness...do a temptation check. (I Corinthians 10:13)
5. Realize who is the enemy. (Ephesians 6:10-12
6. Join the RESISTANCE FORCE (I Peter 5:8-9; Ephesians 6:13)
7. After the first wave of attack of STUFF...don't let you GUARD down. (Ephesians 6:13-14)
8. Get on your armour and be ready for the battle (Ephesians 6:13-17)
9. Pray (Ephesians 6:18-19)
10.Prepared yourself for the battle BEFORE the battle. (Joshua 1:1-18)

Well...that is it. I don't know about you...but I needed that. If you needed that...let me know.

Love and DUCK DAD Kisses
Rodney "His Grace Is Really Sufficient" Boyd

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Monday, November 08, 2010

DOUBT and FEAR: The Makings of Walking By Faith

Greetings and Salutations O Ye Fraidy Cats.. how is you DOUBT FACTOR. Are your FEARS fueling your DOUBTS? Well...here is a word of encouragement for you...BE A FRAYED KNOT.

"Fear ye NOT." (Jesus: Matthew 10:31)

"Sometimes I'm nuttin but A FRAYED KNOT... even though being told...BE AFRAID NOT." (Unknown)

Our friend the Cowardly Lion...in the Wizard of Oz...was a afraid of his own shadow...which led to his doubt about who he really was...The King of The Forest. He ran into Dorothy, The Scarecrow, and The Tin Woodman...who gave him hope that his courage could be restored to him by the Wizard of Oz. Of course...he found out that he had the COURAGE POTENTIAL all along. Fear and Doubt can paralyze us...and distracts us from what is in us all along. It is like TEMPTATION...that is designed not to pull us into something...but to PULL US AWAY FROM WHO WE REALLY ARE. (Thanx and a Tip O Da Hat To Larry Napier).


If the tempter (little t)...aka the devil (little d)...can place doubt and fear in our minds...he becomes the controller (little c) in our lives.
"Fear, doubt, unbelief, anxiety, worry, tension...will either be our tombstone...OR the stepping stone to trusting our God." (R.L.B.)
We must "BE ON THE ALERT". When we let our guard down...in comes the doubt and fear.
"Be of sober spirit...be on the alert. Your adversary (little a)...the devil (little d) prowls about like a roaring lion...seeking someone to devour."
The lion roars...intimidating whomever will be intimidated...and then go for the weakest link. The one who prowls about seeking someone to devour... who roars like a lion...is an intimidator (little i).
We are called to RESIST him...FIRM IN YOUR FAITH (not loose and sloppy in our faith..but FIRM in your faith).
"But RESIST him (little h) FIRM IN YOUR FAITH...knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." (I Peter 5:9)
Whether you are in Guatemala (like Kirk and Diana)...or in Peru (like Ron and Annette )...or in Kenya Africa (like Don and Nancy )...or in Rio Bravo...(like Ray and Leah)...and many, many more around the world...you have the same experiences of the roaring lion (little r.l.) There are...and will be many opportunities to fear and doubt.
Yesterday at Springhouse Worship and Arts Center... Pastor Ronnie Meek gave a great word on "Doubting Thomas"...and how...just because we have doubts and fears...does not mean we are any less men and women of faith. For us to have faith...means that doubts must be real....for something to have faith real in our lives. I have often said...that just because you are going through something...does not mean that you are NOT walking by faith...or OUT of the will of God. Most likely...you are SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WILL OF GOD...where you have to trust in God and God alone.
Fear and Doubt are not to be grasped...but should be WHY you are pressing into the Lord even more.
"Now FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we] hope for (confidently expect)...being the proof of things [we] DO 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)

When we begin to walk in this FAITH...in the face of DOUBT and FEAR...we begin to PLEASE GOD.
"But without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must (necessarily) BELIEVE that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him (out)." (Hebrews 11:6)
I like that idea...of in the face of doubt and fear...that I am not just sitting around...accepting whatever comes down the pike as the will of God...but earnestly and diligently SEEKING HIM OUT...and by doing that...I have entered into the POSSIBILITY of pleasing Him as I face the IMPOSSIBILITIES of life.
Many of you may or may not know that I like Old Time Radio. I listen to the various shows including comedies, variety, drama, mysteries, etc. One of my favorites is THE SHADOW.
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men...The Shadow knows." (The Shadow...aka Lamont Cranston)
"The weed of crime bears bitter fruit...crime does not pay...The Shadow knows." (The Shadow..aka Lamont Cranston)
The Shadow strikes fear in the hearts of the bad guys...like Batman...who adopted the symbol of the creature that strikes fear in Bruce Wayne's heart...a bat.
Many times...we have to face the things that strikes fear and doubt in our heart. The Shadow may know a lot about evil in hearts...but God...know our hearts, our minds, our will, our emotions, intentions of the heart.
(Hebrews 4:12)
Frank Gorshin is the personification of Batman's nemesis...THE RIDDLER. The Riddler wrecks havoc on Gotham City with crime...bring fear and doubt to the citizens hearts... all the while...leaving clues for Batman to follows...with riddles. The giant question mark...is his symbol.
In Mark 11:22-26...Jesus has been teaching on prayer, faith, authority, walking by faith and not by sight, the power of the spoken word and the power of forgiveness. Jesus tells us that as we pray..."and does NOT DOUBT at all in his heart...but BELIEVES..that what he says will take place, it will be done for him."
Sometimes...as we go into hyperspace with our faith...we tend to forget to do the basics. We get so wrapped up with confession, not doubting, believing (on what our prayers are focused on), forgiving...that we forget the main ingredient in our prayers.
"In the morning when they were passing along, they noticed that the fig tree (that Jesus had cursed previously) was withered (completely) away to IT'S ROOTS (below the level of vision when first spoken). And Peter remembered and said to Him, Master, look! The fig tree which you doomed has withered away.!" (Mark 11:20-21)
Now...here is what we tend to miss in the formula..."And Jesus replying said to them, HAVE FAITH IN GOD...CONSTANTLY." (Mark 11:22)
Doubt and fear are real. We do not disclaim their reality...but as we say in the Ruminator Sunday School Class..."We do not doubt (fill in the blank) their reality...but we do deny their right to rule our lives...because TRUTH (the Word of God) TRUMPS reality." (R.L.B.)
My lovely wife, friend, helper...Brenda reminded my what Steve Burkett's father told me a while back...in reference to fear.
FEAR is nothing but F=false E=evidence A=appearing R=real.
You will either be A Frayed Knot...OR Afraid Not.
Lover and Non-Frayed Kisses
Rodney "Believing" Boyd




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Friday, November 05, 2010

THE REFRESHING

Greetings dry and thirsty friends. How do you quench your thirst.

I know that when I work out in my karate class...I am a mass of sweat. If you come up to me and slap me on my back...you would (1) knock me down and (2) get splashed with the residue sweat. After a strong workout...there is nothing quiet so good as a long drink of Power-Aid or water. I can almost feel the regenerating liquid course through my body... and restoring and refreshing me back to vitality.

In this world that we live and breath in...sometimes the things of life overwhelm us and depletes us from strength, vigor, vitality, and our potential. We need to be refreshed, renewed, revitalized, and rehydrated.

When you become dehydrated in the physical...and in the spiritual...you simply go through the motion of life. Purpose, drive, potential, motivation is either put on automatic pilot...or put in neutral.

Weather has been know to be a factor in our emotional state of being. Paul Williams song...recorded by The Carpenters (one of my favorite groups)...RAINY DAYS AND MONDAY'S...says it all...they always GET ME DOWN. We enter into a FUNK...that is not the upbeat sounds of FUNKY. We get the blues, the blahs, the pity party mindset, the why does everything happen to me mentality, the throw up the hands and why try syndrome.

What to do...what to do? Well...you can either lay around in depression... or you can press in to the Lord...and drink from the Latter Rains.

One of the first things to focus on...is that even in the dark...even with surrounding clouds...there is the sun. The sun will rise...the clouds will part. Shadows are overwhelming until you realize that the shadows...are only possible by the light.

"For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime...Weeping may endure/last for the moment/night...but a shout of joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

"You got to kick at the darkness...until it bleeds daylight." (Bruce Cockburn from Lovers In A Dangerous Time)

What kicked off this Rambling was watching and listening to Paul Clark and Phil Keaggy do a live version of a song from the 1974 album...COME INTO HIS PRESENCE...called Latter Rain. I started thinking of His Latter Rain (Reign) in these last days...and felt his refreshing, renewing, cleansing... washing over the dry, dusty, weary, parts of myself... and new strength and renewal being infused with my physical body...and my spirit (little s)...as the Holy Spirit (Big S) that dwells within my human spirit (little s) began to stir. We are encouraged not to QUENCH THE SPIRIT among other thing in I Thessalonians 5:19). In this passage (I Thessalonians 5:16-22) we are encouraged to: (1) Rejoice always (2) Pray without ceasing (3) In everything (good, bad and ugly) give thanks...for this (the giving of thanks in everything) is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (4) Do not quench the Spirit (5) Do not despise prophetic utterances (6) Examine everything carefully (7) Hold fast to that which is good (8) Abstain from every form of evil

It seems that when I am dehydrated...I tend to NOT do the things that I need to be doing that will rehydrate me. For example...if I am dehydrated...the answer is to QUENCH my thirst...by drinking in liquids. In the Spirit...we are called NOT to QUENCH the Spirit. Always be thirsty for the Spirit...and the things of God.

Paul encourages us in Galatians..."And let us NOT LOSE HEART in doing good, for in due time we shall reap IF we do not GROW WEARY." (Galatians 5:9)

"Even though I walk through the valley of the SHADOW of death...I fear no evil...for Thou ART with me."
(Psalm 23:4)

NOTE: For those at Springhouse Worship and ART Center...this verse may be the stamp of approval on recapturing the ARTS...as Thou ART with me?!? That joke was a work of ART...hmmm...maybe ART should have left it alone.

Our Shepherd is the Shepherd of REFRESHING.


"They Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside, still/quiet waters. He restores my soul (mind, will, emotions, totality of who I am) He guides m in the paths of righteousness for His names sake." (Psalm 23:1-3) With this understanding of our Shepherd...we can walk in the shadows with confidence that we will come out the other side with oil anointed heads, cups running over, tables in the PRESENCE of our enemies...with (1) Goodness (2) Mercy/Lovingkindness following us all the days of our lives... and the understanding that we will DWELL in the house of the Lord forever.

NOTE: Actually...Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy will be following us...or should ART leave this one alone also? "Surely...goodness and mercy..."

FINAL THOUGHTS FINALLY

There is a way...to enter into REFRESHING...that also has "R's" in the words.

"REPENT...therefore and RETURN...that your sins may be wiped away...IN ORDER that times of REFRESHING my come...from THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD" (Acts 3:19)

Whenever I am overwhelmed by life...I tend to act as if GOD is either NOT THERE...or He is NOT BIG ENOUGH TO HANDLE MY PROBLEMS. I do need to REPENT (have a change of heart, change of mind, change of attitude, change of direction.)...and RETURN back to my FIRST LOVE...and do the things that I did when I first met Him. (Revelation 2:5)

The CAUSE AND EFFECT of this REPENTING AND RETURNING...is REFRESHING...because I have RETURNED to be in the PRESENCE OF THE LORD.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love and Refreshed Kisses
Rodney "Repristinated" Boyd

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Tuesday, November 02, 2010

PRAYER ACCESS: Showers Of Blessings

Greetings Prayer Warriors...how's your prayer life?

Years ago...at Second Touch Coffee House in Columbia Tennessee...the Mule Day Parade was over...and people were streaming by the Coffee House and one of the guys working there was asking people... "Parade over?" The phrase had a double meaning...as he asked would you like to be..."Prayed over?" He actually had a few takers of the prayer.

Prayer is either the psychological gymnastics of a desperate people who have invented a Deity to invoke prayers to...to ease their guilty conscience and confusion about life...OR...it is a direct connection to the Creator of the universe...whose heart is moved by his creation coming to him.

I love the first picture of my son Phillip...saying a prayer...practicing what Jesus wanted the disciples to do...to WATCH...and PRAY. As you check out the photo...let us have a collective..."Awwwwwwwww."

Many people approach the Creator of the universe many different ways. The other day...I went into my shower...standing there with the hot water cascading on my head...and I began to prayer..."Father...I come to you...in the name of Jesus..."

It dawned on me that this is the standard formula that I use whenever I pray my prayers.

Of course...God can hear you if your back is against the wall in the face of another impossibility in your life... and all you can do to enter His presence is open your mouth and scream out:

HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He can also hear you when you are at your weakest moments...with no strength to barely get out of bed...and eek out a weak...heeelllp. I am always encouraged when I read the incident of the children of Israel...who were in bondage in Egypt...under the hand of the tasks masters...via the rule of the Pharaoh...as they "sighed/groaned because of the bondage...and they cried out; and their cry for HELP because of their bondage ROSE UP TO GOD...SO God HEARD their GROANING...and GOD REMEMBERED His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, ad Jacob. And God SAW the sons of Israel...and God TOOK NOTICE of them." (Exodus 2:23-25)


Prayers can be prayers of blessings...like Bruce Coble prayers over the people of Kenya...or prayers of practical needs...or prayers of desperation...or just intimate conversation with God...not asking for anything.

Now...back to me...praying in my shower. I love my Prayer Shower...kinda like a Prayer Closet with running water. "Father...I come to you...in the name of Jesus..." I began to think in terms of teaching...and breaking down this beginning to my prayers.

1. Father: Jesus taught His disciples to pray that way in what has become known as "The Lord's Prayer." Jesus said...pray this way..."OUR FATHER...who art in heaven..."I began to think how my Dad...passed away...but I still have a Father. I have a Father who cares for me....who has interest in what is going on in my life...and wants me to come to Him. I recently was working with a patient who happened to be of the Jewish faith. I noticed that his child would talk to him...by calling him "ABBA." I asked her about the name Abba...and she told me it was a term of endearment...and at the same time a term of respect. Whenever she would call him Abba...he would give her his attention...and respond appropriately to her. So does our ABBA FATHER.

2. I: Not only is the Creator of the universe...OUR ABBA FATHER...He is MY ABBA FATHER.
When Jesus was quizzing the boys about who other people were saying that He was...they responded by saying...some say you are John the Baptist, others, Jeremiah/Isaiah or one of the prophets. Jesus said...Who do YOU say I am? Peter responds...You are the Christ...the living Son of God. We are all...individually faced with that question...WHO DO YOU SAY I AM. I am the one coming in...via my prayers into His presence.

3. COME TO YOU: I may want Him to come down to my level...but really...before He comes down...I come to Him. He has already come down in the form of Jesus..."In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...and we beheld His glory as that of the only begotten Son of God." (John 1:1; 14) Now because Jesus came down...and experienced the D.B.R. (Death, Burial, Resurrection...nothing more.. nothing less)...we have access...the right to enter into His presence. As we choose to enter in...this PLEASES God...because we are entering by FAITH...and "Without faith...it is impossible to PLEASE Him... for he who COMES TO GOD...must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY SEEK Him (not those who passively inquire)." (Hebrews 11:6). So...I alert Him that I am coming in...Father...I COME to you....

4. IN THE NAME: A NAME...is a point of IDENTIFICATION. The identification is what you know about the one who is named what they are named. Jabez...whose name meant pain... called upon the GOD OF ISRAEL..because he knew that that name...the God of Israel...represented what he needed...ANSWERED PRAYER. He could have called on many polytheistic gods...who could do nothing for him...but he called on the GOD OF ISRAEL...the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD...who had MANY NAMES to identify His character and dynamic ability. Just the compound names alone...like Jehovah-Shalom (I Am your peace)...
Jehovah-Raphe (I Am your healer)...Jehovah-Jireh (I Am your provider)...all speaks of the nature and character of the God...who is OUR...and MY Father...and who I can come into his presence. The access...is by the NAME of someone.

5. JESUS: Jesus...God is Salvation...Emmanuel...God with us...is the KEY of access into the presence of God...because that name...the name above all names...the only name by which all men may be saved...the name that represents the way, the truth, the life...and the fact that no man COMES to the Father except by Him...is the name that I speak forth to start my prayers. (Philippians 2:9-11; John 14:6; Acts 4:12)

This access into the Father's presence...is by the blood of Jesus. "Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, b a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through THE VEIL...that is...HIS FLESH (D.B.R.)." (Hebrews 10:19-20)

Once I am into His presence...I can have conversation with my Father...with expectancy that He will speak to me...give me insight and wisdom...answer my prayers...etc.

NOTE: Don't be like Jimmy Stewart...in the movie...It's A Wonderful Life...as George Bailey... (see the last photo) and wait until your back is against the wall...before you pray. The opening of the movie...is a wonderful scene of people praying for George Bailey...as you see the prayers leaving planet earth up into the heavenlies...with the cause and effect of things set into motion for the answer.
Just like when the children of Israel prayed...and their deliverer and deliverance was already set into motion...so was in the movie. The answer was on its way...when George could not see an answer...and it even got worse before it got better (but that's for another time...another Rambling).

FINAL THOUGHT FINALLY...NO REALLY...FINALLY...

I am getting ready to get in the shower...and on purpose....to pray. Father...I come to you...in the name of Jesus.

Love and Showers of Blessings Kisses
Rodney "Talking To Abba Father" Boyd

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