ENDTIME BLUES...IF YA DON'T KNOW JESUS

Greetings O Ye Lovers In A Dangerous Time.

"Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by...You never get to stop and open your eyes...One day you're waiting for the SKY TO FALL...and next your dazzled by the beauty of it all...When you're lovers in a dangerous time...lovers in a dangerous time." (Lovers In A Dangerous Time by Bruce Cockburn)

I have been blessed to record some songs that I wrote many years ago... and collected as a CD collection called RUMINATOR UNPLUGGED. These were songs that were birthed during a time called "The Jesus Movement". One recurring theme in the 70's was the RETURN OF JESUS....END TIMES. Book's like THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH by Hal Lindsay were all the rage... while preachers like Jack Van Impe outlined the endtimes in minute detail. For years people have been setting dates and times on the return of Jesus...using twisted Scriptures to prove their point. Cults even point out that Jesus returned already and we missed it because it was an invisible return. They even gave multiple times and dates after it didn't happen before the settled on the invisible return theory. On the Ruminator Unplugged there is a song that I wrote called END TIME BLUES (If You Don't Know Jesus). I guess the thought process was to "scare the hell out of you...and...scare the heaven into you." The song was a driving rocker...that compared what I was reading in the newspaper...and what I was reading in the Bible...and they looked amazingly similar.

People are living these days in HIGH ANXIETY...as talk of the EVE OF DESTRUCTION persists. Fear, despair, and a sense of hopelessness permeates society...OR...people are in denial...and just continue to live life as status quo.

END TIME BLUES (If You Don't Know Jesus)

I was reading the paper the other day
Man, it really was strange
I thought I was readin' my Bible
My comprehension was way out of range
I couldn't believe some of the things I read
It was enough to make you think
Of how it could be the end of time
And we're sittin' right on the brink

Now let me tell you just what I read
And you sit back and digest it in your head


There were earthquakes, famines, wars and rumours of war, pestilence and violence and murders by the score...Now that was what the paper had to say...now let me read from the Bible written yesterday

It was talkin' about Jesus coming again
He was comin' to get the saints that were freed from their sin
And He told of some signs that could let you know it could be soon
So you listen for the trumpet and you will hear that Holy Tune

There were earthquakes, famines, wars and rumours of war, pestilence and violence and murders by the score
But no man knows the hour or the day
But you can tell the signs of the season this way
He's coming back..He's coming back...will you be ready...He's coming ba..

NOTE: Originally in the band Hosanna...the song had a harmonica part...and the ending was an Elvis like finish..."I said He's coming back...coming back..for me and you." On the CD...Shane Atkinson who produced it...cut off the last word...as if He came back. I still get chills when I listen to it.

Well...that song was a true reflection of the "signs of the times" then...and even more now.

It appears that things are increasing with an intensity. Some who try to downplay the COMING OF THE LORD would say...that these things have always been happening...and the advent of the Internet and 24/7 news merely makes it "appear" like there are more of these signs. I remember my Uncle Neal tell me the same thing back in 1970 when I was witnessing to him...as he used that as an excuse for not accepting Jesus.

Of course there is nothing new under the sun...(unless you are under the Son...then you are a new creation in Christ).

After Jesus had been crucified, died, buried and raised from the dead (aka D.B.R...Death, Burial, Resurrection... nothing more...nothing less)...He was meeting with the disciples and giving them the B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth). After He had finished...He left.

"And after He had said these things, He was LIFTED UP while they were looking on...and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said...Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, WILL COME IN JUST THE SAME WAY AS YOU HAVE WATCHED HIM GO INTO HEAVEN." (Acts 1:9-11)

Jesus spoke of the end times...in Matthew 24-25 when followers came to Him privately, saying..."Tell us...WHEN will THESE THINGS (see Matthew (23)...HAPPEN...and WHAT WILL BE THE SIGN OF YOUR COMING...AND THE END OF THE AGE? (Matthew 24:3)

Just a few of the SIGNS includes:

1. Misleaders coming and saying "I am the Christ"
2. You will hear of wars and rumours of war (don't be frightened, these things must take place..
but that is NOT the end).
3. Nation will rise up against nation
4. Kingdom will rise up against Kingdom
5. In various/different/divers places there will be famines
6. In various/different/divers places there will be earthquakes

NOTE: All these things are merely the BEGINNING OF BIRTH PANGS

7. They will deliver you to tribulation
8. They will kill you
9. You will be hated by all nations...because of the name of Jesus
10.Many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another
11.Many false prophets will arise and mislead many
12.People's love will grow cold because of lawlessness

NOTE: Violating God's law

13.The one who endures to the END will be saved
14. This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the WHOLE WORLD as a testimony to
ALL NATIONS...and THEN...the END WILL COME

These are just a few of the signs of His coming and the end.

Jesus then begins to tell them what happens AFTER all of these things comes to an end.

"But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN...will appear in the SKY..and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. And He will send forth His angels with a great TRUMPET and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the SKY to the other." (Matthew 24:29-31)

Jesus then goes into PARABLE MODE...to illustrate what He just spoke of and the need to BE READY. (Matthew 24:32-Matthew 25:46)

"Therefore BE ON THE ALERT for you DO NOT KNOW WHICH DAY YOUR LORD IS COMING..." (Matthew 24:42)

Paul underscored the return...in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Thessalonians 5:1-11. Of course the Bible is filled with many other words on the end times.

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

I don't know when He is going to return...but it sure looks close. NOTE: I have a few copies left of RUMINATOR UNPLUGGED. Let me know if you would like a copy...then you can hear END TIME BLUES (If You Don't Know Jesus)

Love and End Time Kisses
Rodney "Be Ready" Boyd

BIRTH: The Art of Dealing With The Flesh and Spirit

Greetings and Salutations at the beginning of Lent. Is it almost over? Oh...it's only been two days. Lord...HELP!

On August 15th 2011...I will be celebrating my day of birth. I will be 60 years old. If I live to be 120 years old...I would be considered to be middle aged. I've got a feeling...that I am over the middle aged mark at this point in the game. My friend...Chip Payne...recently celebrated his 5oth birthday...and it dawned on me...that when he turns 60 years old...I will be 70 years old. That just AIN'T right.

Back on August 15th 1951...my mother Elizabeth Boyd gave birth to a boy at Allen Clinic in Murfreesboro Tennessee.

NOTE: At this point...let us focus on picture #1 and all join in with a collective Awwwwwwww....how cute.

This birth was the result of the union of Lonnie and Elizabeth Boyd 9 months earlier...and the cause and effect was pregnancy...and the culmination of BIRTH. Flesh (human beings)...gave birth to flesh (another human being). This does follow the Biblical principle...John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh...is...flesh..."

For the next 19 years...I went from a bouncing baby boy...to a skipping skinny kid. My life was shaped by my environment including my parent's values... my friend's peer pressure...the good, the bad, the ugly...religious upbringing...my free will and choices I made based on my flesh (not my body...but my nature).

In the fall of 1970...I was a paranoid, addicted, selfish, individual (who followed the crowd like a lemming running over a cliff). Why is it that we want to be individuals...and then dress, walk, talk, act like everyone else?

In the fall of 1970 Brenda led me to the Lord...and I accepted Jesus as my Saviour...and boy did I need saving. At that point on the space-time continuum, I went from being born the first time...in the flesh...to being BORN AGAIN...in the Spirit. I had received a divine touch here on planet Earth... and John 3:3...and began to see the kingdom of God. "Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly...I say to you...unless on is BORN AGAIN...he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3). I went from being born of the flesh...because flesh gives birth to flesh...to being BORN TWICE...where "that which is born of the Spirit (big S) is spirit (little s).


I could NOT change myself. I personally needed a divine touch. As of this writing it is March 10th 2011. I was born again in the fall of 1970. I wish that I could tell you that...I matured spiritually from then to now on a regular, consistent basis...but I can't. I have had many HILLS...and VALLEYS. I have been on the MOUNTAIN TOP (great spiritual times) and I have been in the depths of the VALLEYS (in the lowlands and dark times).

I have walked in the Spirit and experience life and peace...and I have walked in the flesh and experienced death (a disconnect from His presence). I can't blame God, people, situations and circumstances for my flesh walk. I can't even blame the devil..."The devil made me do it."

The same principle of my natural birth back in 1951...was...and sometimes still is in 2011... flesh gives birth to flesh.

"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)

NOTE: A great warning written to believers who had been BORN AGAIN.


"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)

NOTE: Spirit walk can turn into flesh walk by a turning. It is not our calling to walk in bondage...but to walk in freedom.

"But I say...WALK BY THE SPIRIT...and you WILL NOT carry out the DESIRE OF THE FLESH. For the FLESH sets it's desire against the SPIRIT...and the SPIRIT against the FLESH...for these are IN OPPOSITION to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." (Galatians 5:16)

NOTE: Paul is writing to believers...who are struggling with the things of the flesh and Spirit.

That speaks to me of my struggles over the years. When I WALK in the FLESH...versus WALKING IN THE SPIRIT...flesh gives birth to flesh...versus...Spirit giving birth to spirit.

I will either be in the flesh...and the deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21)...OR be in the Spirit and having growth with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22)

The way that this GROWTH PROCESS takes place in my life...is by death. "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus (that would be me and you via being BORN AGAIN)...have CRUCIFIED THE FLESH...with its PASSIONS and DESIRES." (Galatians 5:24) Once the flesh crucifixion takes place...then we must LIVE AND WALK BY THE SPIRIT. "If we LIVE by the SPIRIT...let us ALSO...WALK BY THE SPIRIT."


The way that we crucify the FLESH...is to IDENTIFY with the work that Jesus did...that we could NOT do. "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me...and the life which I NOW live in the flesh (physical body)...I live BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD...who loved me and delivered Himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20).

We crucify our flesh and walk in the Spirit by faith in what HE DID...not what we do. Paul stated that "...I die daily..." speaking not of him dying for his own sin...but again...accepting what Jesus did in Galatians 2:20.

Paul questions some people who started out in the Spirit...but now were trying for perfection in the flesh.

"You foolish Galatians...who has bewitched you before whose eyes JESUS CHRIST...was publicly portrayed 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? Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain? So then...does He who PROVIDES YOU WITH THE SPIRIT and WORKS MIRACLES among you...do it by the WORKS OF THE LAW...or by HEARING WITH FAITH?" (Galatians 3:1-5)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

Flesh gives birth to flesh...Spirit gives birth to spirit. During this Lent season...this is my primary desire...to SAY NO TO THE FLESH...AND SAY YES TO THE SPIRIT...in my spirit, my soul, and my body. The flesh must get into line with the Spirit...and this time is where..with the HELP OF THE HELPER (The Holy Spirit)...I can discipline myself for the purpose of godliness. (I Timothy 4:8-16)

Love and Spirit-Filled Kisses
Rodney "Change My Heart O God" Boyd

SUPPLY AND STRENGTH (How to Deal With Shortage)

Greetings and Salutations O Ye...Non-Worriers.

NOTE: If you are choosing NOT to worry and TRUST GOD...write me and let me know.

In a world that is coming apart at the seams....where on the surface it seems as if there are great SHORTAGES around the world of everything from oil to intelligence...we have got some choices to make. To WORRY...or NOT TO WORRY...that is the question?!? The answer is NOT TO WORRY...BUT TO TRUST...not in governments, jobs, people...but GOD.

Of course I had to include the picture that is in my office at home...that I gaze on everyday... of the mascot of Mad Magazine...the "What--Me Worry" kid...Alfred E. Newman. Now...old Al is considered to be a simpleton...who is not smart enough to worry. Well...that may be... but as a believer in the Living God...who is the SOURCE of my SUPPLY...I believe...that I am called NOT TO WORRY...but to TRUST.

As I wrote on my Facebook status this morning..."If you can trust God when gas is $1.50 a gallon...why can't you trust God at $4.00 a gallon? He's the same God...is He not?"

No...I am not talking about hiding our heads in the sand of religion...go into mass denial of a problem existing...BUT...I am talking about WALKING BY FAITH...AND NOT THOSE THINGS REVEALED TO THE SENSES. (Hebrews 11:1).

"Anxiety and Worry is the indicator that I do not trust God...or think God is big enough to handle whatever my circumstance, situation, condition is that I am going through." (R.L.B.)

It is easy to trust God when all is well...when I have a job...when the political climate is perfect, when Wall Street is stable, when world conditions are peaceful, when I have no sickness screaming in my body, I have insurance and access to my credit cards (making the minimum payments)....etc, etc, etc. It's like a miracle...everyone wants to see a miracle in their lives...not realizing that the condition for a miracle...ain't fun.

Well...Mr. Smart Guy...Mr. Holier Than Thou...Mr. Hypocrite...if I am not suppose to be ANXIOUS and WORRY...what other options do I have?

Oh...I don't know....maybe TRUST GOD! I like what Jesus said to Peter and the boys when they saw that the tree that He had cursed had died from the roots up. "HAVE FAITH IN GOD...CONTINUALLY." (Mark 11:22 The Amplified Bible). Then Jesus launched into a teaching session on PRAYER and FAITH...how we believe and how we talk. (See Mark 11:12-26 for full details.)

The word CONTINUALLY...speaks to me...of never giving up...in the good times, in the bad times, in the ugly times. It is the word that Romans 8:28 is based on..."We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] ALL THINGS (the good, bad, ugly) work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose." (Romans 8:28 The Amplified Bible...with my good, bad, ugly added).

There are two verses that I love that speaks of STRENGTH and SUPPLY... and they are both NOT based on me.

"I have strength for ALL THINGS in Christ Who empowers me--I am ready for anything and equal to anything THROUGH HIM Who infuses INNER STRENGTH into me, [that is, I am self-sufficient...IN CHRIST'S SUFFICIENCY." (Philippians 4:13 The Amplified Bible) I love that phrase...self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency because it focus on what HE can do...NOT on what I can do.

The other verse that speaks to me is about SUPPLY is..."And MY GOD...will liberally SUPPLY (fill to the full) your every NEED (not greed) according to His riches in glory IN CHRIST JESUS." (Philippians 4:19 The Amplified Bible...with "not greed" added by me.)

On of the compound names of God...is Jehovah-Jireh...I AM THE GOD OF SUPPLY.

Either HE IS...or HE AIN'T. It is like that word GODISNOWHERE...either it is GOD IS NO WHERE...OR GOD IS NOW HERE. It all depends on how you view it.


It is all about our WALK. We either are going to WALK BY FAITH...or walk by doubt, fear, unbelief, fear, worry, anxiety, what we see, what our senses tell us.

"Now FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation , the title-deed) of the THINGS [we] hope for, 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)

"For we walk by faith...[that is, we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] NOT BY SIGHT OR APPEARANCE."
(II Corinthians 5:7)

"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 The Amplified Bible)

"For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith--disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith. As it is written the Man who through faith is just and upright and shall LIVE...and SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." (ROMANS 1:17)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

There may be shortages in the economy...but their AIN'T no shortage in God. Maybe the question should not be..."What...Me Worry?...but What...Me Trust God?" That answer would be a resounding...YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love and Supplied Kisses
Rodney "Trusting God In The Good, Bad, and Ugly) Boyd

THE LENGTHENING OF SEASONS

Greetings and Salutations O Ye Sojourners...

"Craaaaaaaawfish....Craaawfish...see I got em...see the size...stripped and cleaned...before your eyes....swwwweeet meat...fresh and ready to eat." (Crawfish from the movie King Creole). Here is one of my favorite pictures with my boy Phillip...sucking the heads of the crawfish...aaaaaaaah
"sweet meat...fresh and ready to eat."




NOTE: No...your eyes don't deceive you...that is a picture on my shirt... that world famous rock group PINK FLOYD...the barber that is.

For those who don't know...my favorite Elvis Presley movie is KING CREOLE (1958) adapted from the Harold Robbins book A STONE FOR DANNY FISHER.


The opening for King Creole is set in the French Quarters in the early morning...with the sellers of various foods...pushing their carts...crying out what they have to sell. Craaaaaawfish is being shouted out. Elvis leaning on the balcony...joins in and sings along with them. Ms Kitty White is one of the first females to share vocals with Elvis. It was more a call and response more than a duet.

Elvis plays Danny Fisher...a kid who works in the clubs at night...and goes to high school by day...and is getting ready to graduate...until he has a run in with some local gang members in the club...and Maxy Field's (Walter Matthau) girlfriend...played by Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams of the Addams Family). The picture in the lower right hand corner is Elvis/Danny singing..."If your lookin' for trouble...you came to the right place...if you're looking for trouble...just look right at my face...I was born standing up...and talkin' back...my daddy was a green-eyed mountain jack...I'm evil...my middle name is misery...well I'm evil...so don't ya mess around with me." (Trouble Lieber and Stoller).
Well...you may be asking yourself "Self......what does any of this have to do with the "lengthening of seasons" Well I'm glad you asked. NEW ORLEANS....the place where the world is looking at as the season of Lent is fast approaching. March 8th, FAT TUESDAY...the day before Ash Wednesday..the kick off for a forty day sojourn into LENT. The word LENT means the "lengthening of seasons."...and is the sojourn into a time of preparation, prayer, penitence, alms giving, and self-denial for a 46 day time frame in the space time continuum...where the end will be Easter (Resurrection Day). It reflects the time when Jesus went into the wilderness prior to His public ministry began as He was tempted by the devil (little d). He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights...prior to this temptation.

NOTE: The common thought about temptation is something that you are pulled INTO...but temptation is really designed not to pull you into something (although that would be one of the causes and effects)...BUT...temptation is designed to PULL YOU AWAY FROM WHO YOU REALLY ARE...AND YOUR PURPOSE/DESTINY. (Thanx and a Tip O Da Hat To Larry Napier)

I like the season of Lent...because it is a set aside time of self reflection. it is a time for a more intense time of disciplining my self for "the purpose of godliness" in the areas of my speech, my conduct, my faith, my love, my purity. (I Timothy 4:8-16)

Oh I know...I know...this is what I should be doing 365 days a year... 24/7. But there are times...seasons... when you just have to draw away from the crowds, the voices, the hoopla, the hoi polli...and press into HIS PRESENCE...to clear the cobwebs out of your spiritual head...to clean out the build of of cerumum (ear wax), wipe out the sleep (crud) from your eyes...so think, hear and see things from a God Perspective, instead of being overwhelmed by the world in the Land Of Nitty Gritty.

Part of the process is to give up something during this time as a symbolic representation of dying to the flesh. The day prior to Ash Wednesday...aka Mardi Gras...Shrove Tuesday (pancake Tuesday), Carnival (Farewell To Meat)...the LAST FLING...has turned into a time for debauchery before the 40 days of denial.

For me...there are multiple things that I will be giving up...during this time (known only to me and God). I usually seek God in the areas of my spirit (little s), my soul (mind, will, emotions) and my body (flesh, blood, bones).

The time frame for LENT differs from Western to Eastern church culture. For me...I will be utilizing the 40 days...with 6 days off from what is given up...on Sundays. The 6 days of rest from the other days represents mini-Easter/Resurrection days.

DISCLAIMER: Fear not...I am not advocating rules, regulations, holidays, special foods, etc. as something that will get God to love me more. It is just a personal time for me...to remove the distractions and things that leech onto me throughout my walk.

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY...NO REALLY...FINALLY

See ya the other side of Lent...HE IS RISEN...HE IS RISEN INDEED...EVEN DURING LENT.

Love and Craaaawfish Kisses
Rodney "Lengthening Of Seasons" Boyd