THE PSALM 27 FACTOR: What To Do In The Last Days and Difficult Times

 Greetings and Salutations Dwellers in the Last Days and Difficult times. 

In a world that loves to publicly crucify the ilk of preachers like Joel Osteen (who I happen to love)...in these last days... we have every opportunity to DREAD the world we live in...and lambaste those who would DARE to take a POLLYANNA stance about current events...by being POSITIVE.  Some go to the extreme of declaring how if we are not being MARTYRED, that we are some how not Christians or followers of Christ.  After all...Jesus died and suffered...and so should we. 

There is a large difference between us being a martyr and suffering in this world because our relationship with Jesus and suffering for the sake of Christ according to His will (I Peter 4:7-19)...versus being martyred because we are arrogant jerks.
We are called as believers in the D.B.R. (Death, Burial, Resurrection) to..."know Him and the power of His resurrection and the FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS being conformed to His DEATH; in ordered that I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10-11) 

NOTE:  We identify with HIS DEATH...in our place...by DYING (suffering) to ourselves and living unto what HE DID ON THE SUFFERING CROSS.  The cause and effect of being a follower of Jesus is again...they hated Him...they will hate us...BUT that does not mean that we go out of our way to...once again...BE JERKS FOR THE LORD. 

King David...a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22; I Samuel 13:14)...knew how to deal with the NEGATIVE world surrounding him.  Let us look at PSALM 27 and see how he dealt with the NEGATIVE with POSITIVE FAITH.

THE PSALM 27 FACTOR (What To Do In Last Days and Difficult Times)

 QUESTION: Who or what do you FEAR? Who or what do you DREAD?

In this imploding world that we live in...just a cursory viewing of Facebook or listening to people talk or flip from the multiple channels of news or talk radio...reveals that there is a whole lot of fearing and dreading going on. Economics, health care, political civil wars in America, religions of love not being so loving, morals, rising gas and food prices, Biblical principles, sexual immorality (from heterosexuals to homosexuals), Christians living in the flesh and walking in sin, Christians so legalistic that they can't live up to what they expect others to do, and II Timothy 3:1-9 running rampant around the world is becoming the norm.  QUESTION: W.W.D.D= What Would David Do?

 David had the opportunity for fear and dread in the face of evildoers, devourers of the flesh, days of trouble, adversaries, enemies, a host encampment, wars arising, false witnesses, violence. David chose to hope, believe, and do certain things in the face of all the NEGATIVE things in his world...coming against him. In today's world...David would be thrown to the lions for his POSITIVE stance in the face of the NEGATIVE realities.

 W.W.D.D.? What DID David DO?

1. He declared that the Lord is my light and my salvation.

2. He declared the Lord is the defense of my life.

3. He did not deny the NEGATIVE but chose to believe and declare the POSITIVE.

 4. He declared MY HEART WILL NOT FEAR.

 5. He declared IN SPITE OF THIS (all the negative realities)...I SHALL BE CONFIDENT.

 6. He prayed and sought to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life.

 7. He will go into the secret place.

NOTE: With all of the bad stuff swirling around Him...He stated that He WOULD HAVE DESPAIRED...UNLESS SOMETHING TOOK PLACE.

NOTE TO THE NOTE; In 2013...in this world of DESPAIR...something MUST TAKE PLACE IN OUR LIVES. Instead of constantly stating the PROBLEMS and NEGATIVITY...we must:

1. Believe that we would see the goodness of the Lord IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING. Not in the sweet by and by...but in the bitter now and now.

2. Wait (hope) in the Lord.

3. Be Strong.

4. Let/allow (cause if you don't let it and allow it to happen...it won't) your heart take courage.

5. Yes...WAIT FOR THE LORD.

OR...

continue on fearing and dreading, complaining, whining, condemning, speak words of doubt, fear, unbelief, and calling things that ARE as if they will NEVER change. He is either Lord or He is not. You can either stick your head in the sand like an ostrich and deny what is shaking around you...OR you can take your head out of the sand...and DO WHAT DAVID DID...and NOT DESPAIR...but BELIEVED that He would see (hope and faith) that HE WOULD SEE...NOT...the badness of what was reality...BUT THE GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING.

The Temptations said it best in their song...Ball of Confusion..."that's what the world is today".  That was back in the 60's/70's...and it has not got any better.  In a world of the latest medical advancements and self awareness...we are getting sicker and more self absorbed.  It is the LAST DAYS and DIFFICULT TIMES.  The hallmark of these days and times are the people and their attitudes.  In II Timothy we have a listing of these people.

"But realize this, that IN THE LAST DAYS...DIFFICULT TIMES will come.  For men (man, wo-man, & hu-mans) will be:

1.  Lovers of self
2.  Lovers of money
3.  Boastful
4.  Arrogant
5.  Revilers
6.  Disobedient to parents
7.  Ungrateful
8.  Unholy
9.  Unloving
10. Irreconcilable
11. Malicious gossips
12. Without self-control
13. Brutal
14. Haters of good
15. Treacherous
16. Reckless
17. Conceited
18. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
19. Holding to a form of godliness but denying the power thereof
20. Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

These were the types of men surrounding David...evildoers...and as we have seen David chose to BELIEVE IN THE GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING (where evildoers dwelled).  He found safety in the house of God...the temple...in HIS PRESENCE...as in THE NAME OF THE LORD...a STRONG TOWER. (Pro-Verbs 18:10) This BELIEF  is what we are called to...in the FACE OF STORMS.  How we survive will be determined on our FOUNDATION that we have built our house (our lives) upon.

Jesus taught a parable (a story relating spiritual truth to earthly events)...found in Matthew 7:24-29.  It is a story of rains, winds, storms crashing into houses.  One house built on sand and one house built on rock.  Foundations made the difference in what happened as storms attacked the houses.  The house on the sand...great was its fall...the house on the rock...it did not fall...because it was FOUNDED ON THE ROCK.

In these LAST DAYS and DIFFICULT TIMES...the only way you can be like David and BELIEVE THAT HE WOULD SEE THE GOODNESS OF GOD (the positive) IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING (the negative)...is to HOPE (confident expectation)...to WAIT (don't get excited and fearful)...to BE STRONG...to LET (allow it to happen) YOUR HEART TAKE COURAGE and again...WAIT FOR THE LORD. (Psalm 27:13-14)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

Believe in the Lord...trust in, cling to, and rely on the Lord in these LAST DAYS and DIFFICULT TIMES.

Love and Trusting Kisses
Rodney "Factoring in Psalm 27" Boyd

THE ART OF REASONABLE SERVICE OF WORSHIIP

 Greetings and Salutation O Ye Worshippers In Spirit and in Truth. 

How is your worship going?  Do you find it unreasonable and a drudgery...or is it REASONABLE and a PLEASURE to SERVE Him?

According to I Thessalonians 5:23...man in his totality is a three part being...(1) spirit (pneuma) (2) soul (psyche) (3) body (soma).

Trying to separate these three parts of the one being (aka human being)...is as hard to separate praise and worship.  As Pastor Wayne pointed out in his message on Worship as Warfare...praise and worship are like a coin...two sides...one coin.  The writer of the book of Hebrews speaks of the Sword of the Word of God...doing some surgical separation..."For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the DIVISION of the SOUL and SPIRIT of both JOINTS and MARROW, and able to judge the THOUGHTS and INTENTIONS of the HEART." (Hebrews 4:12)

NOTE:  This book called Hebrews is the first mention of coffee and tea in the Bible...where HE BREWS.  Hey (said in my best Uncle Si voice)...it's an old joke...but it still brings a smile to my lips and a chuckle in my heart.

SPIRIT: pneuma (pnyoo'-mah)=a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind.


SOUL: psuche (psoo-khay')=From G5594; breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from G4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from G2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew [H5315], [H7307] and [H2416]: - heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

BODY:  sōma (so'-mah)= the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively: - bodily, body, slave.

INTERESTING SIDENOTE:  The root of the word soma/body is sozo (sode'zo) is where we get the word salvation which means: to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally and figuratively): heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.  The one BODY that does all of that...was the BODY of Jesus...as His BODY hung on the cross, dripping with sin washing, redeeming blood...as He allowed Himself to be place on the cross of SACRIFICE. Now...we are being URGED to present our BODIES as sacrifices...NOT FOR OUR SINS...but for WORSHIP.



"Therefore, I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your REASONABLE service of WORSHIP." (Romans 12:1)

"I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies--presenting all your members and faculties--as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted , consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship." (Romans 12:1 The Amplified Bible)

This thing called THE BODY...is what houses or soul (mind, will, the seat of our emotions), and our human spirits (where the Holy Spirit resides).  Without this thing called the body (flesh, blood, bones, etc.)...our spirits and souls would be floating around unable to accomplish anything in this physical realm that we are temporarily residing. We are called to PRESENT our BODIES as a SACRIFICE.  Again...it is not a SACRIFICE for our sins...because Jesus did that ONCE for ALL...then He was buried...and then He was RAISED from the dead...aka D.B.R...Death, Burial, Resurrection... nothing more...nothing less. (I Corinthians 15:1-5; II Corinthians 5:14-15; I Peter 3:18)

SERVICE: latreia (lat-ri'-ah)=ministration of God, that is, worship: - (divine) service.

WORSHIP:  shâchâh (shaw-khaw')=A primitive root; to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): - bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.

WORSHIP: proskuneo (̄pros-koo-neh'-o)=From G4314 and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.

"The English word "WORSHIP" was originally spelled "WORTHSHIP" and means to acknowledge WORTH of an object WORSHIP God's WORTH in spirit (in contrast to material ways) and in truth (in contrast to falsehood)." (Note on John 4:24 from Ryrie Study Bible.

Jesus prayed to His Father..."Sanctify them by TRUTH...Thy WORD is TRUTH." (John 17:17) "A worship service experience is not the same thing as living a life in the service of worship..... Selah (pause & ponder)" (Wayne "Mr. Berry" Berry)

NOTE:  The idea of worship...is a bowing physically down of self...but speaks to me of BOWING my SELF NATURE down before Him.  My SELF is me doing things MY way...but as I WORSHIP and bow my SELF (physically outwardly and spiritually inwardly) I will be ready to RISE UP and SERVE HIM. 

I have found...that while I don't UNDERSTAND with my MIND what He wants me to do...I do find it REASONABLE in my spirit and my renewed mind.
REASONABLE:  logikos (log-ik-os')= rational ("logical"): - reasonable, of the word.
 
In the book by C.S. Lewis...The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe...we see Aslan (the Lion) willingly walk up on the stone table of the Queen/Witch...and allowed himself to be bound as He PRESENTED Himself as a substituted for the sins/deeds of another.

NOTE:  It has been said...that in the Fat Part of the Book (aka The Old Testament)...when a sacrifice is place on the altar...they would BIND it because they would leave the altar and that once they were sacrificed, muscle spasms would take place and they would twitch off of the altar.

We are called to be like WILLING and LIVING sacrifice who like the allegorical view of Jesus in the form of Aslan...willingly walked up on the stone table...and allowed himself to be bound and allowed Himself to be killed in the place of another. 

Randy Matthews in his classic song... DIDN'T HE...sings about the act of love that Jesus allowed.

"Spilled his precious blood
 Sacrifice of love
 We didn't take his life from him
 He gave it willingly
 Fulfill the prophecy"

Here is what Jesus Himself says about this matter.

"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY
This thing called SERVICE...brings to mind the THINGS WE DO.  Paul (who wrote Romans 12:1) also spoke of his services as a bond-servant in Romans 1:9)

"For God, whom I SERVE IN MY SPIRIT...in the preaching of the Gospel of His Son, is y witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you."

SERVE: latreuo (̄lat-ryoo'-o)=From λάτρις latris (a hired menial); to minister (to God), that is, render religious homage: - serve, do the service, worship (-per).

This thing called SERVICE/WORSHIP...always starts from the inside out.  The physical acts that your body performs is really...and should be...a manifestation of you being in His presence first.  It is an inside out expression not an outside in demonstration.  Many can do the physical aspect of singing, dancing, preaching, feeding the poor, going on a mission trip...and miss the point and mark...unless they have first been in His presence.

FINAL THOUGHT...FINALLY...NO REALLY...THIS IS IT

Jesus spoke to a woman of Samaria at the well...and defined the PLACE of WORSHIP.  Here is His response to her religious rhetoric.

"Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you WORSHIP the Father.  You WORSHIP what you do not know; we WORSHIP what we know, for SALVATION IS FROM THE LORD.  But an hour is coming and NOW IS...when the TRUE WORSHIPERS will WORSHIP the Father in SPIRIT and TRUTH; for such people the Father SEEKS to be HIS WORSHIPERS.  God is SPIRIT and those who WORSHIP HIM must WORSHIP in SPIRIT and TRUTH." (John 4:21-24)

Love and Worthy Kisses
Rodney "Serving and Worshipping Reasonably" Boyd

SELAH: DEALING WITH TRANSGRESSION, SIN & INIQUITY

 Greetings Forgiven People,

SELAH!  When Adam and Eve chose to listen to the serpent/satan in the Garden and to disobey God (Genesis 3:1-24)...and  enter into the realm of TRANSGRESSIONS, SIN...and INIQUITY (aka T.S.I.)
 they opened the door for us all to called people who SIN...aka SINNERS.

"Therefore, just as through one man SIN entered into the world, and DEATH through SIN...and so DEATH spread/passed to all men...because ALL HAVE SINNED." (Romans 5:12)

SELAH:  selâh (seh'-law)= suspension (of music), that is, pause: - Selah.

 

NOTE:  If you don't deal with SIN...SIN will deal with you...and the ONLY way that you can deal with SIN...is BELIEVE (trust in, cling to, rely on) the work that Jesus did on the CROSS with the shedding of HIS BLOOD for the REMISSION of your SINS... in your place...that SATISFIES God (aka propitiation).

 

King David...aka the man after God's own heart...knew how to deal with TSI (transgressions, sins, and iniquities).  Even a "man after God's own heart"...had to deal with Romans 5:12.  When David lusted after another man's wife...had sex with another man's wife...had a baby with another man's wife...plotted to cover up having sex with another man's wife...plotted to kill the other man did not fit into his plan to cover up having sex with another man's wife...and then set the other man to be killed in battle...he had a lot of T.S.I going on in his life.

King David provided a template for dealing with T.S.I.)  NOTE:  If King David did not deal with T.S.I. in his life...T.S.I. would deal with him.

King David's life was in BROKEN PIECES... and he needed someone to make BEAUTIFUL THINGS out of those BROKEN PIECES...and that someone...would be GOD...later on reflected in the WORK OF JESUS ON THE CROSS.

In the FAT PART OF THE BOOK (aka The Old Testament)...David wrote two of the first blues songs in Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. 

SHOUT OUT TO WAYNE BERRY:  The New Testament Saints...did not have a New Testament divided in chapter and verse...but they had the Old Testament writings which were really in comparison New Testament writings...pointing to the New Testament Covenant with Jesus.

NOTE: I can picture David on the side of hill and plucking and bending the string on a harp or psaltery...moaning about his T.S.I.  If recorded it would be called I GOT DEM...LOW DOWN... NO GOOD...T.S.I. BLUES.


SELAH ON DEALING WITH TRANSGRESSION, SIN, INIQUITY
"Transgressions forgiven...sin covered...iniquity not imputed...no deceit in the spirit=BLESSED."
(Psalm 32:1-2) Selah!
"Keep silent about sin=body wasted away...groaning all day long...day and night the Lord's hand heavy...vitality drained away like the of the summer." (Psalm 32:3-4) Selah!

"Acknowledge sin to God...don't hide your iniquity...confess your transgressions to the Lord=Guilt of sin forgiven by the Lord." (Psalm 32:5) Selah!

The follow up to Psalm 32 is Psalm 51.  The way David deals with sin here is asking the Lord to
(1) Blot out my transgressions (2) Wash me thoroughly from my iniquities (3) Cleanse me from my sins. (4) Acknowledged that it was, "Against Thee, Thee only I have sinned and done evil in thy sight.(5) Acknowledge the root of his Romans 5:12 condition..."I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me." (6) Purify me with hyssop...and I shall be clean (7)  Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow  (8) Hide Thy face from my sins (9)  Blot out all my iniquities.

NOTE:  Some say that David was an born in sin...because his father had sex with another woman not his wife...like the sin which he experienced.  Some would say that is why he was out with the sheep while the legitimate sons were in the house when the prophet came looking for a king.

David desired 6 things to take place as a result of the Lord's provision dealing with the T.S.I.:

1.  Create in me a clean heart O God
2.  Renew a steadfast spirit within me
3.  Do not cast me away from Thy presence
4.  Do not take Thy Holy Spirit  from me
5.  Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation
6.  Sustain in me a willing spirit

NOTE:  This Old Testament Saint...desired things that the God who sent His son to deal with his T.S.I....Jesus...D.B.R...Death, Burial, Resurrection...who deals with our SIN NATURE...and the SINS that we do as a result of the SIN NATURE.

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

You can either languish in your sins...and waste away and have your vitality drained...be condemned with blood guiltiness...OR...you can choose to return...and accept and receive what He has to offer you...FORGIVENESS and RESTORATION.  You can try to do it on your own by burnt offerings and sacrifices...OR...you can please Him (by faith Hebrews 11:6)...offer him (1) A broken heart (2 A contrite heart.  God does not despise these kinds of sacrifices...as a matter of face...it pleases Him.

Love and T.S.I. Free Kisses
Rodney "Trusting In What God Accepts" Boyd

The Moment of The Turning Point

 Greetings and Salutations O Ye Who Persevere...are ya about to give up?  One word...DON'T!

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?  Does it seem like you have been standing in prayer...believing... hoping...wishing...dreaming...and it just  does not seem to be happening.  Have you been doing all the right things... and those who do all the wrong things gets all the breaks?

One of my favorite movies is MR. MOM...with Michael Keaton and Teri Garr.  It is the story about a guy who loses his job...and he comes into agreement with his wife that she will go back to work...and he will handle the household.  Things go good for a while...but he becomes restless desiring to return to work but it just does not work out.  He slowly slips into complacency and as he inwardly declines...it is manifested in his outward being.  He begins to let himself go...BUT at one point...it is like a light switch comes on.  There is a MOMENT...there is a TURNING POINT...where there is a CHANGE in his life.  He gets rid of the old clothes he has been wearing...he begins to work out with setups...he shaves...he cleans the house.  One of my favorite scenes is where he wakes his kids up with a trumpet wearing a hard hat...and shouts out like a drill Sgt...."GET UP YOU MONKEYS."

When you reach that MOMENT... that TURNING POINT when you were going one way....and then all of the SUDDEN life CHANGED...can either be...slowly transitional or BAM things changed.  It is like the sun slowly coming up and dawn appears or the flip of a light switch and you go from dark to light.  It could be as drastic as turning a corner and you are face to face with something...or as slow as an ocean liner taking a large swing to turn the course of the ship.

In the fall of 1970...I experienced an immediate MOMENT of THE TURNING POINT...and my life has never been the same.  My TURNING POINT MOMENT came at 426 4th Avenue in Murfreesboro Tennessee in the driveway of my then girlfriend, Brenda Sue Williams.  She led me to the Lord...and I went from Rodney Lewis Boyd B.C.(before Christ)  to Rodney Lewis Boyd A.D. (Anno Domini... in the year of our Lord).  I went from an OLD CREATION to a NEW CREATION in Christ.

From that point in the chronological space-time continuum...from 1970 to 2013...there have been many TURNING POINTS and MOMENTS where my life, situations and circumstances SUDDENLY changed for the good, the bad, and the ugly...base on my choices to say YES to the Lord and NO to my flesh...and FOLLOW HIM.
NOTE:  Again...this idea of something happening SUDDENLY is usually the cause and effect of many things taking place prior to the MOMENT and TURNING POINT.  In PRO-VERBS (Positive-Action) 7:6-23 there is the lesson of the naive boy...SUDDENLY following a HARLOT...but if you read the passage...you will see that there were little decisions that led to the SUDDEN DESTRUCTION.  "Suddenly...he follows here...as an ox goes to the slaughter or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool...until an arrow pierces through his liver...as a bird hastens to the snare...so he does not know that it will COST HIM HIS LIFE." (Pro-Verbs 7:22-23)  What appeared SUDDEN was a PROCESS OF CHOICES.

NOTE TO THE NOTE:  This principle of THE MOMENT...THE TURNING POINT...hinged on the PROCESS OF CHOICES...and works in the negative...but also works for the POSITIVE.


The CENTER POINT of the MOMENT OF THE TURNING POINT...is THE CROSS...which represents to good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is the CENTER POINT of the DEATH, BURIAL, RESURRECTION OF JESUS...nothing more...nothing less.

"For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL (good news) of Christ...for it is GOD'S POWER working unto salvation (for deliverance from eternal death) to everyone who believes with a PERSONAL TRUST and a CONFIDENT SURRENDER and FIRM RELIANCE to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  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...SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." (Romans 1:16-16; Habakkuk 2:4; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38 The Amplified Bible)

In PRAYER...as you start at the POINT OF PRAYER (initial contact with God) ....and the POINT OF PROVISION (answered prayer) we have talked before of the gap...in THE LAND CALLED NITTY GRITTY where you see NO SIGNS OF TURNING or CHANGE.  As a matter of fact...in many times...it will get worse.  This does not mean that you don't have faith...it does not mean that you are out of the will of God...it does mean that God knew what you needed before you asked .(Matthew 6:8)

Many times...between the point of prayer and the point of provision... the temptation is to give up.  The problem with giving up...is that you will not experience the fulfillment of God's provision.  God is known as the GOD OF 11:59...where he comes in RIGHT ON TIME.  Even it the clock strikes 12:05...don't give up.

"And let us not LOSE HEART and GROW WEARY and FAINT in acting nobly and doing right...for IN DUE/PROPER TIME and that APPOINTED SEASON we shall reap...IF we do not LOOSEN and RELAX our COURAGE and FAINT." (Galatians 6:9)

The key word in this is IF. 

"IF you live in Me...abide vitally united to Me--and my Words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts... ask...and whatever you will and it shall be done for you." (John 15:7)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY
As you journey....traveling the Road to Zion...as you go through the hills and the valleys of joy and tears...keep your eyes open in anticipation of the TURNING POINTS and THE MOMENTS of change...and don't get discouraged if you don't experience the CHANGES.  Let their be "joy in the journey"...and keep your eye on the prize.

Love and Expectant Kisses
Rodney "Ready For The Moment" Boyd

ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM AND LOVE

 Greetings Freedom Travelers...

"I'm on the road to freedom...on the road to love..." (On The Road To Freedom by Alvin Lee)

This is from the 1973 album by Alvin Lee...of Ten Years After and Woodstock fame...and Mylon Le Fevre who wrote the Gospel song...Without Him...recorded by Elvis Presley.  Alvin was from England and Mylon from "the south."  The album was a blend of English and Southern rock.

The theme of the album...and the times was FREEDOM and LOVE. 
Of course freedom and love back in the day (from 1967 and beyond) meant FREE to do whatever feels good and LOVE...and emotional connection with the world...and sex with whoever you happen to be with at the time.  Stephen Stills lamented about what to do if the one that you love is not with you in his song Love The One You're With.

"If you're down and confused
And you don't remember who you're talking too
Concentration slips away
Cause you're baby is so far away
CHORUS
Well there's a rose in the fisted glove
And eagle flies with the dove
And if you can't be with the one you love honey
Love the one you're with"
In the song Me And Bobby McGee...Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster wrote...and originally recorded by Roger Miller and then Kris Kristofferson and after her death...Janis Joplin.

"Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't free, no no"

This is a picture of Alvin's album, Still On The Road To Freedom.  Alvin Lee has recently passed away at the age of 68...and is now off that road.  Hopefully he was on the right road to freedom.

Biblical FREEDOM and LOVE looks quite different than from the world's view.

FREEDOM:  eleutheria (el-yoo-ther-ee'-ah)=From G1658; freedom (legitimate or licentious, chiefly moral or ceremonial): - liberty.

LOVE: agape (ag-ah'-pay)=From G25; love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: - (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.
 
The apostle Paul tells us..."It was for FREEDOM that Christ set us FREE, therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

 Jesus tell us. "If therefore the Son shall make you FREE...you shall be FREE INDEED." (John 8:36)

True LOVE is laid out in John 3:16..."For God so LOVED the world...that He GAVE His only begotten Son (Jesus)...that WHOSOEVER (the qualifier of who can experience this love) BELIEVES (trusts in, clings to, relies on) in Him (Jesus) shall not perish but have everlasting life (cause and effect of believing the D.B.R.)" (John 3:16)  This is the nature of AGAPE LOVE.

I Corinthians 13:4-8 lays out what TRUE LOVE (not lust) is all about.  LOVE IS or DOES:

1.   Patient
2.  Kind
3.  Not jealous
4.  Does not brag
5.  Not arrogant
6.  Does not act unbecomingly
7.  Does not seek its own
8.  Is not provoked
9.  Does not take into account a wrong suffered
10.Does not rejoice in unrighteousness
11. Rejoices with the truth
12. Bears all things
13. Believes all things
14. Endures all things
15. Love NEVER fails

This type a love is a far cry from the lust that we call love back in the day...of being ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM...and ON THE ROAD TO LOVE.

This year...Brenda and I had the honor of being able to sit under the teaching ministry of Mylon LeFevre at the Faith Outreach Church in Clarksville Tennessee.  He was there along with his wife Christy, his daughter and her husband (and Mylon's son-in-law) Peter Furler (of the Newsboys and now solo fame).

Mylon had gone from being part of The Singing LeFevres...writing songs that Elvis recorded...to recording in 1969 one of the first Christian Rock albums...and then down the slippery slope of "sex, drugs, and rock and roll"...where he bought into the lies of FREEDOM and LOVE outside of Jesus. When he came back to the Lord...and experienced TRUE FREEDOM and TRUE LOVE...his life turned around.  He left the world of sex, drugs, rock and roll and became a janitor in a church...lost his wife...was in Bible School...and eventually started a band called MYLON LEFEVRE AND BROKEN HEART.  Through a series of events...Mylon had a heart attack...was healed with a miracle recreated heart...and then became a minister of the Gospel.

For a full account of his life...check out his new book with his wife Christie...called...LIVE FOREVER.  You can also check him out on Facebook or go to his website at www.mylon.org
Mylon and Christi have a daily video blog called CHURCH ON THE RUN...as they travel ON THE ROAD on motorcycles around the country.  Good Stuff.

When Brenda and I saw him and Christi at Faith Outreach Church...he spoke on LOVE...the true love that he and Alvin Lee could only allude to at one point.  He spoke of true FREEDOM also.

NOTE:  I realize that I am talking a lot about Mylon...but what I am really talking about how GOD can change a person...through the Death, Burial, Resurrection of Jesus on the cross with His shed blood for the remission of our sins as a propitiation (satisfactory substitute) for the debt we owed and could never pay.  Mylon and Alvin were searching on the ROAD TO FREEDOM...and LOVE.  Mylon found the destination...Alvin...Only God knows.  I do know (because Mylon shared this with us)...that he had many long talks about God, Jesus, and true FREEDOM and LOVE. 

I end with a picture of the album by PETRA called COME AND JOIN US.  I love the picture of a road to a kingdom...and people who are sitting by the ROAD...being invited to join the travelers and pilgrims onto this ROAD (of freedom and love).

COME AND JOIN US (words and music by Bob Hartman)

We are like stones built together in a wall
Made up of whosoever, the Master builder calls
We are not worthy but together we are strong
Built on the rock of ages, the wall is almost done

 

Come and join us in the sunlight
You've been sittin' in the shade too long
Come and give us a chance to sing you a song

Come and join us in the sunlight
If you would reach, you could touch the sky
Come and drink from the well
That will never run dry

 

We are like stranger and pilgrims in this world
Lifting the blood stained banner, our flag has been unfurled
We have a homeland, no eyes have ever seen
But those who've gone before us, whose souls have been redeemed

 

Come and join us in the sunlight
You've been sittin' in the shade too long
Come and give us a chance to sing you a song

Come and join us in the sunlight
If you would reach, you could touch the sky
Come and drink from the well
That will never run dry

 

We are like children held in the father's hand
Growing into the image of Christ, the Son of man
We are not perfect but changing every day
Through trials and tribulation we'll find the perfect way

 

Come and join us in the sunlight
You've been sittin' in the shade too long
Come and give us a chance to sing you a song

Come and join us in the sunlight
If you would reach, you could touch the sky
Come and drink from the well
That will never run dry

 

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

 

I traveled a ROAD in search of LOVE and FREEDOM many years that led to LUST and BONDAGE...and in 1970...my girlfriend led me to the Lord...and we have been on this ROAD TO FREEDOM...THIS ROAD TO LOVE ever since.  The journey...knowing where we will end up...has been an adventure...with many ups and downs...hills and valleys...high times and low times. 

If you don't know Him...or are side tracked off the road...lost and wandering...we invite you back.  The Lord loves you and will guide you along the way.

 

"Thy WORD is a LAMP to my FEET and a LIGHT to my PATH." (Psalm 119:105)

 

Love and Traveling Kisses

Rodney "On The Road To Freedom and Love" Boyd