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

HOW TO PREPARE AND DEAL WITH STUFF

Hello fellow believers. How's it going? Are you frustrated, depressed, filled with doubt, stagnant, overwhelmed, anxious (pulled in 20 different directions and not able to focus on anything)? If so...then take a quick test to examine/test yourself and see if you are still in the faith.

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless you fail the test." (II Corinthians 13:5)

Test your: (1) Hearing (2) Mind (3) Heart (4) Speech (5) Actions

These five interconnected areas...can be a place of breakdown in your faith...that will in turn open the door for anxiety, worry, tension, doubt, unbelief, fear, etc.

In the Ruminator Sunday School class (meets 9:00 A.M. Sunday mornings at Smyrna Assembly of God in Ruminator Central aka Fellowship Hall)...we frequently use an example of THE COFFEE CUP. We usually select a new student and clear out an area where their Bible will not get baptized in coffee. I then take their coffee cup and shake it until the liquid caffeine spills out of the cup. We then ask the question..."Why did coffee come out of the cup?" The answer is usually because you shook the cup. The true answer is...the reason coffee came out of the cup...is because that's what is in the cup. The shaking only revealed what was inside.

The same way with anxiety, worry, tension, fear, doubt, unbelief, negative words, negative actions is manifested in our lives in the middle of a shaking world. When the stock market crashes...when you lose your job...when your car falls apart...when your interpersonal relationships crumble...when your boss does not recognize your greatness...etc. These things will be manifested usually in your countenance (facial expression/body language)...your mouth...and your actions. During the shaking...we will either REACT IN THE FLESH...resulting in death (Romans 8:6)...or RESPOND IN THE SPIRIT...resulting in life and peace (Romans 8:6).

Before you get into a CRISIS situation...it is good to be checked up...and know where you need to tighten up...SO...when STUFF happens... you will be moved by FAITH...and not FEAR. Your negative coffee will not spill out of your mouth, body language and actions...but positive coffee will come spilling out during the shaking.

The main principle that ties all of these together is...UNRESTRAINED THOUGHT (what we think as a result of what we see and what we hear)...produces UNRESTRAINED WORDS (what we say)...resulting in UNRESTRAINED ACTIONS (what we do...how we act...our body language). In Proverbs it states that without a VISION...the people PERISH. The word is translated UNRESTRAINED. Without a VISION the people are UNRESTRAINED. The vision is the WORD...insight...that will help us to RESTRAIN our thoughts.

EXAMINATION POINTS

1. HEARING

Your ears are the entrance points for faith to come. "So faith comes by HEARING and HEARING by the WORD OF GOD."
(Romans 10:17) Doubt and unbelief and fear also comes by what you hear. Hear a constant barrage of negative...and it will be stored in your heart...and when the shaking comes...there will be spewing out over your lips...what you say.

2. MIND

The mind...will absorb what we hear and say. From the time you are born until the time you die...your mind is formed and shaped by what you see, hear, do, meditate upon. This can be good, bad, or ugly...all the mind knows is...here is information...store it. As believers...when we become born again...we have the option to start a new filter process called RENEWING THE MIND. For some reason...we think that we can tell our children..."be careful little ears what you ear...be careful little eyes what you see"...BUT when we become adults...we think we are too mature to BE CAREFUL with our mind. We develop MIND SETS...what we think that will either result in DEATH...or LIFE AND PEACE (Romans 8:5-9)

Paul speaks of this with an uuuuuurrrrrrrrrgency when he states...

"I urrrrrrrrrrggggggge you therefore brethren...by the mercies of God...to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice...acceptable to God...which is your spiritual/reasonable service of worship. And do not be CONFORMED to this world...but be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND...that you may prove what the will of God is...that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1,2)

"...and that you BE RENEWED in the SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND." (Ephesians 4:23)

3. HEART

Not the blood pump...but the core...the center...the human spirit. Like the blood pump...that pumps oxygen to the parts of the body...so it is with our spiritual heart pump. If the pump is bad...parts of you will not receive what is needed to live. The heart is also know as the treasure chest...where precious things are stored.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS...THERE WILL BE YOUR HEART ALSO." (Matthew 6:20-21)


"The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright [honorable and intrinsically good]; and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil), FOR OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE (overflow) OF THE HEART HIS MOUTH SPEAKS." (Luke 6:45 THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE)

"How can a young man keep his way pure...by keeping it according to THY WORD...Thy Word have I HID IN MY HEART...that I might not sin against Thee." (Psalm 119:9,11)

4. SPEECH

Thoughts are manifested on your lips. Lips are the direct link to the heart and mind. God speaks to us through His Word...by His Spirit. As we renew our minds with what we hear...and store this in our treasure chest/heart...and we begin to SPEAK forth what we hear.
What we hear...we speak. We can either be the mouthpiece for the devil...OR...we can speak forth what God speaks. Whichever one you listen to...you WILL SPEAK WHAT YOU BELIEVE...especially when the pressure is on. You can mask, pretend, hide what you really believe...but when the shaking comes...what you really believe will spew out of your pie hole.

"But haveing the same spirit of faith...according to what is written...I BELIEVED...THEREFORE I SPOKE...we also BELIEVE...therefore also WE SPEAK." (II Corinthians 4:13)

Restrained thoughs will produce restrained words.

5. ACTIONS

You can talk a good talk...but can you walk a good talk? You can say you believe (even demons believe and tremble)...you can stand in a garage and call yourself a car (but you are not a car)...you can even go to an altar and cry Jimmy Swaggart size tears...BUT unless you put feet on your faith...then all you have done is believed something (and it could be the wrong thing you are believing)

"What use is it my brethren...if a man says he HAS FAITH...but he HAS NO WORKS? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and on of you says to them...Go in peace, be warmed and be filled, and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say...you have faith and I have works show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believ that God is one...You do well...THE DEMONS ALSO BELIEVE...and shudder/tremble." (James 2:14-19)

Of course...it is never your actions that SAVES you...but your actions are an outward manifestation of an inward experience.

"He saved us NOT ON THE BASIS OF DEEDS WHICH WE HAVE DONE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS...but according to His MERCY...and the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5)

"For BY GRACE are you saved...through FAITH...and that NOT OF YOURSELVES...it is the gift of God...NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus...FOR GOOD WORKS...which God has prepared beforehand...that we SHOULD WALK IN THEM." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Actions follow salvation. Works don't save...but we do work. We have to work out our own salvation...live it...put our faith into actions.

"So then my beloved, just a you have always obeyed not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence...WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING...for it is God who IS AT WORK in you...bot to will and to WORK FOR HIS GOOD PLEASURE." (Philippians 2:12,13)

NOTE: This not mean that you can design your own salvation like a cafeteria plan for benefits. You do not choose and pick how you get saved. It is Death, Burial, Resurrection...nothing more...nothing less...as Jesus became the substitiute, propitiation, satisfaction...by faith not by works or Law. It ain't what you do or don't do that gets you in...it's all about Him baby...all about Him...HOWEVER once you get saved...roll up the sleeves and work it out...let it be manifested.

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

Well that's it. Examine/test yourself to see if one, any, or all of these areas needs some fine tuning. Repent...have a change of heart, mind, attitude and direction...and continue on walking by faith. The next time the cup is shaken...something other than what has been coming out will come out.

Love and Examined Kisses
Rodney "Tested and Tried" Boyd