HELP...I NEED SOMEBODY (From Ichabod to Ebenezer)

Hello fellow needers of HELP...can ya lend a helpin' hand?

Many years ago...I went to the Princess Theater...to watch The Beatles in their first movie...called A HARD DAYS NIGHT. It was an interesting night eating buttered popcorn, eating Milk Duds, drinking an orange soda...and watching... not the movie...but the crowd scream to the point of where you could not hear the movie. Their follow up movie...in color...was HELP.

HELP: "Help, I need somebody...Help, not just anybody, Help, you know I need someone...Heeeeelp!" It is still a great song. Years later...Ringo would lament on the Sgt. Peppers album..."I need a little HELP from my friends."

In my Christian walk...I have found that more than once...I have needed HELP to recover from my own self...as I have chosen to go against the principles of God...and do my own thing. Thank God...for the blood of Jesus...the Word of God...the Holy Spirit (aka the Paracletos...the one called along side to HELP... the HELPER)

In my last Ruminator Rambling...called HAND TO THE PLOW (again and once more)... we spoke of not looking back as we follow Jesus...proclaiming the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost...aka The Kingdom. We were encouraged by Jesus in Luke 9:62..."No one, after putting his HAND TO THE PLOW...and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." While we are encouraged not to LOOK BACK...there is a time when LOOKING BACK could be not only beneficial...but needed. I am not talking about looking back and longing for the "good old days...but looking back to the source of help...realizing that the same help back then will be, and is available in the NOW. NOTE: One is an Ichabod...the other is an Ebenezer. Both fictional characters...and both defining our spiritual condition.

"Whenever crime was running rampant in Gotham City...the police and Commissioner Gorden would shine the BATLIGHT...as a cry for HELP from the Caped Crusader...The Batman. Bruce Wayne would see it... and he would spring into action along with his ward Dick Grayson... and emerge costumed and out of the Batcave to fight evil and injustice. From the comics to the 1940's serials to the camp T.V. show and the various incarnations in the movies...The Batman remains one of my favorite fictional characters...because...he would HELP the HELPLESS.

The saying is...sticks and STONES may break my bones... but WORDS will never hurt me." Nice sentiment...but wrong. Words depending on who is throwing them... and the intent behind their throwing can heal or kill.

Jesus is called the ROCK...a place of stability in a shaking world. The cross is called the scandilon...the ROCK OF OFFENSE...causing people to stumble over the simplicity of the cross. Jesus spoke of people who were STONE tossers of condemnation to throw STONES...if you had no sin. Jesus called Peter...petros (little stone)....but called his revelation that Jesus was the Christ, the living Son of God as a petra (massive ROCK)...and that the church would be built on the that REVELATION ROCK...not on the little stone.

Of course little David...defeated giant Goliath...with a smooth STONE flung from a sling. David had five smooth stones...and only needed one...giving him 4 more left...for any other giants that he may face. NOTE: Just my perspective on future giants).

Now...onto the STONE...that we can LOOK BACK TO...in time of need. Of course the ROCK that we can always...and always should look to...is THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION....JESUS...THE CHRIST...GOD WITH US...EMMANUEL.

There is a ROCK/STONE found in I Samuel 7:1-17...that became a reminder of how the Lord HELPED THEM...in there time of battle with the Philistines. "Then Samuel too a STONE and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it EBENEZER...saying thus far the Lord has HELPED US." The word EBENEZER literally means...STONE OF HELP.

In contrast to the EBENEZER (stone of help)...there is ICHABOD (no glory...the glory has departed). This is found in I Samuel 4:1-22...and is in reference to the loss of the ark which meant to them...the "absence of glory in Israel". "And she called the boy ICHABOD...saying...The glory has departed from Israel...because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said...the glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken." (I Samuel 4:21-23)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

Well...if you are going to look back...look back to the EBENEZER...and not the ICHABOD. One reminds you that He helped you there...He can help you again...but if you try to live on past victories....you will find the glory to be departed. Keep you hand to the plow...don't look back... but at the same time...return to the first love of your life...and do the things that you first did... (Revelation 2:1-7)

Love and Non-Scrooge Kisses
Rodney "Help Found" Boyd

THE HELPER...HELP...I NEED SOMEBODY

Greetings and Salutations...O Ye Mooers and Chewers of the Cud of the Word of God. Do ya ever feel as if you are in this thing called life...all alone? Do ya think that if you just had someone beside you...that you could make it?



It is a little known fact...that I...Rodney Lewis Boyd... am the President of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Fan Club...Rockvale Chapter. In my chapter are three members...Me...Brenda...and Phillip. This is NO JOKE. I even have a certificate issued by the AGSRW National Chapter....suitable for framing. The name of the Chapters are based on a line from the show...for example a chapter may be named SHAZAM or HE'S A NUT. Our Chapter is called JUST A BED AND A BIBLE taken from the comment from Brisco Darling when the hotel clerk asked him.."Can I get you anything else Mr. Darling?" Brisco looked at him and said..."Just a bed and a Bible."



I said all of that to say this...I love the Andy Griffith Show...and this first picture is a great one. There Barney Fife is...trying to modernize the Mayberry Sheriff Department's fleet with a motorcycle with a sidecar. He wanted to take Andy for a ride...and of course...as the Barney took off... the sidecar was not attached and left Andy sitting there by himself to the joy of the surrounding men and women. The question is...what does that have to do with THE HELPER...HELP I NEED SOMEBODY? I'm glad you asked...you did ask...didn't you?


As I walk around in this flesh tent that I call a body...sometimes it seems as if I am all alone in a crowd. If I could just have someone like Andy that could ride along with me in the sidecar. For the past 40 or so years...Brenda has been my HELPER (we've been married for 38 years...but we have been together for 41 years). "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be ALONE; for I will make him an help meet (helper) for him." (Genesis 2:18) Well, for Adam that was Eve...for me...it is Brenda...and for those who know me...and those who know Brenda...I NEEDED...and still do NEED HELP.



In the Bible...someone else is called THE HELPER. That would be THE HOLY SPIRIT. "And I (Jesus) will pray the Father, and He will give you another (one of the same kind) HELPER that He (The Helper) may abide with you forever." (John 14:16) "But when THE HELPER comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the SPIRIT OF TRUTH who proceeds from the Father...He will testify of Me."



This Person...THE HELPER...is sent by Jesus via the Father to us to HELP.



The Greek word for HELPER is parakletos (par-ak-lay-toss): From para...beside...and kaleo...to call...hence CALLED TO ONES SIDE. The word signifies an intercessor, comforter, helper, advocate, coundselor. In non-biblical literature, parakletos, had the technical meaning of an attorney who appears in court in another's behalf. The Holy Spirit leads believers to a greater apprehension of gospel truths. In addition to general help and guidance. He gives the strength to endure the hostility of the world system." (Thanks and a Tip O Da Hat to The Spirit Filled Bible and Strong's Concordance)



NOTE: I always find it interesting that the Holy Spirit is called the HELPER...and the woman is called the HELP MEET (helper). I know that when I listen to the Holy Spirit...my life flows easier...and when I listen to Brenda...my life flows easier.



My problem is when I have Andy in the side car (one called along SIDE to HELP)...I pull away and leave my HELP behind. I am just speeding away...travelling along life's highway...thinking I have got it all together...but in reality...I am out there by myself...because of my pride.



NOTE: In the Ruminator Sunday School Class...we talk about why things happen to us in this world. There are many reasons from living in a cursed and fallen world, schemes of the devil, general testing from God...but one of the reasons is what we call THE BARNEY FIFE SYNDROME. This is where Andy told Barney NOT to put the bullet in his gun...but keep it in his shirt pocket...but Barney put it in the gun anyway...and the gun accidentally goes off. If only I would listen to the Holy Spirit...THE HELPER... (or even Brenda)...there would be less accidents brought on myself.


"You can't run...you can't hide from the HOUND OF HEAVEN. This is a line from a Daniel Amos song off of their album classic...HORRENDOUS DISC.



"He got lost among the stars...Hollywood flash, cash, mansions, and cars...deep sea divers, Lear Jet flyers, this thing go to the moon?...oh yeah...give me elbow room, but take this aching away...you can't run, you can't hide from the HOUND OF HEAVEN...you're free to choose, to refuse THE SEEKER OF SOULS." (Hound of Heaven by Daniel Amos)



Wow...what a song...what a thought...what a truth.





The phrase is taken from an old poem (the poet escapes my memory as of this writing)...and speaks of the pursuit of the Holy Spirit...who is as tenacious as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES...in the Sherlock Holmes story.



In the words of THE TEMPTATIONS in their classic song BALL OF CONFUSION... "You can run, run, run...but you sure can't hide."




"Let him who has ears to hear...hear."



Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen...who is even at the right hand of God, who also MAKES INTERCESSION for us. Who shall separate us from the LOVE OF CHRIST? Shall tribulation, or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35) NOTE: The expected answer is no one.



"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things prsent nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38)



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



All I know is this...I NEED HELP. Help...I need somebody...Help...not just anybody...Help...you know I need someone...HEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLPPP!!!!! (Thanks and a Tip O Da Hat to The Beatles). For me...I have found...that my relationship with God...with access by the blood of Jesus...is deepened with my intimacy with THE HELPER.



Love and Helped Kisses

Rodney "I Need The Helper" Boyd

THE LONG AND WINDING...WAY

Greetings fellow sojourners...how's the WAY? This JOURNEY that we are on...is filled with turns, hills, valleys, detours, straight roads, adventure, joys... disappointments... HISappoinments...but it is worth it.

Back on May 23rd 1970...The Beatles had their last #1 single...THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD. "The long and winding road...that leads to your door..." It was performed in the movie LET IT BE...that chronicles the final day of breakup of the group that said..."all you need is love...and then they broke up." (Larry Norman) The controversy over the song was in the remixing of the song by Phil Spector without Paul's permission...adding strings, horns, female chorus etc. Phil applied that WALL OF SOUND that he was so famous for in the 60's. Many years later...a version closer to the original intention was released on the album LET IT BE...NAKED. I personally enjoyed both version. "...let me know the WAY." (The Long and Winding Road)

WAY: hodos' (hod-os')= a road by implication a PROGRESS (the ROUTE, act or distance)...figuratively a mode or means--journey, highway.

Jesus made a statement...that at the time was religiously incorrect...and if uttered in these days...would also be religiously incorrect as well as politically correct.

Jesus was talking to his boys...about where he was about to go...to prepare a place for them. There hearts were troubled...and Jesus was telling them to replace their troubled hearts with belief in God and Him. Good words for these troubled times. (John 14:1-3)

Jesus stated...YOU KNOW THE WAY...where I am going." (John 14:4). This statement brought up the question in Thomas' mind..."Lord, we do not know where Yo are going; how do we know THE WAY." (John 14:5) Jesus dropped the bomb (shot) heard around the world...that is still reverberating...

"Jesus said to him (Thomas)...I AM THE WAY...and THE TRUTH...and THE LIFE...NO ONE comes to the Father...but THROUGH ME." (John 14:6)

"...I am the ROAD/PROGRESS/ROUTE/JOURNEY/HIGHWAY....no one comes to the Father but THROUGH ME...JESUS...D.B.R...BLOOD....NOTHING MORE...NOTHING LESS.

Note that Jesus did not say that He was A WAY...A TRUTH...A LIFE. All roads may lead to Rome...but NOT to the Father. If you put THE FATHER in your SPIRITUAL GPS SYSTEM...it would not come up with various religious leaders, philosophies, cults, sects, etc...it would come up with JESUS. If you try to go any other way other than Jesus...you would hear...RECALCULATE.

"Every man's way is right in his own eyes...but the Lord weighs the heart... motives...and attitudes." (Proverbs 21:2)

"There is a way which seems right to a man...but its END is the WAY of death (destruction)." (Proverbs 14:12)

"There is a WAY which seems right to a man...but its end is the WAY of death (destruction)." (Proverbs 16:25)

Sometimes...it seems in our minds...that we are going down the RIGHT ROAD... the correct WAY...but when you place it on the Lord's scales...that weighs our motives and attitudes...we end up lost...circling the mountain again and again like the children of Israel in the wilderness.

During the late 60's and early 70's there was a revival going on among young people...that was dubbed by Time Magazine as THE JESUS MOVEMENT. Larry Norman who was with a rock and roll group called PEOPLE...had a #1 hit called I LOVE YOU (originally done by the Zombies). Larry dropped out at the pinnacle of success...and hit the streets to sing and witness for Jesus in L.A. The index finger...extending heavenward...was the battle cry for the movement...ONE WAY...ONE WAY TO HEAVEN...HOLD YOU FINGERS HIGH. The song speaks of the poet who wrote about two ROADS diverging...and taking the one LESS TRAVELED.

The ROAD less traveled that the Bible speaks of is the THE WAY.

One of the names of this "new religion"...that followed Jesus was called THE WAY.

Saul...latter to get saved and be called Paul...was breathing threats and murder against the DISCIPLES OF THE LORD (Acts 9:1) "And...asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus...so that if he found ANY BELONGING TO THE WAY...both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." (Acts 9:2)

It was around 10 years from the original event of the D.B.R. where these followers of the WAY...were first called CHRISTIANS in Antioch.
(Acts 11:26) They were still called followers of the WAY after being called CHRISTIANS..."But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of THE WAY before the multitude..." (Acts 19:9) "And about that time there arose no small disturbance concerning THE WAY." (Acts 19:23).

Paul testifying...spoke of his former way of life..."And I persecuted THIS WAY...to the death, binding and putting both men and women in prison..." (Acts 22:4)

"But this I admit to you...that according to THE WAY...which they call a sect...I DO SERVE THE GOD of our fathers, believing everything that is written in accordance with the Law, and that is written in the Prophets..." (Acts 24:14)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

This WAY...is motivated by LOVE. "And I show you a still more EXCELLENT WAY." (I Corinthians 12:31) Paul then proceeds to outline the nature and character of the LOVE (agape') that should rule all other loves (eros, phileo, storge')...because the GREATEST of faith, hope, and love...is THE EXCELLENT WAY.

This is the WAY...into the presence of the Father..."Since therefore brethren, we have confidence to ENTER the holy place...BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS..by a NEW AND LIVING WAY WHICH He (Jesus) inaugurated for us through THE VEIL...that is HIS FLESH...and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith...havin our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water..." (Hebrews 10:19-22)

If you took a piece of paper and wrote on one side...YOUR WAY...and on the other side JESUS...you would probably come to the conclusion that your WAY was RIGHT...but...the END of the journey would be destruction. The END of the journey...through THE WAY...the TRUTH...and THE LIFE...is into the arms of the Father.

Enjoy the journey...and if you are going the wrong way...RECALCULATE.

Love and Traveling Kisses
Rodney "On The Road Again" Boyd

The Resolution Revolution

Greetings friends...let me be the first one to wish you a Happy MOOOOOO YEAR!!! That's right...2008 is gasping it's last breath...as the cry of the newborn 2009 can be heard. At this writing...it is December 30th 2008. What a year it has been. In the words of Dickens...it was the best of times...it was the worst of times. In the words of Eastwood...it was the good...the bad... the ugly.

In the words of the Apostle Paul..."For we know that the Law is spiritual; but I am of FLESH, sold into bondage to sin (see Romans 5:12)...For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not PRACTICING what I would like to do...but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do. I agree with the Law confessing that it is good. So NOW...no longer am I the one doing it...but SIN which indwells me. For I know that NOTHING good dwells in me...that is...in my flesh; for the WISHING is present in me...but the DOING of the good is not. For the good that I wish...I do not do...but I PRACTICE the very evil that I d not wish. But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish...I am no longer the one doing it...but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me...the on who wishes to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God...in the INNER MAN...but I see a different law in the members of my body...WAGING WAR against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM! WHO WILL SET ME FREE..FROM THE BODY OF THIS DEATH? Thanks be to GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!!! So then...on the one hand I myself with my MIND am serving the law of God...but on the other hand with my FLESH...the law of sin....There is therefore (referring back to what was just written)...NOW...NO CONDEMNATION for those who are IN CHRIST JESUS."
(Romans 7:14-25)


In 1968...the Beatles recorded a song called REVOLUTION. There were 4 versions of the song. (1) A slow acoustic version (2) An electric raucous version (3) An experimental version...Revolution 9 (4) A video promotion that was semi-live with the Beatles singing live over a recorded soundtrack.

The video version was premiered on the David Frost Show in England along with Hey Jude. In America it was replayed on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. I remember calling WGNS and requesting them to play the song every hour. It could well be my favorite Beatles song.

"You say you want a revolution...well you know we all want to change the world." That was the cry of the song...the cry of the culture...the cry of the youth at that time. Some took the cry...and protested anything that could be protested...others....realized there needed to be a change...but that change took place in the INNER MAN/WOMAN...when they accepted Jesus Christ as Lord.

2009 will be the YEAR OF THE RESOLUTION REVOLUTION. There will be a CHANGE from 2008...cause..."we all want to change the world." But to change THE world...there must be CHANGE within.

REVOLUTION: A complete or radical change of any kind.

RESOLUTION: A determining; deciding

Each year many people determine...decide...to have a complete or radical change in there life that will be totally different from the previous year. People resolve to give up smoking, give up being fat, give up various things...that they eventually go back to. The resolution becomes a revolution in the sense of something that goes in a circle like record (vinyl things with a hole in the center that you place a needle on and it plays music)...as they come Full Circle from giving up and then picking up. Other people go the other way and knowing that they will be unable to keep there resolution...decide NOT to make ANY resolutions because they won't keep them anyway.

This year...I am going out on the limb...and make some resolutions. Now...you may be asking yourself...why does old Ramblin' Rod have a picture of the Ropin' Fool...Will Rogers in this Rambling? One reason is to use it as a Tip O Da Hat to my brother Tom Rutherford...who is celebration 28 years of marriage to Stoney. We have a Ropin' Fool connection. The other reason is to focus on the fact that we can't have any RESOLUTION REVOLUTION in the FLESH. The word is clear in John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh...and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

"For though we walk in the flesh (physical bodies) we do not WAR ACCORDING TO THE FLESH...for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh...but divinely powerful for the DESTRUCTION OF FORTRESSES. We are destroying SPECULATIONS and every LOFTY THING raised up against the knowledge of God...and we are TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE...to the OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST."
(II Corinthians 10:3-5) I envision the taking thoughts captive using a lasso like the Ropin' Fool.

"Finally...BE STRONG IN THE LORD...and in the STRENGTH OF HIS MIGHT. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to STAND FIRM AGAINST THE SCHEMES OF THE devil (little d). For our STRUGGLE is NOT against FLESH and BLOOD...but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:10-12) For full details read Ephesians 6:10-18) I know for certain that little d...does not want you to do anything that will draw you closer to God. I know for certain that little d...does not want you reading the Bible...because faith will come...and you will be walking by faith and not by sight...and you will be pleasing to God (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:1, 6; Romans 1:17; II Corinthians 5:7)

This year I will be taking it up a notch in teaching of the Word of God.

1. The new series of the Ruminator Sunday School will be HOW TO DEAL WITH TEMPTATION, SIN, AND THE FLESH. We will be looking at how to not be pulled away, miss the mark, and give the devil an opportunity.

2. I will be leading a group on a journey through the ONE YEAR BIBLE for 2009 on Wednesdays at church. People will be able to keep a journal of what God shows them with each weeks readings and then we can share as we gather at the REST STOP (the Wednesday class) and share. I may teach...I may not...as the Lord leads.

3. In March...I will be going down to Guatemala to teach at a Bible school with Baba Coble.

4. As the doors open...

To accomplish these dreams...there are certain private RESOLUTION REVOLUTIONS that I will be stepping out in the Spirit...for my spirit (connection to God), my soul (mind, will, and emotions), and body (flesh blood and bones). Hey...pray for me...and I will pray for you...and see where we are in 12 months (either in heaven...or ready to step into 2010)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

Remember to put on your spiritual armour daily...remember to stand firm...remember to pray...and remember...to pray petitions for each other so the mystery of the Gospel can be made known with boldness...remember..."Therefore, take up the full armour of God...that you may be able to RESIST in the evil day...and having done EVERYTHING...to STAND FIRM."
(Ephesians 6:10-20)

Love and Revolutionary Kisses
Rodney "Goin' Round In Circles" Boy

HELP...I NEED SOMEBODY

HELP...I NEED SOMEBODY
HELP...NOT JUST ANYBODY
HELP...YOU KNOW I NEED SOMEONE
HELP!

So goes the title song from The Beatles second movie (in colour).

In this crazy mixed up world...where wrong is considered right...and right is considered wrong...where STRENGTH IS KING...and weakness is sneered upon...it is becoming increasingly evident...to me...that I NEED HELP.

The collage is a collection of HELPERS...in the TIME OF NEED. They are considered the good guys. Just in the nick of time...within a 30 minute time span...including commercials...they swoop in to save the day. These are just a few of my favorite celluloid heroes. You get extra credit if you can name them... or the show they were own. HINT...there are a few who are real life heroes.

PRIDE prevents us from availing HELP. When the pressures of this world is cooking...when the events of the day are too much to handle...when I get to the point where the question WHY cannot be answered...when my back is against the wall...and I cannot solve, resolve, or be involved anymore...I NEED HELP.


In 1970...my back was against the wall. I was a skinny kid...with not much of a future. I had no direction or drive. I was not a very good student. My idea of a good day... was sniffing paint thinner, gasoline or some other chemical (I was looking for a cheap high)...going into some psychedelic world of dreams...where my mind was expanding...but in reality it was imploding. In 2008 my cheap high is now reaching $4.00 a gallon. On top of the various chemicals...I would like to numb the pain with the old pain number alcohol. My number of choice was vodka and orange juice aka SCREWDRIVER. I went from being a social drinker to becoming a SOCIAL DRUNK. I thought I was in control...but I was a mere puppet...with depression, paranoia, and illusion pulling the strings.

There were a couple of events...that begin to change my direction. One thing was dating that sweet little Baptist girl...Brenda Sue Williams. I started to go to church...so I could catch a little extra time with my hunny bunny. I made sure that everyone knew that I did not believe in all that religious crap. I made sure that when everyone would bow their heads in prayer...that when they opened their eyes...that they knew that I had not bowed my head...because I would be staring them in the eyes as they opened. Humph...that showed them. Little did I know...that faith comes by hearing...and hearing by the word of Christ...and that I was hearing the gospel every Sunday...and I was being prepared for a life changing moment. During this time...I was still getting high...sniffing, guzzling, and popping.

NOTE: I received Jesus in the fall of 1970...and by January of 1971 I was enrolled in a Bible School in Chattanooga. By 1972...I had BACKSLIDE...FACE FORWARD...back to the old ways of my vomit. "As a dog returns to his vomit..."

I was working at a factory...and was taking "getting high" breaks. I would dip a rag in a cleaning solution...and wring out the rag...leaving only the fumes. I would then go to the bathroom stall...and sniff the fumes and go on a little trip...the pause that refreshes. I remember one little journey...where I would be listening to the conversation going on in the restroom as people were standing around and smoking as they were on break. As they left the building...I thought I had SUPER HEARING...and as I strained to listen to their conversations...as they went out the door....I felt my body...following them...and when they would turn a corner...I would enter into the concrete wall and listen as they walked down the aisle. It was so real...I could feel the concrete scraping my body causing much pain. Of course...I woke up and I was still in the bathroom. Another day...same bathroom...I heard a voice say..."You can always tell an addict by the way he holds his rag." I woke up and the realization was so overwhelming...that I was holding my rag in that special way. Another time...that I got high, I was on another bathroom break...and I found myself strapped onto a large stone altar...with a knife poised above. I heard a voice say..."Choose Big Rod....choose life or choose death." I sensed that my lungs were being filled with the fumes...and that I was coming close to my last breath. Just before the knife came crashing down...I threw down my rag...and woke up...with a gritty taste in my mouth...like grit from a large stone altar. I wish I could say that I came back to God...but I did not. I did not huff any more...but I did RUN FROM GOD...for a couple of years.

WHY AM I OPENING UP AND SHARING THIS INFORMATION? I needed HELP...and I know that if God can help me...he can help anyone. Do you need help?

"May the Lord answer you IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! May He send you HELP FROM THE SANCTUARY, and SUPPORT you from Zion." (Psalm 20:1,2)

"Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who FEAR HIM...on those who HOPE for His lovingkindness, to DELIVER their soul from death, and to keep them ALIVE in famine. Our soul WAITS FOR THE LORD...He is our HELP and our SHIELD. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we TRUST in His holy name. Let Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, according AS WE HAVE HOPED IN THEE."
(Psalm 33:18-22)

"Let us therefore, DRAW NEAR with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may RECEIVE MERCY...and may FIND GRACE...to HELP IN TIME OF NEED." (Hebrews 4:16)

"...I will never desert you...no will I ever forsake you...so that we confidently say...THE LORD IS MY HELPER...I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. What shall man do to me." (Hebrews 13:6)

"Therefore...if ANY MAN...is IN CHRIST...he is a NEW CREATION...the OLD THINGS passed away...behold...NEW THINGS have come. (II Corinthians 5:17)

The bottom line...JESUS HUNG UP FOR MY HANGUPS...and He HUNG UP...for YOUR HANG UPS ALSO. I wrote a song...years ago when I came back to the Lord...called WALKING ON THE WATER. The idea was that when things are going good...I am WALKING ON THE WATER...but when I got my eyes of of Jesus (like Peter did)...and began STANDING ON THE WATER...I started sinking.

I'm standing on the water...the storm is all about...earthquakes, famines, and spirits of doubt...my loved ones are dying...my money just won't last...I TOOK MY EYES OFF JESUS...NOW I'M SINKING MIGHTY FAST....SO when your sinking...just REACH UP...and He'll pull you out again...even though you're sinking...He will lift you up...from YOUR PAIN WITHIN.

The KEYS TO GETTING HELP...is found in the above Scriptures...(1) realize where your help comes from in the day of trouble (2) fear Him (3) hope in him as deliverer (4) wait for the Lord (5) realize he is our help and shield (6) trust in His Name (7) draw near to him
(8) receive mercy (9) find grace (10) Get IN CHRIST....by the D.B.R...DEATH, BURIAL, RESURRECTION...NOTHING MORE...NOTHING LESS.

Well...thanks for letting me ramblin' on...about where I came from....and reflecting on where I am at now. I know many of you have the same...but different...story...where you came to the END OF ROPE...and fell into the ARMS OF JESUS. For those who say that CHRISTIANITY IS A CRUTCH...as Andrae' Crouch says..."A crutch is a pretty good thing...if your crippled." As John Lennon says..."One thing you can't hide...is when you're CRIPPLED INSIDE." And again...as Andrae said..."If Jesus is a crutch...then give me two."
I am not talkin' about religion...but a relationship.

Love and Crippled and Healed Kisses
Rod "Ain't Huffin' No More" Boyd

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

Hello fellow Pilgrims...fellow Travellers...fellow sojourners. How's your DAY?

Monday...Tuesday...Wednesday...Thursday...Friday...Saturday...Sunday... go to bed...and get up AGAIN...on another day...and start it all over again with Monday...Tuesday...etc, etc, etc.

The Beatles did not start off as the most popular group in the world...and as John Lennon pointed out that they were more popular than Jesus Christ. Well.. at the time...in some sectors...they were. Before super stardom...they were just some lads in Liverpool...playing in clubs, basements, schools...anywhere that would let them pay. Every once in a while...they would actually get paid. In the beginning...it was for fun. Somewhere along the way...the fun ended...and it became drudgery. As Larry Norman observed in his song READERS DIGEST... "...the Beatles said all you need is love...and then they broke up."

Depending on who you listen to...the villain in the Beatles breakup was Yoko Ono. Maybe a contributing factor...but not necessarily THE cause. Some say the villain was the cute Beatle...Paul McCartney...who wanted to be the leader of the group after their manager Brian Epstein died (some say by suicide). Paul sued the lads when the Rolling Stones manager Allen Klien appeared to be taking over and draining the boys financially. Paul was either a saviour or a backstabber. The nasty feud between John and Paul overflowed into their music in their solo careers post Beatles.

McCartney released an album called MCCARTNEY (totally Paul) and John released IMAGINE. Paul released an album with his Yoko (aka Linda) called RAM. During the RAM sessions in New York City...Paul recorded a song in 1970 called ANOTHER DAY. It was a song about the mundane, sad life of a woman's life...as she plodded along at work and at home...as she lived ANOTHER DAY. It was a pleasant, pop infused song full of sunshine about a dark topic.

John Lennon...responded to the song ANOTHER DAY...and Paul's release of RAM with a song called HOW DO YOU SLEEP? George Harrison played a wonderful slide guitar on this song...as John stated..."The only ting you done was YESTERDAY...since you've gone...you're just ANOTHER DAY."

You may be asking yourself...Self...why is Ruminatin' Rod...Rambling? Let me tear a page from my journal...

Another day...they just keep on coming. They plod along like footsteps in a dark, foggy night...not seeing where you are going...hoping you are going somewhere. We are called to walk by faith...NOT by SIGHT (II Corinthians 5:7). My problem is that I walk by SIGHT...and NOT by FAITH. (I Rodney 8:15). I live by feelings not faith. I please my self and not God. My faith feels dead with no corresponding actions. My thoughts are unrestrained. My thoughts have produced unrestrained words with the results being unrestrained actions....just ANOTHER DAY. In Proverbs it says the fool has said in his heart that there is no God. I may not say it...but I act like there is no God...by what I think, say, and do. It is JUST ANOTHER DAY...running on automatic pilot...going through the MOTIONS of my EMOTIONS.

"This is the DAY...which the Lord has made...let us REJOICE...and be GLAD in IT." (Psalm 118:24)

"Blessed--happy, fortunate [to be envied]--is the man whose strength is in You; in whose heart are the highways/roads to Zion. PASSING THROUGH the valley of WEEPING/TEARS...they make it a PLACE OF SPRINGS; the early rain also fills [the pools] with BLESSINGS. They go from STRENGTH to STRENGTH---increasing in VICTORIOUS POWER; each of them appears before God in Zion."
(Psalm 84:5-7)

Hey...the days keep on coming...just another day...after another day...after another day. But if you KEEP ON WALKING...you will PASS THROUGH THE VALLEY OF WEEPING/TEARS...and make it a PLACE OF SPRINGS. Just as we go from one ANOTHER DAY to another ANOTHER DAY...so we can go from STRENGTH to STRENGTH...increasing in VICTORIOUS POWER.

QUESTION: Is there anyone else going through ANOTHER DAY? Write me and let me know.

Love and Emotional Kisses
Rodney " " Boyd