ANATOMY OF A RUMINATOR

Greeting O Ye Cud Chewers. If you are receiving this...you most likely are a RUMINATOR. A ruminator is someone who chews on the Word of God like a cow (a ruminant) chews the cud. A little while back...I began teaching a class at Smyrna Assembly on THE TOPICAL MEMORY SYSTEM. This was systematic memory course where we memorized verses of Scripture that were arranged in various topics. You can get the system at your Christian book stores. It is a system designed by THE NAVIGATORS...and found at NAVPRESS.

One of the verses was found in the first section called the WHEEL One of the spokes in THE WHEEL was for THE WORD. It was Joshua 1:8.

"This book of the law...shall not depart from your MOUTH...but you shall MEDITATE on it day and night...so that you may be careful to DO according to all that is written in it...for then you will make your way prosperous...and then you will have success." (Joshua 1:8).

The word MEDITATE...is from the Hebrew word...hagah (haw-gaw)...which means to murmur (in pleasure or anger)...by implication to ponder, imagine, mediate, mourn, mutter, roar, speak, utter, study, talk.

I began to think about this verse and started "ruminating" about how the verse links...the MOUTH...and MEDITATION...and DOING with the cause and effect being Biblical prosperity (having enough to meet your needs and an overflow to help others) and Biblical success (accomplishing the purposes of God in your life). The LATIN word of meditation is RUMINATE. A quick study shows that a RUMINANT is an animal (cow, sheep, etc)...that has four chambers in the stomach that chewed food passes through and is regurgitated back into the MOUTH in the form of a CUD...that is viewed as standing in a field...contemplating life while chewing away. That is what we do in the RUMINATOR SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS...and the premise for these RAMBLINGS. The COW has become symbolic of moooooooooooving in the Spirit as we study the Word of God. Many members of the HERD have passed through over the years. Always remember this...once a Ruminator...always a Ruminator.

Last Sunday...a fellow chewer of the CUD/WORD OF GOD...Saint John...my Key man...passed on something he found in his files...called
THE DEFINITION OF A COW (A Big City Boy Describes A Cow). The author is unknown but was a found in the September issue of the 1977 American Red Angus magazine.

DEFINITION OF A COW

"A cow is a completely automatic milk manufacturing machine. It is encased in untanned leather and mounted on four vertical, movable supports, one on each corner. The front end contains the cutting and grinding mechanism, as well as the headlights, air inlet, and exhaust, a bumper and foghorn. At the rear is the dispensing apparatus and an automatic fly swatter. The central portion consists of four fermentation and storage tanks connected in series by an intricate network of flexible plumbing. This section also contains the heating plant complete with automatic temperature controls, pumping station and main ventilation system. The waste disposal apparatus is located at the rear of this central section. In brief, the externally visible features are: two lookers, two hookers, for stand uppers, four hanger-downers, and a swishy-wishy. There is a similar machine known as a bull, which should not be confused with a cow. It produces no milk but has other interesting uses."

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY!!!!

Moo to you.

Love and Bovinian Kisses
Rodney "Chewing the Cud" Boyd

IT'S ALIVE...IT'S ALIVE....IT'S ALIVE!!!!!

Greetings all LIVING people. If you are reading this...you are ALIVE...or you are the WALKING DEAD.

"For the WORD that God speaks is ALIVE...and full of POWER--making it...
ACTIVE....OPERATIVE....ENERGIZING...and EFFECTIVE; it is SHARPER than any two-edged SWORD....PENETRATING to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [that is, of the deepest parts of our nature] exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very THOUGHTS and PURPOSES of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 The Amplified Bible)

The WORD OF GOD is more than some mad scientist with a CREATOR COMPLEX...piecing together existing pieces of corpses...and dropping in an ABBY NORMAL (abnormal) brain...and connecting with GOD MADE lightning.
Frankenstein...or Frahnk-en-steen (for those Young Frankenstein fans) was an intriguing story dreamed up (literally) by Mary Shelly...BUT it pales in comparison to the WORD OF GOD...that really is ALIVE.

If you are wondering about the pictures of the cow and the dog....the dog represents that..."faith comes by HEARING...and hearing by the WORD OF CHRIST (concerning Christ)." (Romans 10:17) Our friend the RUMINATIN' COW..."This book of the law (the Word) shall not depart from your MOUTH, but you shall MEDITATE (ruminate) on it day and night...that you may OBSERVE and DO...according to all that is WRITTEN in it (the law/word)...for then you shall make your way prosperous...and then you shall deal wisely and have good success." (Joshua 1:8) These two verses represents The Ruminator Sunday School Class philosophy of MOOIN' AND CHEWIN' ON THE WORD OF GOD.

I'm convinced that the reason there is such an attack on the WORD OF GOD... and there is such a struggle to read the WORD OF GOD...is because the devil (little d), satan (little s), demons (little d)....knows that if you HEAR the WORD OF GOD...then FAITH will come...and you will no longer walk by SIGHT...but by FAITH...the substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not seen... and you will begin to PLEASE GOD...because without FAITH...it is IMPOSSIBLE to PLEASE Him. You will begin to (1) come to Him (2) believe that He is (3) Believe that He is a rewarder (4) diligently seek Him...not just passively inquire. (Read II Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 11:1,6)

Here's a question and answer found in Psalm 119:9,11:

QUESTION: How can a young man (or woman) KEEP his way pure?

ANSWER: By KEEPING it (his way) ACCORDING TO THY WORD? THY WORD have I HID/TREASURED in my HEART....that I might NOT sin against Thee.

NOTE: For more insight into the Word...read the entire Psalm 119.

In collage #2 we see various pictures including the Topical Memory System from The Navigators...started by Dawson Trotman. Daws had a heartbeat for discipleship of men and women...and he knew...that THE WORD OF GOD...is one of the KEYS to establish believers. Daws believed that II Timothy 5:16,17 was not only TRUE...but it was PRACTICAL I found an interesting companion to THE TOPICAL MEMORY SYSTEM...called SCRIPTURE RELEASE. You can go to:

http://www.scripturerelease.com/ which is down loadable songs that you can copy on a CD based on THE TOPICAL MEMORY SYSTEM. It is FREE.

"ALL SCRIPTURE (the Word of God) is INSPIRED (God-breathed) by God...and PROFITABLE (beneficial) for (1) teaching (2) reproof
(3) correction (4) training in righteousness THAT the man/woman of God...may be ADEQUATE...EQUIPPED for every GOOD WORK."

Malcom and Alywn...two pioneers from the Jesus Movement...sang a song about the Word of God...calls FOOLS WISDOM..."got myself some wisdom from a LEATHER BOUND BOOK...got myself some wisdom...when I took a second look...." Mark 4 speaks of the sower... who goes about sowing SEED (the Word of God)...and the various soils and attacks on the seed/word. The brain represents the mind that needs to be RENEWED by the WASHING OF THE WATER OF THE WORD. Again...our friend the cow...represents us as RUMINATORS
those animals...who chew their food...pass it through four chambers in their stomachs...regurgitates it back up in the form of a CUD...and then stand in a field...and chew...with a contemplative...ruminating look on their face. Mooin' and Chewin' on the CUD OF THE WORD.

For those who want to view more of the PAST ISSUES OF THE RUMINATOR RAMBLINGS...you can go to:

http://www.ruminatorramblings-rodney.blogspot.com/


WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!!! WARNING!!!!!!

You would think that a little bit of the WORD would be better than NO WORD. Hmmmm....maybe...but I tend to think that...a little of bit of the WORD (as powerful as it is)....can have the effect like injecting a little bit of snake venom in you. You will build up resistence to snake bite when you are inoculated with a little bit of the poison that would normally kill you.

Sometimes I think that people who DABBLE in the WORD....a little here...a little there...sometimes have just enough Bible knowledge to make them dangerous. The become immune to the stuff. Of course...you can have people who consume massive quantities of theology... with a basis on the Word...and be as lost as someone who never heard the Word. With all that said...I believe that the KEY to the WORD having effect in our lives...lies in what I call THE ABIDING PRINCIPLE

"IF you LIVE IN ME--abide, vitally united to Me---and MY WORDS remain in you...and CONTINUE TO LIVE IN YOUR HEARTS...ask whatever WILL...and it shall be done for you." (John 15:7 The Amplified Bible)

Well...the WORD is filled with so much more about the WORD. I hope this little Rambling...has encouraged you to press into the Word of God. If you want to know what He thinks about a matter...if you want to know His will...what his desire is for His will to be manifested on earth as it is in heaven....then go to the WORD. Read about Jesus (the Living Word)...in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...and see the MANIFESTED WILL OF GOD...in the form of GOD'S THOUGHTS EXPRESSED...in THE WORD.

Love and Rhema/Logos Kisses
Rodney "Word Up" Boyd