WHY DO I DO THE THINGS I DO?

Greeting to all who read these things...and actually enjoy them. Some of you may be asking yourself...
"Self...why does Rodney do the things that he does?"

Sometimes I wonder that myself. What would convince a man to spend hours on a computer...typing out observations on life...ruminating on the things he sees swirling around him...and then mailing them out to other people to read. What would convince a man to take his eight year

ME AND PHILLIP SWIMMING IN THE AMAZON

old son down the Amazon River... swim in that same river...travel down a path into a jungle with his family...OR...leave his family to go to Africa to teach in a place that was at the end of the road...and then share with a group of people in a church by the name of CHURCH BY THE LAKE NEXT TO THE SLAUGHTER HOUSE?

Why would a man take great joy in seeing his son take the plunge under the waters...in front of God and a house full of people.

What would cause a man to stay with one woman for 38 years...and raise a son in the ways of what some consider antiquated rules and a mythological god...created by man to alleviate guilt?




PHILLIP TAKING A TRIP IN AND OUT OF THE WATERGRAVE

What would cause a man...to not climb a corporate ladder...and spend more time with his family...while the rest of the world is in the RAT RACE? It really is true...that if you win the RAT RACE...you become the #1 RAT.


Why would a man waste his time... developing Bible Studies...and go to a country....to share with others who will go out into the world...and possibly practice what you have taught in life or death situations?

What would cause a guy to use every experience that he has accumulate over the years...including, social, political, entertainment, good, bad and ugly things in his life...and hold his failures up for all to see...as the see all the warts, scars, and cause and effect in his life?


ME AND BRUCE WITH WORLD CHANGERS IN QUATEMALA

What would cause a man to dedicate every Sunday morning...and even on some Wednesday nights...to teach a group of people how to walk by faith and not by sight? What would possess a man to take 40 years of his life... and commit them to walking with a God that he can't see...with a Saviour that he has never met physically... and a Comforter...that dwells inside of him? What cause a guy to put himself out in front of people...and open himself up to criticism, when he really does not want to offend anyone?

THE RUMINATOR SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS (a great group of people)

WHY DO I DO THE THINGS I DO?

Because I have a deep, abiding love for the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Because in 1970 I went from being a paranoid, insecure, suicidal case...to being SET FREE...and being FREE INDEED. Because...I empathize with people who struggle with their faith... and their flesh...and KNOW from personal experience that you can WALK IN THE SPIRIT...and not in the fles. Because...I know that no matter where you are in the world... people are the same. Cultures may change...but the need for a Saviour is the same all around the world.

TEACHING AT A DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING SCHOOL IN KENYA

When I went to Kenya Africa...the second time...God spoke to me about some specific things in my life. (1) People Need The Lord (2) Teach the Full Counsel of the Lord (3) Flying low over Africa...the brown/dry land mixed with lushness was the condition of the physical land of Africa...the people of Africa...the world...and most specifically ME. (4) God's desire was to water and bring lushness to every area. (5) Begin to proclaim the Kingdom in its fullness and power.

I have a desire to see lost people saved...and a real desire to see saved people to walk in the fullness of all that God has for them.

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers...FOR THE EQUIPPING OF THE SAINTS...for the WORK OF THE MINISTRY... for the EDIFYING (building up) OF THE BODY OF CHRIST....till we come to the unity of the faith...and of the knowledge of the Son of God...to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...that we should NO LONGER BE CHILDREN, TOSSED TO AND FRO AND CARRIED ABOUT WITH EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE...by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting...but SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE...may GROW UP in all things into Him who is the head--Christ...from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the EFFECTIVE WORKING by which every part does its share...causes GROWTH OF THE BODY...for the EDIFYING OF ITSELF IN LOVE." (Ephesians 4:11-16)

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

Well that is a thumbnail sketch about why I do the things I do. Oh we could spend hours about the quirks, strange ways, the movie and song references, the skewed humour, the bad grammar, the pathetic punctuation...but that's for another day. Suffice to say...I do what I do because I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and love my neighbor as myself...and I WANT YOU to live life to the fullest.

Love and Doing Kisses
Rodney "Thanks To All Of You" Boyd

Old Saint to New Saint Fellowship

Hey ya'll...what's da Word?

"That which was from the beginning, which we have HEARD, which we have SEEN, with our eyes, which we have LOOKED upon and our hands have HANDLED concerning the WORD OF LIFE...the life was manifested, and we have SEEN and BEAR WITNESS, and DECLARE to you that eternal life which was WITH the Father and was MANIFESTED to us...that which we have SEEN and HEARD we DECLARE to you...that you also may have FELLOWSHIP with us; and truly our FELLOWSHIP is with the Father and with His Son JESUS CHRIST."
(I John 1:1-3)

FELLOWSHIP: partnership, participation, intercourse, benefaction, communicate, communion, distribution.

Having something in common...with those "old saints" of days gone by...seems like an impossibility. Sure we have the ability to read about the history of the events...but to actually have a partnership...a participation...to communicate and have a common communion with them seems so distant...so far away. After all...they had first hand experience with Jesus.

They...those in the past...have heard, seen, looked upon, handled, and bore witness this thing called eternal life...BUT they wanted the readers of the letter...the epistle...the book...to have KOINONIA with them. Not only to have fellowship with them...but also to have fellowship with (1) the Father (2) the Son...Jesus the Christ.


John...also wrote a gospel of discourse...called The Gospel According to John. In that Gospel...he opens up with...

"In the beginning was the WORD (Jesus)...and the WORD (Jesus) was with God (the Father)...and the WORD (Jesus) was God. He (Jesus) was in the beginning with God (the Father). All things were made through Him (Jesus) and with Him (Jesus) nothing was made that was made. In Him (Jesus) was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5)

"And the WORD (Jesus) became flesh (human) and dwelt among us, and we beheld His (Jesus) glory as of the only BEGOTTEN (Son) of the Father (God), full of grace and truth.


The link...the connecting point... the thing that makes us have communion and something in common with the "old saints"...to us "new saints" is THE WORD OF GOD. This connection is two fold...(1) the Word in the form of Jesus...via His D.B.R., the Death, Burial, and Resurrection which includes the cross and shed blood....and (2) the Written Word of God...that is more than just a book on paper...but it is a LIVING WORD.

"For the WORD OF GOD...is LIVING and POWERFUL, and SHARPER than any tow-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit (human) and of joints and marrow, and is a DISCERNER of the THOUGHTS and INTENTS of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

For us to have FELLOWSHIP with one another...and with the Father...and with Jesus...we must have a relationship with THE WORD. That relationship starts out with our EARS...(physical and spiritual ears)...as FAITH comes...by HEARING...and HEARING by the WORD OF GOD. (Romans 10:17) Oh that we would have the ears of that picture of the dog.

Another connection that we have...is THROUGH the "old saint's" WORDS. "I (Jesus) do not pray for these ("old saints" alone...BUT ALSO...those who will BELIEVE IN ME...THROUGH THEIR WORD." (John 17:20) Jesus gave explicit orders to the eleven... and gave marching orders to (1) Go (2) make disciples of all the nations (3) baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (4) teach them (the made disciples) ALL THINGS that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:16-20)

Our KOINONIA...with "old saints"...with the Father...with the Son...and with one another in the local church (gathering of saints)...and the church (gathering of saints) around the world will be through THE WORD...JESUS...by the substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not revealed to the senses. (Hebrews 11:1)

As a RUMINATOR...someone who chews on the cud of the WORD OF GOD...I said all of that to say this...
Begin to moo and chew on NOT just a historical doctrine...but the LIVING WORD OF GOD.

"For the WORD OF GOD 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 purpose of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 The Amplified Bible)


AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR..THE RUMINATOR SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS. If you are in the area...and would like to join the herd to moo and chew on THE WORD OF GOD... I would like to invite you to join us at:

Smyrna Assembly
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
(615) 459-3421
www.SmyrnaAssembly.org

The herd gathers at 9:00 A.M. as we begin to have KOINONIA over food, fun, fellowship, and breaking of the bread of the Word of God.

Love and Koinonia Kisses
Rodney "Mooin' and Chewin' On Da Word of God" Boyd

DANGER....RODNEY BOYD: How To Avoid A Hot Tailpipe

Greetings Earthlings. What does the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet...Shakespeare's The Tempest...1935 pulp fiction book Doc Savage The Fantastic Island... Will Smith...the book Isaac Asimov and the 1966 T.V. show Lost in Space have in common? The answer is ROBBIE THE ROBOT.

Robbie the Robot is the prototype for all 50's movie robots. I will let you in on a secret...inside of the robot is not a myriad of wires and electronic devices. Inside the robot is a man. Yes...the robot is a costume. Robbie was first conceived in the Doc Savage book The Fantastic Island. He then appears in the movie The Forbidden Planet that was based on Shakespeare's The Tempest...and it goes on.

You may be asking yourself..."Self...why is Ruminatin' Rod writing about Robbie the Robot?" Well self...I'm glad you asked. What kicked me off to ruminatin' was the show LOST IN SPACE. Robbie the Robot...is used as a companion for Will Robinson (aka Billy Mumy of Twilight Zone fame). Whenever DANGER was close by...Robby would begin to light up...flail his arms up, down, and all around... and lights, bells, and whistles would go off...as he warned...DANGER WILL ROBINSON.

I started thinking how nice it would be as we walked in this world...to have something or someone who would alert us to DANGER. A little DANGER RODNEY BOYD would be nice... before I reached under a car and grabbed a hot tail pipe (exhaust) to see if it was loose. DANGER RODNEY BOYD...HOT PIPE...DO NOT TOUCH...DANGER. But noooooooooooo.... I had to endured (1) pain (2) embarrassment because I had no warning. If only I had some type of WARNING SYSTEM in place when I was walking down some steps at a patient's house... and when I got to the last step I would hear...DANGER RODNEY BOYD...YOU'VE GOT ONE MORE STEP TO GO..then maybe I would not have fallen face first into a concrete block wall, bust my glasses, cut my eyebrow with blood spurting everywhere, and messing up my shoulders. If only I had some type of DANGER ALERT in place when I was about to do something stupid and SIN WILLINGLY...DANGER RODNEY BOYD...YOU ARE ABOUT TO SIN...AND REAP THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTION...DANGER RODNEY BOYD.

If only the children of Israel had a ROBBIE THE ROBOT in the WILDERNESS...to warn them of the DANGER of craving evil things, being idolaters, acting immorally, testing the Lord, and grumbling...maybe...just maybe...they would not have been destroyed by serpents or destroyed by the destroyer...OR for the most important thing...not be LAID LOW IN THE WILDERNESS.

DANGER CHILDREN OF ISRAEL...YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE LAID LOW IN THE WILDERNESS.

Well...just like they had a warning system...so do I have a warning system...and it is called The Holy Spirit...The Word of God...godly counsel...and last but not least...Brenda my wife. I could have avoided a lot of trouble by listening to Brenda.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on our own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil." (Pro-Verbs 3:5-7) DANGER RODNEY BOYD...YOU ARE LEANING ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING...AND YOU WILL FALL. DANGER RODNEY BOYD...YOU ARE GETTING OFF THE STRAIGHT PATH.

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy Word. With all my heart I have sought Thee; do not let me wander from Thy commandments. Thy word I have hid/treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee." (Psalm 119:9-11) DANGER RODNEY BOYD...YOU ARE ABOUT TO STRAY FROM THE WORD AND BECOME UNPURE. YOU ARE WANDERING FROM THE COMMANDMENTS AND ARE NOT LISTENING TO THE TREASURED WORDS AND ARE ABOUT TO SIN AGAINST GOD.

"But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out/fulfill the desires of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16) DANGER RODNEY BOYD...YOU ARE NOT WALKING BY THE SPIRIT...AND YOU ARE ABOUT TO CARRY OUT IMMORALITY, IMPURITY, SENSUALITY, IDOLATRY, SORCERY, ENMITIES, STRIFE, JEALOUSY, OUTBURSTS OF ANGER, DISPUTES, DISSENSIONS, FACTIONS, ENVYINGS, DRUNKENNESS, CAROUSINGS AND THINGS LIKE THESE...AND ARE IN DANGER OF NOT INHERITING RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND JOY IN THE HOLY GHOST (Galatians 5:16-21; Romans 14:17)

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows...this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7-8) DANGER RODNEY BOYD...YOU ARE MOCKING GOD AND SOWING TO FLESH...YOU ARE ABOUT TO REAP CORRUPTION.

Well you get the idea...God has His WARNING LABEL all over the place. His Holy Spirit will confirm God's truth...and your godly friends can speak into your life.

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

Don't wait for a mechanical, electrical pile of junk to warn you...let the living Spirit of God who dwells in you speak loud and clear His Word into your life...and then...move away from the tailpipe.

Love and Dangerous Kisses
Rodney "I Hear Ya Lord" Boyd

HAVE YA HEARD THE HERD

Greetings and Salutations all of you Mooers and Chewers of the Cud of the Word of God. Welcome to the Herd.

NOTE: Click on the collage and get a good view of the herd.

Herd? Whatcha' talki' 'bout. Well...what I am talking about is a gathering of people who are dear to my heart....called The Ruminators Sunday School Class. This is a group of people who gather on Sunday mornings for food, fellowship and feeding on the cud of the Word of God.

Many years ago...I was attending a church that imploded... and at that time I declared that I would never, ever, in a thousand years...teach the Word of God again. Well...in the words of Phil Keaggy and Glass Harp..."never is long time.' As the James Bond title states...Never Say Never.

Fast forward to 2001 in Kenya, Africa. This picture is me standing in the teaching center of a Youth For Christ Discipleship Training School... I had the honor of doing what I would be doing what I proclaimed that I would never, ever, do again...teaching the Word of God. The question is... what happened between 1989...and 2001...and then up to October of 2009?

NOTE: I am cradling in my arms the head of a hippo. Man...you shoulda seen dem ribs...slowly cooked to perfection...half dry rub...and half with a special Kenyan sauce...dripping down the side of my face with each bite...MERCY! Actually...the only ribs were in my dreams.

I digress...aka bunny trail. When I became a Christian back in the fall of 1970...I was infused by the Holy Spirit with a hunger and desire to read and understand the Word of God. The Word of God was my lifeline to God. By 1971 I was attending a Bible School in Chattanooga...with the goal of getting a degree in Bible...and becoming an evangelist and save the world. Prior to becoming a Christian...I was a mediocre student...but after I became a born again believer...I was still a mediocre student. My dreams were shattered when I started Bible school...with the cold water of an English class. I ended up with a C in English and a B in Old Testament Survey. I ended up dropping out of Bible school...a Bible school dropout...and floating from odd jobs to odd jobs including working for Orkin Pest Control...working at Sir Pizza...working at Cummings Sign Company... a helper at Tennessee Mechanical Corporation...construction work...building log cabins...etc...until my current profession as a Speech-Language Pathologist. The irony of all of this is that this mediocre student from elementary school to Bible school...attained a Masters in Education. God really does have a sense of humor.

Back to 1989...I am sitting in a Sunday School class at Smyrna Assembly... hiding out in a crowd of people...sitting on any gifting that God graced me with...as I ran from God. There was one guy named Mark Robertston...who was sitting in the Sunday School circle (where we discussed the upcoming sermon) ...and kept encouraging me to pick up the gift again...because the gifts and calling of God are without repentance or irrevocable. Bruce Coble kept encouraging me to press into God. I started having rumblings from within (and it was not gas) of picking up my Bible again...and as I started reading...I was overwhelmed by thoughts and lessons and teachings...IF I was teaching. I never felt a condemning compelling to teach...but I did have an increasing desire to not hold on to what God was showing me.

During this time...our church had a retreat...and Brenda and I went. God was speaking throughout the retreat. During a break in the teaching... I was sitting talking to Wade Hutchinson and confided in Him that I had an inkling to teach a class called The Topical Memory Class. This would be based on The Navigator's Topical Memory System as we would memorize and study the surrounding context of 60 Scriptures with various topics. Wade gave me these words of wisdom.."I think you should do it." I cleared it with the pastor...Ronnie Meek and boom. I was teaching again.

One of the Scriptures that we were studying and memorizing was found in Joshua 1:8.

"This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate/haw-gaw/ruminate 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."

Thus was borne the name...The Ruminators...who meditated...chewed...muttered under our breath the cud of the Word of God. For some reason we incorporated the cow as the symbol of the class (I guess it could have been sheep)...but we didn't. Well...that was around 1990...and here it is coming into 2010.

I had declared in 1989 that I would never, ever teach the Word of God again...and since that time...many people have come and gone from class (once a Ruminator...always a Ruminator)...and God has been faithful in giving me the desires of my heart...teaching the Word of God...as I delighted myself in Him (Psalm 37:5). I have been blessed to share the Word (with Bruce Coble) in Mexico, Peru, Africa, Guatemala...but always returning back to the Ruminators in class.

Thanks to all who join with me in the journey in the Word.

Love and Remembering Kisses
Rodney "Lovin' Da Word" Boyd

DE-CLUTTERING BY DE WORD

Hello clutter free friends and neighbors. I am a clutterer... to the chagrin of Brenda. I tend to collect...books...albums... Mad Magazines...mementos from days gone by. The cause and effect of my tendency to collect is clutter. At times...as I sit in my office...where I study, prepare Bible Studies, pray, listen to music, get ready for the Ruminator Sunday School Class (as Brenda chants the mantra..."Rodney...it's 8:10... you need to get into the shower....class is at 9:00.")...and I look around and I am OVERWHELMED by the clutter. As you can see in one of the zeniths of clutter...it...ain't...pretty!!

It is usually at this point...where I can't stand it any longer... that I "clean up." It's like when you work hard...sweat... keep working hard...keep sweating. You start to stink...from all of your hard work...but you can't smell yourself...BUT...then you get to a point where you begin to smell your self...and you realize...MAN...I STINK. At that point...you takes a shower...soap up...rub-a-dub dub, and you can feel the stink (or for those who really stink....STANK)...peeling off of you...and down the drain. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh REFRESHING.

Sometimes I am like that with my SPIRITUAL LIFE. My life gets cluttered with talk radio, controversies, cares of this world, anxiety, worry, tension...and I enter into the ultimate STANK. I become entangled with "every encumbrance and THE SIN which so easily entangles us..." (Hebrews 12:1) My life is so cluttered...that I open the door to temptation, sin, and the flesh...and I find myself being being tempted to be drawn away from who I really am. NOTE: The purpose of temptation is not necessarily designed to pull you INTO something...but to DRAW YOU AWAY...from who you really are). I open the door of opportunity for the flesh in my life...
and walk in...(1) sin in general (2) the personal tripping up sin in my life. At this point...I need a DE-CLUTTERING!!!
NOTE: I have noticed a correlation of my cluttered spiritual life...and my cluttered office...and my cluttered car. In my car...AKA...THE ROLLING SANCTUARY...I tend to eat on the run...through my trash over into the passenger side...have grass and mud on the floor from getting in and out at patients house...and the clutter of paperwork that builds up in my back and front seat like a PAPER TIDAL WAVE...and I don't have a surfboard....YIKES...WIPEOUT!!!!

I have found that I can DE-CLUTTER...when I get back to THE WORD OF GOD.

"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 all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success." (Joshua 1:8). For me to PROSPER (have enough to meet my needs...and overflow to help others) and to have SUCCESS (accomplishing the purposes of God in my life)...I need a WORD FROM GOD...I need THE WORD OF GOD.

"The grass withers...the flower fades...BUT...the WORD OF GOD...shall STAND FOREVER." (Isaiah 40:8). In MY crazy, mixed up world...I need STABILITY. While the world shifts and changes...with economic upheaval...with political turbulence...with the sands of shifting world events...I need to be on something solid in my life.

"Therefore every one who hears these words of Mine (the Word from the lips of THE Word)...and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the ROCK. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against the house... (the clutter of life)...and yet DID NOT FALL...for it had been FOUNDED UPON THE ROCK. And every one who hears these words of Mine and does NOT ACT UPON THEM, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and IT FELL...and GREAT WAS ITS FALL."
(Matthew 7:24-27)

Are you having rain descending in your life...are the floods breaking against the walls of your life (those things that you have put up to protect yourself)...are the winds of life blowing and whirling and tearing up your life...are the combination of all of these things BURSTING against your edifice? Well...THAT'S LIFE...whether you are a Christian or not [Matthew 5:45]. What determines if your house stands or falls...or becomes de-cluttered...is dependant on what you do. You (1) Build on a good foundation [of the Word] (2) hear (the Word] (3) act [upon the Word].

What does this have to do with the clutter in my life? I have found that when I press into the Word of God...the clutter clears. Stuff still happens...but I am able to focus...on the Word...faith came come... and I can stand against the storms in my life. When my life is cluttered...I am open to the storms...fear...etc.


In Genesis...where the Spirit of God was hovering/sweeping of a world that was without form...void... chaotic...and God SPOKE...WORDS...and brought ORDER into CHAOS...so God speaks into my life... and brings DE-CLUTTERING into my CLUTTER. (Genesis 1)

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

The Word is full of references to the Word. Psalm 19...Psalm 119...John 1:1-14...Hebrews 4:12...II Timothy 3:16,17...just to name a few.

"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)

"How can a young man NOT keep his way pure? By NOT keeping it according to Thy Word." Thy Word have I NOT HID IN MY HEART...that I MIGHT SIN AGAINST THEE." (Psalm 119:9,11 The Cause and Effect Version)

"All Scripture is inspired (God-Breathed) by God and profitable (beneficial) for teaching, reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (for de-cluttering in Rodney's life)...that the man of God may be adequate...EQUIPPED for every good work." (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Well...get you a concordance...and look up the Word of God...and see how beneficial THE WORD can be for DE-CLUTTERING...and bringing ORDER into your life.

Love and DE-CLUTTERED KISSES
Rodney "No Sand Foundation" Boyd

BIRD ATTACK

Hello Bird Lovers...Back in the 1950's and 1960's...there was a place that I use to go just about every Saturday (more in the 60's than the 50's)...where I could lose myself in the convolutions of my imagination...THE PRINCESS THEATER. Where else could you go and see an absented minded professor fly a FLUBBER mobile...a magical coin become powerful by uttering the words ZOTS...or Hercules performing mighty feats of strength while Jason and the Argonauts met with Cyclops. It was at THE PRINCESS THEATER that I would sit and watch the movie A HARD DAYS NIGHT starring a little known rock and roll band from England called THE BEATLES. What was strange was...I could not hear the movie for the girls screaming. Saturday afternoons you could get in for a double feature...and sit and watch it again and again and again...and not get asked to leave. Milk Duds...popcorn...cokes...Sugar Daddy's...Chocolate Covered Peanuts...seeing friends...girls you liked...and oh yes...ELVIS MOVIES. I remember in 1965...standing in a line for the movie TICKLE ME...that wound down the street...past the Post Office (later the library)...curving around and extending down the block. On the side of the theater there was a large billboard advertising the coming movies. I remember one day...passing by the theater in 1964...and seeing a gigantic billboard advertising the latest Elvis movie...ROUSTABOUT. Elvis straddles across a motorcycle...looking back... and the promise of a rocking good time. Wow...what sweet memories. Oh yes...there was that little thing called RACISM...where the "coloreds" had their own entrance and designated area to sit...upstairs in the balcony...behind the white people...and separate drinking fountains and separate access to the candy counter. Some call it the "good old days"...but that part of the "good old days"...were really the "bad old days."

It was in 1963...that I went to see an Alfred Hitchcock movie called...THE BIRDS. It was a movie based on a novelette by Daphne Du Maurier...aka Lady Browning. Ms Du Maurier also wrote other books that Alfred Hitchcock made into movies including...REBECCA...and JAMAICA INN. This movie was about...a quaint, little, quiet San Francisco town...whose peace was disturbed by a sudden uprising by BIRDS. They appeared...and began to attack the people from little children to old women...and everyone in between. The BIRDS did not discriminate with their attacks.

After the movie let out...I had to walk home down Maple Street that was surrounded by row after row of trees on each side of the street...lining the sidewalks like a parade. Guess what was hovering in those trees. You got it...what appeared to be hundreds...no...thousands...wait...tens of thousands of BIRDS....watching me take step by step...in an effort to get home before they could attack. Well...so much for imagination unrestrained. The only thing that may have happened... would be a little bird poop on my shirt (or did I imagine that also).

You may be asking yourself..."Self...why the Bird Blog?" Well...I'm glad you asked. The other day...I was driving down Rucker Lane...on the way to church...and I noticed a field of freshly planted SEEDS of some sort. At the time I did not know what the SEEDS were...but later found out it was soybeans. SIDE NOTE :(aka Bunny Trail)...growing up in the midst of the soy beans were scattered remnants of the old crop...corn. That got me to thinking about the parable of the WHEAT AND THE TARES...but that is for another Rambling...another time. BACK TO THE BIRDS: As I was thinking about the Princess Theater...and the movie THE BIRDS...I began to think about the BIRDS in my spiritual life since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour back in 1970. Various scriptures speak of if God provides for the fowls/birds of the air...will He not provide for you/me? In the Old Testament...ravens brought food...God sent quail for food. Back in the New Testament...God knows when one bird falls...again how much He cares for you.

One negative connotation of BIRDS...is found in THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER/SEED/SOIL (depending on how you view and read it). There are three places where this parable is told and explained...(1) Matthew 13:1-23 (2) Mark 4:1-20 (3) Luke 8:4-15

Now...this Ramblings is not meant to go into detail about this parable...that is for another time...but there are some common threads that deal with THE BIRD.

In all of the parables there are some common threads.

1. The SEED is the Word of God.
2. The SOIL is the heart.
3. The condition of the SOIL will determine the amount of production/fruit.

In Luke...the GOOD SOIL is defined in Luke 8:15..."And the SEED/WORD in the GOOD GROUND...these are the ones who have (1) heard the word in an
(2) honest and good heart (3) and hold it fast (4) and bear fruit (5) with perseverance/steadfastness

One of the attacks was by THE BIRDS. This was not just a random attack. It was not just an uprising of THE BIRDS like in the movie that was never explained. No...these attacks are thought out...well orchestrated...schemes. The BIRDS in all of the versions liken the BIRD ATTACKS to (1) the evil one (2) satan (3) the devil.

In the Matthew account it says..."the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart."

In the Mark account it says..."...the word is sown...and when they hear...immediately satan comes...and takes away the word which has been sown in them."

In the Luke account it says..."then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart...so that they may NOT BELIEVE and be SAVED."

This attack...this snatching....this taking away of the seed...the Word...is deliberate and malicious. This comes as no surprise to many who are aware of the devil...satan...the evil one...the liar...the stealer...the killer...the destroyer. We see in Ephesians 6:11-12..."Put on the full armour of God...that you may be able to STAND against the SCHEMES of the devil. For our STRUGGLE is not against FLESH and BLOOD ...but against (1) rulers (2) powers (3) world forces of this (present) darkness (4) spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (realm).

We see the nature of this WARFARE/BIRD ATTACK in II Corinthians 10:3-6..."For though we WALK IN THE FLESH (not flesh nature but the physical being)...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 of Christ...and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete."

This attack by the bird/satan...just like in the movie...wants to peck your eyes out so you cannot see. This is why we need to WALK BY FAITH...AND NOT BY SIGHT (II Corinthians 5:7)

The question still remains...why the attack on the SEED/WORD. Here is my humble opinion...

1. Faith comes by hearing...and hearing by the SEED/WORD of God. (Romans 10:17)
2. If you have faith..you will not be moved by what you see...hear...feel...you will only be moved by the Word that is real...the Word that
came to life...that came to me. Thanks and a Tip O Da Hat To Janny Grein for Covenant Woman (Hebrews 11:1)
3. The bird/devil/evil one...does not want the WORD OF GOD IN YOUR MOUTH (Romans 10:6-17)
4. If faith comes...and you begin to walk by faith and not by sight...you will PLEASE GOD...by coming to him...believing that He is...
believing that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and not be a passive inquirer. (Hebrews 11:6)
5. You are now a danger to the bird/devil/evil one.

NOTE: In the book by Frank Peretti...called THIS PRESENT DARKNESS...it is about how when a believer...begins to PRAY...he becomes a danger to the enemy...and the schemes are thwarted. As the enemy faces one of the characters in the book...he hisses out...Oh...it's you praying one."

FINAL THOUGHTS FINALLY

It is time for us to deal with the birds in our lives....protect that SEED/WORD. Keep going to the FEED MILL (gathering of believers) for some more SEED/WORD. Start CULTIVATING your SOIL on a regular bases...get rid of the WEEDS (cares of the world)...and begin to BEAR MUCH FRUIT.

Love and SEEDY Kisses
Rodney "GET OUTTA HERE BIRDS" 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