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

ROOTED AND GROUNDED

Greetings Strong Rooted Ones. Are ya still standing? If you ever been through...or been close to a tornado...you know that nothing is immune to the strong winds...and the strong winds are no respecter of persons. Big T can level a house or gently take the pictures out of a picture frame and leave the frame intact on the wall. Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief can either be spared or killed at the hand of the mighty rushing winds. Oh sure...insurance companies pontificate that these destructive forces are "acts of God"...and to be sure...swirling winds are no match for the power of God...but how about passing on some of the blame as an "act of the devil". This first collage is a picture of a tree that was once a mighty tree guarding my property...until a high wind caught it and brought it to the ground like David bringing down Goliath. On the surface the tree looked pretty much intact except for a few dead branches here and there...but once it was brought down....the true ROOT of the problem was exposed....DEAD ROOTS. On the surface...good...below the surface...bad.

So it is with our spiritual lives....looking good on the surface...but then BAM... caught in adultery...WHOP...arrested for drunken driving...KA-BLOOM... caught in a lie...KER-BLUNK...conflicts with the pastor, other church members, someone didn't speak to you...you take an offense (of course you didn't have to take it) and off to the races as you enter into the steeplechase in your quest to find the "perfect church" (except it ceased being perfect when you arrived). Why? I think...especially as I look at ALL OF MY LOW POINTS IN MY CHRISTIAN WALK (I know you find that hard to believe...since I am perfect)...goes deep to a POOR ROOT SYSTEM. NOTE: Please don't write me and remind me that there is only "one perfect...and that is Jesus." I was speaking with TONGUE IN CHEEK.

Here are a few ROOT FACTS:

The ROOT SYSTEM...is usually:

--underground
--Anchor the plant/tree in soil
--Absorb water and nutrients
--Conduct water and nutrients
--Food storage

Bad ROOT SYSTEMS....will not act as an anchor...will not provide needed nutrients...will be poor conduits for what is need to survive...and will not store food...when there are droughts and dry spells. So it is in our spiritual lives...been in a dry spell lately...how's your ROOT STORAGE SYSTEM.

We are called to be ROOTED and GROUNDED in LOVE..."That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be STRENGTHENED with power through His Spirit in the inner man...SO...that Christ may dwell in your hearts, through faith; and that you being ROOTED and GROUNDED in LOVE..may be able to comprehend with ALL THE SAINTS what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST that you may be FILLED UP WITH THE FULLNESS OF GOD." (Ephesians 3:16-19)

ROOTED: To become stable
GROUNDED: To lay a basis for, erect, settle, foundation

These words speaks of a stability in stormy times. It speaks of the basis for safety. It speaks of something established in me...versus being tossed about between two waves on the winds of doubt, fears, frustration, unbelief, etc. (James 1:1-12)


What really kicked off my ruminating on roots...was reading the PRO-VERB (positive-action word) for the 12th....in Proverbs 12:3..."A man will NOT be ESTABLISHED by wickedness...but the ROOT of the righteous WILL NOT BE MOVED." I understand that there is NONE righteous no not one (Romans 3:10)...but I also know that "the righteous" shall live by faith (Romans 1:17)...and I also know that we are the "righteousness of God...IN CHRIST." (II Corinthians 5:21). Between no one being righteous...and the righteous walking by faith...is THE CROSS...D.B.R...NOTHING MORE...NOTHING LESS. This is where our ROOTS sink deep into. If they don't...then the ROOTS...become ROT...and there ain't nothing worse than ROTTED ROOTS...cause that's when the winds can wreck havoc in our spiritual lives.

Our ROOT SYSTEM is determined by where we walk (counsel of the wicked), stand (path of sinners) ,and sit (seat of scoffers). (Psalm 1:1) NOTE: Notice the progression of downfall is walking....stopping to a standstill...until you are sitting with no movement)

The key is DELIGHT AND MEDITATION (music to a ruminator's ears). Delights in the law...and meditates day and night on His law (mooing and chewing on the Word of God)
(Psalm 1:2)

The cause and effect of doing this is...(1) be like a tree FIRMLY PLANTED by streams of water (2) the leaf will NOT WITHER (3) whatever he does ...HE PROSPERS. (Psalm 1:3)

The contrast is that the wicked are not so...(Psalm 1:4-6) IT IS ALL BASED ON WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED AND WHERE YOU SET YOUR ROOTS.

We are called to be rooted and grounded in LOVE (Ephesians 3:16,17).

We are called to be (1) steadfast (2) immovable (3) always abounding in the work of the Lord (4) knowing that our toil is NOT IN VAIN...IN THE LORD (Outside of the Lord...it is vain) (I Corinthians 15:58)

As we enter this thing called the "kingdom of God"...it does not mean that the troubles of life cease...just we have ability to go through the storms now. We are called to kingdom living of (1) righteousness (2) peace (3) joy...all in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17). Acts 14:21 talks about new believers/disciples...
"STRENGTHENING the souls of the disciples...ENCOURAGING them to CONTINUE in the faith (of the D.B.R.)...and saying...Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:21,22). I am convinced that Paul is talking about laying down DEEP ROOTS...because the ride is going to get rough.
It is interesting that the ROOT word for the word KINGDOM...is basilia...the basis...which means...footing, foundations...

Mark 11:20, Jude 1:12, Mark 13:21...speaks of poor ROOT SYSTEMS in the face of tribulation.


FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

I hope...this encourages you...I know I needed to hear this...to be more careful about my ROOT SYSTEM...and the things that tend to choke out my garden and fruit production (Read the parable of the sower/soil/seed). When it looks like the STORM is winning...when evildoers and wrongdoers seems to...appears to be getting away with murder...take the advice of the Psalmist in Psalm 37:3..."Trust in the Lord...and do good...dwell in the land...and CULTIVATE FAITHFULNESS/feed securely on HIS FAITHFULNESS." (NASB) I like the idea of CULTIVATING....removing weeds, watering, keeping away birds (devil) from the seed...allowing the ROOT SYSTEM to develop... so we can stand...and experience harvest in Him.

Love and Windblown...but not Devastated Kisses
Rodney "Rooted and Grounded in Love" Boyd

THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY: KAPOW!!!!

Hello fellow sojourners. How's your journey thus far? In this crazy, swirling, whirling, chaotic, out of control world...do you feel like you have been blindsided with a 2 x 4...and you are waking up to a nightmare? Was your life going along on automatic pilot...where life was good...there were no ripples in your peaceful pool...the forecast was sunny, no clouds, no rain, moderate temperatures, gentle breezes...and suddenly you are smack dab in the middle of a Category 5 hurricane...and you did not get a chance to evacuate? If you relate to any of these scenarios...hold on to your umbrella...and get ready to ride the storm.

Back in 1966...I was 12 years old...immature for my age (in retrospect)...and was enjoying the new hit T.V. show...BATMAN. Of course I had been a big Batman comic book fan...and the thought of Batman coming on at the Same Bat Time... Same Bat Channel every week was a kids dream. I know have in my collection, 2 of the 1940 movie serials of Batman...and if you thought the T.V. show was corny...you ain't seen nothing yet.

Part of the campy appeal to the nation was...the fight scenes in the T.V. show. Some criminal would appear (Catwoman, The Penquin, The Riddler, The Joker, etc.) and wreck havoc with Gotham City. Commissioner Gorden would either flash the Bat-Signal...or call Batman on the Batphone...and set the Dynamic Duo (Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder) into action. The inevitable would be the fight scene with the obligatory words flashing across the screen when some one would get hit with a fist or a chair would crash over their head. KAPOW...ZOK.. ZOWIE...WHAMM. Rod...why are you ruminating on Batman? Well...I'm glad you asked. Because................that's how I feel...when things are going along on automatic pilot with a Jamaican philosophy in my mind...NO WORRIES...and then KAPOW!!!!! My world is turned UPSIDE DOWN. The STORM has hit the land mass of my life...and I am hangin' by the tatters of my faith.

It is easy to be a "believer"...a "Christian"...a "follower of Jesus"...when ALL IS WELL. It is easy to sing the classic song...IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL...when all IS well with my soul. Where the rubber meets the road...is when all is NOT WELL with my soul.

It is like the illustration that we use in the Ruminator Sunday School Class that meets every Sunday at 9:00 A.M Central Standard Time...in the Fellowship Hall at Smyrna Assembly (cheap, shameless plug). When you have a coffee cup full of coffee...fixed to the way that you like...with a little sugar, some cream...not too hot and not to cold...ALL IS GOOD. But if someone comes and SHAKES YOUR CUP...to the point of coffee spilling all over the place (on your Bible, on your clothes, on your fellow Ruminator)...you have to ask a question.

Why did the coffee come out of the cup? The most common answer is..."Because you shook my cup." Of course...the question was a set up. The answer is..." No,
not because your cup was shook...but because COFFEE WAS IN THE CUP. The SHAKING...only revealed what was in the cup all along.

Sometimes when we are shaken...but the TURN OF EVENTS in our lives...our hearts are revealed on our lips and our actions.

DISCLAIMER: It is a natural reaction to be shaken at the turn of events. Our soul (the mind, will, and emotions) are subject to frustrations, fears, anxiety, worry, depression, being overwhelmed at not being in control. Grief is good...as long as you don't let the grief become your life.

The second collage shows some STORMS blowing. Some of the pictures are real life...others from the book by L. Frank Baum...The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy was living life in Kansas...and as with a lot of us...where we life sometimes becomes mundane. The same old same old people, experiences, etc. We dream of Some Where Over The Rainbow...and next thing you know we are in the MIDDLE OF A STORM. Dorothy's life was turned upside down when a CYCLONE blew in...and transported her OVER THE RAINBOW. In all her journey in the land of Oz...she came to the conclusion that...THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.


As usual...these Ramblings are triggered by something I have seen, heard, or experienced. This one is no exception. I was reflecting on various people in my life...some close friends...some relatives...some co-workers...some my patent's that I see...some total strangers that the Lord places in my pathway as I journey towards glory.

As I was reflecting and praying for this listing of people...I sensed an overwhelming sensation of inability to help anyone. The STORMS that they were experiencing...the physical storms, the financial storms, the emotional storms...were too much. I was NOT going through their storms...but I was getting a taste of the urgency in their lives. I believe that is the nature of what we believers call INTERCESSION.

I began to list in my mind some of the STORMS...the WINDS:

1. A patient with ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease)...who is progressively loosing function in his body while his mind is alive and well. His family is in turmoil as his speech, swallowing, breathing, musculature declines.

2. Various loved ones who died...either at the hand of others or at their own hand.

3. Someone returns from a mission trip...only to find that their job of 10 years was cut to a part time position with part time benefits.

4. People reaping the cause and effect of their sin patterns as they face jail time.

5. A family who raised their son to be a "good boy"...who know has to face a life with their son in jail...facing charges of attempted murder of a girl. (This hit close to home as we know the family and our son went to school with him)

6. Actual storms raging and ravaging on coastal cities...where lives are topsy-turvey...as the waters sweep and destroy.

7. Houses burned down...with loved ones in them.

8. Loved ones dying after years of estrangement...with no chance to bring them back alive for one last word.

9. Living a life in SIN...going beyond the known limits (transgressions)...as they retreat into a life that makes God sick NOTE: This includes a life of gossiping, gluttony, adultery, homosexuality, violence, murder, drunkenness,etc. IT'S NO WONDER WE NEED A SAVIOUR.

10. People sitting around with babies in their arms because of violating God's principles...or people sitting around with the guilt and shame of attempting to correct their violating of God's principles by violating another of God's principle by aborting the cause and effect.

11. And......anything else that YOU ARE GOING THROUGH.

The third collage is one of a favorite artist of mine by the name of Bruce Cockburn. I like Cockburn because he takes his musical musings and reflects of the STORMS of this life (either natural storms of man made storms)...and intertwines them with his faith in Jesus Christ. As I listen to his music...I can pull out obscure nuggets of truth...that make me reflect on the real truth of the Word of God....and I am encouraged to GO ON...IN THE FACE OF THE STORMS OF LIFE.

My favorite album by Bruce...is THE CHARITY OF NIGHT. One song on there really speaks about the EMOTIONAL condition of me and the people that are GOING THROUGH OUT OF CONTROL STUFF. It is called THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY. Indulge me as I lay out the lyrics for you.

THE WHOLE NIGHT SKY

They turned their backs
I made it too HARD
Every place they touched me
Is a LACERATION now

Sometimes a WIND comes out of NOWHERE
And KNOCKS YOU OFF YOUR FEET
And look...see MY TEARS
They fill the whole NIGHT SKY

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 does a good job of stating the problem. Words like hard, laceration, wind comes out of nowhere, knocks you off your feet, my tears, night sky (the place of darkness where there is only a reflection of the light), derailed, desperate, hanging, by the tatters of my faith (my favorite line of the song), knocks you sideways.

Well...I find that God will let me...lounge in the chair of problems as long as I want to...but his heartbeat is to move one. Moses died...and there was a time for grieving...but there CAME A TIME...when God told them that the time for grieving was over...and there WAS STILL a PROMISE OF BLESSING waiting. As long as they were grasping to the past...they would NEVER be able to POSSESS THE FUTURE.

NOTE: Beware of pointing your finger at someone who is going through something...and having an attitude that they are spiritually inadequate because of the STORM they are going through. If you do anything...begin to pray...intercede, lift up, encourage, and yes...even give them room for a time of grieving.

As I said...Bruce Cockburn did a great job of stating the problem...but I would like to suggest...HOW TO GET THROUGH WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. The saying is..."If you are going through HELL...don't stop...keep on going...and you will come out eventually." If you are going through the VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH...you do not have to FEAR EVIL. Why do you NOT have to fear evil? "THOU ART WITH ME." (Psalm 23:4). Again...keep walking through the Valley. Fear not the SHADOWS. Shadows are only able to be seen...if there is LIGHT somewhere... so if you are in a SHADOWLAND...realize the LIGHT is there.

FINAL THOUGHTS....FINALLY!!!!!

Years ago...I went to a place in Alabama called CFO (Camp Farthest Out). It was a spiritual retreat designed to draw you closer to God with teachings and worship, nature. One teacher was Tommy Lewis. His theme was love. After one of the sessions...before we went to bed...a small group had gathered out at the large fireplace...with rocking chairs, and we sat with Tommy and he was just talking and answering questions that people had about anything. He related a story about an old Farmer who was hunting with his favorite hunting dog. The farmer love the dog...and the dog loved the farmer. The dog got his hind leg tangled in a barbed wire fence...and was in much pain. The farmer reached down...and attempted to loosen and comfort the dog in his PAIN. The dog immediately began to attempt to BITE the hand that was attempting to free him. The farmer realized that the dog that love him was biting out in pain. He took his gun...and placed the barrel in the dog's mouth so the dog would BITE ON THE SIDE OF THE BARREL...and as the dog was distracted... the farmer was able to get the leg untangled from the barbed wire. Tommy said that the barrel as hard as it was...was LOVE...to distract the dog from the PAIN OF RELEASE.

Instead of the dog going up to the farmer and licking him and wagging his tail...he RAN AWAY FROM THE FARMER...because he was in fear and still hurting...even though the initial event....was over. The dog...ran and hid out in some bushes...and licked his wound...but eventually came back. The dog would always bear the scars of the barbed wire...and even the memory of the event...but he would return to his relationship with the farmer and hunt again.

JESUS HUNG UP FOR OUR HANG UPS. We need a SAVIOUR. You may know people who are going through STUFF...and they are still LICKING THERE WOUNDS. Who do you know going through stuff...storms...winds...emotional upheaval...financial whirlwinds...physical plummelings? Let Jesus...flow through you to them...love em...and don't be offended if they try to bite you or run away...they will eventually get up (especially with God speaking to them)...and realize the time of grieving over the loss of a job, a home, a loved one is over...and it is time to get up...wash your faces, take off the sackcloth and ashes...and SET OFF FOR THE PROMISED LAND.

Love and Wind Blown Kisses
Rodney "Praying for You" Boyd