I have dedicated the last 15 years of my life to the ideals of Boy Scouting. I have been and still am a leader; teaching the youth of my area the ideals and fun of being a scout. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take my pack (elementary school aged boys) to the local state park for their first taste of the outdoors. Shortly after we arrived, came their first adventure. The kids, parents and I, all went on a hike around a lake that was near our camp site. When we first started off, it was a constant battle to keep the boys from running too far ahead. The words "SLOW DOWN" rang throughout the park. Soon, we cam to our first rest stop. I told the boys that they needed to move slowly and keep their eyes and ears open because of the alligators that inhabited the park were all around us. It didn't take long to drive that point home, because in the lake about twenty yards away was an alligator hunting for a snack. After that, these young ones started to listen a little closer to what was being said. Two stops and four alligators later we came to a small creek that had some tall reeds and wild grasses growing on it's banks.
I took the opportunity to give a visual bible study to the kids. I asked them if they had ever heard the story of the evil ruler who had all of the male children killed? Only one could remember something about it . I asked if they had ever heard of Moses. Again only one responded. I took the challenge and taught the story of Moses' birth to the children, who, by the way, did attend church on a regular basis. I then used the path we were walking on to illustrate other life challenges. As we came to places where the path would fork or have another path merge in, I would relate the affects of choices in our lives. Along the way, there were many paths from which to choose. Some made the journey longer. Others made it a little shorter. Still others were closed to us, being blocked and not allowing us to enter. Once we returned to camp, I used a map to show the boys where they had just been. I also showed them how much longer or shorter the hike would have been if they had chosen different paths. Even as children, they began to see the affects of choices in life.
The greatest part of this little camp out came the next day at church. God reaffirmed to me that what I did was right. The pastors sermon that day was on paths and choices we make each day. Thank you Jesus for confirming my little lesson to these boys. I just know you were a Scout.
God Bless,
More later
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
A Lesson From the Potter's House
KJV Jeremiah 18:1-6
1. The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
2. Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
3. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
6. O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
In the story of the potter, the Lord is telling Jeremiah that it is He that controls his people, as the potter controls, or molds the clay. Just as the potter mars the clay so He molds us. And let’s face it. When we get mashed, twisted, or beaten into a vessel there are going to be aches and pains. Just try this. Let’s say you’re an average person. You’re not very active, other than being real good at using a remote control device. In addition to that, you may be a few pounds heavier than you want to be. Suddenly, you decide to become a professional athlete. There is just no way you can achieve your goal on your own, so you go out and hire a trainer to get you in shape. The first thing the trainer does is go over your body with a fine toothed comb. He takes your weight, measures your height , measures body fat, and checks your physical endurance. Once he has your full physical condition totaled, he takes an assessment of your mental capacity (this is to see if you have the mental toughness to succeed). Now comes the fun part.
The examination part of your makeover is now complete. The physical part has yet to start.
KJV Haggai 2:3-9
3. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:
5. According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
6. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
7. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.
8. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.
9. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.
If this seems like a strange passage to prove a point, take a second look at it. Gods people are standing before the rubble that once was Solomon’s Temple. God said to Zerubbabel to be strong. This is the trainer giving you a pep talk to get your mind in the right frame of mind before the hard work and toil begins. How many times have we knelt down fervently in prayer and said something to the effect of: “OH, LORD, I OFFER MYSELF UP TO YOU . TO DO AS YOU WILL. HAVE YOUR WAY WITH ME, OH LORD!!!” Now, the prayers of a righteous man avails much and since we are a righteous people, we should rightfully say that the Lord has heard our prayers. Now the LORD has heard your prayer; to do with you as He will. You have just designated God as your personal trainer. Oh, by the way, he had already given you a physical and you flunked it miserably.
Sin, self-righteousness, boastfulness, a haughty spirit and a judgmental attitude along with a serious lack of spiritual exercise has made you seriously out of condition. Remember what the doctors say: “Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step in getting cured.”
ROMANS 3: 23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Now you have taken an assessment of yourself and decided that you’re a mess. All of that extra baggage your carrying around has slowed you down to a crawl, spiritually speaking. You have gotten to the end of your rope and decide to go out and find a trainer to get you back into shape.
Now that you have found him, you get down on your knees and beg him to take you as a client. You promise; NO MORE TWINKIES, NO MORE SWEETS, ONLY FOOD THAT’S GOOD FOR ME TO EAT. Some of us have been here before, for some, this is the first time. The trainer doesn’t care. He is not worried about your past failures, he just wants you to have the best possible future you can. You are now ready for your inspirational talk, the Vince Lombardi speech to the Green Bay Packers that led them to the first of many Super Bowl wins. Listen close. Hear it? You are saying I’m nuts, you can’t hear anything. Listen again, this time remember, God is not going to put a Megaphone to your ear and yell at you, or come out of nowhere with a big booming voice telling you what to do and the rewards at the end. That is nothing more than Hollywood hype and drama. God has that still small voice that speaks expressly to your soul.
I KINGS 19: 11-12
11. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12. And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
You are now ready to begin your workout. Keep in mind that the first few times are not going to be fun. If you have ever been on a life cycle and can remember that first time you got on, you will understand. It starts off relatively easy, but by the time your done your legs feel like rubber bands and the rest of you is a big ball of smelly, stinky sweat from all of that bad stuff you have been putting into your body over the years. You want to crawl off to a corner of the room and pass out, but your trainer grabs you and has you doing stomach crunches then weights until your ready to drop. If this sounds about right, just nod your head or say amen. you may not realize it but your trainer knows exactly what he or she is doing. They know that in order to rebuild your body, they must first break it down and get it into a condition they can work with.
It’s much the same way with God. He can’t work a stubborn, stiff necked, soul that wants to do things his way. It just won’t work. If you want the Lord to take control of your life, then you need to be prepared to do what He says and not what you want. Sound a little familiar? “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” This means you must give God something that few have given, your commitment to do his will, regardless of what He says. Wow, that sounds tough, you say? Not really. God won’t give you more than you can handle. There are certain steps to take, however, that God needs to do, in order to make a vessel to His liking.
Let us return to the Potters’ house. There is the potter, sitting at the wheel. In front of him is a mound of clay, waiting to be molded and shaped into a vessel. Now he could just mold out a bowl or vessel in a few minutes and say he is done, but the potter knows that the second he puts that vessel in the fire to be cured it will crack and fall to pieces. There are steps that have to be taken:
1. Removing the impurities.
2. Constant cleansing and washing.
3. Resting the vessel.
4. Putting the vessel through fire.
5. Adorning the finished product.
The first thing the potter does is to remove any impurities from the clay. In biblical times the potter got his clay from a field, not the stuff that comes neatly packaged in an airtight plastic bag. This means there is a lot of poking, prodding, mashing and kneading. He does this over and over until he is sure that no impurities or pockets of air remain in that mound of clay. Even a small air bubble left undetected inside the clay will cause the vessel to explode when put into the fire for its final cure.
Once the clay has been prepared, the potter will dunk the clay in a pot of water then put it on his wheel, so that he can start to form it into a useful vessel. As the wheel turns, the potter will use his skill to mold the clay over and over again. He will also keep putting his hands in the water to keep the clay wet and malleable. This constant wetting of the clay also washes off any small imperfections on the vessel, while it is being formed. The clay is hard to work, at first. But as the potter keeps his hands on the clay, it will start to move and take shape. The potter may change that shape several times, while he is working on it. This is not because he has changed his mind, but changing the shape of a vessel several times adds to the strength of the vessel.
Now that the vessel is formed to the potters liking, he moves it to a drying area. This lets the vessel rest while it dries. The potter knows that this newly formed vessel has been through a lot of work. It has been pounded, stretched, prodded, poked and had constant pressure put on it, all the while it was turning around in circles. Almost sounds like everyday life doesn’t it? Once the vessel has rested, it is ready to be tried. The potter takes his creation and examines it closely . If everything is right, he is ready to put the vessel in the fire, to be cured. If, however, he detects a defect, or flaw, and knows that the clay will never stand up to the heat, he will break up the clay and return it to the field for future use.
Once the vessel is ready, it is time to cure it by putting it through a fire. The fire was usually made in a pit, where the temperatures would reach several hundred degrees. The vessel was then placed in the heat and left for an extended period of time, so that the clay would harden and no longer be easily broken when used. When the potter was sure that the vessel was done and cooled, he would remove the finished product. Depending where the vessel was to be used, the potter would then add a coat of paint, called a glaze, to decorate the vessel according to it’s use. Regardless of where the vessel ended up, when it left the potters house, you were assured of a richly adorned vessel that was strong enough to serve it’s intended purpose and still have a look to it that showed everyone it was a vessel made by the potters hand.
Back to the gym
You see what the potter does to the clay. Now is the time to picture yourself as the clay: a big blob of whatever happened to be on the ground, in the potters back yard. You have determined for yourself to do whatever the Lord, your personal trainer, tells you to, no matter what it is. The first step is to build up your stamina. This also builds discipline at the same time. Some things sound simple at first, but the idea is to keep on doing the same thing over and over again. It may be something as mundane as turning off a light when you leave a room, or walking a few extra steps to put a shopping cart in the cart return slot at the grocery store when you finished loading your car. When the easy stuff is mastered, after many repetitions, more difficult things come up. For a lot of people, the hard things are like holding your temper, or even more, holding your tongue.
That last one is a toughie. But the Lord is keeping his hands on you. Keeping with his program means a lot of exercise and rest. The exercise is prayer and letting God have HIS way. The rest is just that.
Hebrews 4:1-11
1. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5. And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest.
6. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7. Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
All of that exercise, must be balanced with rest. This gives the body time to regenerate and therefore make it stronger. Spiritual exercise is much the same way. Prayer, warring with the flesh, confronting temptation can exhaust, not only the spirit, but the body and mind as well. We must enter into the rest of the Lord. We must go to that quiet place, the place that we can go to commune with God. Sometimes, prayer gets turned into a bunch of repetitive mumbo jumbo. God doesn’t need to be reminded of our problems on a daily, sometimes more often than that, basis. There are times when we should just crawl up in his lap and take a nap. Anyone with a child knows what I mean. nothing feels better to a child or his parent than to have that child crawl up in your lap for nothing more than a comfortable , safe place to rest. It also builds the bond between the parent and child. The same thing is true of you and God. There are times He would like nothing more than for you to be with him and rest on His lap
Now that the trainer has reshaped you, and you have rested, it is time for you to be put through the fire. This is where things get really tough. The fire that will make the finished product will take the rest of your life to go through. That means the wear and tear of everyday life, all of it’s stresses, crises, and worst of all, all of it’s monotonies, will be with you until you go to be with the Lord. This isn’t to say that all of life is hard, when you are living for God. Actually, it’s quite the contrary. With God’s spirit dwelling in you as you go through life, you will always have that place of refuge, that place of safety, that place of rest, to run to when times get hard. But don’t seek him in the hardest of times, seek him in the joyous times as well. Seek him in the morning when you get up and in the evening when you go to bed. My favorite thing to tell people is that I get up in the morning, take a breath and say Thank you Lord. I do this everyday as practice for the day when I wake up and DON’T take a breath, for then I have to say How are you doing Lord. For it is on that day, when I meet the Lord, that the last and greatest step of the Potter is done. For on that day, we shall all be given a robe of white and a crown of glory, to be with our Lord for eternity in Heaven.
More Later
1. The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
2. Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
3. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
6. O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
In the story of the potter, the Lord is telling Jeremiah that it is He that controls his people, as the potter controls, or molds the clay. Just as the potter mars the clay so He molds us. And let’s face it. When we get mashed, twisted, or beaten into a vessel there are going to be aches and pains. Just try this. Let’s say you’re an average person. You’re not very active, other than being real good at using a remote control device. In addition to that, you may be a few pounds heavier than you want to be. Suddenly, you decide to become a professional athlete. There is just no way you can achieve your goal on your own, so you go out and hire a trainer to get you in shape. The first thing the trainer does is go over your body with a fine toothed comb. He takes your weight, measures your height , measures body fat, and checks your physical endurance. Once he has your full physical condition totaled, he takes an assessment of your mental capacity (this is to see if you have the mental toughness to succeed). Now comes the fun part.
The examination part of your makeover is now complete. The physical part has yet to start.
KJV Haggai 2:3-9
3. Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
4. Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:
5. According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
6. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
7. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.
8. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.
9. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.
If this seems like a strange passage to prove a point, take a second look at it. Gods people are standing before the rubble that once was Solomon’s Temple. God said to Zerubbabel to be strong. This is the trainer giving you a pep talk to get your mind in the right frame of mind before the hard work and toil begins. How many times have we knelt down fervently in prayer and said something to the effect of: “OH, LORD, I OFFER MYSELF UP TO YOU . TO DO AS YOU WILL. HAVE YOUR WAY WITH ME, OH LORD!!!” Now, the prayers of a righteous man avails much and since we are a righteous people, we should rightfully say that the Lord has heard our prayers. Now the LORD has heard your prayer; to do with you as He will. You have just designated God as your personal trainer. Oh, by the way, he had already given you a physical and you flunked it miserably.
Sin, self-righteousness, boastfulness, a haughty spirit and a judgmental attitude along with a serious lack of spiritual exercise has made you seriously out of condition. Remember what the doctors say: “Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step in getting cured.”
ROMANS 3: 23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Now you have taken an assessment of yourself and decided that you’re a mess. All of that extra baggage your carrying around has slowed you down to a crawl, spiritually speaking. You have gotten to the end of your rope and decide to go out and find a trainer to get you back into shape.
Now that you have found him, you get down on your knees and beg him to take you as a client. You promise; NO MORE TWINKIES, NO MORE SWEETS, ONLY FOOD THAT’S GOOD FOR ME TO EAT. Some of us have been here before, for some, this is the first time. The trainer doesn’t care. He is not worried about your past failures, he just wants you to have the best possible future you can. You are now ready for your inspirational talk, the Vince Lombardi speech to the Green Bay Packers that led them to the first of many Super Bowl wins. Listen close. Hear it? You are saying I’m nuts, you can’t hear anything. Listen again, this time remember, God is not going to put a Megaphone to your ear and yell at you, or come out of nowhere with a big booming voice telling you what to do and the rewards at the end. That is nothing more than Hollywood hype and drama. God has that still small voice that speaks expressly to your soul.
I KINGS 19: 11-12
11. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12. And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
You are now ready to begin your workout. Keep in mind that the first few times are not going to be fun. If you have ever been on a life cycle and can remember that first time you got on, you will understand. It starts off relatively easy, but by the time your done your legs feel like rubber bands and the rest of you is a big ball of smelly, stinky sweat from all of that bad stuff you have been putting into your body over the years. You want to crawl off to a corner of the room and pass out, but your trainer grabs you and has you doing stomach crunches then weights until your ready to drop. If this sounds about right, just nod your head or say amen. you may not realize it but your trainer knows exactly what he or she is doing. They know that in order to rebuild your body, they must first break it down and get it into a condition they can work with.
It’s much the same way with God. He can’t work a stubborn, stiff necked, soul that wants to do things his way. It just won’t work. If you want the Lord to take control of your life, then you need to be prepared to do what He says and not what you want. Sound a little familiar? “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” This means you must give God something that few have given, your commitment to do his will, regardless of what He says. Wow, that sounds tough, you say? Not really. God won’t give you more than you can handle. There are certain steps to take, however, that God needs to do, in order to make a vessel to His liking.
Let us return to the Potters’ house. There is the potter, sitting at the wheel. In front of him is a mound of clay, waiting to be molded and shaped into a vessel. Now he could just mold out a bowl or vessel in a few minutes and say he is done, but the potter knows that the second he puts that vessel in the fire to be cured it will crack and fall to pieces. There are steps that have to be taken:
1. Removing the impurities.
2. Constant cleansing and washing.
3. Resting the vessel.
4. Putting the vessel through fire.
5. Adorning the finished product.
The first thing the potter does is to remove any impurities from the clay. In biblical times the potter got his clay from a field, not the stuff that comes neatly packaged in an airtight plastic bag. This means there is a lot of poking, prodding, mashing and kneading. He does this over and over until he is sure that no impurities or pockets of air remain in that mound of clay. Even a small air bubble left undetected inside the clay will cause the vessel to explode when put into the fire for its final cure.
Once the clay has been prepared, the potter will dunk the clay in a pot of water then put it on his wheel, so that he can start to form it into a useful vessel. As the wheel turns, the potter will use his skill to mold the clay over and over again. He will also keep putting his hands in the water to keep the clay wet and malleable. This constant wetting of the clay also washes off any small imperfections on the vessel, while it is being formed. The clay is hard to work, at first. But as the potter keeps his hands on the clay, it will start to move and take shape. The potter may change that shape several times, while he is working on it. This is not because he has changed his mind, but changing the shape of a vessel several times adds to the strength of the vessel.
Now that the vessel is formed to the potters liking, he moves it to a drying area. This lets the vessel rest while it dries. The potter knows that this newly formed vessel has been through a lot of work. It has been pounded, stretched, prodded, poked and had constant pressure put on it, all the while it was turning around in circles. Almost sounds like everyday life doesn’t it? Once the vessel has rested, it is ready to be tried. The potter takes his creation and examines it closely . If everything is right, he is ready to put the vessel in the fire, to be cured. If, however, he detects a defect, or flaw, and knows that the clay will never stand up to the heat, he will break up the clay and return it to the field for future use.
Once the vessel is ready, it is time to cure it by putting it through a fire. The fire was usually made in a pit, where the temperatures would reach several hundred degrees. The vessel was then placed in the heat and left for an extended period of time, so that the clay would harden and no longer be easily broken when used. When the potter was sure that the vessel was done and cooled, he would remove the finished product. Depending where the vessel was to be used, the potter would then add a coat of paint, called a glaze, to decorate the vessel according to it’s use. Regardless of where the vessel ended up, when it left the potters house, you were assured of a richly adorned vessel that was strong enough to serve it’s intended purpose and still have a look to it that showed everyone it was a vessel made by the potters hand.
Back to the gym
You see what the potter does to the clay. Now is the time to picture yourself as the clay: a big blob of whatever happened to be on the ground, in the potters back yard. You have determined for yourself to do whatever the Lord, your personal trainer, tells you to, no matter what it is. The first step is to build up your stamina. This also builds discipline at the same time. Some things sound simple at first, but the idea is to keep on doing the same thing over and over again. It may be something as mundane as turning off a light when you leave a room, or walking a few extra steps to put a shopping cart in the cart return slot at the grocery store when you finished loading your car. When the easy stuff is mastered, after many repetitions, more difficult things come up. For a lot of people, the hard things are like holding your temper, or even more, holding your tongue.
That last one is a toughie. But the Lord is keeping his hands on you. Keeping with his program means a lot of exercise and rest. The exercise is prayer and letting God have HIS way. The rest is just that.
Hebrews 4:1-11
1. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5. And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest.
6. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7. Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
All of that exercise, must be balanced with rest. This gives the body time to regenerate and therefore make it stronger. Spiritual exercise is much the same way. Prayer, warring with the flesh, confronting temptation can exhaust, not only the spirit, but the body and mind as well. We must enter into the rest of the Lord. We must go to that quiet place, the place that we can go to commune with God. Sometimes, prayer gets turned into a bunch of repetitive mumbo jumbo. God doesn’t need to be reminded of our problems on a daily, sometimes more often than that, basis. There are times when we should just crawl up in his lap and take a nap. Anyone with a child knows what I mean. nothing feels better to a child or his parent than to have that child crawl up in your lap for nothing more than a comfortable , safe place to rest. It also builds the bond between the parent and child. The same thing is true of you and God. There are times He would like nothing more than for you to be with him and rest on His lap
Now that the trainer has reshaped you, and you have rested, it is time for you to be put through the fire. This is where things get really tough. The fire that will make the finished product will take the rest of your life to go through. That means the wear and tear of everyday life, all of it’s stresses, crises, and worst of all, all of it’s monotonies, will be with you until you go to be with the Lord. This isn’t to say that all of life is hard, when you are living for God. Actually, it’s quite the contrary. With God’s spirit dwelling in you as you go through life, you will always have that place of refuge, that place of safety, that place of rest, to run to when times get hard. But don’t seek him in the hardest of times, seek him in the joyous times as well. Seek him in the morning when you get up and in the evening when you go to bed. My favorite thing to tell people is that I get up in the morning, take a breath and say Thank you Lord. I do this everyday as practice for the day when I wake up and DON’T take a breath, for then I have to say How are you doing Lord. For it is on that day, when I meet the Lord, that the last and greatest step of the Potter is done. For on that day, we shall all be given a robe of white and a crown of glory, to be with our Lord for eternity in Heaven.
More Later
Lessons From the 23rd Psalm
We all know or pretty much remember all or parts of the 23rd Psalm. Let me refresh your memory for a moment: From the King James Version:
We have all heard this as a prayer or a reading at a service or the funeral of a friend or family member. How many times have we heard the deeper meaning of this passage? Not very often?
Not at all? It was something I learned in Sunday School? Let us take a look at this psalm verse by verse. I heard this last night at a service and it was really a blessing to me.
1.) The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.: For the rest of this psalm to work, you must first acknowledge that the Lord is "MY" shepherd. Yes it is true that He is "A Shepherd", or even "The Shepherd", but you must make him "Your Shepherd". He must be a personal leader, a personal God, a personal Savior. The shepherd leads or guides his flock to the place that they need to go for food, nourishment, water and safety. Remember, sheep are basically dumb animals. They are unable to sense water by smell as other animals do, therefore they must be led to where water is. Not only water, but still water. Left to their own, sheep can find water by it's sound. Think about this; if you hear the sound of running water and you are on four hooves with relatively skinny legs, how much chance would you have in a rapidly running stream or river. The answer is little or none. This is where the shepherd comes in. He guides his sheep. He protects them. He takes them to where "They" need to go. To a sheep, green pastures and still waters is heaven. This is where verse two comes:
2.) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.: My shepherd has both made me to be in heaven, and led me to that place where I can now have nourishment and water that is safe. The best part here is simple: If the shepherd leads his sheep here, then He must be here also. Now, let us get into the meat of the psalm.
3.) He restoreth my soul; he leads me down the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.: There is a definate growth period here. No longer are we just sheep being blindly led, but we are now renewed. Our soul has been restored, strengthened, rejuvenated and ready for the shepherd to guide us again. This time, however, we are with a soul; God's own image, in us, filling us, strengthening and guiding us. The shepherd is now leading us down certain paths, and those paths are of righteousness. It doesn't say easy paths, or green paths; it says paths of righteousness for "His name's sake". This is where God puts his name on the line. He wants us to follow him, trust him, and believe on HIM. It is not for anyone elses righteousness; only His. It doesn't make it easy or fun. IT JUST MAKE IT RIGHT. Now that God is leading us down His paths, do we have to fear what is ahead. The answer is a resounding NO! Remember, "The Lord is "MY" shepherd."
4.) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.: God knows where the end of the road is. He knows where the best place for you is. You may have to cross through some scary places, but He is with you, so why be afraid. It says that you will walk through the valley of the "Shadow" of death, not through the valley of death. You may see or be tempted by things that seem bad, but they are only shadows and a shadow cannot harm you. It is like being a child, left in his room at night. Once the lights go out, shadows in the room make things pretty frightening. Once we turn the lights back on and show the child it was only shadows, the bad things tend to go away. Now why does it say both rod and staff. Think on this my child. The staff of a shepherd is for the protection of the flock and to test the grounds where the flock is to go. The rod is for correction. If a sheep strays away from the fold, it is not sufficient to just call the sheep back in. There are times when correction must be administered. It is better to suffer a little correction, than the pain of being lost from the flock or worse, snatched away by the enemy. Now once you are going down the paths of the Lord, you must have a goal in site. Keep in mind that you are no longer sheep, but a soul of God. You can see this in the next verses.
5.) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.: This is the awesome part. God has made a place for YOU! Sheep won't eat at a table. They eat in the fields. Not only is a place set for you, but it is set before you and all those who would do you harm (your enemies) can only watch, while they hunger and thirst. Remember the story of the rich man and the beggar who died? The beggar went to heaven while the rich man, who refused even a single kindness to him in life, went to Hell. He could not even get a single drop of water from the beggar to quench his thirst. That, my friends, is a powerful statement. It then says, "Thou anointest my head with oil,". God is welcoming you to His house as his special guest. He anoints your head with oil as a sign of great blessing, before you are seated at his table. Now, when you are seated, the first thing you see, in front of you is a cup and: "My cup runneth over." God's blessings are so great that nothing can contain them all. They overflow, no matter how much you try to contain them or pass them around, they just keep on filling and overflowing your cup. How awesome is that! and finally:
6.) Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.: What a Promise! What a Goal! SURELY goodness and mercy will follow ME; and not just today, but for the rest of My life! God is truely AWESOME! The best part is; it doesn't stop there. The last part says it all: "I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER!!!" That is our ultimate goal, isn't it? To be with the Lord forever in heaven. To forever be in His presence, His Glory and His Marvelous Light is MY Goal; that I can reach because I follow My Shepherd. Amen.
Can you see the growth through this simple psalm. It is both a comfort and a promise to us all and all we need to do to start on that path is to make the first verse our own: The Lord is MY Shepherd. Amen and God Bless.
More later
- The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
- He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
- Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
- Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
We have all heard this as a prayer or a reading at a service or the funeral of a friend or family member. How many times have we heard the deeper meaning of this passage? Not very often?
Not at all? It was something I learned in Sunday School? Let us take a look at this psalm verse by verse. I heard this last night at a service and it was really a blessing to me.
1.) The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.: For the rest of this psalm to work, you must first acknowledge that the Lord is "MY" shepherd. Yes it is true that He is "A Shepherd", or even "The Shepherd", but you must make him "Your Shepherd". He must be a personal leader, a personal God, a personal Savior. The shepherd leads or guides his flock to the place that they need to go for food, nourishment, water and safety. Remember, sheep are basically dumb animals. They are unable to sense water by smell as other animals do, therefore they must be led to where water is. Not only water, but still water. Left to their own, sheep can find water by it's sound. Think about this; if you hear the sound of running water and you are on four hooves with relatively skinny legs, how much chance would you have in a rapidly running stream or river. The answer is little or none. This is where the shepherd comes in. He guides his sheep. He protects them. He takes them to where "They" need to go. To a sheep, green pastures and still waters is heaven. This is where verse two comes:
2.) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.: My shepherd has both made me to be in heaven, and led me to that place where I can now have nourishment and water that is safe. The best part here is simple: If the shepherd leads his sheep here, then He must be here also. Now, let us get into the meat of the psalm.
3.) He restoreth my soul; he leads me down the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.: There is a definate growth period here. No longer are we just sheep being blindly led, but we are now renewed. Our soul has been restored, strengthened, rejuvenated and ready for the shepherd to guide us again. This time, however, we are with a soul; God's own image, in us, filling us, strengthening and guiding us. The shepherd is now leading us down certain paths, and those paths are of righteousness. It doesn't say easy paths, or green paths; it says paths of righteousness for "His name's sake". This is where God puts his name on the line. He wants us to follow him, trust him, and believe on HIM. It is not for anyone elses righteousness; only His. It doesn't make it easy or fun. IT JUST MAKE IT RIGHT. Now that God is leading us down His paths, do we have to fear what is ahead. The answer is a resounding NO! Remember, "The Lord is "MY" shepherd."
4.) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.: God knows where the end of the road is. He knows where the best place for you is. You may have to cross through some scary places, but He is with you, so why be afraid. It says that you will walk through the valley of the "Shadow" of death, not through the valley of death. You may see or be tempted by things that seem bad, but they are only shadows and a shadow cannot harm you. It is like being a child, left in his room at night. Once the lights go out, shadows in the room make things pretty frightening. Once we turn the lights back on and show the child it was only shadows, the bad things tend to go away. Now why does it say both rod and staff. Think on this my child. The staff of a shepherd is for the protection of the flock and to test the grounds where the flock is to go. The rod is for correction. If a sheep strays away from the fold, it is not sufficient to just call the sheep back in. There are times when correction must be administered. It is better to suffer a little correction, than the pain of being lost from the flock or worse, snatched away by the enemy. Now once you are going down the paths of the Lord, you must have a goal in site. Keep in mind that you are no longer sheep, but a soul of God. You can see this in the next verses.
5.) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.: This is the awesome part. God has made a place for YOU! Sheep won't eat at a table. They eat in the fields. Not only is a place set for you, but it is set before you and all those who would do you harm (your enemies) can only watch, while they hunger and thirst. Remember the story of the rich man and the beggar who died? The beggar went to heaven while the rich man, who refused even a single kindness to him in life, went to Hell. He could not even get a single drop of water from the beggar to quench his thirst. That, my friends, is a powerful statement. It then says, "Thou anointest my head with oil,". God is welcoming you to His house as his special guest. He anoints your head with oil as a sign of great blessing, before you are seated at his table. Now, when you are seated, the first thing you see, in front of you is a cup and: "My cup runneth over." God's blessings are so great that nothing can contain them all. They overflow, no matter how much you try to contain them or pass them around, they just keep on filling and overflowing your cup. How awesome is that! and finally:
6.) Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.: What a Promise! What a Goal! SURELY goodness and mercy will follow ME; and not just today, but for the rest of My life! God is truely AWESOME! The best part is; it doesn't stop there. The last part says it all: "I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER!!!" That is our ultimate goal, isn't it? To be with the Lord forever in heaven. To forever be in His presence, His Glory and His Marvelous Light is MY Goal; that I can reach because I follow My Shepherd. Amen.
Can you see the growth through this simple psalm. It is both a comfort and a promise to us all and all we need to do to start on that path is to make the first verse our own: The Lord is MY Shepherd. Amen and God Bless.
More later
Monday, June 22, 2009
Story of the Wilderness
You have all heard the story of John the Baptist. He wore camel skins and ate wild honey and locusts. He also preached the coming of the Lord and baptized people in the Jordan River. He lived and preached in the Wilderness. The question of the day is: Where is the Wilderness?
Is it a place far far away from the rest of civilization? Is it miles away from Jerusalem, the center of Jewish worship? Just where is it?
To answer that question, we must first have a small geography class. Picture first a series of three mountains. The first is closest to the Mediterranean Sea or Mt. Zion which is some 1,485 ft to the summit. The next is close to Zion, but somewhat smaller at 1,280 ft. This is Mt. Moriah. It is also the location of Salomon's Temple. For those who are not sure of this location, if you look at present day Jerusalem and see the big golden domed building, it sits where Salomon's Temple used to sit. The Jew's Temple was there and in full use at the time of Christ. The third mountain just past Moriah is the Mount of Olives. It is taller than both other peaks, coming in at 1,640 ft. Now on the other side of the Mount of Olives is a small valley that stops at the Jordan River. Immediately after the Jordan comes the Trans-Jordanian Mountain Range, which towers above the three smaller mounts. It's peaks are some 2,780 ft. high.
Between the Mt. of Olives and the Jordan river lies "the Wilderness". The reason it is called the wilderness, is that nothing grows in that area due to lack of rain. The mountains play pitch and catch with the air currents and keep the rains either on the temple side of Zion or the slopes of the Trans Jordanian's. Follow me so far? This would be easier with a picture. Once I figure out how to insert a pic, I will add it to this study.
Now, from the temple to the top of the Mount of Olives is approximately 2,000 cubits or 3/4 mile. Not too far is it? From there it is only a few hundred feet to the wilderness area. Once there it's only a stones cast to the Jordan. Therefore, the wilderness is not far from the foundations of the peoples faith. But why use such a stark area to preach from. The answer is the river.
John was preaching to the crowds, telling them to make straight the ways of the Lord. He was also telling them to cleanse themselves "the right way" (baptism) using living water. He also told the Sadducee's and Pharisee's that they were hypocrites and vipers for making the people violate the very laws that they made. This relates back to the temple. Before a person, could enter the temple to worship, he or she had to go through a ritual cleansing, or baptism. The word in the Hebrew is "bapto". The people were to submerse themselves in living water before entering the temple gates. All around the Temple grounds were scattered some 48 of these baptismals or Mikvahs. The only problem was that they all contained cistern water or stored water. This type of water was considered dead. The priests cure for this was as ridiculous as it sounds. Each morning the priests would go to the Gihon Spring and fill a bucket with spring (living) water. They would then place one bucket, along with a cup by each of the 48 Mikvah's and tell the people to place one cup of water into the Mikvah to make all the water there in living. Now these Mikvah's each contained some 3-500 gallons of water. Do the math, could one cup of anything make a difference in that amount of water? The answer is a definite no. This is what John was saying to the priests who watched him from the hills. He then baptized the people in living water, unto repentance.
With a little background, it is my hope that you understand this story a little better. Also, take with it this thought. The Jews were mislead for hundreds and hundreds of years, by a group of people, who for one reason or another, became less involved with the praise and worship of the Lord, and more and more with formalism and tradition. It seemed that every time a problem came up, they just made a law that fixed that problem, not thinking that it caused even more problems later.
There are many churches that are on the same path as the Jews, even today. They are so tied down in legalism and tradition, that they have lost sight of their first love. Are you free to worship the God who created you? Are you genuinely able to have communion with God? What is God's name? What did he say you need to do in order to be with Him in Heaven? Do not answer these questions based on Traditions of your church. Get out your Bible and see what it says. Keep in mind that "The Word" will judge you on that final day, not the traditions of men. Which will you follow.
more later
Is it a place far far away from the rest of civilization? Is it miles away from Jerusalem, the center of Jewish worship? Just where is it?
To answer that question, we must first have a small geography class. Picture first a series of three mountains. The first is closest to the Mediterranean Sea or Mt. Zion which is some 1,485 ft to the summit. The next is close to Zion, but somewhat smaller at 1,280 ft. This is Mt. Moriah. It is also the location of Salomon's Temple. For those who are not sure of this location, if you look at present day Jerusalem and see the big golden domed building, it sits where Salomon's Temple used to sit. The Jew's Temple was there and in full use at the time of Christ. The third mountain just past Moriah is the Mount of Olives. It is taller than both other peaks, coming in at 1,640 ft. Now on the other side of the Mount of Olives is a small valley that stops at the Jordan River. Immediately after the Jordan comes the Trans-Jordanian Mountain Range, which towers above the three smaller mounts. It's peaks are some 2,780 ft. high.
Between the Mt. of Olives and the Jordan river lies "the Wilderness". The reason it is called the wilderness, is that nothing grows in that area due to lack of rain. The mountains play pitch and catch with the air currents and keep the rains either on the temple side of Zion or the slopes of the Trans Jordanian's. Follow me so far? This would be easier with a picture. Once I figure out how to insert a pic, I will add it to this study.
Now, from the temple to the top of the Mount of Olives is approximately 2,000 cubits or 3/4 mile. Not too far is it? From there it is only a few hundred feet to the wilderness area. Once there it's only a stones cast to the Jordan. Therefore, the wilderness is not far from the foundations of the peoples faith. But why use such a stark area to preach from. The answer is the river.
John was preaching to the crowds, telling them to make straight the ways of the Lord. He was also telling them to cleanse themselves "the right way" (baptism) using living water. He also told the Sadducee's and Pharisee's that they were hypocrites and vipers for making the people violate the very laws that they made. This relates back to the temple. Before a person, could enter the temple to worship, he or she had to go through a ritual cleansing, or baptism. The word in the Hebrew is "bapto". The people were to submerse themselves in living water before entering the temple gates. All around the Temple grounds were scattered some 48 of these baptismals or Mikvahs. The only problem was that they all contained cistern water or stored water. This type of water was considered dead. The priests cure for this was as ridiculous as it sounds. Each morning the priests would go to the Gihon Spring and fill a bucket with spring (living) water. They would then place one bucket, along with a cup by each of the 48 Mikvah's and tell the people to place one cup of water into the Mikvah to make all the water there in living. Now these Mikvah's each contained some 3-500 gallons of water. Do the math, could one cup of anything make a difference in that amount of water? The answer is a definite no. This is what John was saying to the priests who watched him from the hills. He then baptized the people in living water, unto repentance.
With a little background, it is my hope that you understand this story a little better. Also, take with it this thought. The Jews were mislead for hundreds and hundreds of years, by a group of people, who for one reason or another, became less involved with the praise and worship of the Lord, and more and more with formalism and tradition. It seemed that every time a problem came up, they just made a law that fixed that problem, not thinking that it caused even more problems later.
There are many churches that are on the same path as the Jews, even today. They are so tied down in legalism and tradition, that they have lost sight of their first love. Are you free to worship the God who created you? Are you genuinely able to have communion with God? What is God's name? What did he say you need to do in order to be with Him in Heaven? Do not answer these questions based on Traditions of your church. Get out your Bible and see what it says. Keep in mind that "The Word" will judge you on that final day, not the traditions of men. Which will you follow.
more later
Friday, June 19, 2009
I had a dream
The other day I had a dream. In the dream the Lord took me down a road, that came to a fork. On the one side was a field that was brown, dry, and dying. On the next side, the field was growing and green, but the crop's growth was stunted by a large overgrowth of weeds. The third field was vibrant, lush, with the fruit ready to harvest, but it was much smaller than the other two. I looked at the Lord and said, "Lord, why are you showing me this? I am well aware of your teachings and this reminds me of the parable of the sower of seeds."
The Lord said, "Not so fast. I said nothing about a few seeds being sewn. I am not here to show you what you know so well. These three fields are the world today. My question to you is simple. If you were a farmer, what would you do with these three fields?"
After thinking for a moment, I replied, "I would plow under the bad field and burn those crops to prevent weeds from going to the good field. Then, hire some people to harvest the good field as quickly as possible."
"That is fine," said God, "but what about the field full of weeds?"
"I am not sure." I answered. "I do know that I don't want those weeds to get into the good field."
"My answer for you is this: You don't want to condemn a field because of the weeds that have grown in it. Your only option is to go into the field, one step at a time and remove those weeds one by one. Don't expect the field to grow immediately, it will take a little time. Once the weeds are removed, the crops will not have to battle for nutrients and then they can grow and be harvested.
The same thing applies to witnessing to the lost. Some are not going to turn and listen to My word. Others are being strangled by false teachings and are unable to grow. The work is much harder than just letting them go, but the rewards are much greater. I never said this would be easy. You must be firm and resolute, removing one weed at a time, until that which was planted has room to grow."
I then saw the weed infested field grow clean and much larger than ever. It was soon ready for harvest.
Remember, anything worth saving is worth working for.
More later.
The Lord said, "Not so fast. I said nothing about a few seeds being sewn. I am not here to show you what you know so well. These three fields are the world today. My question to you is simple. If you were a farmer, what would you do with these three fields?"
After thinking for a moment, I replied, "I would plow under the bad field and burn those crops to prevent weeds from going to the good field. Then, hire some people to harvest the good field as quickly as possible."
"That is fine," said God, "but what about the field full of weeds?"
"I am not sure." I answered. "I do know that I don't want those weeds to get into the good field."
"My answer for you is this: You don't want to condemn a field because of the weeds that have grown in it. Your only option is to go into the field, one step at a time and remove those weeds one by one. Don't expect the field to grow immediately, it will take a little time. Once the weeds are removed, the crops will not have to battle for nutrients and then they can grow and be harvested.
The same thing applies to witnessing to the lost. Some are not going to turn and listen to My word. Others are being strangled by false teachings and are unable to grow. The work is much harder than just letting them go, but the rewards are much greater. I never said this would be easy. You must be firm and resolute, removing one weed at a time, until that which was planted has room to grow."
I then saw the weed infested field grow clean and much larger than ever. It was soon ready for harvest.
Remember, anything worth saving is worth working for.
More later.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
How to hand feed a trophy buck
Hello all my friends. This is my first shot at this, but let's just see what happens. Have you ever wondered why you work so hard at witnessing to all different types of people and gotten only a interested people at best. Well, let's sit back and examine, not what you did, but rather a story of an event that actually occurred to me.
Many years ago, my wife,and I went camping with my parents, who had just purchased a new recreational vehicle. We had talked them into going to Inks Lake State Park, in the Hill Country of Texas. The area had been parched due to a severe drought and many of the animals were in fear of starving due to lack of food, especially the deer population. A favorite pastime in the park was to throw corn and feed to the deer, to get them to come closer. My three year old son decided that he, too, wanted to feed the deer. To his dismay, the deer ran away the second he started to chase them.
After a few moments, I tried to show my son how to entice the deer. So, I took a bag of corn and walked slowly in the direction of the deer (all does and 2 bucks) and then knelt down in an open area, next to a few trees. I then tossed out some feed so that the deer would know what I had. During this whole time I remained as still as possible and let the deer make all the moves. after about fifteen minutes I had several deer eating from my hand.
It was then that I spotted a 10 point buck in the tree line, watching intently. I had his doe eating from my hand and several others coming to me willingly. I made a subtle motion for the other doe to move aside, which she did. I then repeated my steps to this trophy buck. I tossed a few kernels of corn in his direction and left the rest to him. I held a large amount of corn in my hand, stayed in a kneeling position and offered the corn to him without moving. He still would not come toward me, but he did watch me very carefully. Eventually, his hunger overcame his fear and he moved toward me. It took the better part of 1/2 hour to 45 minutes for me to coax the buck close to me. Once he started eating the corn from my hand, I could hear the sound of several different cameras going off at once. I tried to ignore them and continued to feed this proud animal. He even allowed me to pet him after a few minutes of grazing. I allowed him to finish of the bag of corn I had, in return for his trust. When I finally got up and returned to my family, there were a lot of people wondering how I pulled that off. They all said that you could easily tempt a doe, but the bucks were impossible to get. I just replied patience is not only a virtue, but a necessity.
The moral to this is simple. If you want to be a good witness for the Lord, do not force yourself on to and individual or situation. Remain still and encouraging offering only small amounts of the bread of life. If they hunger enough, they will come to you. Finally, the more stubborn they appear to be, the more calm, still, and intent you must be. Remember the old saying " Good things come to those who wait."
PS A lot of prayer is also a good thing.
Many years ago, my wife,and I went camping with my parents, who had just purchased a new recreational vehicle. We had talked them into going to Inks Lake State Park, in the Hill Country of Texas. The area had been parched due to a severe drought and many of the animals were in fear of starving due to lack of food, especially the deer population. A favorite pastime in the park was to throw corn and feed to the deer, to get them to come closer. My three year old son decided that he, too, wanted to feed the deer. To his dismay, the deer ran away the second he started to chase them.
After a few moments, I tried to show my son how to entice the deer. So, I took a bag of corn and walked slowly in the direction of the deer (all does and 2 bucks) and then knelt down in an open area, next to a few trees. I then tossed out some feed so that the deer would know what I had. During this whole time I remained as still as possible and let the deer make all the moves. after about fifteen minutes I had several deer eating from my hand.
It was then that I spotted a 10 point buck in the tree line, watching intently. I had his doe eating from my hand and several others coming to me willingly. I made a subtle motion for the other doe to move aside, which she did. I then repeated my steps to this trophy buck. I tossed a few kernels of corn in his direction and left the rest to him. I held a large amount of corn in my hand, stayed in a kneeling position and offered the corn to him without moving. He still would not come toward me, but he did watch me very carefully. Eventually, his hunger overcame his fear and he moved toward me. It took the better part of 1/2 hour to 45 minutes for me to coax the buck close to me. Once he started eating the corn from my hand, I could hear the sound of several different cameras going off at once. I tried to ignore them and continued to feed this proud animal. He even allowed me to pet him after a few minutes of grazing. I allowed him to finish of the bag of corn I had, in return for his trust. When I finally got up and returned to my family, there were a lot of people wondering how I pulled that off. They all said that you could easily tempt a doe, but the bucks were impossible to get. I just replied patience is not only a virtue, but a necessity.
The moral to this is simple. If you want to be a good witness for the Lord, do not force yourself on to and individual or situation. Remain still and encouraging offering only small amounts of the bread of life. If they hunger enough, they will come to you. Finally, the more stubborn they appear to be, the more calm, still, and intent you must be. Remember the old saying " Good things come to those who wait."
PS A lot of prayer is also a good thing.
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