Bounded By Strands

Greetings my friends.

Once again I want to take a very familiar passage and try to gain new insight by applying the passage to our lives today. Isn't it awesome that the bible was written thousands of years ago, yet remains so relevant for us today!

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Amen.

Lets look at the story of the rich young ruler from the perspective of both Christ calling for acceptance of Him as our Savior and mostly Christ calling us to full devotion to Him.

Mark 10:17 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Notice the attitude of the rich young ruler. He ran to Jesus. The ruler did not with arrogance call Jesus to him. Then the man fell on his knees. This is a clear sign of reverence for Christ. The title "Good" refers to God, as only God is good. Lastly the man who had all the wealth anyone could possibly want acknowledges that he is lacking the most important wealth. That wealth is the security of eternal life in heaven. He was sincerely seeking Christ. But, as you know, Christ demands full devotion. Tells the man to sell all and follow Him. Christ knew that the man's wealth was interfering with full devotion to Christ. Sadly the man chose his earthly wealth over eternal wealth.

Mark 10:25 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. I want to take the liberty here of stretching the Greek translation of camel to the word cable. I do this only to illustrate a point and certainly not to re-write the Bible. ; )

Picture in your mind a cable or rope. Notice how the cable is strands of small cords tightly bound together. Each overlapping the other to form a large cable. A single simple strand could pass through the eye of a needle if all the excess ones were removed.

My question to you is this. What is binding you today? What is keeping you from becoming a more fully devoted follower of Christ? What excess cords do you need to remove? Is your life like a cable with strands of past sins? Past hurts? Past broken relationships? Past sorrows or regrets? How about present worldly desires? Are these strands binding you? Are they strangling you to the point of not being able to pass through the eye of the needle to full devotion to Christ?

Join me today and start unraveling the bondage of the past as well as present worldly desires. Pull away each piece and lay them at the cross. Let God take it. What an wonderful thought, giving it all to God. Who can better handle it than Him?

Dear Father, we place the strangling strands of the past at the cross. We know you want to take all of these strands away from us. We must relinquish them to you. Lord help us to let go. Forgive us for clinging to both past and present desires that are not in Your will. Help us to pass through the eye to being a fully devoted follower of Christ. We praise you and thank you Father. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Devotional - Handmade

Let's look at some very familiar verses concerning the creation of man and woman.

Genesis 1:26 26 Then God said, ``Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (As a side note, notice the word "us", this is clear indication of the trinity)

Genesis 1:27 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 

Genesis 2:7-8  LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 

Genesis 2:18,22 18 The LORD God said, ``It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

God created, formed, and made man and women. He "hand" made us. He spoke all other creation into being. I visualize a very loving God taking the dust in His hands, molding, forming and smiling when the finish product was done. I can see His hands forming the woman. I can see HIM breathing the first breath into mankind. What an awesome thought. Little old me... Hand made by our God!

Now.. knowing this, don't you think people matter to God? Sure you do. But, why do we go on hurting people, why do we feel superior to some and inferior to others? Why do we place labels on certain groups of people? Why is someone different from us somehow better or worst?

Remember this, you have NEVER locked eyes with someone who does not matter to God and that was not "Handmade" by God. Therefore, people should matter to us. All people, short and tall, big and small, regardless of "status", regardless of age, heritage, etc.

Dear Lord thank you for revealing these truths to us. Lord forgive me and humble me when I feel superior to others, Lord forgive me and lift me up when I feel inferior. Lord, cleanse me of the labels I have placed on certain groups, cleanse the prejudices out of my heart. Lord, help me to accept who I am, the person YOU Handmade in YOUR image! Lord we praise you and love you. Most of all Lord thank you for your SON Jesus, who scorned all shame, dying on the cross for us. In HIS name we pray, Amen.

Sitting on the front porch.

Listening to the silence.

Watching the horses move slowly back and forth.

My mind drifting away from any violence.

Their tails switching a slow rhythmic beat.

While my entire body and soul drifts off into a peaceful sleep.

So start listening to the silence when you can.

It's natures way of calming man.

 
I love walking down this old mountain road.

It matters not which side I go.

No one is rushing up here, they just stop and say hello.
 
We talk about nothing important up here.
 
People just like to bend a stranger’s ear.
 
One stopped and asked if I knew the time.
 
I shook my head and said, sorry, but no.
 
Isn’t that great he exclaimed!
 
That’s the way we like it here, just nice and slow.
 
As his truck rattled away, I thought this is my day.
 
Kicking a rock here and there and wondering only what to say.
 
I learned that faster is not always the way to go.
 
I love walking back up this old mountain road.

Trees with their heads held high.
Their leaves thinking, "we'll never die."

But when the big storm comes along.

They no longer look so strong.

Slumped and sagging in the rain.
They bend down as they strain.

Just when they think they must be failing.

The sun comes out to stop their wailing.

Bent but not broke.

They no longer carry the heavy yoke.

Standing upright and mighty again.

The trees are stronger now than
when the storm began.

I could hear the waterfall but I could not see it. I could smell the spray but I could not feel it.

As I walked farther down the path and kept my head low I wondered if I would really ever know.

Thinking I’ll never apperceive only to look up to see that the waterfall had come to me.

David Massey 2013

"The Butterfly and I"

As I was walking through the wet manure and muck, I looked down only to see a butterfly looking up.

My mind was puzzled to see the beauty wallowing in the dung.

Once he was an egg and then a worm. Afterwards trapped in a cocoon prison from which he hung.

Don’t you know you transformed from that worm that crawled for life? Now you have wings to fly. No longer must you live in strife.

Your fourth stage of life has given you a second chance. But you don’t seem to know you’ve made it to the dance.

Lift your head up high and look at what you see. Don’t you see the beauty of your wings that can lift you above the muck and trees?

The more I looked the more I could see. That butterfly was really me. He lifted his head to say, “You too are stuck in the past.”

“You try to run but never last.” “So I say to you as you say to me. Run free old man, run free as can be!” As the butterfly soared off and flew high.

I too decided to live my life before I die.

David Massey July 8, 2013