The Walk Through God’s Green Fields

Wishing you a happy Fourth of July with the help of my friends at Bluepony.com.

I am going to take a few days off from the blog. I will be posting again next week.

Hopefully we can catch up with each other on Twitter in the mean time.

Be Blessed,

Cec

Tweet This Post 

Tweet This Post 

I often ponder Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

After Jesus fasted for forty days Satan went to Him. I try to imagine their interactions. For some reason, in my mind movie Satan is always played by Kramer from Seinfeld. Don’t ask me why.

The first temptation is through hunger. “Wow Jesus,” Satan chides Him, “you must be really hungry after nothing to eat for forty days. Here, turn these rocks into bread.”

The second temptation is through testing God. “Hey Jesus, if you are the Son of God take a header off of the top of this temple. I’m sure Daddy won’t let you hit the ground. After all, you are his precious little boy.”

The third temptation is through power. “Okay Jesus. I’m out of ideas. This is everything I have. If you give me some respect you can have it all.”

One question Satan didn’t ask was, “Hey Jesus, are you thirsty? Forty days in the wilderness, you have to be parched. Here is a big jug of cold, cold water. All you have to do is take it. No strings attached.”

Why do you think Satan didn’t ask this question?

Tweet This Post 

How many times do you run out ahead of God or get on a path He doesn’t want you to be on?

I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say too often than I care to admit.

I love the story of Balaam’s donkey in Numbers 22.

With the Israelites rescued from Egypt and advancing across the land, their reputation as fierce fighters goes before them.

While they are encamped on the plains of Moab, Balak the king of Moab was terrified of his new squatters. So much so that he sent word to Balaam , a pagan priest, that he would pay him to come to and pronounce a curse on the Israelites.

Even though biblical theologians cast Balaam as a pagan priest or fortuneteller, he consults with God. He tells the Moabite princes he will “bring back the answer the LORD gives me.”

Then God shows up and tells Balaam not to go with them. Shaking his finger, He warns “Do not put a curse on those people. They are blessed.”

Balaam told Balak’s princes the LORD would not allow him to go back with them. Then Balak sent a larger and even more distinguished entourage of his princes to Balaam with an offer of a very handsome reward for the pronouncement of a curse. He replies, “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God.” Balaam seems to be a stand up guy, but the kings princes will not relent, so he offers to consult with God again and give them an answer. This time, God has a change of heart. He tells Balaam, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you to do.”

I see a lesson coming.

We pick the story up here…

^{Nu 22:21} Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

^{Nu 22:22} But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

Something has changed between Balaam and God during the night. Or should I say, something has changed with Balaam to cause God to be angry with him? What could it be?

^{Nu 22:23} When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.

The LORD has decided to block Balaam’s way to Moab. So intent, the angel is brandishing a sword. This is serious business. The LORD knows something that Balaam does not. The donkey sees the angel of LORD, but Balaam doesn’t. He must think the donkey is being stubborn or crazy, not to mention how foolish he must look to his servants and the princes of Moab with his donkey just wandering off the road. Balaam beats the donkey.

^{Nu 22:24} Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides.

^{Nu 22:25} When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again.

The LORD has managed to get Balaam off of the road into a field, but he wants to return to the road and keep travelling the same direction. The angel of the LORD is blocking his way, standing between two walls on the path between Balaam and the road. The donkey again sees the angel. Balaam does not. The donkey tries to squeeze by between the wall and the angel, crushing Balaam’s foot in the process. The donkey knows which way Balaam wants to go, but it sees the obstacle, he doesn’t.

^{Nu 22:26} Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.

^{Nu 22:27} When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff.

The donkey got by the angel the first time, so the LORD had to box them in. Nowhere to turn. The donkey doesn’t take another step and lays down in submission before the angel of the LORD. Pretty smart donkey huh? A lot of times, I wish I had the wisdom of a donkey. But Balaam, not seeing or understanding beats the donkey again. He wants back on the road.

^{Nu 22:28} Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

^{Nu 22:29} Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

^{Nu 22:30} The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said.

The donkey has a great defense for herself, but Balaam is blinded to her reason. All he is concerned with is looking foolish in front of his servants and the princes of Moab. Could this be the change the LORD saw in Balaam when he set off to Moab? Could it be Balaam was puffed up with the knowledge that a king sent for him to pronounce a curse on a nation using two entourages of princes and a boat load of money to do the deed? Was Balaam going to sell out?

^{Nu 22:31} Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

Isn’t it great when our eyes are opened and we recover from the fog that surrounded us?

^{Nu 22:32} The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.

How many times have we been on a reckless path? How many times do we oppose God? Again, I will be the first to raise my hand and say too many times than I care to admit.

^{Nu 22:33} The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.”

^{Nu 22:34} Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”

The donkey saved Balaam’s life that day.

Do you have the wisdom of a donkey?

Tweet This Post 

This video from Evangelize.com is awesome.

Are you in love’s lost and found?

I was.

I’ve been found.

Tweet This Post 

I was looking at the Christmas decoration Kim got me last year which I wrote about in My Christmas Bauble. It is so special to me I keep it on display year round. It is a small plate that says, “Wise Men Still Seek Him.”

My walk with God didn’t blossom into what it is today overnight.

I had help. A lot of it.

Actually, more than I deserve.

There are three Wise men in my life. Men that walk with the LORD every day. Without their examples and teachings, I would probably still be sitting on the bench. Just by being around them, I can truly say I understand what the Apostle Paul meant when he talked about being “refreshed” in the spirit. Are there Saints in your lives that refresh you?

I don’t get to spend as much time with these guys as I like, but time spent with them is always special.

The first Wise man is Steve. He is married to my wife Kim’s sister Deb. We live in the same town and go to the same church. I have known Steve for eighteen years. In fact, the same preacher led both of us to the LORD back in West Virginia about seven or eight years apart. Steve’s witness has been the same since day one. He has taught me so much about the humility of Christ, do unto others, patience, serving and being a Godly husband. I see the Gospel every time I see him.

Thank you Steve. Your witness has greatly impacted me. I learn from you and I emulate you.

The second Wise man is Lindy. We started attending Second Baptist church about the same time three years ago. The first thing I noticed about Lindy was his bible. His bible wasn’t a showy Sunday go to meetin’ bible like mine. His bible was flat worn out. Every page looked as if it had been read a thousand times.  Once I got to know Lindy, I realized that more than likely, every page in his bible had been read a thousand times. This dude was deep. I joined a small men’s group he was teaching. Ten minutes into the first lesson with him, I knew I was in very deep water. He taught me to seek God at all costs and along the way he opened up every drawer in my Spiritual filing cabinet and rearranged everything including my perspective about God.

Thank you Lindy. You have taught me spending time with God is the most important thing I can do.

The third Wise man is JD. My Pastor. I have written about him often on these pages. JD oozes Jesus in his life, his ministry to his flock and as a husband and father. What an example he is. We try to have lunch together every week or so. We speak on the phone a couple of times a week or exchange texts. I know JD well enough to see when the LORD is changing up the message on him from the pulpit. He is so in tune and sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

Thank you JD. You have taught me the Holiness of God and how sin impacts our walk with Him. If we are to grow, we have to allow God to grow us.

Individually and collectively these Godly men whom He has put in my life have helped to grow me into the man I am today. They have taken me under their wing and discipled me.

Thank you Steve, Lindy and JD for showing me a walk with God is not boring, mundane or average.

These guys aren’t average.

I want to be like them.

A gunslinger for God.

Tweet This Post 

O’ God, thank you for the Father you are.

Your mercy and grace abound in my life. Without You I am nothing. With You, I am a sheep in your pasture. I eat the lush grass that is your Word and drink the cool sweet waters that are your Son Jesus Christ. You shade me with your Glory and Majesty in the heat of the day and shelter me during storms. You hedge me in from in front and behind.

I know the sound of your voice when You call. I have felt your love surround me and the sting of your staff. Both I pant for.

Who is a greater Father than you O’ LORD?

Your watchful eye is ever upon me. You keep me from snares and wolves. With your hand, you have given me a life of such abundance I cannot describe. Not an abundance of worldly things, but an abundance of life itself. Life in Jesus.

Who can better grow up a man than the Father of the fathers?

As soon as I awake, I seek you. As I drift off to sleep, I seek you.

Your love and guidance are more important than anything the world offers. Not gold. Not riches. Not palaces. Not fame.

You are my God. My Father.

And I am your son.

Happy Father’s Day LORD.

Tweet This Post 

Two weeks ago in my blog post Fourth Place, I wrote about a teaching God revealed to me that was so remarkable but yet so simple.

God is first in my life.

My wife Kim is second.

My fellow man is third.

And I am fourth.

The past couple of weeks as a four have been a learning curve for me.

The biggest challenge is all of the one wannabes out there. Until this teaching was brought to light, I guess I never really paid that much attention. But wow. The world is so upside down from where God wants it to be. I guess the teaching God gave to me in Fourth Place hasn’t gotten around to everybody that claims to be His child yet.

Every day I ask the LORD to help me be a four.

Some days are good. Some days are bad. Some one wannabes are getting easier to be a four to, but there are others who are past one wannbes, they are one havetabes. Whenever I see them coming, my hackles come up and I make up my mind that I ain’t gonna be no four. No way. No how. Then my witness is completely blown.

Some people ask if I am trying too hard.

Jesus said, “He who has ears let him hear.”

Do you hear?

Are you a four in a world of one wannabes?

Tweet This Post 

I knew God knew who I was. How did I know this? He tells me in the Psalms “I knitted you together while you were still in the womb.” He knows everything about me. Start to finish.

But what did I know about God? I knew He loved me enough to send His Son Jesus as a sacrifice so I could be reconciled back to Him. Did I know anyone that would do that for me? No. I knew God was a god of love and at times wrath.

In my prayers, from my perspective God seemed far away. Distant. He was in the temple and I was in parking lot W13 waiting for the trolley that never came. I didn’t know how to get to the temple, so I just sat in the parking lot hoping to connect with Him from there.

How do you approach someone you don’t know? You get to know them. You learn about them so you can better communicate. How do you get to know God? You read His book, the Holy Bible. Which is what I started doing.

One day while reading in Exodus 26, I discovered God has favorite colors. In the very detailed plans of the tabernacle, we see God saying to Moses he wanted to see the colors blue, purple and scarlet. Throughout God’s details for His house He wants blue, purple and scarlet used for several things. In fact, these colors are a common theme in the tabernacle.

I meditated on this. God told Moses how He wanted His house built down to the color scheme. God’s favorite colors are blue, purple and scarlet. It’s very personal isn’t it? He even told Moses how He wanted it furnished and how it should smell.

God was very concerned about seemingly small things to you and I.

But, we aren’t Him.

The small things are very big to God.

He began to show me His ways are the polar opposite of the world’s.

Tweet This Post 

Tweet This Post