Thursday 30 June 2011

TRAPPED !!

Scripture: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” I John 4:18

Trapped

One of the horses’ biggest fears is being trapped with no way out. The horses’ design by God to get out of a trouble spot is to flee. If a horse is confined or in a place where it feels trapped, watch out, the horse will fight. Fear at that time can overwhelm a horse to the point that it will struggle to even the point of death. The horse will risk life itself to escape, after all when trapped the horse thinks it is going to die anyway. This is a major genetic feature of the horse and yet man can develop a level of trust with a horse to overcome even this fear. Amos trusts me, he has learned through our relationship that he can be put in a confining situation such as a trailer, a stall, or even cover his head, and no harm will come to him. He is willing to succumb to my control and trust me. He is an amazing animal to be willing to go against his instincts to trust me that much.

Do you ever feel trapped, confined? Do you feel like you are in a place you can’t get out of? Maybe you haven’t totally learned to trust Jesus. Give your total love and trust to Jesus and he will help you cast out your fears. He loves us and wants to help us through those difficult situations. Seek for Him today.

Prayer Thought: As I go through this day of my life, help me to trust you more.

Monday 20 June 2011

ARE YOU POOR?



Scripture: “So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘ you still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Luke 18:22

Poor

Earthly possessions are something that we tend to measure the value of our lives by. I guess Amos’ value is less; he has no earthly possessions, nothing. Even the shoes that are on his feet are not his in the strictest sense because I can take those. I have a nice saddle for him, nice blanket and other tack as well. But none of it belongs to Amos. Now when I tack him up to go trail riding he looks sharp. I admit that on a ride I want him to look his best. However, when we get all done for the day and I take all that equipment and put it up, he is only left with his shoes. Funny, he seems glad to be turned lose in his paddock. He doesn’t seem concerned at all with all the “stuff” I had on him. Ownership of stuff means nothing to Amos. Me, well I want that stuff for Amos. But it is just stuff. Amos is content with no stuff and I guess I need to work on that attitude for me.

The scripture above is a true warning to us. When the ruler asked Jesus “what shall I do to inherit eternal like?” he was not pleased with the answer. His possessions were many and he measured success by what he owned. We need to make sure that our possessions do not stand between us and are search for eternal life. Our possessions, all of them, must belong to God. If what we own belongs to God then He wants us to use them to fulfill His purpose for our lives. We need to be willing, like Amos to be able to walk away from them if God asks us to.

Prayer Thought: Lord, help me to look in my heart today and make sure all that I have belongs to you.

Thursday 9 June 2011

WISDOM = The ability to choose - How are you doing?

Scripture: Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.” Proverbs 3:13

Wisdom

One of the things that God did not create in a horse is the ability to use wisdom. I suspect that was intentional. I would probably never be able to catch Amos and ride him if he was able to reason and use judgment to figure out what life was going to bring him. Amos does not make his decisions by applying the knowledge and experience of the past and then evaluating all that information. He does remember and responds accordingly. His memory is simple, if it was good I will comply, if not, I’m out of here – if I can get away.

God has created us with a great gift. We have the ability to weigh our knowledge, experience, and make sensible decisions and judgments. We accumulate this knowledge and experience and can “catalog” the information to evaluate later. I hope I am doing that well. I am sure at times my Savior looks at me and says as we are walking; “what in the world are you doing?” Hopefully He will get my attention so that I make a wise decision. I have found out that what is critical in our relationship is not to wait for the Lord to come and give me wisdom but to seek after it. I must do this as I walk with Him each day.

Prayer Thought: Let me today make wise decisions and help me to seek your guidance.

Friday 3 June 2011

Class of 1961 - 100th Reunion plans 2061


MY High School class of 1961 just last weekend celebrated their 50th reunion. What a great time we had. There were 14 of us there. We had a total of 18 graduate in our class, two have passed on and two could not make it. That really was a very good turn out.

Plans are now underway for a 100th class reunion in 2061. I will be the age of 117. Most likely not alive. May be, but very doubtful. Therefore we are hoping to somehow make arrangements for one of our grand children or great grandchildren to bring our "urns" to a party.

We all agreed to be cremated so that we can all attend. We are thinking of what kind of things we can do at the party. Any suggestions? We will see who has the most creative urn and also which urn came the longest distance. Either way it should be fun. You are all invited. BE sure to RSVP by 2060.