Thursday, September 30, 2010

Passing On The Power



"Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha,'Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?'
'Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,'Elisha replied.
'You have asked a difficult thing,'Elijah said,'yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not.'
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out,'My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!' And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. 'Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?'he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over."
-2 Kings 2:8-14


My goats were delayed in their breeding season this year, so I decided to do something to stimulate them into cycling. A neighbor was giving away a pygmy goat buck that had a lot of musk...and I mean A LOT!!! As my husband was driving in the truck on the highway in front of me with the goat in the bed of it, I could smell our furry friend 40 or so feet behind him in the car! It was my hope that this buck would, by pure fragrance, trigger my goats to go into heat.

Now, I have a buck. I have a wonderful buck. However, he's a six month old baby and puberty has eluded him the benefits of being stinky enough to woo the ladies. He's ready, he's eager, he's able...but he's not enough "buck" for my goats. He needed help.

Mr. Stinky (as I shall call the sexually charged pygmy, as we had many other less affectionate nicknames for him as time went on) successfully triggered my goats into heat. The problem started when my does wanted only to breed with him, and I didn't want such an ugly little monster to breed. Poor Pilgrim (that's my lamancha buck) didn't stand a chance against all that musky goatishness in the next pen. In turn, Mr. Stinky took his frustration out on us when we wouldn't let him breed. He became very aggressive and began charging at me, my husband, and my children. My legs became very bruised up and I found myself running with a full bucket of milk from the garage to the house just to avoid getting attacked. All barnyard peace was abandoned during his short stay!

The obvious decision had to be made to euthanize the aggressive Mr. Stinky. However, how then would we be able to make sure Pilgrim was "buck enough" for the girls? After my husband shot Mr. Stinky, we carefully removed his collar. It was saturated and literally greasy with all of his various funky musks. Perfect. After we burned Mr. Stinky's body, we bequeathed Pilgrim with his old collar.

From the moment we placed that collar on Pilgrim, it was as if we had knighted him. He was now stinky and he knew it. He smelled like a "real" grown-up buck! He got a strut in his step and he promptly began wooing all of my does relentlessly. That smelly collar is like a ring of power around his neck.

What God has given to us for His purposes is no more an object to call our own than as the sky owns the sun. The passing of the prophet's cloak was a beautiful transference of power from Elijah to Elisha. Where Elijah was going he didn't need it any more. We shall be utterly changed in the fire and will not need anything any more. What we try to hold in our hand shall be burned up, so pass it on!

As John the Baptist lived his life as a harbinger for Jesus himself, so should we be living a life ready to stand aside for those greater than ourselves. The natural man wants to be the greatest and the most wonderful, but the spirit man looks to lead people into becoming better than himself. Elijah mentored and prepared a man who became a prophet with double the anointing that he even had. Make a way for those behind you to supersede you in excellence. Our life is not our own. Sow into others all you have so that when you cross the Jordan and are taken in a whirlwind of fire, what you leave behind will carry on greater works than you ever achieved.

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." -Matthew 20:16

"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." -Matthew 25:40

"After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie." -Mark 1:7

"Therefore, I urge you to imitate me...my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church." -1 Corinthians 4:16-17

"'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'
Jesus replied,'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'
'No,'said Peter,'You shall never wash my feet.'
Jesus answered,'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.'
'Then, Lord,' Simon Peter replied,'not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!'
....(Jesus says)'Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.'" - John 13:6-9&14-15

"Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." -Luke 14:11

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Dance With Abandon




Goats tend to be seasonal breeders, much like deer. Breeding season is always eventful. As dignified as some people act about breeding goats, the goats themselves forsake all dignity to reproduce.

When a female goat cycles and goes into heat, she will accept the service of a male goat. At all other times, she will refuse. When a female goat is in heat, she often wags her tail a lot (this is called flagging) and will rub her head on the male. This is not very ostentatious, but what the boy goat does is indeed nothing short of ostentatious.

To varying degrees, the male will make an utter fool of himself to get the girl. Most goats will hang their tongue out of their mouth, snort, wave their front leg in the air, pee into their mouth, flip their upper lip up, and make a series of vocal noises ranging from little grunts to full throaty octaves. I even had one buck that used to say the word "whoop, whoop" plain as day over and over. It gets the girl every time. The most beautiful of bucks will turn into a clownish imbecile in the presence of a receptive doe.

This made me think of King David as he danced before the Ark of the Lord (2 Samuel 6:13-15). He "danced with abandon" before the Lord because all of his excitement was tied up in the presence of God. Whatever is our object of worship demands our all, and our all includes our dignity.

Why did David wear only his undergarments and a ritual vest? I don't know. Why do male goats pee on themselves and sing hideous songs? I don't know. What I do know is this, though: David got what he wanted when he danced with abandon. What he wanted was an intimate experience with God, and he got it. If we worship with our eyes darting to and fro to the people around us who we think are watching us, we, too will get what we want. If that is how we worship, what we're wanting is a proper image, and we'll have it. If we close our eyes and yield our hearts to the Spirit's leading, what we want is what David wanted.

If a male goat became inhibited and was less focused on the girl in heat and more focused on the other goats watching him...he wouldn't get the girl. Quite honestly, he'd likely be the weenie of the barnyard. It's a personal opinion, but I think that when we worship God while thinking how we appear to others, the angels see us as worshipping weenies.

If I could, I would scream these words of David, the psalmist, from the rooftops: "As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father. Serve him wholeheartedly and with desire in your being; for Adonai searches all hearts and understands all the inclinations of people's thoughts." -1 Chronicles 28:9

Worship God with abandon. Serve God with abandon. Dance for God with abandon. All of heaven's eyes are looking on you, cheering you on to be a fool for Christ. You'll get the desires of your heart; so what is it that your heart is truly desiring?

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Copper In The Gut & Clay In His Hands




Yesterday, I copper bolused my goats. At least, I think I copper bolused them. It's hard to tell when you're wrangling creatures that nearly match your weight and have jaws that they are only too ready to use to your digit's demise.

A copper bolus is quite simply a capsule that is loaded with tiny bits of copper wire. After the capsule dissolves, the bits of wire lodge themselves in the lining of the goat's stomach and dissintegrate over the course of 8 months, steadily releasing copper into the animal's system. The copper, in turn, will correct deficiencies in goats. Control of parasites is the #1 reason to copper bolus your goats.

To give you an idea what it looks like when I do this, I'll try to describe it to you:

I bring a cup full of capsules into the garage along with my balling gun (which shoves the pill down the throat). Each adult goat only needs two capsules, but I bring more knowing some will get caught in their molars and chewed and wasted. I enter the barn and catch an apprehensive goat by the collar and lead it into the garage despite the loud protests of the captured goat's friends left behind. I say a quick prayer that the procedure will go as smoothly as the diagrams in a book say, and then I act like it will be so. I straddle the goat and tie the lead rope around my belly so that even if I lose my grip on the goat, it cannot bolt without dragging me with it. I place the capsules in the end of the balling gun and insert it into the goat's mouth. This doesn't work, even though the book says it does. So, after my failure, I use the balling gun the way I think it should be used. I place it sidewise like a gag in the goat's mouth, shove the pills against the roof of the goat's mouth, and then pour water down it's throat. Sure, it gurgles it's protests and lunges to get away from me, but it's just a dumb, self-willed animal that has no idea that I'm trying to give it the best and most healthy life.

Often, I find that I have a sensation of God straddling me, gagging me, and flushing things into me that I don't understand. People say that Jesus is a gentleman because he knocks on the door of your heart instead of kicking it down. I agree. However, once you open the door and call him Lord and say,"I am yours, do with me what you will," ... interesting things happen. He accepts the position of being what He is best at ( a potter, a consuming fire, a teacher, etc) and gets to work.

The Bible is filled with passages much like the calm diagrams in my books painting a picture of what it should look like to bolus a goat. Reality can often be that we are stubborn, fearful, and self-willed and won't trust that God is working things together to help us. If we won't relax and trust, God will often have to use His tools in a more creative way to ensure that His goodness will come about in us. More than once I've forced Him to have to roll up His sleeves and get down and dirty with me!

Proverbs 3:5-8 says," Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones."

All good things come from God. Trust Him. You let Him in once before when He knocked at the door of your heart because of His irrisistible wonderfulness! Yield to Him. Things will go MUCH smoother. Let us not be like a dumb beast that fears nearly everything, but let us be good sons and daughters of our Lord who fear only Him...and even that fear is one of reverential love!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Doughnut Gospel




"When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,'Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?'
'Yes, Lord,' he said,'You know that I love you.'
Jesus said,'Feed my lambs.'" -John 21:15


Last week, I heard a knock on my door during dinner time. I opened the door and saw a woman. "Are you missing a sheep?" she asked. Puzzled, I said,"No, why?"
"There's an intact ram up at the BP gas station at Route 46, and someone said you had sheep and it was probably yours," she answered.
"It's not mine, but I'll take him," I said.

Upon arrival, I noticed a large ram with enormous horns pacing between the gas pumps and the air compressor. My husband and myself opened the back of our truck, pulled out some ropes, and prepared ourselves for a battle to catch and load this rogue ram. The woman who had come to our door before approached us and said,"Oh, you won't need those ropes. He's awfully friendly. He's been here all week."
"What's he been eating?" I asked.
"Doughnuts," she nonchalantly replied.
Wow.
So, we found that this ram was indeed partially in a sugar coma and was as easy to load into the truck as a sack of laundry. He was dazed and confused and was all too happy to collapse in the back of the truck and be left alone.

When we unloaded him at our home, he was greeted with a rude awakening. Pappy, our 280 lb ram (actually, he's more like a furry hippo) was none too pleased to find another ram on his turf. The new ram staggered into the pen and as soon as Pappy had a clear shot, he plowed into the new ram's side. After a few more hits, he shook his head, gazed about and began squaring up Pappy to ram him a few times himself. After a few more intense head-butts that lifted each other off the ground, they became the best of friends. By the next day, the new ram was as keen and alert as the best of sheep. He had come down from his sugar high.

When Jesus ordered Peter to 'feed his sheep', Peter was wise enough to know that the 'feed' he was to offer must be nourishing. Sometimes, the gospel we hear is anything but nourishing. Sometimes, the gospel we hear is like a doughnut.

What's so bad about a doughnut, you may ask? It's sugar coated and has a giant hole in it! Is there someone who has offered a gospel that focuses only on the tasty parts of the faith and none of the good, wholesome parts that require discomfort? Then it's an incomplete gospel, same as a diet of doughnuts is an incomplete diet.

The Apostles knew and understood the gravity of their task to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the peoples. 1 Corinthians 15:1-3 says,"Now, Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say it again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." - Galatians 1:6-10

A 'doughnut gospel' might be popular, and it might fill pews, and it might help you feel better about yourself...but it's a lie. It's sugar coated with a giant hole in it. Those who preach for popularity preach to their own demise. Those who preach as Paul did (as a tortured, beaten servant in chains), preach as Christ did. Christ suffered and carried a cross, and a servant is not greater than his master. Beware of those who say that Jesus died so you can have the good life. Indeed, it is a good life to serve Christ; you will experience joy immeasurable...but you will also suffer, as did your Savior. You may not get much of what you ever wanted, unless all you ever wanted was intimacy with God and a life He blesses.

There will be those who have bought into a lie and will in turn attempt to deceive others. Some false teachers may not even understand that they are, but that does not make them innocent.
"There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They wills secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-- bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." -2 Peter 2:1-3

Make sure your shepherd preaches the Word of God --unadulterated. There is no truth in a sugar coated gospel. What comfort we have is in God's faithfulness in His promises. My shepherd teaches that there is no such thing as padded crosses.


"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death." - Philippians 3:10

After his encounter with Christ in which he got interrogated as to the level of his devotion, Peter understood that he was to tend some sheep. The food he was to give them was to be the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing less. To feed them simply tasty morsels that satisfied their current craving would be to doom them. As my ram nearly forgot he was a ram until he was plowed over by one, the truth of Jesus often hits like a raging beast. Shake the sleep from your eyes, nourish yourself with truth, and charge into battle with power!

We are all commissioned to preach the good news, so let this be our prayer: "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." -Ephesians 6:19-20

When I first yielded to my Jesus, I automatically became his slave. I could do no else. Out of this, a poem was birthed. This was the first poem after meeting him for who he really was, and it's my response to him:

I'm shackled, I'm chained,
I'm beaten, I'm torn;
Blood runs down
And spells out your name.
I cannot curse you;
You died for me
And I can only do the same.

Make me a martyr;
Let me die for your love.
Let me scream, let me cry--
And all for your perfect love.
I'm shaken by your Spirit!
Let me die for you
As you did for me.
You're the only Savior,
But I can die, too.

I love you and your perfect love.
I love you and you've gained my trust.
I'll die, too, and be an example;
Then my work will be done.
Let me die for you."


I shared this not because I think it's a good poem or even theologically accurate or emotionally healthy...I share it because when the Spirit of the Lord descended on me, I knew who Christ was, and I knew it wasn't a God who was like a magic fairy or a teddy bear. I want to know if I have brothers and sisters in Christ who will forsake the insignificant morsels of false gospel that pets our ego and pads our pride. I want to know if I have brothers and sisters who embrace the REAL Jesus for who He is and adore the REAL gospel and the power within it. Who's with me?!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Stumbling and Mewing




"We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead." -Isaiah 59:9-10

We have a wonderful barn cat named Sugar. Sugar is our only female cat, and she births a litter of kittens on average about 3 times per year. Always, her kittens have been healthy and rambunctious, but this past litter has not. This litter has had problems from the start. One of the kittens simply died at one day old. Another one died at four weeks old for no reason. The remaining three in this litter all have a terrible case of conjunctivitis (eye infection).

As I watched a pathetic mewing kitten stumble and crawl with her eyes sealed shut and desperately searching out something familiar, I felt the Lord put this verse from Isaiah on my heart. He wanted to point out how people are like this kitten.

What I first came to understand is that there are two kinds of eyes: the physical eyes and the "eyes of the heart"(Ephesians 1:18). Your physical eyes may be blind, yet you can have sight in your heart...and vice versa. While a wide variety of things may cause physical blindness, only a handful of things cause spiritual blindness.

In general, it's sin that separates us from God and causes the eyes of our heart to be blinded. In the passage from Isaiah at the beginning, it starts with this: "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."(vs. 2)

Jesus: hanging, dying, suffering on the cross utters to God,"Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing!" (Luke 23:34) Christ is always ready with an exchange for our blindness. He longs to give us understanding. His blood on the Mercy Seat cries out our names. By the grace of God, if we admit our helplessness, He is faithful to help us. You cannot help yourself. People (most assuredly, people who don't know Christ)cannot make the eyes of your heart see. Only God can remove the veil over our hearts. Matthew 15:14 says,"If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

Revelation 3:17-18 says,"You say,'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing'. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see."

So what is the formula for being healed of blindness? I hesitate to say the word "formula", but this is foolproof: open your Bible to Mark 10:51-52, then do what it says.
Jesus asks the blind man,'What do you want me to do for you?'
The blind man says,'Rabbi, I want to see.'
Jesus says,'Go. Your faith has healed you.'
Then, as the blind man did, receive your sight and follow Jesus along the road.


Know, though, that as you receive your healing, many people who are still blind will not like it. A servant is not greater than his master, and Jesus (who is the light of the world) was harassed and hated and killed by blind men. I believe it was subconsciously done, but the men who were guarding Jesus at his trial blindfolded him while mocking him and told him to prophesy who was hitting him. They attempted to project their own blindness upon the man whose presence cannot help but convict us. (Luke 22:63-65)

Jesus was the Word of God made into flesh. We put our trust into him and receive understanding. The veil is torn. "I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. I hold fast to your statutes, O Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." (Psalm 119:30-32)

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ: I am so glad the eyes of your heart have been opened. We have health and understanding from the inside out. We have been redeemed from our fate of "stumbling at midday as if it were twilight". Let us not forget our desperate friends and family who are described this way still.


"By setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age (satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:2-4)

We are commissioned to be bearers of light! Now that you have received your sight, follow Jesus on the road. He has shared with you the privilege of giving sight to the blind.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Pride Goats Before a Fall...




Nearly everyone knows the story of Job. Job had it all...until he didn't. God allowed the Adversary to ravage all Job's possessions in order to test his righteousness and faithfulness. However, Job had some buddies that weren't keen on this celestial insight and spent ten or twenty or more chapters arguing with Job about why he suffered. God patiently waited until they shut their mouths, then he interrupted the prideful pow-wow with these words:

"Who is this, darkening my plans with his ignorant words? Stand up like a man, and brace yourself; I will ask questions and you will give the answers! Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you know so much." -Job 38:2-3

Following this is chapters 38, 39 and 40 which all include a series of rhetorical questions from God designed to humble his audience.

"Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" (Job 40:2)

Job, sufficiently humbled, says,"I am unworthy--how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer--twice, but I will say no more." (vs. 4&5)

Nice. Smart move, Job.

I bring all this up to tell you that I am part of a group called "Raw Goat Milk". Exciting, huh? Well, it's more exciting than you'd think. It's an online Yahoo group of people who raise goats worldwide and they share information on legal issues, cheese making, animal husbandry, recipes, etc. It's actually very valuable. Well, it would be if it wasn't so much like the counsel of Job's friends.

Imagine for a minute that you were a backyard dairyman with a sick goat. You didn't know how to cure her, your family depended upon her production, and you couldn't afford a vet. Leaning on the counsel of experienced goat keepers would be really valuable...only it seems no goat raiser can agree with another one about how to raise a goat! I bet if it was your goat, you would just want to get some counsel, heal your goat, and be done! However, there are times that it gets pretty heated when discussing stupid, trivial things like wormers, mineral mixes, and preserving milk. Really, people...does it have to be this way?

I spoke with a wise goat raising friend of mine of this issue and she nodded her head knowingly. We both had purchased goats from such people that literally worship their herd because it's a source of pride for them and they don't have something greater to live for. Their name, their reputation, and their sense of self-worth is tied up in their goat's bloodlines and productivity. "They don't know the Lord. How can I get offended when they criticize my herd? My assurance is with Him...my goats just give me milk and meat," said my friend. Yes, words of wisdom in a crazy, prideful world in which we don't know where to worship. A barn is a sad replacement for the awesome throne room of God.

"What does a person gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come, generations go, but the earth remains forever. What has been is what will be, what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there something of which it is said,'See, this is new'? It existed already in the ages before us. No one remembers the people of long ago; and those to come will not be remembered by those who come after them." -Ecclesiastes 1:3&4,9-11

We can work our hearts out for something that we believe will demonstrate our greatness, but even if it impresses people....it will not impress God. What impresses God is this:

"Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his commands: this is what being human is all about. For God will bring to judgement everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad." - Ecclesiastes 12:13&14

Like Job, may we simply put our hand over our mouth and say no more. Let us walk in humility because we are but dust and ashes graced with the Almighty's breath of Life. In Christ alone is our hope, and not in the work of our hands or the vehemency of our opinions.

"Adonai, you have been our dwelling place in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, from eternity past to eternity future you are God. You bring frail mortals to the point of being crushed, then say,'People, repent!' For we are destroyed by your anger, overwhelmed by your wrath. You have placed our faults before you, our secret sins in the full light of your presence. All our days ebb away under your wrath; our years die away like a sigh. The span of our life is seventy years, or if we are strong, eighty; yet at best it is toils and sorrow, over in a moment and then we are gone. Who grasps the power of your anger and wrath to the degree that the fear due you should inspire? So teach us to count our days, so that we may become wise." -Psalm 90:2-4,7-12