the Prodigals

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly." -Luke 15:20

In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, a young boy takes his inheritance from his father and runs off to squander it. He learns that good things run out, carnal pleasures cannot eternally satisfy, and that humility is the gateway to experiencing the fullness of love. Upon returning home with head hung low, his father's broken heart overflows with compassion and forgiveness because he is just so happy to see his beloved son again.

The Lord has seen fit to give me some dogs with prodigal tendencies. As soon as they see that we have carelessly left a gate unlatched or a door left slightly ajar, they take off to get drunk on adventure. They take off to expand their territory and explore the unknown. What they find after a couple of hours is that their adventuring has left them tired and hungry. This outside world offers not the comforts of a loving home. There is no warm bed, no familiar pats on the head, and no brimming bowl of dog food. If they want what they're truly desiring, they need to go home to get it.

When my dogs reach this point, they come to me in a groveling, crawling manner with their heads hung low. Oftentimes, I even hear a relieved whimper. I call to them and kneel on the ground. Upon approaching me, they bow as if to ask forgiveness or perhaps just to show gratefulness. What they don't seem to know is that even if they didn't display this submission, I would still be happy to have them in my arms. My goal is just to have them home and not to prove a point. If I were to yell and beat them, they would likely not be as eager to return home.

What people fail to realize is that God is like the father in the prodigal son story, and like me when I get my lost dog back. Oftentimes, people are afraid to approach God when they know they've messed up big time. They figure, "Wow, I've come in on the grace card so many times before that there's no way there's still enough mercy for me to keep doing it"-- so they put off returning to their Father because they suspect he must be angry and they want to avoid punishment. Dear friends, God isn't standing there with one hand outstretched and hiding a rod behind His back with the other. He just wants you home again. We can make His joy complete by not avoiding the inevitable. In the process, our joy will be renewed because He will still give us what we need despite our foolishness. Trust me when I say our foolishness does not shock and surprise God. This is why His mercies are new every day.

"You don't realize that God's kindness is intended to lead you to turn from your sins." -Romans 2:4

Fear does not motivate me to return to my God half as much as it motivates me down darker roads. Perfect love casts out all fear. Perfect Love calls from deep to deep, longing to have me in His embrace. Lord, thank you for being Home.

Being Used

"Everything is an affair of the spirit. If God has a way of dealing with you in your life, it is the only way. Every little thing in which you wouild have your own way has a mission for your redemption. And He will treat you as a willful little child until you take your Father's way for your own." -George MacDonald

Normally, in the winter, I keep all the barn doors shut all the time. The reason I do this is so that a dumb, pregnant goat or sheep will not wander out into the cold to have her babies in the middle of the night and leave them to freeze. Trust me when I say this has happened to us before. However, I have begun leaving one of the barn doors open during the day.

One day, my husband came into the barn and said, "Why is this door open?"
"So the dogs can go in and out and won't get cornered by a bully-ish goat", I replied.
"But what if one of the females delivers outside and has frozen babies?"
"Well, the dogs need to guard the stock."
"From what?"
"Listen," I say,"I know we don't have the biggest coyote problem, but we're supposedly raising livestock guardian dogs, and how can I legitimately claim that if they've never been tested?"

A light bulb went on in my husband's head in more ways than one. He realized first of all, what I was saying about the door being open; but more importantly, he realized what God was up to in his life.

"I'm being tested," my husband said quietly ,"So my quality may be proven."

The only way to tell the strength something possesses is to test it. I may have a sword on display on my wall and claim it is made of the finest steel, able to slice a man asunder in one swing, but if I haven't tested it, then all my claim is is empty air. What would happen if someone I had boasted to decided to remove the sword from display and attempt to cut a cantaloupe with it only to find that the cantaloupe shattered the sword? Well, I'd be a great fool.

My livestock guardian dogs will be little more than pretty lawn ornaments if they were kept from their job of guarding livestock. In our laziness, we often wish God would shut the door to our responsibilities and let us just lay back and enjoy being his fat companion. However, the world needs a lot of help, and those who have been redeemed were redeemed for a purpose--a huge purpose. When the Lord redeems us, we're not just to be pretty trinkets to put on the shelf of heaven in order to gather dust. We are to be vessels for carrying the very authority and character of God Himself.

If you are being tested, take heart-- God is pulling you from the shelf, grasping your handle, polishing you lovingly, sharpening your edge, and using you for His awesome purpose. I'd much rather be grasped in the Master's hand than to gather dust anyway--even if when he strikes a blow while using me, I get hurt.

"Then I heard the voice of Adonai saying,'Whom should I send? Who will go for us?'
I answered,'I'm here, send me!'" (Isaiah 6:8)

Apathy and cowardice
Have reigned here far too long
I wish that I could see myself
-my self as someone strong

Take my apathy and make it
Ambition for you, Lord
Divorce me from my comfort
With your mighty, piercing sword

Take away my fears, God
Help me take a step of faith
Use me to ignite your spirit
In this wretched place

For You are bigger
Than anything on earth
Lord, break the chains
That hold us to this curse

The Stupid Chicken

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." -1 Corinthians 10:12&13

In the spring, summer and fall, I don't have to haul water buckets out to the barn. In the warmer months, my pond is unfrozen and my animals can tend to their own thirst. However, in the winter months (November through March), I haul about 20 gallons worth of water daily to the barn.

Each morning, as I do this, I see a row of frantic chickens lined up on the edge of the 30 gallon water tub. Each chicken is poised and ready to be the first to stretch down and get the first sip of sparkling, fresh water. The problem arises when they start slipping and sliding because they've stretched too far. Then, they begin flapping madly to regain their balance. In the barrage of flapping, sliding chickens, a few are doomed to be dunked. With as cold as it gets, this is actually a real concern because they could get frostbitten toes or worse.

A few days ago, as I watched this normal display of poultry intelligence, I began to reflect on the Scripture that says, "Take heed lest ye fall..." Basically, the most certain way to make sure you're going to fall is by becoming arrogant (Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall"). In my own life, I have most become arrogant in the area of believing I'm impervious to certain sins.

Routinely, I make a mistake of believing that just because I'm about the Lord's business, that God's got my back and I don't need to worry about spiritual warfare. Wrong! Spiritual warfare is likely at it's worst when I'm about the Lord's business! Don't get me wrong-- God totally is watching out for me, but that doesn't mean I should let my sword drag or leave my helmet at home; this makes for a sloppy warrior! I recently have been left with the sensation that I'm reaching too far down to help people and my balance is becoming unsteady. If I fall, I know I'll freak out-- and my freaking out will likely trip up even more people. My feet must be planted firmly and I must walk circumspectly as I help people.

"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared." -Proverbs 22:24-25

In other words: Don't perch next to the stupid chicken that you know will knock you down...and also, don't be the stupid chicken yourself.

The Beauty of a Barfing Cow

"Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." -Psalm 1:2

I remember as a child when I was taught this verse. I was taught that "meditating on the Word" was akin to "ruminating". I vaguely understood what it meant, and so I would open my Bible to read a verse with the vision of a barfing cow in my mind. I would promptly close my Bible and go do something more meaningless, yet soothing.

In my current, deeper walk with the Lord, I refuse to be intimidated by the image of a barfing cow. However, God beckoned me to look deeper into the process of rumination in order to understand why this word is so important in understanding the act of "meditating on the law of the Lord".

When a ruminant (cow, goat, antelope, deer, sheep, etc.) takes a bite of grass, it's only slightly chewed before it's swallowed. Now, grass and brush are coarse fibers that require a lot of breaking down before the body can properly utilize it's nutrients. The first place the grass goes is into the rumen. The rumen is a large fermentation vat. It's loaded with bacteria that breaks down the food and gives off enormous amounts of methane. However, once around isn't enough, so the ruminant will burp up it's cud to be chewed again while it's at rest.

"O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from of old." -Psalm 78:1&2

After being chewed twice, the cud will pass on into the reticulum. The inside structure of the reticulum looks like a honeycomb. The Word of God, to someone who is searching for truth, is sweeter than honey. In the reticulum, there will be further fermentation to break down the food.

"Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." -Philippians 4:8

From the reticulum, the cud will now enter into the omasum. The omasum is interesting because it's insides resemble the pages of a book, and it is here that excess liquid is removed and the size of the food is vastly decreased. The book we rely most heavily on is obviously the bible. The bible acts as a filter for all the information we're bombarded with on a daily basis. It is the standard for truth, and anything excess is sponged away when placed next to this awesome plumb line.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." -2 Timothy 3:16&17

Lastly, there is the abomasum. The abomasum is most like a human stomach as it secretes enzymes that break down the food to it's final stage before hitting the intestines. The abomasum is the stomach that a baby ruminant uses to process it's mother's milk. If the milk goes into any other compartment, it could make the animal very sick. All other compartments must be developed through practice and experience! After a few days of life, a baby ruminant will nibble it's mother's hair, feces, and bits of hay in order to introduce the much needed bacteria and fibers into it's other stomach compartments. As it's tolerance for complex fibers grows, it's first stomach shrinks. Within a couple months, the rumen will grow to be the largest of the four compartments. As much as the abomasum is desperately needed for the first part of it's life, if the ruminant were to continue drinking milk and never develop it's rumen, it's growth would be stunted.

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for he mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." -Hebrews 5:13-14

What we meditate on and take into our inmost parts, will come back up and onto our tongues. What we continue to swallow, will one day come out of us, and we will show the world what it is we have been meditating upon. Ruminate on the Word of God. Don't quickly glaze over some passages or mindlessly recite them. These are the oracles of our Creator! Take time to really digest them, and speak them, and live them. Remember, what you put in your "think tank", will pass onto your "doo tank".

"Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." -Philippians 4:9

"If you read quickly, it will benefit you little. You will be like a bee that merely skims the surface of a flower. Instead, in this new way of reading with prayer, you must become as the bee who penetrates into the depths of the flower. You plunge deeply within to remove the deepest nectar." -Madame Guyon