Deeper Furrow

  The Offense Of The Cross Jeremiah 34 Galatians 4:22 – 5:11 Luke 15:11 – 32        Free!   Free!   How can it be free?   Giving God’s revealed nature, this should come as no shock.   This world, on the other hand, demands payment to secure freedom.   It is in Her great whoredom that she reduces the cost of a man’s soul to pilfering gold.   Our God values differently.      His beef with Israel in Jeremiah’s time was that even in distress, they could not get it right.   Was not God the giver of life, freedom, and enablement?   Did He purposely organize the Israeli machine under a covenant to grind upon the wheels of slavery?   Hadn’t they witnessed His great deliverance from Pharoah’s hand?   Yet they remained the captors even of themselves.   To free, then enslave again, made no sense and God let them know through the mouth of Jeremiah.      Galatians talks of further bondage.   Sarah and Hagar.   Two dichotomous vents breathing heat to the sky.   One in the expelliarmus

  Jelly Roll Leviticus 19:28  “ Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the  Lord . ” 1 Corinthians 11:14  “ Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair , it is a shame unto him? ” 1 Samuel 4:18  “ And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. ” Matthew 7:17-20 especially verse 20 Matthew 7:20  “ Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. ”      Maybe it was America’s Got Talent or The Voice the other night.   Jelly Roll, in all his bigness, commanded the stage and sang a special song.   The camera did not hide it but zoomed in close to reveal his many tattoos.   Markings about his face and arms made him out to be loosed from a recent police lineup.   His hair, though not pronounced, must have hinted at curls

  Decoupage Revelation 18:4  “ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her , my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. ” Romans 12:2  “ And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ” Ephesians 2:10  “ For we are his workmanship , created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. ” James 4:14  “ Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. ” Romans 9:16  “ So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. ”      Decoupage: This word is fashioned from Middle French  decouper , the prefix  de-  ("from" or "away") and  couper  ("to cut).      My wife uses a rotary

  The Cottonwood Gospel Matthew 16:18  “ And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ” Acts 1:8  “ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. ”      From what I know of this tree, it is a living metaphor.   An idiom, no.   I’ve never heard a saying like “She’s got a case of the cottonwoods.” Not something like that.   But not too late to start one.      Cottonwood trees love water.   Cathedrals arched in grand array line the bottomed bedded snakelike rivers muddied in a constant current.   Thrusting up from lowered roots, its shaft competes for shadowed sunshine sending limbs to grab a desperate catch.   Hence the drive along these rivers display wonderful arrangements of structural varieties.   Cottonwoods announce the bound

  Thirty-Four Hundred Years Ago Deuteronomy 6:7  “ And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ”      To my knowledge, Moses wrote these words and they were preserved for me to follow today.   Granddaughters about the dining room table.   Grandma got out the Playdough toys.   Noah’s ark with animals pressed into molds.   Out came “sheepies and   cowies.”   The rains came down and the flood came up.   Noah’s boat imaginarily floated, suspended in midair.   No more rains and it came down.   Out the sheepies came.    Shem floated the perfect Lamb all the way to a Playdough cross.   Mr. Lamb died on the cross but rose again and danced!      Why the bother?   Playing with girls in fantasy?   No, I believe the account of Noah and how God worked with him to save Mankind.   It is a believable story made real by His testimony to me today

  The Manner In Which We Wake      Every morning an opportunity. To slit the par awakening of our souls in mesh of the new day’s dawn.   Will waves of attention give ear to the carried distortion of the last eve?   Or will we feel the gentle inland breeze to refresh and lift again?      “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”   That’s a good one.   I’ve gotten a lot of mileage of out that one.   Even as it were a job.      Titusville, Florida 1990 at a small grocery store.   I had taken up living with my sister and her husband temporarily as I struggled to define the meaning of life.   Kenneth Copeland cassette tapes and a newly purchased thick Bible kept me awake all night reading the red lines of Jesus.   Silly as it seamed, my twenty-year-old ness once destined to become an engineer in State’s training now bluffed shelves at a southern Winn Dixie.   I was truly saved cleaving to the One who loved me.      Yet, in all this bliss, I rawly learned t

  Honor Thy Mother      A quick note this Sunday morning before our small church gathering.   Marsha Jan Helgerson, born in January of 1948. Died in 1986.   She led a tormented life full of ups and downs.   Inner peace she sought after and finally attained meeting Jesus before her exodus out of this existence.   Why this morning?   Why in remembrance?      When waves hit and roll into shore, the pounding of the surf beckons attention.   The ‘ stop, pause, prompt’ as an industrial standard is motioned as the writer quills the pen.      She was a passionate person as I remember, full of zest and sometimes fire.   Playful in spirit with a quick laugh when company afforded.   A stern look of concentration when fixed upon a problem.   She encompassed the spectrum of emotion and often suffered the spin of the machine.   She was Marsha Jan Helgeson turned into Marsha Jan Cvrk finally becoming Marsha Jan Pritchard.     Leaving behind four children unattained to cohesion, never-the-less o

  A Grandpa’s Fear James 5:16  “ Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. ” Deuteronomy 6      You know they are only little.   Bustling, brightly and going out in all directions.   Energy bound then exploding.   Running faster than and into.   Exploring the promised land, will they regard the boundaries set forth by a providential God?   We will see.   We will wait…on the edge of our seats.      Did we do enough?   Did we make the long pass over the line to the receiver?   Will the grandchild generation run with the ball?   Fumbling is one thing but to completely disregard it is another.        As a grandpa, I have led as Moses from the house of bondage.   Their grandma and I were radically saved.   We know the torment and deliverance peace.   Through the Red Sea we walked triumphantly.   The enemy at our backs and overthrown.   We sought a future for our new family.  

  Jesus In The Gay Parade      We, the Church, run screaming away.   Fingers in our ears.   “Don’t look Johhny!”   They are the untouchables.   Lepers of society.   Unclean persons keeping to their own kind.   Compact them all away like nuclear waste.   How weird We must look to God!      Jesus stepped into this world to be with us.   We weren’t drawing closer to Him so He made the journey.   The very heart of the Father was poured out when He sent His son.   He was the Way to understand the Father.   Two open hands reaching as it were from Heaven.   Any picture less than this should have a mill stone strapped about its neck and tossed into the deep.      So would Jesus have marched in a gay parade?   Would your Jesus have been in with the crowd?   On the six-o’clock news, did your neighbors see your embarrassment as your self-declared Teacher hugged a queer man in compassion?      Those who are healthy have no need for a physician.   When He stepped into the world, He did no

  What Prophecy Isn’t 1 Corinthians 12 1 Corinthians 13 1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 14:40 1 Timothy 2 Acts 21:9      Wanna blast a cannon sized hole in someone’s bow?   Tell a new believer that God has a special word for them.   The undiscerning swallow the bait and barb to the lower parts of their bowels.   There it festers until the time of surgery.   This would be false prophecy.      Ah the power of those impressive upon those impressed!   With eyes wide open they run into the stick.   Blood runs upon the street as they are stunted from reaching out again.   In the back of their minds, searing has happened for smoke rises above their hair.   Mistrust sown in, and the devil laughs.      Why in the world would God give us something so powerful?   Why can’t we all just go back to Bible camp and sing the simple songs that join us all together?   Well, simple didn’t equip us on the run when the Romans chased us.   Mussolini and tanks, even modern

  In Defense Of God’s Team Ephesians 4:11  “ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ”      I’ve been rolling this scripture about in my head since 1990 when I was confronted by a prophet who said some things about me.   She did it over the podium in the congregation.   Me being new to the walk believed then doubted.   It took a good long while to understand.   Most importantly the few things she said challenged me to understand the supernatural God I professed to follow.   So here are my findings after thirty plus years.      Teachers – We accept readily that God has specially gifted some to covey the great truths in scripture.   They have the knack of bringing the Word to life in practical experiences of the current day.   We hold this office undisputable although as Paul told Timothy, all bishops must be apt to teach.   But some are better in this calling.      Pastors - Well now we have a most recognized calli

  Our Assurance Ephesians 1:5  “ Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ” Romans 8: 38  “ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” Ephesians 4:30  “ And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption . ”      Perhaps these are well known verses.   Still it is beneficial to digest them again.   A little milk with our meat is called for.   In all our striving to become more like Him, we fail to hit the mark sometimes.   Discouragement lies behind us then confronts us head on when we fall short of the standard.   The enemy is sly.   The world wants to peck on the weaker.   Even the church is there to kick a brother when they

What Does Saved Mean?      In the jargon of Christology, we must examine the etymology of the word saved.   How archaic is the word tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages, I don’t know.   But we can discover what modern-day Christians mean in this short word.      In short, saved means you chose to obey God.   Sounding rather cold, but it comes down to a personal decision to humble yourself before Him and admit He is right.   Once you admit He is right, actions logically follow.   Since He is right, He expects things from you.   He expects you to change.   Again, sounds rather cold, but when weighing our puny selves against the vastness of God, personal change is in order.   But the cool part of the deal, saved means He is your Father as now you are His adopted child.   You see, He is for you.   He has your back. A few things you are now saved from: 1.         God Himself – God cannot deny Himself.   God in His holiness cannot accommodate sin.   He warns that punishment awai

  What Good Is This Word Anyway? 2 Timothy 3:16  “ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ”      Remember those handheld voice recorders ?   Made by Panasonic possibly.   One shiny speaker with the control buttons underneath.   About the size of a small piece of paper, it entertained us replaying back our voices and music as we wondered.      Now imagine someone followed you around all day with one of those voice recorders.   It captured every sigh, every shout, and every slight word.   What if they followed you every month then year?   Could your words be used as evidence in a court of law to prove or disprove?   The jury would hold on to your word as the truth.   Could your words hold that weight?   If you are like me, I would turn red with embarrassment as my off said quotes were sounded back.      Quotable.   Usually the caliber of the word lies in the one speaking.   As in