Tim Boyd's Blog

I read some more very disheartening words in my study this morning.  I have read through the New Testament a few times toward the end of last year so I decided to get into the Old Testament historical books.  They are much harder for me to translate into my own life.  These verses, however, are not very hard to translate into the modern world. 1 Samuel 8:4-9 "So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.  But when they said, "Give us a ing to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.  And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.  As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you."

Here is a special treat for those of you who follow this blog.  (Not just the people who click over from facebook).  In my reading this morning I read the prayer of Hannah found in 1 Samuel 2.  I will post her prayer because it is awesome.  If you would really like the full meaning - you should take just a moment to read 1 Samuel chapter 1.  Go to biblegateway.com and type it in if you don't have a Bible close. Then Hannah prayed and said:    “My heart rejoices in the LORD;    in the LORD my horn  is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies,    for I delight in your deliverance.   “There is no one holy like the LORD;    there is no one besides you;    there is no Rock like our God.   “Do not keep talking so proudly    or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows,    and by him deeds are weighed.  “The bows of the warriors are broken,    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.   Those who were full hire themselves out for food,  

A few days ago I was trapped in a carwash line.  It was terrible.  Not really, but it's a funny story.  I had dropped Mindy off at the grocery store and I went to vacuum out the van.  I like to use the carwash vacuums because they are super powerful and we had just got back from vacation so the van was filthy.  I made a joke that I was going to get a carwash.  Mindy thinks they are a HUGE waste of money.  I don't.  So I vacuum out the car and leave with no carwash.  I drive around the corner to get gas.  After I fill up I notice that the line is long so I go one business down in order to pull onto the road from their driveway.  This business happens to be a carwash and I get stuck in their parking lot.  I try to get out and find myself in the car wash line.  Great!  I knew Mindy would make fun of me if I got a carwash.  So I am going to reverse and just drive back.  Immediately a truck comes in behind me and I am stuck.  So I picked Mindy up with a very clean van. How much of

Jesus has come to give all of humanity freedom.  As Americans, don't we already have freedom?  In fact, doesn't the new testament of the Bible teach things like; being a slave to Christ, to serve God, and to die to ourselves?  Once again it seems like Jesus has taught us a whole different way to understand something, freedom. In his masterful work, The Importance of Being Foolish: How to think like Jesus , Brennan Manning writes these words on the subject. "Often our preoccupation with the three most basic human desires - security, pleasure, and power - is the cloak that covers transparency.  The endless struggle for enough money, good feelings, and prestige yields a rich harvest of worry, frustration, suspicion, anger, jealousy, anxiety, fear, and resentment.  These powerful, emotionally-backed desires cause 99 percent of the self-inflicted and unnecessary suffering in our lives." I think it's simple.  If I make decisions like most people I will make the de