Sanding My Feet

How beautiful are the feet....

Having a 65 year old foot takes up time that has been allocated for things like: reaching for success, doing good for others, growing in my Faith Walk, spending time with those we love, etc. It is very tiring and boring, getting the file out (looks like a grater for cheese), spending time 'sanding' the foot, a lot of time. Then there is the ointment, the creme to keep it from cracking. Today, during the boring task of restoring my feet, this text came to mind.

Just an ugly 65 year old foot

•  How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news.. Isaiah 52:7
•  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!" Romans 10:15

Let's put those text written in perspective to when they were written. Many had to walk everywhere they went. Plus they did not have hiking boots or high dollar sports shoes. No insoles made of memory foam, most were just sandals. Remember the environment, have you been to Israel? Have you seen the desert, the rocky terrain? What about those areas were the weeds are growing, climbing to En-gedi (it was muddy and slick with rocks and vegetation).

Sitting there, sander in hand, creme on the table beside the chair, all I could think was, 'Really?'. Then the devotion the Lord had began to become clear.

As our feet get older, carry the scares of adventurous lives, show the stress of caring for family and friends, the burden of the load of serving in the Kingdom there were some warnings: The foot can become dry, cracked, rough and very ugly.

If the foot is not 'sanded', adverse situations grinding on the foot, it becomes so calloused and abrasive no one can stand to touch it, looking at it is bad enough. There should be a joy inside of us when we encounter adversity, it is removing the callouses, keeping us smooth. Preparing us to hurled into a world of evil as one of the smooth stones a Shepherd boy picked up, hurled toward a giant's forehead which caused that enemy to fall to the ground.

The creme keeps me teachable and pliable in the hands of an Almighty God, the Holy Spirit. Can you see balm of Gilead in His hands rubbing it into the hardness of the callous and the pain the adversity to get me tender again. Callouses brought by so many miles of demanding, spiritual terrain that no one has taken the time to look at my 'feet' to notice.

Feet, who goes around looking at people's feet? How many times have you seen people 'model' their feet? Oh, there is the craze of flip flops and women in open toed shoes but most of us men never care for our feet and never notice the feet of anyone else. Yet, it is the feet the Lord inspired the author's to pen that was beautiful.

As the time came for the creme to applied, it said on the directions, 'massage thoroughly into the skin and in extreme situations, cover with a cotton sock for quick healing'. Now, that is in incredible advise:

• Get alone with the Holy Spirit today and allow Him to massage His love and tender care into your life. Let Him take that sweet balm of Gilead and refresh your journey. 
• If you are hurting really bad, the callouses are really hard and the cracks have made it difficult to sleep at night due to catching on the sheets, let the Holy Spirit cloak you with His sweet presence and bring you peace. He is still able to calm the storm in your life or maybe, just maybe, He is desiring to just wrap you in the Power of Grace to get you through the storm! 

Feet.... beautiful, only in His presence when they are doing what they were designed to do.... take the Good News, the Gospel to a hurting and dying world. Remember, we are M25, a ministry outside the four walls. The question screaming inside me, 'Are you living your life in the desert areas of your community?' 'Are you taking the risk that your feet might take you to some dangerous places?' 'Are you actually traveling enough outside to even expose your feet to pain?' 

A day to ponder......

Toys For Life Motorcycle Ride

TOYS FOR LIFE

November 21, 2016 at 7 pm will be a historic moment! 

Motorcycles joining together for a rally at the Chapel on the property of Falcon Children's Home to bring physical, emotional, financial and spiritual support for the ladies living at the Royal Home Ministries. RHM is a beautiful home for girls who have an unexpected pregnancy who have no support at home. This is a  place they can stay with their baby until they are 21 years of age to receive support, motherhood training and finish their education. 

First 50 Bikes receives this patch free

The Rally will feature speakers and drama skits from guest and the girls in the home. It will be a power packed one hour event. 

Then at 8 pm, the bikes, dressed in Christmas Lights, will lead the other participants (carrying lit candles) to the Royal Home Ministries. Upon arrival there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly acquired Baby Boutique building. This will be a place where the girls can go and get the needs for their baby free of charge. This facility was purchased with money raised from the 50CC Diaper Run in 2016 and will store the 56,000 plus diapers and 62,000 plus baby wipes along with the toys for their baby's Christmas and birthdays. 

Everyone is encouraged to bring a toy for a baby 0-3 years of age, both girl and boy. We are asking for new toys, wrapped in original package and no stuffed animals. 

Ladies are encouraged to come and assist in preparing a breakfast, led by Carolyn Burd, for the ladies living in the home at 7 am the next morning. This will be a great time to let these girls know you care for them in their crisis. 

We look forward to seeing you at this exciting, first ever (which we hope will be an annual event). Then hang around for the Harvest Train the next morning. 

For more information, please feel free to call Gary Burd 806-670-9669 or Carolyn Burd 806-570-4556 or email us at gburd@arn.net. 

Street Wisdom

On this beautiful autumn morning, riding from the motel to the church I was scheduled to speak, the urge to stop and visit with neighborhood, street people overtook me. The desire to hear their thoughts were too much to pass by. The message burning in my soul was about the church experiencing a 'Genesis Work' of 'recreation'. It appeared the best thing to do was to affirm the felt need with facts. The community has changed, racially and economically with most of the church members driving in from other communities. A beautiful facility filled with wonderful Christians but not so connected to the community, however the pastor certainly desired to see the community transformed by the Grace of God.

The first encounter, a man in his 60's, all alone, was hesitant to talk to a stranger, much less one riding a Harley Davidson. The question was poised, 'what kind of neighborhood is this?'. Quickly he responded, 'a good neighborhood' and then tried to abandon our visit. After having several questions to keep him engaged, he finally said, 'look, we need help. Killings when you don't even know who it was that killed you. Senseless killings. A church could help the neighborhood'. The frustration and pain of living in a place of impending danger rose to the top and with that he departed stating, 'just help our neighborhood' over and over.

The next encounter was three men in a parking lot of a convenience store. The conversation was okay as long as we kept it brief. "What do you think a church can do to help this neighborhood?" Steve (did not get his last name) started off by saying, 'now I have a knowledge of what is right but I am not saying that I am living right'. Wow, honesty is a good ground to start on. The next words of wisdom overtook me on this bright, crisp morning.

• His opening statement was, 'a church should integrate.' (Isn't this interesting, here is an African-American talking to a white man about a predominately white church and the first words were integration. Maybe integration of the church could be a desire that all have but seldom cross the line?)

• When asked how do we integrate he stated, 'I think it would be good to go door to door and tell them they are welcomed.' (I must admit this one threw me. It has appeared door to door was not effective, yet the cry was, 'come on out and visit my house and let me know I am invited to your church'. Not an outreach, not a special service but tell me it is okay to just come and participate in regular church.)

• A break long enough to take a drag off the cigarette in his mouth and a flip of the butt into the parking lot was followed by, 'you see, most of the church people think that the work begins when people walks in the door. You know, that is what's wrong, the church needs to come out here and talk to us'. (That is wisdom for sure, when we state we are 'working' for the Lord it most generally refers to our service to the church folks in the church building.)

• Then out of his mouth rolled some very profound words, 'You know, most of the people put on their grave clothes, yeah that's right, they dress all up for death, go to church and forget they were once just like many of us out here. They are people who have forgotten what it was like when you could not seem to get out of the situation and condition you are in. They talk down to you because they forgot. If they want to speak to me, talk about how you overcame because you were down here also. (Oh my, this one is very painful, we are seen as people who have forgotten our failures and make people in failing situations feel small. Could we speak from a time we were not so strong? Oh, please don't go so far as to constantly talk about the days of destruction in your life but allude to those days when you were not so strong and give hope.)

• 'You know, there are a lot of people giving food and that is good and you can never do enough of that'. (Refreshing he brought this up into the conversation. He recognized there were those who were trying to help and was thankful.)

We parted after some small talk about riding the motorcycle 1500 miles to be there. Then he called David over and another man who was an Army veteran (of course thanking him for his service) and introduced me.

He carried on to another day in a life of existence and for me, I fired up the bike and rode with a new passion and desire to assist churches get outside the four walls and love people. Listen to them, rather than appear you have all the answers. Go out of the way and just become part of their community. Don't 'act like you care', they can see through that. Listen until you 'do care' with a heart of love and true concern. 

After sharing this with the church in the sermon on God desiring to do a 'Genesis Week' in the church, it appeared it encouraged some and enlightened others. Oh, we look over those who were even angered by taking their time on Sunday morning to discuss such a subject as a church becoming community. 

Feeling refreshed and blessed on this Sunday evening.