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In this newsletter, I'm going to stray a bit from my norm by not drawing similarities in horse behavior in order to zero in on todays subject. Of course, I confess, doing so almost feels like a throwback to the many years I spent on the road as an evangelist without a horse! No doubt, my horses are a great "visual" for helping me teach biblical faith. Keeping that in mind, I've still included a few pictures here that may help to give you a clearer picture of what I want to share. So, having said all that, let's jump right in!
Have you ever had something happen to you that was downright bad, rotten, or even tragic? If you're breathing and you've lived long enough, chances are you've experienced all three happenstances - bad, rotten, and tragic! So, why does God allow bad, rotten, and tragic things to happen? To answer that question, we'd have to go back to the Garden of Eden and take a long, in-depth look at the fall of man. Suffice to say, when Eve chose to disobey God's command and eat from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil", and in turn, enticed Adam to do so, together they unleashed a world of sin that would not only change their lives, but it would change the lives of every man, woman, boy, and girl, without exception, from that point forward. It goes without saying, God did, and still does take sin seriously!
And the Lord God commanded the man, "'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die."
(Genesis 2: 16 - 17, NIV)
Perhaps Adam and Eve believed they had dodged a bullet when they did not die immediately (a physical death) after disobeying God's commandment to not eat of this specific tree. But, in fact, the cost of their sin would be even more deadly. It would result not only in their eventual physical death, but more importantly, it ushered in man's spiritual death and separation from God. But then, God. I love those few simple words, "But then, God...". But then God did for us what we could not do for ourselves! No, He did not erase the Adamite sin and it's ultimate effects on the world, but He did erase sin's ultimate effect on you and me by paying a debt we could not pay. And how did God do that? In His infinite mercy and grace, God gave His only begotten Son as a ransom for you and me. In other words, our freedom from the wages of sin was purchased with a price. The price was the blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Will there still be bad, rotten, and sometimes even tragic things that happen in this world? The answer is yes. But for those of us who love God, and who have been called according to His purpose, we know that He is working all these things - not just some things - but all these things together for our good.
"What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to Holiness and the result is eternal life."
(Romans 6" 21 - 23, NIV)
SMALL GATES
and
NARROW ROADS
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
(Matthew 7: 13 - 14, NIV)
Horses instinctively hate tight spaces, and gates are
often their worst nightmare. That's exactly why I
teach my horse to walk quietly through tight spaces such
as this narrow gate. If he can't trust me enough to walk
through the narrow gate, then how can he trust me when
we come to the bridge over troubled water?
In Romans 8: 28 (see above scripture at top of newsletter) we're told that God "works for our good". Is this a blanket statement that covers everyone? No, in fact, it pertains to a select few. Of course, this goes completely against the grain of political correctness and man's pursuit to balance the playing field by making everyone equal. However, God is not concerned with being politically correct nor is He concerned with being all-inclusive (i.e. adjective: including everything and everyone). This scripture makes clear that God's promise to work for our good is a "qualified" promise. So, who is qualified for this miraculous provision of protection? The Bible doesn't mince words. The Bible says that God is working for the good of "those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose". Ahhh, this is where it gets tricky. If you were to ask most people, they would say they believe in God. But listen closely - believing in God isn't the qualification that causes God to work for good on one's behalf. No, it goes much deeper. If we want God to work for our good, then we have to do more than just believe in God - we have to love God. And according to the Bible, God can prove the validity of our love by whether or not we keep His commandments!
WE PROVE WE LOVE GOD
WHEN WE KEEP HIS
COMMANDMENTS
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
(John 14: 15, ESV)
Samson learning to cross a bridge over troubled waters. Okay, so it's not a bridge over troubled water. But sand
will work. Just ask Moses and the Israelites! It is one
thing to enter by the narrow gate, but it will take
something more for my horse to walk confidently
across the bridge. It will take obedience!
This brings us to an important and obvious question. How can we know if we truly love God with all our heart? After all, most of us who have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior think that we do love Him, right? But are our feelings of love enough proof? According to scripture, the answer is no. Why? Feelings come and go. We may "feel" like we love God when the going is great, but we may not feel the love so much when the going gets tough and we're suddenly faced with a bad, rotten, or tragic happenstance. So, how can we know if we really love God? We can know the answer in the same way that God knows the answer. And the answer is in this question. Are you keeping God's commandments? If your answer is yes, then you love God, but if your answer is no, then, probably not so much!
Ahhh, once again, we have another one of those sticky, politically incorrect, qualifying statements, "If you love me, you will keep (obey) my commandments". Don't you wish God would sometimes just mince a few words just to make things easier for us? Alas, He doesn't mince words, lest we misunderstand what He is saying. God is saying that He has high expectations for His children. He expects our love, and hence, He demands our obedience. Finally, I'm left with a question for you and me. Would God have asked us to prove our love by obeying His commandments if it were impossible to do? Absolutely not! Obedience is a choice we are all free to make, and God has equipped us to make the right choice through the delegated power of Jesus Christ in our life. No doubt, our choice to obey God's commandments (or not) is a litmus test of the highest order. And within that choice is the answer to life's greatest question. "Do we really love God?" If we do, then we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that in all things - God is working for our good!
UPDATE ON SAMSON,
MY WAR HORSE!
Samson is enjoying lots of rest-time and munching on timothy hay each day while he is rehabilitating
from a bout with coughing, labored breathing, and
also a severe injury to his right back leg. Throughout
it all, he has been an amazing horse with the
will to fight every battle. He is my War Horse!
In the last newsletter update (see Archive Button below, Title: Heart and Try), I shared how Samson and I are winning this unexpected "health war" that we find ourselves in - one battle at a time. As I've said before, don't be surprised if that ends up being the subject of a future newsletter teaching! If you've been following the updates, you know that our first fight was Samson's sudden onset of coughing, and later, his labored breathing. In the midst of all that, Sam developed a minor rash at his jawline, then some swelling under his belly. Again, I reiterate what I've said before, previous to all this, Sam had never been sick a day in his life, or taken a lame step. And then, ...
Sorry, this is not a pretty picture, but it shows the
extent of the serious injury to Samson's right back leg.
This picture is after several weeks of treating it with
cleaning and bandaging daily. The granular tissue
that you see is actually the body forming "new skin",
and closing up the gap. Such is the ability of God's
miraculous creation to renew and regenerate itself!
Once again, out-of-the-blue, someway, somehow, things took another down-hill turn. Sam mysteriously cut his back right leg while out at pasture (we have yet to find the culprit), and narrowly missed slicing some vital tendons and ligaments. This was the last straw, and I declared war. I also gave my horse a new name for this season we are walking through - War Horse! No doubt, the past two months have felt a bit like a "Job" kind of experience for me and War Horse. But in the midst of it all, I've realized something important. Most of us want to win our wars right here and right now, and on our terms. We declare, and we shout, and we even "posture" much like a stallion when an interloper appears on the horizon. And yet, we often win the war and learn the most valuable lessons (about God, life, and ourselves) one battle at a time in the deeper places of our heart where no one sees or knows our thoughts but God. Again, thanks for all your prayers. Samson and I are continuing to fight the good fight of faith every single day. And we will not give up until we win the war!
CHECK US OUT ON
YOUTUBE!
Be sure to click the video above for our newest "just for fun" YouTube Video with my equine ministry partner, Samson (pics and video from earlier this year). This video features the amazing vocals of my dear friend and minister, Ann Nicholson. Years ago, and before giving her life to Christ, Ann was a back-up vocalist for many secular artists, including Joe Cocker, and Leon Russell. In 2014, Ann recorded Leon's hit song, "A Song For You", especially for my birthday. Her amazing and soulful rendition of this song will bless you!
Want to take a ride on a champion western pleasure horse? Now, you can - thanks to Samson, and a GoPro Camera that puts you right in the saddle with me! Don't forget to check out my grandson, Zach, making a cameo appearance in the video. What a great sport he was to let Nana chase him around the arena that day! And special thanks once again to Tom and Ann Nicholson for their amazing musical talent. Together, they produced this video song titled "The Stranger" performed by the Praise Team, Church Alive, Cleveland, TN, and featured on the CD titled "Combustible Praise". Oh yeah, it also features the best guitarist in the world, my husband, Kim Klaudt, doing what he does best - playing that sanctified blues! You can check him out on YouTube, too!
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