THE STORY OF THE BUNNY, THE CROW & THE LITTLE BIRDS!

 

     Have you ever witnessed a once in a lifetime moment? I did! About 25 years ago, I witnessed something I have never seen before and truthfully,I don't ever expect to witness it again. It took place on the church rounds of Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle. I was walking home from the office to have lunch. "Home" was a condo unit that was on the property that was to the left of the church building. As I approached the walkway, I could see a furry creature on the front lawn of the condo. It was actually a tiny bunny eating grass and minding his own business. Within 10 seconds out of nowhere a huge crow came swooping down and grabbed the little bunny, The crow started to fly away. I stood there with my mouth wide open. "What just happened?", I thought. What amazed me more is what happened next. I could see the crow with his talons gripping the bunny. Out of nowhere, about 8 tiny birds started attacking the crow repeatedly pecking at him. The crow eventually dropped the bunny from the sky and fly away. So did the tiny 8 hero birds! The bunny landed very close to where he originally was. I walked over to him to see if he was okay and make sure he was breathing. He was but was definitely in shock. I stood by the bunny to make sure that nasty crow would not return and try to do the same thing. After standing there for a few minutes the bunny ran off into the woods. Thank God he was safe!

     There are hundreds of analogies we can think of from this story. Yes, it is a true story! I'm going to use this analogy because I think it fits best. We are like that little bunny. We are defenseless. We wander off at times. I often wonder where the bunnies Mommy was? The bible tells us in Isaiah 53:6 - "All we like sheep have gone astray". We do tend to wander off not realizing we can put ourselves in a dangerous situation. We sometimes think we can do it all by ourselves with no help. The crow represents our enemy Satan. Satan has one goal! The bible tells us he is "seeking whom he may devour" in 1 Peter 5:8. That crow was hungry and was looking for his lunch. Satan just wants more than anything for us to fall into his traps.He wants to see us frustrated, angry, alone and totally walking away from Jesus. He would love to get is claws on us or in the crows case his talons. The best news about this story is simple. There was help on the way! Those 8 little birds who helped out our bunny friend represented Jesus. Although our crow friend thought he had his prey, he plans were about to be crushed. Enter the 8 little birdies! They pecked at that crow so much that the crow had no choice but to let go of the bunny. When Satan tries his hardest to get us to fall into sin and just when he thinks he has his claws on us, God sent His one and only Son into this world to save us from sin. In a sense, Jesus is like those 8 little birds saving us from the enemies claws and attacks. Satan has no choice but to let us go because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.. Just like that bunny was set free, we have been set free from our sin!

     Like I said, there are hundreds of different analogies from this story. I am so glad that I witnessed this. From the time to crow grabbed the bunny until the bunny landed on the ground I was a matter of 40 seconds. I hope and pray your life is touched and that you are set free from the enemies claws. The only answer for this crazy world we live in is Jesus!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!   

MIND, BODY AND SOUL!

     I am 58 years old. Some days I feel 58, some days I feel younger. I have been told my entire life that I have a "young face" and at first I hated hearing that. Now, I love it! My body might be 58 but many times in my head I think I'm 28. When I minister to kids I always love acting like I'm 8 years old. You have to when you minister to kids. They would never want a stuffy old man speaking to them. Trust me!

 

     In my later years, I have decided I definitely need to focus on three key areas of my life. My Mind, My Body and My Soul! I need to continue to be healthy and work on all three. In this blog, I would like to share with you the importance of all 3!

     THE MIND: They say the mind is a terrible thing to waste and yes, that is very true. We have to keep our mind sharp. The older you get, the more you forget. I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone from my past at Chick Fil-A and unfortunately I forgot their name! It's not on purpose. I just can't remember it. I try my hardest to read books and try to learn new things.About 8 years ago I came very close to having a mental breakdown. Before that I dealt with depression. I do know what these experiences feel like. It is certainly not fun. Our mental health needs to be taken care of always. I always hated it when television shows pointed fun at people who had mental problems calling them "crazy." Our mental health is just as important as our physical and spiritual heath.I have in the past taken days off from work and call them "mental health days." Just a day to change my usual routine. The mind IS a terrible thing to waste!

     THE BODY: We only have one body. That "thing" you carry around everyday. It is the body God gave us. It is also referred to in the bible as "the temple of the Holy Spirit." It is something we need to take care of daily. Unfortunately, many people do not. Gluttony is very common here in the good ole U.S.A. Many of us are out of shape especially those of us older than 50. I remember being 13 years old riding my bicycle to a tennis lesson at Smithtown High School West, taking a lesson for an hour, then riding back home. After that I would head up the block and play baseball with my friends. If I tried that today, I would end up in the hospital! I try my hardest to take care of my body. I will go for walks, ride my bike, do push ups and go to the gym. I am certainly not Arnold Schwarzenegger and don't plan on being like him. I have to take care of my body. The one God gave me. I realize I also have to eat healthy and stay away from my "snack weakness"...Tostitos! It's a battle but in the end when you do eat healthy, you feel better about yourself and you have more energy.

     THE SOUL: My relationship with Jesus is my biggest priority. After I wake up for work very very early I try my best to have time alone with him. I will read my One Year Bible, read my devotional "Daily in Christ" then spend time in prayer. Trust me when I say there are seasons where I am not consistent. It's a battle! It's hard to wake up some mornings. I realize how important it is to be consistent and work on my relationship with my Lord. I also know that prayer changes things. I want to continue each day to work on my soul and spiritual life. One day I will need to stand before Jesus and give an account of my life. I want to hear Him say "Well done good and faithful servant."

     All three of these areas are important. I pray you too as well will make it a point to work on all three and not take any of them lightly!

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK!