NO BULL

Many years ago, my pastor asked me and another intern working in the church to help him with a problem he had on his ranch in Graham, TX.  You see, on his ranch lived a bull named "Limo".  Limo had injured himself on a barbed wire fence and needed to be looked at by the vet.  What our pastor wanted us to do is simply put Limo into the chute with the harness to hold down the bull while the vet worked on him.  The only problem was that I had no idea how we were going to get him in the harness.  I guess because my pastor knew that I grew up in Arkansas, naturally I knew what to do with livestock.  Boy was he wrong.

So I strapped on my only pair of overalls (Old Navy 39.95), which by the way were in style in the 90's, and my Doc Martin boots (30 dollars from mexico) and off we went to punch some cattle.  Upon arriving, I noticed that Limo had already been put in a little pen right by the chute.  This was going to be easy.  A couple of hours later, the vet shows up and we have not made Limo move one muscle.  The vet was furious.  He took one look at us and knew that we were not going to get the job done.

He gives a pitch fork (I didn't know they even used stuff like that anymore) to my buddy and tells him to poke the bull as hard as he can in the rear when he tells him to.  Then he tells me to go to the harness and pull the lever when the bull runs through the chute.  Then he does something totally insane.  The vet picks up a two by four and goes up to the bull and hits him square between the eyes.  Limo gets mad (no duh) and comes toward the chute where the vet was.  When the bull stops, the vet tells my buddy to jab Limo with the pitch fork.  This makes the bull even madder and makes him charge right for the harness where I was waiting to clamp him down.  The only problem was that this lever was really rusty and when Limo comes through, I fail to clamp him down.

Now this 1 million pound bull is free to go wherever he wants.  No pens, no fences, not even a cattle guard is stopping him from going to downtown Graham and living it up.  But this bull does something that I will never forget.  Instead of taking off for the hills, Limo makes a turn and goes right back through the gate and into the pen he was originally held in.  He was free but chose to be penned up just like he was before.

Many times we are like Limo.  We have been beaten.  We have been poked and prodded.  We have even felt the bonds of imprisonment.  Then Jesus sets us free.  But it seems that we go right back into the pen and allow ourselves to be bound up again.  Galatians 5:1 says "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage".

What makes us go back?  Comfort, fear of the new unknown, and sin are a few of the reasons that bondage seems to fit better than freedom, but going back leads to more pain and holds us back from living the life God intended for us to live.  So don't settle.  Live free.  And if you ever run into a bull named Limo, don't give him my address.

KING SIZE REST

I love my bed.  There I said it.  

A few years ago, Haley and I decided to upgrade our bed status.  We had lived for years with a normal queen size bed that was given to us.  Even though we were grateful, it was time to change.  For some reason, even though we flipped and rotated, it still seemed to dip on my side a lot.  So not thinking that we would spend a lot on a new mattress, we went shopping.  Boy was I wrong.

The salesman show us all different kinds of mattresses; firm ones, soft ones, pillow tops, and memory foam.  Bed after bed it seemed like the price would get too rich for my taste.  Then I saw it.  The bed of all beds.  After one time falling on it, I was hooked.  Haley and I both knew it was the bed for us.  

Now, sleeping in this bed is like falling into a cloud (except it holds you up and you don't go plummeting to your death).  After a long day, just knowing that when nighttime comes, rest awaits.  

I could go on and on about how wonderful my bed truly is but I won't.  The fact is that just telling you about my bed does you no good.  You cannot come over and sleep in our bed.  So don't even try it.  But believe me you should want to.  But once again, you can't.

One thing I have observed about my bed is that it only works when I get "IN" it.  Just talking about the bed does not good.  I must crawl into it, put the soft sheets and blankets over me and lay my head on the billowy pillow.  Until I lay down, I cannot truly experience rest.

The same is true in our relationship with Christ.  We can talk about Him, or know a few things about Him, but it is not until we find ourselves in His loving arms that we can truly find rest.  Psalms 37:7 tells us to "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him."  Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 to "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

So I guess what I am trying to say is that unless I am in my bed, anywhere else is a distant second at best.  And unless you are in Christ, you will never find the peace and rest that you need to make it.  So if you are looking for some spiritual rest, don't settle for a full, twin or even a queen but go for the King of all Kings.  It's the best rest you will ever find.