email : Webview : Duane Brooks - Every Day with Jesus

July 21, 2017

Psalm 32:8-9

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you.

New International Version (NIV)

"By the way, she hates men." With these not so encouraging words about her beautiful and newly pregnant heifer Maylee, our daughter Casey bid me farewell as she headed off to the FFA convention. For a moment I wondered why she didn't take said heifer with her to the convention. It is a Future Farmers of America Convention. You would think cows would be welcome at such a gathering. This week FFA stood for father feeds the animal. I steeled myself to follow Casey's instructions about how to walk Maylee. The first day she did not walk with me. Her 1400 pound frame resisted my 170 pounds in a stand-off. Not surprisingly, she won that day. She was the immovable object and I the resistible force. No contest.

My dilemma last week is God's dilemma every day. The prophet Isaiah spoke for God when he said, "The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." In this psalm, we hear the voice of God our Father promising to instruct, teach and counsel in love. We must not be like the horse or mule (or Hereford heifer) which comes only when controlled by bit or bridle. God wants us to come to him because we want to come to him.

By the end of the week, Maylee and I were getting along nicely. She met me at the gate, ready to walk. I don't know if cows know how to trust, but she came to see me as the one who brought her food and water, so she walked with me. God has been good to us. Will we stubbornly resist his love. What if all God wants is for us to walk with him in love today? Will we? We will!

Pray with me:

Father, teach, instruct, and counsel us today. Remind us that our Father up above is looking down in love. Remove our stubbornness today. Overwhelm our willfulness with your loving grace. You say if we come near to you you will come near to us. Make it so. We draw near now. Thank you for your unfailing love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I want to invite you to join me in memorizing 52 passages this year from the 2017 set of Fighter Verses. You can find the Fighter Verses App at the App Store on your phones or via this link http://fighterverses.com/the-verses/fighter-verses/. As we study the Bible this year, let's look at each text and learn what it says about God.

Joyfully,

Duane

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