Memo From the Mann

The Colt

Have you seen the money people are spending on collectibles lately? An amazing amount of money has been, and is, being spent on all sorts of things that have been in the possession of the famous (often worth more when they’re no longer with us). I don’t personally adhere to this behavior, but then again I’ve never been an autograph hound either.
So I’m reading in Mark 11 about the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, and something jumps out at me. Something that screams ‘Ebay!’
Listen to this and see if you know where I’m going...
Mark 11:1–3 (NIV): As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ”
Did you hear it?  Did you notice it? The colt, the unridden colt, the unridden, prophetic colt (or donkey as it’s sometimes referred)! Are you gonna tell me that the colt wouldn’t be a collectors item in today’s world, that it wouldn’t be worth way too much money, that it wouldn’t garner a hefty profit for someone on Ebay?
Now what does that tell us about the world we live in? There has to be a message loud and clear in that revelation.
See, I understand the value of the colt. It served the Son of God. It transported him ...and no one else had ever ridden it (a virgin of sorts). But there’s a difference between valuing something and using it for a prophet. It seems to me that our world has blurred the line between the two.
Then again we live in a world that is so far removed from that Palm Sunday event so many years ago. But I can’t help but wonder about such things ...and that recognizing the world’s values, the careless loss of innocence ... and the basic disrespect for human life aren’t signs of how we’re treading down a dark path.
Lord, help us to regain our vision, our voice, and our love for the life that was won for us.
Pray on...
Song: It's Cold War (Album: Trio)Scripture: When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ~ Mark 11:7

Such As These

My wife adores the idea that I will watch out for her, that I will provide for her, and that I will always love her. That’s not to say that she isn’t an individual of intelligence, substance, and compassion, but one of her greatest gifts to me, was her relationship with the child that resides inside of her. It’s opened the door for me to re-introduce my grown self, to little Eddy.
My daughter, when she was very young, used to draw cityscapes. You know, streets with people and houses. One day she showed me her creation and it was what you might expect. The stick people were out of perspective, the streets went nowhere, and most peculiar, were the houses which leaned one way or another. My immediate adult response was to point out what couldn’t be. The homes would most certainly collapse standing on such angles and the ...and I caught myself, I caught myself removing a portion of her creativity, a portion of her childhood.
You see, children are wide-eyed and open to the world, all things are possible. They aren’t held down by the limitations, the boundaries of this world. They are free spirits. They truely grasp God when he says “all things are possible.” In verse fifteen of Mark 10 he says, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Did you catch that, he said like a little child.
We cannot lose the innocence of our childhood and embrace the kingdom of God. The difficulty that a lot of people have is that they are limiting God with the boundaries of this world.  They can’t phantom an idea if it doesn’t seem possible within those worldly parameters.
Lord help us to reconnect with the child that’s deep down inside all of us, and help us to get back in touch with the innocence of our youth, and the ability to see and know a God who can make all things possible ...help us to be like little children.
Pray on...
Song: Little Dreaming (Album: Pray on...Scripture: ...like a little child ~ Mark 10:15

Lead Me

As the new year begins, and we welcome an unknown future of events, this seemed like a beneficial piece of scripture to begin with this week.
Each new day is unlike any we’ve experienced before, and to negotiate our way through it successfully we need some guidance, and that is what God reveals today in Isaiah 58:11. Not only does he say he’ll guide us, but he says he’ll always guide us.
Pray on,
~ E.M.
Song: Lead Me Down the Road (Album: Re:Prize)