Ken Lovelace Ministries


My Right Ear...My Right Thumb...the Big Toe of My Right Foot by Lygia Lovelace "Are you ready to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior? Are you ready to pray and give your life to Him?" "Not yet...there's just one more thing..." This sweet young dad looked eagerly across our kitchen table at Ken. "...could I just go find my son? I want my boy to hear me give my life to Christ." So, with tears in our eyes, we watched as this man's little boy crawled into his daddy's lap. His daddy prayed a sincere, life-surrendering prayer. Though he was young and didn't understand all that it meant, the boy witnessed the most important event of his father's life -- the giving of his entire being to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, forever. After that, we watched a transformation take place in this man's life. This decision to follow Christ was no "snap decision" on his part. He lived for Christ seriously, purposefully! He led his family to church every Sunday with conviction and faithfulness. He cleaned up his life, his home, his language -- he totally desired to live under his new Master's authority. And he was determined to live out his new existence before his son, in hopes that some day his wife and son would serve the same Master. What about you? Is your life clean? Your home? Your language? Your testimony before others? Or was your commitment to Christ a "snap decision" -- a decision brought about more by a sense of "oughtness" than whole-hearted devotion? Think about it. How serious are you about your promise to your Heavenly Father? It's a lifelong commitment, don't you know? Some time ago, one of our teen friends left his backpack at our house after playing basketball in our yard. He called, asking us to bring it in the house and keep it for him until he could come and get it. Ken went out and got the backpack. He set it on our couch until the next day, when the boy could come and pick it up. What we didn't know was that somehow, before we had a chance to retrieve our friend's book bag from outside, a large and dangerous snake had found its way inside. It remained hidden and quiet until all was dark and peaceful in our home. Then, in the early hours of the morning, the snake decided to move out into our home. It slithered out of the bag and onto the floor, just a few feet away from our young son's doorway. It just so happened that Ken felt uneasy and vigilantly walked through the house in those same wee hours of the morning that the snake was making its way across the living room floor. You can imagine his surprise as he spotted our unwelcome guest. Realizing its potential danger and harm to our family, he fought and killed the snake. Upon death, there came such a stench from the snake...a smell which permeated our home for a time before it faded. Are you serious about your commitment to Him? What kind of smell radiates from your life, your home? A stench...or a fragrant offering? You can believe the enemy is serious about his mission -- a mission to steal, kill, and destroy the things of God, and those who choose to embrace the Father. Satan devises tactics to enter our personal lives, our homes, our churches, and certainly our nation. Are you vigilant? Do you know what enters your home each day? Do you care what goes into your mind, your children's minds? The enemy cares. I have a new favorite chapter. I discovered it this morning, as I was having my quiet time. It's Exodus 29. As I began approaching these chapters in my own personal study, I must admit I was not looking forward to reading again God's instructions for the Ark of the Covenant and the building of the tabernacle. I don't really have a mind for carpentry or measurements. But I prayed and asked God to give me a fresh Word concerning these passages. I have really been studying these verses and am amazed at the symbolism that I had missed before. Our God is a God of meaning and purpose! Something I have pondered all day is the part of Exodus 29 where God is telling Moses to kill a ram and put the blood on the tips of the right ears, right thumbs, and big toes of the right feet of Aaron and his sons. This seems odd, doesn't it? But this shows us the seriousness with which God takes His children's commitments. You see, Aaron and his sons were set aside for a special purpose, as we all are. Only through the blood of the ram, the (substitute) sacrifice, would they be fit for the job God had for them. Only through deep-hearted devotion could they obey and follow Him completely. So what about you? Have you been washed in the blood of the substitute Sacrifice -- the Ram -- do you accept the cleansing of the blood of the One who died in your place? What about your right ear? Your right thumb? Your right big toe? Are you prepared to be changed -- transformed -- to hear the Word of God and obey it, giving full ear to what God is telling you to do? Are you willing to use your hands to do the will of the Father? Are you ready to do whatever He calls you to do, and do it with all your might? What about your big toe? Are you so committed to Him that you will walk in God's ways -- taking the path of wisdom gained only through His Word -- giving your life, marriage, parenting, and ministry the balance that it needs? If you are committed to this task, then it requires seriousness...vigilance! It's true, vigilance can be exhausting. It requires commitment -- whole-hearted devotion to the things of God -- a cleaning up of our lives, our language, our homes, our churches. It involves an unswerving desire to live under our Master's authority, and to live out this existence before others. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet by my hands and my head as well!"

My Right Ear...My Right Thumb...the Big Toe of My Right Foot
by Lygia Lovelace

"Are you ready to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior? Are you ready to pray and give your life to Him?"

"Not yet...there's just one more thing..."

This sweet young dad looked eagerly across our kitchen table at Ken.

"...could I just go find my son? I want my boy to hear me give my life to Christ."

So, with tears in our eyes, we watched as this man's little boy crawled into his daddy's lap. His daddy prayed a sincere, life-surrendering prayer. Though he was young and didn't understand all that it meant, the boy witnessed the most important event of his father's life -- the giving of his entire being to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, forever.

After that, we watched a transformation take place in this man's life. This decision to follow Christ was no "snap decision" on his part. He lived for Christ seriously, purposefully! He led his family to church every Sunday with conviction and faithfulness. He cleaned up his life, his home, his language -- he totally desired to live under his new Master's authority. And he was determined to live out his new existence before his son, in hopes that some day his wife and son would serve the same Master.

What about you? Is your life clean? Your home? Your language? Your testimony before others? Or was your commitment to Christ a "snap decision" -- a decision brought about more by a sense of "oughtness" than whole-hearted devotion?

Think about it. How serious are you about your promise to your Heavenly Father? It's a lifelong commitment, don't you know?

Some time ago, one of our teen friends left his backpack at our house after playing basketball in our yard. He called, asking us to bring it in the house and keep it for him until he could come and get it. Ken went out and got the backpack. He set it on our couch until the next day, when the boy could come and pick it up.

What we didn't know was that somehow, before we had a chance to retrieve our friend's book bag from outside, a large and dangerous snake had found its way inside. It remained hidden and quiet until all was dark and peaceful in our home.

Then, in the early hours of the morning, the snake decided to move out into our home. It slithered out of the bag and onto the floor, just a few feet away from our young son's doorway.

It just so happened that Ken felt uneasy and vigilantly walked through the house in those same wee hours of the morning that the snake was making its way across the living room floor. You can imagine his surprise as he spotted our unwelcome guest. Realizing its potential danger and harm to our family, he fought and killed the snake. Upon death, there came such a stench from the snake...a smell which permeated our home for a time before it faded.

Are you serious about your commitment to Him? What kind of smell radiates from your life, your home? A stench...or a fragrant offering?

You can believe the enemy is serious about his mission -- a mission to steal, kill, and destroy the things of God, and those who choose to embrace the Father. Satan devises tactics to enter our personal lives, our homes, our churches, and certainly our nation.

Are you vigilant? Do you know what enters your home each day? Do you care what goes into your mind, your children's minds? The enemy cares.

I have a new favorite chapter. I discovered it this morning, as I was having my quiet time. It's Exodus 29. As I began approaching these chapters in my own personal study, I must admit I was not looking forward to reading again God's instructions for the Ark of the Covenant and the building of the tabernacle. I don't really have a mind for carpentry or measurements.

But I prayed and asked God to give me a fresh Word concerning these passages. I have really been studying these verses and am amazed at the symbolism that I had missed before. Our God is a God of meaning and purpose!

Something I have pondered all day is the part of Exodus 29 where God is telling Moses to kill a ram and put the blood on the tips of the right ears, right thumbs, and big toes of the right feet of Aaron and his sons. This seems odd, doesn't it? But this shows us the seriousness with which God takes His children's commitments.

You see, Aaron and his sons were set aside for a special purpose, as we all are. Only through the blood of the ram, the (substitute) sacrifice, would they be fit for the job God had for them. Only through deep-hearted devotion could they obey and follow Him completely.

So what about you? Have you been washed in the blood of the substitute Sacrifice -- the Ram -- do you accept the cleansing of the blood of the One who died in your place?

What about your right ear? Your right thumb? Your right big toe?

Are you prepared to be changed -- transformed -- to hear the Word of God and obey it, giving full ear to what God is telling you to do?

Are you willing to use your hands to do the will of the Father? Are you ready to do whatever He calls you to do, and do it with all your might?

What about your big toe? Are you so committed to Him that you will walk in God's ways -- taking the path of wisdom gained only through His Word -- giving your life, marriage, parenting, and ministry the balance that it needs?

If you are committed to this task, then it requires seriousness...vigilance!

It's true, vigilance can be exhausting. It requires commitment -- whole-hearted devotion to the things of God -- a cleaning up of our lives, our language, our homes, our churches. It involves an unswerving desire to live under our Master's authority, and to live out this existence before others.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him,
"Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet by my hands and my head as well!"