the shadowed alley lies quiet and in wait
where the void sneers and chaos swirls all about
and darkness coats the face of the cobblestones
but then sounds a word spoken
and light paints new creation down crumbling path
upon which walk the feet of the promised one
peace and judgment held in both his outstretched hands
soon shall that day come I pray
when lion lies down with lamb
Tag: christian
moments counting
Many stanzas unrelated yet not perhaps entirely
We walk down those faded corridors
marked with water stains
and faded ink
and broken promises
hand in hand we go
with light steps
and broken hearts
the light shines down on your face
and your eyes tell the story
that your lips never would
as they move to count down
i raise a finger to shush
i already know the time
yet you move closer
She stands upon the doorstep
tilting her head curiously
and as i raise my hand
and start to pretend
i change my mind and say
let’s have a nice long talk
as we go for a walk alongside
the sea
hello my darling let’s not pay the toll today
for it’s been paid so many times before
surely it counts for something
the frequency of our visits
maybe a loyalty program of sorts
instead spread some jam and butter upon that scone
and i’ll pour you a cup of tea
and let’s open the book and dive deep into what we’ve read
and talk lit and art and most of all what it means
to be immersed in this systematic theology
Reading upon a sofa sprawled out all comfy in my way
and upon the table burns a candle marking the time since
and she walks in and stares at me and says
really have you moved at all?
and of course not i say although that’s not entirely true
for i may have gotten up to change the music once or twice
but in sentiment she understands and smiles and rolls her eyes
and leans over and pats my leg and tells me to relax
i wish i could fall into a book like that
how does theology affect our lives i wonder
and though some may say it really doesn’t
i would argue then what’s the point
for then your theology’s bereft
and all your thinking has no merit
true true they answer back and so why bother?
i turn to them and say consider this
if God’s real and true and all that?
and if furthermore he’s written to us of himself?
well i’d like to understand
at least in such feeble way as this mind dares to grasp
understanding they say is futile for how can what is finite
comprehend the infinite
it can’t
truly
for only when the infinite and finite has somehow married
can there be a listening to the radio that is now tuned
but how – there can be no such
and yes i also wondered until i considered that this question
has been answered
hence why i’m reading theology
and seeing the poetry of God
this strange, wonderful symmetry that is god made man
and sent down from eternity to walk this earth
and then die upon a tree
this sweetest simplest theology
of God who made a way to be known by feeble, finite, little ol me
she tenderly caresses the cover of the book before her
wondering if she dares to open the cover
will the writing match the gorgeousness of the artwork?
she hears a whisper
yes
taste and see
One more girl hangs out the 3rd floor window
and shouts down to me of what she’s found
what is that i say
cry louder!
and she says i won’t but i’ll do you one better
i’ll come down
the sunset ripples through the sky
and i breathe in deep the last remnants
and wait for my God to draw me nigh
Arrow
Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.
Your voice alone, O Lord, can speak to me of grace;
Your power alone, O Son of God, can all my sin erase.
No other work but Yours, no other blood will do;
No strength but that which is divine can bear me safely through.
Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest, and set my spirit free.
I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Saviour mine.
His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.
I praise the God of grace; I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my joy and light.
‘Tis He who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.
A Psalm
O God, You are my God; I shall
seek you earnestly;
my soul thirsts for You, my flesh
yearns for You,
in a dry and weary land where
there is no water.
Thus I have seen You in
the sanctuary,
to see Your power and
Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is
better than life,
my lips shall praise You.
So I will bless You as long as
I live;
I will lift up my hands in
Your name.
My soul is satisfied as with
marrow and fatness,
and my mouth offers praises
with joyful lips.
When I remember You on
my bed,
I meditate on You in
the night watches,
for You have been my help,
and in the shadow of Your wings
I sing
for joy.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
But those who seek my life to destroy it,
will go into the depths of the earth.
They will be delivered over to the power
of the sword; they will be a prey for foxes.
But the king will rejoice
in God;
everyone who swears by Him
will glory,
for the mouths of those who speak lies
will be stopped.
Praise the Lord!
Unveiled
So I usually don’t write on a Sunday morning, but my computer is on, and I felt a particular urge to write this passage down…been much enjoying it these past few days, so much so that I can’t progress to the next(admittedly awesome!) chapter in Hebrews. Hebrews 10, so beautiful. And so while I finish my coffee, let me just share some of the sweetness contained therein:
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the
same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered
one sacrifice for sins for all time, ‘sat down at the right hand of God’,
waiting from that time onward ‘until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.’
For by one offering He has perfected those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also
testifies for us; for after saying,
‘This is the covenant that I will
make with them after those days,
says the LORD:
I will put my laws upon their heart,
and on their mind I will write them,’
He then says,
‘And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.’
Now where there is forgiveness of these things,
there is no longer any offering for sin.
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by
the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us
through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest
over the house of God,
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful;
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good
deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:11-25
A bit long(my apologies!), but I had to write it all. Really, you need to read all of Hebrews to get the full beauty of it. But that might be a bit much to write this morning. Now, with this resting in my mind and graven on my heart, I am off to church to worship God.
Peace, my dear friends.
Skies Held Up
Hello my friends!! It’s a lovely sleepy Sunday afternoon. I feel a bit tired, so don’t think I shall write much here today, but I thought I’d at least pop my head in and say hi. It’s been a wearying past week, but God has blessed me much and given me a delightful weekend!! This morning I got to go to church and worship God…and afterwards, went out with friends for yummy tex-mex lunch. Now, I’m about to enjoy my raspberries and coffee, maybe read a bit? Or maybe play a bit of Tomb Raider! We shall see. I’ve had some good conversations(either on facebook or whatsApp) with friends from Scotland lately(hello John, Ruth, Chris and Rose!!!). I really do miss you all…and I guess I’m just reminded of how much God blessed me in giving me such dear friends…we can still talk across the waters, and I feel just as close as if we were sitting side by side. Well, not quite – I do long for that face-to-face interaction. But still, I am just overwhelmed by the goodness of God in giving me such dear friends – brothers and sisters forever. My heart rejoices to know that there is a day coming when we will all be together forever. Forever.
And now, before I get too emotional! I just started a book by Sinclair Ferguson, Children of the Living God. Utterly fantastic. Really, it’s just so good to remember whose we are. To ponder and meditate on the fact that we are sons and daughters of the living God. ’tis wonderful.
See how great a love the Father
has bestowed on us,
that we would be called
children of God;
and such we are.
Peace and love, my friends. Delicious hot coffee and sweet raspberries time!
Slaves
A few quick thoughts. I really should be moving on soon, as it’s almost one o’clock and I’m still here at coffeeshop! But I haven’t quite finished my Earl Grey yet, and I did want to write a few words.
I’ve been tasked with leading the bible study for community group this coming Tuesday. I’m woefully behind schedule on prepping for it, so this morning dove into the text a bit. John 8:48-59. Beautifully awesome passage, with Jesus(per usual!) not holding back any punches. As I looked into my text, I spent a bit of time on the verses previous, and they just struck me. Jesus was oh so clear as He preached to all that there are only two types of people in this world. Those who are slaves to sin and children of the devil. And those who are free in Christ and followers of God. Sometimes I think we can too easily fall into the trap of thinking there’s a neutral zone in this world. A set of people who don’t really fall into one category or the other, people who aren’t Christ-followers, but still basically good people.
And yet, Christ makes it clear that those who do not understand and do the words of God are those who are of their father the devil. Just consider this, as much as we live in a physical world surrounded by lots of ‘nice’ people…we so often barely grasp the enormity of the spiritual war raging around us. We must love all people, of that there is no question. We must love the lost as Jesus did. But we must also recognize that the lost are also currently children of the devil and slaves to sin. And that thought must make us shudder – how much more should we hold up high the banner of light? How much more should we be willing and eager to proclaim our allegiance to our Father, the ruler of the universe and Father of Light? We should not be hesitant to challenge those who do not follow Christ.
This age we are in is an age of diversity and an age of acceptance and an age where there are no lines in the sand because all is acceptable and all is tolerable and all is good. This is an age where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. The predominant religion in this western world is the ancient religion of humanism – where we worship the desires of the flesh and the high places of this world and the creeds of our own devising. As long as we don’t harm others, many say – all is acceptable, all is praiseworthy. This is an age where we worship ourself as the one true god. This is an age ruled by the devil himself.
Let us remember that and let us shudder. And let us be humble before the Lord our God, the true ruler of the ages. Let us kneel before our Father in deepest prayer and most sincere adoration. Let us follow Christ every moment of our lives. We are in a war, a war to the death. And we know that Christ will triumph victorious. But now, we fight. We fight with the very strength of Christ, because He lives. And His Spirit is with us. And, we fight. Let us hold firm to the word of God and remember the deeds of the Lord. He is with us, forever and always. And we fight.
Something Weird 