TWENTY YEARS LATER

 I woke up at 2:06 a.m., maybe.  I take midnight arousings to be calls to prayer and meditation. So I began a meditation rehearsing the thoughts of the day's waking hours, or was it a dream state insight?

Four old friends sat together, after a twenty year HS reunion, not wanting the evening to end.  They were in a beer hall or coffee shop, not sure which?!  But, they sat and rehearsed how two decades had taken them down different paths. Matt, Reggie, George, and Jerry had known each other since grade school.  They had even gone to church together as teens.

George asked the group, "... do y'all remember old brother Connor, our teen Bible class teacher?

Matt quickly interjected, "yeah, I remember that old hardhead! He used to hammer us about memorizing scriptures and was always so pushy with the Bible..."

Then, George interrupted, "but, I learned so much from that old man. I remember some of the things that he said about scripture not being broken, and scripture being God breathed, and no prophecy being from the will of man, ..."

Matt then objected, "George, twenty years of being a preacher have warped you.  'Inerrancy'?!  The Bible is little better than fairy tales. It is a collection of victor-written history, troubled by trying to explain why Israel was such a loser if they were the chosen.  And, Jesus, is a rebel who got himself killed.  How Christians have spun that one!  And, the harsh morality of these fanatics who wrote and collected all that self-contradictory Book, shows it to be only one step above Hell.  Moderns have learned to love so much better than those misogynists and homophobes."

"Whoa, Matt!" George countered. "I'd say 20 years as a professor has certainly changed you! Where  in the world did you come up with all of that?!"

Matt insisted, "you need to read more, at least more broadly ..."

We all looked at Reggie for his thoughts on the Bible, and he blurted out, "Inerrancy is a modern construct imposed upon the Bible which assumes that the qualitative reliability of an ancient writing, such as the Bible, is determined by contemporary standards. Thus, people get into this game of trying to determine if every little fact such as a place or date is correct with the assumption that the story and message conveyed is only reliable as true if every last detail is without error. I’m not saying that the Bible has any such minute error but even if it does, the message proclaimed throughout the Bible — the entire narrative — is still reliable as truth because it depends not on any modern construct but on the Spirit who enabled this message, which is based on eyewitness testimonies, to be passed along as a living tradition and eventually told in and throughout a collection of writings..."

We all rolled our eyes, but then Matt interrupted, "nah! The scriptures are only man's best attempt to understand the incomprehensible ..."

"Really?!" Jerry exclaimed.  He had just sat there quietly through most of the brouhaha.  "I spent the last two decades with Uncle Sam.  I've seen a lot that would make me question all of this. I'm just a simple man. But at the end of the day, that old Book gives me a lot of peace and hope.  The promises. The prophecies. The people struggling to walk with God. The principles of love and holiness and so much more. You fellas need to take your shoes off when you're standing on holy ground."

FOLLOWING THE INVISIBLE

 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

I suspect and I deduce.

I desire and I emote.

I want and I will.

I feel and I sense.

I read and I follow.

To behold the Invisible.

To fathom the Eternal.

To understand the Incomprehensible

To fellowship the Unapproachable.

Jesus. 

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:11‭-‬16 ESV

GOD IS LOOKING

 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord .

Genesis 6:5‭-‬8 ESV

because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

1 Peter 3:20 ESV

Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”  ... Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”

Genesis 18:23‭-‬26‭, ‬32 ESV

Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see  if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth,  that I may pardon her.

Jeremiah 5:1 ESV

And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?  I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Luke 18:7‭-‬8 ESV

https://youtu.be/UUClzIitEi8

Song, From A Distance, "God is watching us..."?!

For what is He looking?

Security?

Sustenance?

Salvation?

Sanctification?!

SMH?!

WHITE PRIVILEGE

 "Your great-great-grandfather was my gggf's owner.  He bought him at Charleston, SC on a slave block." Many can honestly say that. Still others were forced to works as slaves, for years, until they payed off the cost of the trip to America they had to purchase to leave farms which they were forced off in their homeland.  Many, many more worked for "halves" on the land of another, as "sharecroppers".

Musing about what privilege we pass on to the next generation.  Family is important, for so many reasons.  A car for high school graduation certainly zooms one down life's highway.  Some even get one on their sixteenth birthday?!

What a blessing to have godly parents. This blessing can even spillover into the third and fourth generation?!  The godly advice and encouragement of a grandparent is incalculably invaluable!  The personality of an entire family takes its cue from a godly patriarch and/or matriarch.

A trust account or inheritance from a grandparent may enablingly distract, or hopefully provide a stepping stone to greater service and sacrifice?!

Conversely, dark input from ungodly parents is an aweful curse.  The curse is often multigenerational.

Godliness is free for the taking, for any who want it. Conversely, darkness is cripplingly expensive in so many ways!  Walking in the light is safer and more sensible. Stumbling along in the darkness is destructive and stupid.

Priorities, values, habits, viewpoints, vocabulary, ... all are passed on, for better or worse.

White privilege?  Dark curse?  What are we passing on?

We only give what we have in our hands, and in our heart.

In all your striving after the temporary and perishable, do not miss the eternal and permanent.

Be careful what you desire.  You may get it. Then you'll pass it on to your family, like a disease.  You will enslave the next generation.

Jesus is the Light!

Don't walk in darkness.

Bless the next generation!

SMOKE

 West coast forest fires have made visibility nearly zero with their smoke. Their smoke has traveled across country and is visible in New York.  Fires are popping up all over the Pacific coast.

West coast "protests" are spreading across the country.  Social media is aflame with "justice issues"!  Spreading across the country is unrest, violence, havoc.

Smoke gets in our eyes.  Smoke-screens hide our view of the source.  In our frustration and fear we are distracted from reality.

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.

Revelation 9:1‭-‬2 ESV

What distracts us? What deludes us?  Into what are we rushing as we run in the smoke?

Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:11‭-‬12 ESV

People are more concerned about toys than they are about the Trinity.  People are more concerned about ecology than they are about their eternal soul.  We are focused on the color of another's skin, while ignoring the color of our own heart.  Make no mistake, the anger of man does NOT work the righteousness of God.  Kind of like the song says, "we would march into heaven for a hellish cause ..." 🎶. But, it does not work that way.

Listen carefully!  Can you hear the demonic cackling from within the smoke?!  We're being lured into the pit.

The Pack and the Presence

skipping up the verdant way

a song in my heart

a tune on my lips

wandering down a dark trail

eyes glowing in the night

trailing me for days

running and climbing no good.

steadily gaining ground

seemingly no escape 

can hear their howls

can see their shadows

can smell their breath

one stumble and they're on me

snarling and ripping

life slipping away

but, a powerful Presence overshadows

protection, provision, peace

the pack then retreats

I drift off into sleep

awaking with the new morning

all is calm and serene

devilish wounds are healing

up and on the upward path

it's been two days, and the music is back.

the pack is out of sight

the Presence is unseen

they're both still somewhere

SANDALS

 walk a mile in His shoes?!  to synagogue ... to help the hurting ... to teach the searching ... to dine with friends and family ... to heal the sick ... to private prayer ... to His judgement ... to His crucifixion ... a bloody pair of sandals with His clothes ...

only one pair?!  a simple man who lived a simple life.  "we must live simply, so that others may simply live". an active duty soldier avoids entanglements with civilian affairs!

Boaz sealed the deal for Ruth by removing a sandal and giving it to near kinsman, before many witnesses.

A small escort of soldiers cast lots, rolled dice, for his clothes.  One man walked away with a pair of blood-soaked sandals.  Did they even fit?  Did he know what he had?!  Where did they end up?  Did the demons grin as they stole His sandals?

Doubling down, Jesus removed both His sandals and willingly gave them, before many witnesses, taking his bride from the reach of another with a claim on her?!  Down the aisle, He will walk barefoot with his bride?!

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." So the soldiers did these things,

John 19:23‭-‬24 ESV

I CAN DO IT BY MYSELF

 What do the Australian Aboriginals, the American Natives, and the Welfare State of America have in common?

Oppression?  Poverty? Hopelessness?  ...

** Well-intentioned, harmful help. **

I sat at lunch with a friend, a black minister that I know, and he lamented, with tears in his eyes, "they are destroying my people ..."   l was confused, so I asked him what he meant. And, he began to tell me how the welfare program was crippling the black community.

The statistics for the number of children born into single parent, fatherless homes in the black community is a staggering 77%, or something in that neighborhood.  The family unit is obviously not doing well.  The response of some is "it takes a village to raise a child" so the lack of a nuclear family is irrelevant?!  Wrong.  Gangs pick up on youngsters and train them to do their misdeeds since the law won't prosecute them, being still minors. That's the reality of the village.

"Remember the poor" and "if a man won't work, neither let him eat" were both penned by the same man.  They do not contradict each other.  But, understanding how the two work together he is not easy.

The list of entitlements seemingly is endless. Using this type of reasoning has created free cell phones for those who can't afford them.  When one can collect more money sitting at home than you can out scrapping to make ends meet, why in heaven's name, would you work?

A popular word today is "systemic" and I would suggest that it fits here.  

Recently heard a story about two teenagers who opened their Christmas packages and each got a chainsaw. They looked at their dad with a curious look and said thanks for these expensive chainsaws. And he replied "oh, that's not your Christmas present. Your Christmas present is all the money that you can make using those chainsaws to clear out the back of the property and whoever else will hire you."

It's complex and complicated. Colleges offer degrees that do not provide gainful employment. Kids sign up for these degrees and go into enormous debt. Then they want the government just to dissolve their debt. Who pays for that?!

"First comes love, then comes marriage. Then, comes Joe, pushing a baby carriage..." That was an old song that we sang when I was a child.  Nowadays, Joe is nowhere to be found. There is no marriage. And it's like the song, "what's Love got to do with It?". Oh, we'll just let the village raise the child.

So, what can Biden or Trump do about any of this? It's really more of a spiritual problem. Throwing more government money at it is not going to fix it.

It's really a God thing. Until people turn back to God with humility and repentance, this is not going to go away. We reap what we sow. It's a natural law. To expect otherwise is foolishness.  

In the meantime let's just keep enabling such behavior by underwriting the expenses. Is that the answer?  

Consequences. Responsibility. Compassion. Guidance.  What else needs to be on the list? Revival?!

Is self-reliance an ungodly word?

(The Title is multi-level, with several meanings.)

HUNGRY

At work, we sat around a circle of tables waiting on the group leader. He walked in and his first question was "what are y'all hungry for?"

As he looked around the room he got different responses: "hamburgers" "fried Chicken" "pizza" ...

He looked at me and I paused and said ...
I'm hungry for family time.
I'm hungry for vacation travel.
I'm hungry for peace and quiet.

Then, after a pause, I added, "I am hungry for righteousness! I want to be doing the right thing. I want to be on the straight and narrow path. I want to be going towards the light. ..."

After another pause, I added, "I'm hungry to hear Him say 'well done good and faithful servant' ... that's what I am hungry for!"

Then I woke up and looked at the alarm clock to see if I had overslept. I had a few minutes the wait for the alarm to buzz.  I have the rest of my life to be thinking about this dream?!

FALLEN FORGETFUL FAILURES

They are not hopeless, many of them, but they are fallen.

They are not malformed, though twisted and tortured, but they have forgotten their birthright.

They are not fakes, not all of them, but they are failures.

The warrior rages against the darkness, striking out against any shadow.

The priest struggles to bring meaning to a confusing chaos mixed with darkness and maybe distant light.

The prince, born to the top of the heap, sleeps restlessly, watching jealous contenders.

The physician digs into his bag of herbs and potions, does his best, and watches death march on.

The peasant, not rich, not read, not privileged, simply struggles along, doing what he must, what he can.

Our eyes, they have blinded with their brimstone fire.  Our ears they have deafened with their hellish racket.  Our wings, they have snatched away.

Where are You?!
Do not forsake us!
Come down upon the mountain with blazing power.
Speak quietly to our hearts.
Save us.

Carry home your crippled beloved.

IWTY - I will trust you

I WILL TRUST YOU

Even if my pick is not elected ... IWTY

Even if our nation's leaders go from bad to crazy ... IWTY

Even if the laws of my country get farther and farther from right ... IWTY

Even if this pandemic gets worse, and no cure is found ... IWTY

Even if my government greedily shifts to policies that do not work ... IWTY

Even if the world economy tanks ... IWTY

Even if my church wanders and struggles ... IWTY

Even if there is marked a 6/11 and a 3/11 ... IWTY

Even if I get that late night phone call ... IWTY

Even if I leave the doctor's office with no hope ... IWTY

Even if I come home to an eerily quiet house ... IWTY

Even if none of it makes sense ... IWTY

Even in my own dark night of the soul ... IWTY



Lord, I trust in you; help my lack of trust!  Give peace and joy where there is anxiety and fear.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6‭-‬7 ESV

The Muckross House

In 2017, on a wonderful vacation with my daughter and son-in-law, we toured the Killarney National Forest and the adjacent Muckross House.

In a private moment, I asked the tour guide how the local people felt about the house in the park. She answered, "that's a very interesting question ..."  She smiled, and change the subject.

History has many ugly stories. Somehow, it seems, we just have to move on.

The locals were the descendants of former owners, kicked off their land, then taken back as tenant farmers, if not deported to the Americas!  But, eventually the manor's lord had sold the estate to a rich Irish American immigrant who had made his fortune in the California Gold Rush. He had given the place to his daughter as a wedding gift. But, eventually the estate was donated to Ireland for a national park.

It is indeed an ironic twist in history?!

CROSSES and SKANDALONS

And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
1 Corinthians 8:11‭-‬13 ESV

It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.
Romans 14:21‭-‬22 ESV

What do you see when you look at something?  We see what we choose to see?  What we're taught to see?  What we're predestined to see?!

1. 4th grade Maltese cross necklace for a Rat Fink toy??  WW2 generation people see the Maltese Cross and think Nazi Iron Cross.  Baby-boomer kid sees a cool biker  accessory!  They made me get rid of the cool necklace Maltese Cross. 🥴
2. Ford vs. Chevrolet?  Moreso, Ford vs. Toyota?! Frank Speed and the Japanese?! WW2 Pacific?
3. First car. 1969 Ford.  Cool tag?! Stars and Bars. Southern pride, individualism, strength. Roll Tide vs. ND "I'd take it off"?!  Maltese Cross, again?!
4. Knight's shield. Crusader's shield with his initials, K.E.C., in blackletter, and a crimson Maltese Cross dominating the front.  My Mama saw an Iron Cross, still?!
5. Crucifix necklace from cousin James. "kinda RC for ..."?!  I wear it anyway.  But, the chain pulls chest hair!
6. Ancient Celtic crosses? Catholic grandeur vs. Protestant simplicity. But, I am attracted to them.
7. Currently, the choice I am struggling over is a Southern Gentleman vs. Gentle Savior?!  I see a Mark Twain. Others see Adolf Hitler, or, at least Himmler.   I suspect that most of the protesters think the "E." is for "Evil" not really knowing any more about the icon than that.    Much of my family immigrated post Civil War.  They left Europe, like many others, forced off their land.  But, I still feel a kinship to Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Skandinavia, ...  I'm a mixed breed mutt!  I'm proud to be an American!  And, much of Southern manners would help, IMHO.   I see two extremes -- 1) "Hell no! I ain't forgetting"?! Really?! and, 2)
"Let's take what is ours..." Be careful.  Just don't want Jesus to be missed!!
8. My goal is for the Cross of Calvary to remain on mountain, glowing for all the world to see.  Not a "burning cross"!



Beneath the cross of Jesus


1

Beneath the cross of Jesus
  I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty Rock
  Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
  A rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat,
  And the burden of the day.

2

Oh, safe and happy shelter!
  Oh, refuge tried and sweet!
Oh, trysting place where heaven’s love
  And heaven’s justice meet.
As to the holy patriarch
  That wondrous dream was given,
So is my Savior by the cross
  A ladder up to heaven.

3

There lies beneath its shadow,
  But on the farther side,
The darkness of an awful grave
  That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross,
  Two arms outstretched to save,
Like a watchman set to guard the way
  From that eternal grave.

4

Upon that cross of Jesus
  Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One,
  Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart, with tears,
  Two wonders I confess,
The wonders of His glorious love,
  And my own worthlessness.

5

I take, O cross, thy shadow
  For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
  The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by,
  To know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
  My glory all the cross.

Somehow, I suspect that Robert Edward Lee, in Christian charity, shaking his head, would say take it down, and put up a Crucifix!

DEFEATING DEMONS

Defeating Demons

Do you believe in demons?

They can be difficult, if not impossible, to defeat, at least in our own power!

Demons can out argue, outmaneuver, overpower, any of our best thoughts and efforts.  For example, humility can be twisted into pride as one humbles himself, and then congratulates himself on his success?!

Demons can be like spiders, waiting long dry spells patiently, until their prey stumbles into their web.

Demons, on the other hand, can be like skilled trappers, with stealth and bait capturing their prey.  They calculate the trails and the appetites of their intended victims.

Demons, sometimes, are more like a swarm of yellow flies. They are everywhere and unavoidable. One is going to be bitten. A screened-in porch is seemingly the only refuge.  Or, maybe there is some industrial-strength bug repellent?!

Demons have set up super highways, along which their unwitting, and maybe unwilling victims are traveling.  But, if one tries to make a u-turn the red lights will come on. The exits are blocked. Somehow it seems one must just exit and cut across country through the woods.

Demons are also counterfeiters. They make fakes that are so similar and yet so different from the genuine. Their fakes are poisonous!  But they are so deceptive, looking so much like the real thing.

Demons seem to multiply as one attempts to hack up the nasties; like starfish detested by oystermen, they regenerate.  Burn them, even if butchered into pieces.

Demons are best overkilled, lest they be like a hornet swatted or stomped, only to fly up, only injured,  and sting you.  And, a nest of them is best avoided.  A swarm can be hell?!

Demons seem to be associated with the easy, the immediate, the indulgent, the common, the popular?!  Floating along with the current, sliding down the hill, these seem to be the pattern?!

Demons seem to leave a bad taste. Initially, at least, there is guilt and remorse and sorrow and regret. The problem is, that after a while, the feelings are gone.  The thrill doesn't last, but bigger and more often doses are used to continue the doping.

The demons ultimate goal is probably resignation, acceptance, a sense of defeat!


But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."
Jude 1:9 ESV

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:7‭-‬8 ESV

And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:13 ESV

so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
2 Corinthians 2:11 ESV

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Luke 10:17‭-‬18 ESV

RESCUER

RESCUER 

I've thrown you the life ring.
Away, You keep looking at something.

I held out my outstretched hand.
You just float away as if damned?!

The waves seem to attract you?! Why?!
Look at me; see the love in my eyes!

The freezing waters will suck the life out of you!
Is this really what you want to do?

Soon it will be too late.
Don't act like you will just wait.

Listen to me; ignore the roar!
Too soon there will be time no more.

A shipwreck in the ocean wild?!
You still are my beloved child!

Reach out and take my hand!
Safely I'll row you back to land!

Rescue The Perishing!

SEEN AND UNSEEN

The Seen and the Unseen

Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

John 20:28‭-‬29 ESV

As an old hymn, The New Song, states "I want to hear the angels singing..."  I want a miracle! A sensational, undeniable, incredible manifestation of God Almighty!  How could the children of God, having seen so much, turn away in disbelief?  I want to see Power!  An angel! A blinding light!

UNSEEN - just imagine ...

The fiery cloudy pillar.

The Red Sea walls.

Smoking Mount Sinai.

Jericho's collapsed walls.

Return from Exile.

Lazarus among us again.

Jesus, arisen!

Yet, I know that I am really no different.  Prone to wander.  But, I do wonder, and sense the awe?!

He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"

Luke 16:31 ESV

What have I seen?  What makes me believe?  What forces me to my knees, even prostate, with lifted hands, and teary eyes?  What grabs my heart, like a loving father turning the face of a stubborn child, to make eye contact, whispering words of wisdom?

SEEN - proofs, tracks, signs ...

the love in a friend, a spouse, a child.

the silent, celestial, night-sky chorus.

the beauty of a green, fruitful garden.

The rolling thunder and flashing lightning.

The cool, wet calm after a storm.

the warmth of meditation on the written word.

Reading of His calm wisdom, and His kind, selfless, sacrificial love.

The joy of walking with Him.

The fear and emptiness of separation from heaven.

The exhilaration of worship, singing His praise.

The still, small voice, whispering ...

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,

Job 19:25‭-‬26 ESV

Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

John 20:28 ESV

"The New Song"

WIND AND FIRE

WIND and FIRE

a prayer ...

O, Breath of God, into our sails ever blow.
Push us along the way we should go.
Away from the rocks that are lurking below.
Towards safe channels, even against the flow.

Teach us the heavenly charts we should know.
Turn the rudder, away from the serpent, our foe.
Safe, through the storms, keep us, always in tow.
Across the waves, shine your fiery beacon's glow.

God Almighty, with your Spirit, make us overflow.

ALONE

Maybe it is the social distancing?!
Maybe it is moreso soul-mate missing?!
A longing to understand and to be understood?!
For man to be alone, He said, "it is not good"!

Where are my kind? Those who are like me?
Maybe I'm the problem?! What else could it be?
All around is so much noise, so much dirt!
For some unknown my heart does quietly hurt.

Looking around, I think maybe this is a friend?!
But he's but a pig trampling pearls in the end.
Alone, to a dark, hidden cave I then quietly retreat.
With closed eyes staring into the void, You I'd meet?!

Today, my cellphone I left on the kitchen counter.
You alone are there, I await some mysterious encounter?!
In walks an "unlikely" but angels are "entertained unaware"?!
We break the "Bread of Life" and enjoy heavenly fare!

So, alone, I will wait, for Your timely, heavenly Breeze.
You ever know best, so whatever You please!
A lone wildflower in the workplace grime and slag?!
A lonesome dove, overlooking the this industrial gulag.

You will never leave nor forsake me!

Pub Prophets and/or Poets?!

I just sat in the corner listening to the three old grumps.  
Between their pints they argued over what all that church stuff means.  
They were pretty far into the wind, and doing their best to be poets.

One of them began, "... my daughter is trying her dangdest to get me in church ..."

One of his buddies, maybe an old school teacher, 
looked up and chimed in,
"Do your best, and,
He'll make up the rest?!"

and then, he added,
"Take a break;
your final exam He will take?!"

and, "how about this one?
What's the fuss?
He covers us!"

But, the one of the other old grumps, snarled in disagreement,
"Do your part, or,
He will cut out your heart!"
"how'd you like that, you loud, old fart?!"

then, he added,
"He marked the road.
Now carry your load."

Not to be outdone, the first grump chimed in,
"He broke the evil spell.
Now you don't have to go to hell!"

At another, nearby table, somebody shouted,
"He gave us the perfect example; and,
He gave us a heavenly sample."

"you like that one? then here's another..."
"He gave Himself as a sacrifice,
so that our reception, there, would be more nice."

Across the room, some angry old coot then growled,
"He picked out you,
and there's nothing you can do!  
But, you, He does not like,
so just go ahead and take a hike?!" (a Scot?)

The guy at his table told him to shut up! 

Then he sang in,
"Whether He is a ransom, or a  substitute,
matters to me not a toot.
A scapegoat or a sacrificial lamb,
I just don't GET a damn!"

Then, with a tearful eye, the bartender quietly whispered,
"His blood has covered me.
Praise the Lord, that's all I can see!"

GETTING OLD

What does it really mean to be old?
Getting grumpy, grizzly, and gray, I am told!
The clock is ticking and the minutes have been sold.
Looking back, let's summarize, if we may be so bold.

Babies are sweet, but kids not so much.
I'm starting to limp, I may need a crutch.
I'd like to play games but I'm losing my touch.
My teeth will now barely let me munch!

The Thief, he breaks in, joy to steal.
The Liar, he comes, only to kill.
But, I know the Shepherd, keeps me He will.
All for my good, this I know, I solidly feel!

Friends that I've known have already gone.
Plans that I've made will never get done?
Time is a liar, a cheat, and a con.
Night is coming fast, but then it will be Dawn!

A better place is coming or so I have heard.
A new body, forever young, so says the Word.
Soon this will be over, such I have pondered.
How glorious will it be?! this I have wondered!

I want to hear those angels sing!
Around, and above him on fiery wing.
Not all I know, but this I'm figuring,
We will be there, beholding the King!

THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE

(happy Valentine's Day, MC)

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Genesis 2:21‭-‬24 ESV

It was noticed, "Nobody for the man ..."

Surely, this is not the ideal plan?!

Provide a remedy for this, "I surely can!"

And this is how romance, amour began!

Named all the beasts from all the world wide.

But sitting alone, the silence, I cannot abide.

My rib is gone! There's a pain in my side?!

No longer alone; naked? where can we hide?

Laughing, in the garden, together we play.

Never an option, from Him we would stray?

Then came the Snake; lies he did say!

"Take a bite; there's no need to obey ..."

Together we wander, somewhere east of the gate.

The thorns, the pain, the heat are our cursed fate.

To our garden, will we ever return? Or, is it too late?

Let's stick together! Forever, you are my mate!

Through the darkness and in the cold,

At least we have each other to hold!

He blessed us with, at least this, in days of old.

There's a refuge ahead, or so it is told.

Towards the light on that far away hill,

Hold my hand! Make it there we will!

Look into my eyes, hope, the love will instill.

Together, what one lacks, the other will fill.

A song will again resound from our redeemed voice!

Hold my hand, onward together, the only sound choice,

By and by in paradise we will dance and rejoice.

Our cups filled with heavenly nectar, together we'll hoist!

THE JOURNEY

Three and four generations of family and friends, fellow believers, a caravan, like Jacob, his sons, and their families, we are on a journey.  Egypt is but a stopover, not the Promised Land.  Keep us faithful, journeying through this wilderness to the Promised Land!

Sometimes we fuss and feud over trails, campsites, even firewood.  But, we are headed in the same direction, mostly.  Lord, bless the strugglers and the wanderers and the quitters!

There are daily foraging tasks and water carrying.  Sometimes kids get to throwing apples or berries.  Worse, occasionally the water trips turn into skinny-dipping mistakes.

There have been a few that went off on foraging assignments, and they kept on going, collecting barrels of food that they just keep rolling along, but not sharing.  They just wandered away, and forgot about the journey.  We hear from them; they write notes to us, rarely, but they are going a different direction.  Really, they have just squatted in the wilderness.  What can be done?  They have lost sight of the destination towards which we journey.  No amount of urging or waving goodbye seems to help.

A few have gotten so busy playing at waterholes, that they refuse to move on, when we break camp to continue on the journey.  They were last seen splashing around and lounging on the sandy banks.  We had to stay focused and moved on.  We called and pleaded, to no good results. But, rarely a swimmer walks up from behind us on our trail.  That is such a joyful day!

We need daily bread, and cups of cold water, for sure.  But, the journey must be kept in the forefront of our life?!  Sidetrails lead nowhere good.  As we sit around the campfires, looking up into the night sky, gazing at the stars, awed at the rare shooting star, we sing songs about the journey.  Lord, tune our hearts to sing your praise!  And, Lord, bless the strugglers and the wanderers and the quitters!

"Here we are but straying pilgrims ..."

Here we are but straying pilgrims;
Here our path is often dim;
But to cheer us on our journey,
Still we sing this wayside hymn:

Refrain

Yonder over the rolling river,
Where the shining mansions rise,
Soon will be our home for ever,
And the smile of the blessèd Giver
Gladdens all our longing eyes.

Here our feet are often weary
On the hills that throng our way;
Here the tempest darkly gathers,
But our hearts within us say:

Refrain

Here our souls are often fearful
Of the pilgrim’s lurking foe;
But the Lord is our defender,
And He tells us we may know:

Refrain

https://hymnary.org/text/here_we_are_but_straying_pilgrims

https://youtu.be/oRmZJ0O2swY

WHERE IS SHE?

What a lonely man he surely must be.
That could have, just as well, been me?!
His grandkids on Facebook pictures I see.
But, if it is really him, where is she?!

Her picture, there she is; it's surely them, then!
but, then, captioned, "Happy Birthday, in heaven ..."
In this life, he will never hold her again.
Invading my soul, "such for me? Never! maybe? when?!"

This FB thing suggests possible friends, a long list?!
Some forgotten, some not even missed.
Life has moved on with many a twist.
Life, but vapor; too soon gone, a morning mist.

Enjoy the friends that He gives, while you can!
Too soon it washes away, footprints in the sand.
What is it all about? But dust is man?!
He writes our story with His own hand.

So, take the time to enjoy, deeply, the best.
Shove aside the wrong , and all the rest.
The clock is ticking on this earthly test.
Give thanks for much; He has surely blessed!

ARROGANCE

(just some mmmmm)

ARROGANCE

Arrogance is three leaps past confidence.
It is based upon false evidence confused with providence.

From it we have built between you and us a dividing fence.
Forgotten is the common source of royal and others born whence.

We proclaim ourselves such, but are we really so dense!?
Our Father must look down and just frown at our lack of good sense!