Friday, October 31, 2008

God of Jacob 2 (Psalm 46)

Lord,
did the psalmist use this
shorter Name of Yours
to remind himself
that You are the God Who
seeks out
even the liars & cheats?

did he see You as the
God Who wrestles with us
when all our plans
have come to an unpleasant
end?

Who then lets us
beat Him...just so
He can bless us?

Thursday, October 30, 2008

God of Jacob (Psalm 46)

Lord,
You fought jacob
so he would come
to the end of
himself.

then at self's end
he found You to be
a merciful God
Who would keep His
promises
to a liar...His
covenant
with a cheat.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

hard grace

Lord,
we miss the mark
when we think Your grace
soft.

no part of Your death-cross
was soft, neither were our sins
that stained it
with Your life-blood.

love & grace
in our languages are
soft words.

is that why we misunderstand
them so completely?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

my fear

Lord,
my fear is nothing
more...or
less
than self-idolatry.

my fears enthrone me
in Your place, Lord.

faith occurs
whenever i choose to
de-throne myself.

freely...

expectantly...

repeatedly.

Monday, October 27, 2008

false gods

Lord,
why do we shout
so loudly for the politicians
who promise so much
to us in lawyer-words?

are we so desperate
for any good news
but Yours?

are we so desperate
for any god
but You?

Sunday, October 26, 2008

this is love

Lord,
Your best friend (John)
said,
"this is love...
not that WE loved Him...
but that He loved us...
and gave His Son...
for us."

is love ever
anything less
than giving away what
we most prize?

is what we call
love
nothing less than a reflection of
You, Lord?

Your friend, john, seemed to think so...

has there ever been a person
anywhere
who has ever loved
anyone
with a love all their own?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

false choices

Lord,
why is it that i hesitate
so long between being or doing?

everyone says that being needs to come first.
that is everyone except those
who
most value getting things done.

when faced with You, Lord, it is easy
to just turn around & do the
opposite
of whatever it is we are doing
now.

doers start be-ing...
be-ers start do-ing...

do we miss the point?

what was it that You kept saying?
something like,
"follow me?"

is the choosing to do...or be...
less than choosing to
listen...
to follow You, Lord?

Friday, October 24, 2008

options

Lord,
You have given us
a choice…which
is not the same as
an option…which we so often
attempt to make You
out to be.

we do have a choice
to follow You…or
not…
but
when we include You
as a pleasant optional add-on
to our life…
we miss the point.

to follow You
means
that we no longer take
any option
any choice
any journey
any conversation
which excludes You.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

two deaths...

Lord,
You showed us that
life is found ALWAYS
in relationship.

You taught us that
death is ALWAYS found
in putting ourselves ahead
of others.

then
You demonstrated that
a death can also be
found
in putting others ahead
of oneself.

in You,
we found that these two deaths are
NOT equal or similar at all…
one kills us forever…
the other death
is the only door leading to
authentic LIFE.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

shooting star

Lord,
are all my troubles
like the shooting star
i saw this morning?

is their brightness
that so captures my attention
due to them hitting
the thick blanket of grace
with which You
have surrounded me?

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

All In (from Isaiah 42:1-11)

Lord,
You were "all in"
while you lived
among us...there was
nothing left
that You did not put into play.

You came to bring about
YaHWeH's Own justice on earth.

Like a woman in labor…
a man going into battle,
You were totally
committed
to life...
to YaHWeH...
to us.

Why then is it so easy for us to
live with a half-heart
wondering
why we then end up with
a half-life?

Monday, October 20, 2008

Hammer

Lord,
Your words
are a hammer
battering our
slow hearts...our
lazy souls...our
prideful wills...

like the blacksmith's
hammer,
Your words...when
we hear them
push us to where we
otherwise
could not
would not
go...
into LIFE.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Precious

Lord,
why is it that those You say
You love the most...
have
the biggest jobs?
pay
the biggest price?
endure
the most pain?

but then,
Your Own Abba called You:
"My well-loved Son"
just before He asked You to
willingly pick up all
our debts
and pay them for us.

does He indeed love us
so much?

Saturday, October 18, 2008

LIFE AS DIALOGUE

to see our lives
as a monologue where
we talk…
we act…
we live…is
to miss the deepest things
in life, Lord.

for You are
NEVER satisfied
with only one voice
speaking…even
when it is Your Own.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Abba's Passion

Lord,
Your Abba renews His passion
to save
to forgive
to give gifts
every morning even as He
renews our sight
with the sun's first light.

fresh mercy
fresh love
fresh life
each day as dawn breaks
a NEW gift
from the hand
and center of the heart of
our Heavenly Abba.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Killer App

love is the "killer app"...
or at least so says
Yahoo's Chief Solutions Officer.

Lord,
long before Yahoo had an
identity,
You knew this to be
literally true...

is that why
You did what You did?

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

PASSION

no passion
in human life can
remain the same…it
must
be reborn each day
or
it will die.

Lord,
is that why
You
renew your passion
to show mercy to us
each morning?

as an example to us
of the cost
of love?
of kindness?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Better

God,
i wonder why does it
seem
that everyday You treat me
better
than You treated
Your Son
on His very best
day?

Monday, October 13, 2008

LISTENING

Lord,
we listen most
to those
we most intend
to hear
to obey
to act as if they matter.

is that why it is so hard
to hear You
sometimes?

Friday, October 10, 2008

Evading Grace

A successful effort
at this
takes a whole lifetime
of concerted effort.

Hell
is the only way out
of Your grace, Lord.