seeing #1 (Isaiah 42:1)

seeing
is more than just
looking
or even
staring at something…or
someone.

everyday
we look at people
we never really
see.

we did that with You,
Lord.
didn’t we?

the Almighty One
ate with us
and we were too proud
to wash Your feet,
Lord.

small things #1

small town.
small country.
baby boy.

called a king…
of what?
of the cosmos
He spoke into
being?
of the masses
for whom He would
die?
of earth’s kingdoms
powerful
offered Him by
satan?
of His Own country
now ruled by
tyrants?
of His Own home
town
where they would later
dismiss Him?
of the many
who would try to
force
Him to rule
for food…
and miracles?
of the 12 men
who followed Him?

did He ever claim
to be the king?
of anything?

no.

but He did accept both
worship
and
hatred
with equal grace.

so, was He
King?

is He?

He is king
of nothing bigger than our
hearts…
the cosmos is His
throne room…
the earth, His
footstool…
our hearts, His chosen
home.

the king of everything
seems
to want it that way.

conformed #3 (Romans 8:28-31)

shaped
by YaHWeH’s Spirit to be
like You, Lord,
why…
why are we surprised
when
there is a cost
to pay?

You purchased
our lives
at a much greater cost
than ever You
ask of us.

never
have You…
never
would You
ask us to die
without Your comfort…
without Your Presence...
would You,
Lord?

conformed #2 (Romans 8:28-31)

looking
like You, Lord,
we lose
ourselves
our own will
our own freedom
so that
like You...
we will
please
our Abba-in-the-heavens
and
in pleasing Him,
fierce joy
like a flood rises
unstoppable
to drench & wash away
the blood we have
shed
for Your sake.

clean &
REALLY alive
we will rise in You,
Lord.

conformed #1 (Romans 8:28-31)

it’s all about
conforming to You,
Lord…
about looking like You
when we’ve done all…
when we’ve said all
we can say in the
time
we live through.

UN-conformed to Your
image
we shrink to nothing
silently…
while we loudly
work
to convince ourselves
that we matter
just the way we are.

forgive
our blind insanity,
Lord.

the biggest mess of all

Emmanuel
God-is-with-us
is a name...
The Name of YaHWeH's
Way
His Truth
The only real Life.

the All-mighty One
somehow
stuffed into a baby-shape
a baby-size person
sleeping
crying
cooing
like all babies do.

how could this be,
Lord?
how much did
You love us?

that much?
really?

it is still
hard to believe.

messier still

a good man...
joseph...
was presented
with his engaged wife
who claimed virginity
yet also
claimed a pregnancy.

even worse
an angel visit during
a dream
gave him more
to think about.

after thinking,
joseph believed
the impossible
and became
the YaHWeH-chosen stepfather
to YaHWeH's
only begotten Son.

more of a mess

flat
in the dirt they lay...
facedown.

mighty scholars
before
the toddler-king
muttering...
shouting...
silent...
all in turn
again
and again
in worship.

why were they struck
dumb?
what did they
know
that we have overlooked,
Lord?

a mess

You
made a mess,
Lord,
when You first arrived.

scholars came to the
seat
of government
looking
for the new baby-king
promised of old...and
where better
to look?
or worse?

the leaders of government
had reached
their own finely
balanced peace...
so...
there was no room
for YaHWeH's Prince
and Keeper of the
Peace
in their plans...
and
too often in our own.

such a little baby...
such a big mess!

thank You,
Lord,
for making such a mess
in the midst of our mess...
since You
are the only thing that can
make all of life
work.

God's voice #2 (Matthew 4)

like You,
Jesus...
we often need the quiet
of the desert
to hear clearly the
heart-voice of
our Abba-in-the-heavens.

we need a retreat from the
hustle of a fast life
so
we recognize at once
the sound
of YaHWeH's Voice...
and
in hearing...
we know all other voices
to be less...

was that Your secret,
Lord,
when the Tempter came?
was his voice so much
less...
than YaHWeH's Voice?

i think so...

God's voice #1

YaHWeH’s voice,
His calling
takes many forms…

many times it looks just like a
paycheck…
at other times
we hear Him call to us in
the voice of
a stranger…
a loved one…
a little one…
and
always in the voice of
the one who
hurts…
the little ones with
no power,
no prestige…

it is in these helpless
places
in these over-looked
hearts
that You call most loudly
to us...
am i right,
Lord?

sacrifice #3

future joy
is what drives a person
into true
sacrifice

fierce joy
sustains each person
giving a true
sacrifice

full joy
is the pay-off
to each person
engaged in true
sacrifice

just like You, Lord,
when the joy in front of You
pulled You toward the
Darkest Dark…
You did NOT flinch…
nor
did You stop
until You had poured out all
of Yourself
for us all…

to enter into this
joy-of-sacrifice is to look
a lot more like You
than we do now,
Lord...
am i right?

sacrifice #2

conformed to the image of
His Son…
this is YaHWeH’s goal
for all of us…
for each of us…

to be like
the Son of YaHWeH
Who gave Himself
up
for us all…
Who endured everything
for us…

if He did all this
for us…just
to please His Abba…
why do we think
we can ever
NOT
sacrifice ourselves
for our brothers?
for our sisters?

how
could we even think this would
please You,
Lord…
in the slightest?

sacrifice #1

sacrifice
is NOT loss…
it is choice...

a voluntary choice
to give up ourselves
on behalf of another…
just like You did, Lord

the only loss
in this transaction
is a loss of
pride
and
self-importance…
each of which are brothers of death…

so in a sense,
death is diminished
each time we make
even the slightest sacrifice
in Your Name...
for anyone...

insanity # 2

choosing to run
our own lives is
insane
because this means
we must
make EVERYTHING happen
right…
we must therefore
worry about EVERYTHING…
we must take
responsibility for
EVERYTHING…

being a god
is very difficult work…
especially for each of us
who less than You are...
isn’t it,
Lord?

insanity #1

all of life
comes down to one
question
in several forms:
who is sovereign?
whose will gets done?
who runs the universe…
You or me,
Lord?

does
insanity
begin when we
choose
to become god
and take responsibility
for things only You
can do, Lord?

i think so…

Mercy # 12

to withhold mercy
is to choose to become
a false god…for then
we see power as
an absolute NEED…
and
showing mercy
is to abdicate
power & to renounce
our NEED for it.

being the God-of–all-gods
is something that You
do not NEED,
Lord.
since if you did have this
NEED…
mercy would never have been
born.
ever.

You simply ARE God.

what is it that You
ARE
that we do not
get?

Mercy # 11

choosing revenge
over mercy
is something that even You
have not chosen
to do,
Lord.

what is it that You
know
that we do not?

Mercy # 10

there is always a cost
attached
to mercy...

mercy given
costs the giver
any pleasure
that might be gotten thru
revenge...

mercy withheld
costs the withholder
any chance of
looking like You,
Lord.

is it possible to follow
You
without bleeding out mercy
everywhere?

is this why
it is so difficult to
follow You
for very long at all,
Lord?

Mercy (& Faith) #9 (Luke 8:9-14)

mercy
notices
the small things...
the little people...

mercy
honors the weak
people...
the over-looked
ones
by shouting
forgiveness into the
face of blind
hatred & contempt

mercy believes
that You notice
all this...
am i right,
Lord?

Mercy (& Faith) #8 (Luke 8:9-14)

mercy
can breed faith
in those who
receive it...but
not always.

yet...mercy
never grows without
faith
to sink its
roots into...

is this why
You told us
that if we show mercy
we will receive it
from you, Lord?

is this why
You taught us to pray
"forgive us our sins
in the same way
we forgive those
who sin against us,"
Lord?

Mercy #7

mercy
honors desperation
along with the faith
born in that dark crucible.

we fool ourselves when we see
faith & mercy
as being born in a palace
worthy of heaven’s
glory…

in Your heart You carried
all mercy
so when You heard:
“Remember me,
when You come into
Your kingdom,”
You recognized the
desperate faith
that was beginning to grow
in the dying thief.

You did remember him…
isn’t that right,
Lord?

is he with You now?

Mercy #6 (Luke 8:9-14)

mercy
burns huge mountains of
faith
like a jet burns fuel
on take-off…

You told us
to withhold revenge
to deal in kindness
to bend our own backs
so that others might be served…

THEN You showed us
how to do mercy
by the life You led…
by the blood You shed…
even
in the anger You showed.

always You depended on
Your Abba’s protection
even
when He withheld it.

what is it that You
know that we don't,
Lord?

Mercy #5 (Luke 8:9-14)

to offer mercy
takes enormous
faith…

to dole out forgiveness…
to NOT
punish those who
deserve it
requires a reckless faith...
kinda like stepping out
of the boat onto the
water...
to meet You.

is it true that
we meet You
each time
we walk toward mercy,
Lord?

Mercy #4 (Luke 8:9-14)

receiving mercy
means that we must trust
the one
who
offers it.

to give mercy
by definition means
that we must offer
to an untrustworthy person
the precious gift
of the one thing they
do not deserve...
a clean start...
a re-do...
a reboot.

is that why
there is so little
real mercy given out...
and received,
Lord?

Mercy #3 (Luke 8:9-14)

what makes
mercy
so hard to receive
is that
we know what we
deserve…
we can’t believe that any
sane person
would forgive us for free…
with no strings
attached

there MUST be a catch…
right?

are we really
that mis-trusting,
Lord?

Mercy #2 (Luke 8:9-14)

what makes
mercy
so hard to give out
is that it can
only
go to those
who do not deserve it
and
those who will most likely not
appreciate it.

isn’t that right,
Lord?

Mercy #1 (Luke 8:9-14)

mercy
is what we need…

mercy
is what we are afraid
to ask for
feeling we might
be turned down

mercy
is very hard to give out
since
you usually get nothing
in return…

isn’t that right,
Lord?

Self Rescue #1 (Psalm 49:7)

we love to believe
we have
the power
the control
the intelligence to
solve
our own life
like some puzzle
struggling on its own
to come together.

but
who has
ever
been rescued from
any real danger
by their own effort
without You working
it out first,
Lord?

Fraud (Luke 13:10-22)

we are indeed frauds,
Lord,
when we stand in judgment
against
Your Grace
Your Patience
Your Mercy.

You give us all
a lot of room
to live in...
You give us enough
room to damn ourselves
should we choose to do so...

for us to deny this
to others
is a fraud of
the highest magnitude.

forgive my own fraud, Lord...
teach me how to live
defrauding
no one of mercy.