conformed #5 (Luke 1 & Romans 8)

young…
unremarkable she was…
the young girl
who was the YaHWeH-chosen
to carry His Own Son
into our lives.

presented
with an impossible
visitor
who carried an unmistakable,
unthinkable
message…
all she could say was,
“YaHWeH’s will
is my desire…
let it be so in me.”

she showed us
Your heart in advance,
Lord.

didn’t she?

conformed #4 (Romans 8:28-31)

an invisible,
infinite hand
moves through our lives
shaping
us into someone
that begins to resemble You,
Lord.

to look much at all like You
we must cooperate
with the YaHWeH-hand
each day…
and
like You did
we must bend ourselves
to the YaHWeH-will
until
at last
there is only,
“Your will be done,”
left to say…
and do.

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.

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?