Haves and Have-nots

it’s easy to turn your back,

when you’re one of the haves;

have a job,

have a home,

have money,

have food;

have affordable health care;

believing the lies,

giving into the fears,

buying into the stereotypes;

they’re all lazy,

they’re all immoral,

they’re all looking

for a free lunch;

they all get what they

deserve;

so afraid,

they might take

something that belongs

to you,

some of your hard earned

treasure,

all the things

you sweated and slaved for,

all the idols you fall down before

and worship;

all the things you sold

your soul for;

the have-nots of the world

are beginning to rise,

they’re not going away quietly

anymore,

they’re tired of the abuse,

they’re no longer content

with the crumbs,

there are things

bigger than themselves;

things worth dying for.

.

.

The New Massa

‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss’ – The Who, Won’t Get Fooled Again

America has always been

about color;

not black,

not white,

not brown,

not yellow;

America has always been

about color;

slavery was never about race,

or white supremacy,

slavery has always been about economics,

pure and simple,

using black men just made it feasible,

gave it a sort of justified nobility;

did skin color matter to the Romans,

when they enslaved conquered nations?

did it matter to African chiefs and sultans,

who enslaved their own people,

then sold them to white slave traders?

do you think plantation owners cared,

about the skin color of their cheap,

disposable, work force?

don’t you think they would have used

poor, uneducated whites, and saved

all those costs, of traveling half-way

around the world, if they could have

gotten away with it?

but the truth is they couldn't,

so they justified it with black men,

brought from the dark continent of Africa;

after all, they weren't real men,

were they?

slavery has never been about race,

or the color of skin,

it has always been about something

much deeper,

it has always been about those who have,

taking from those who have not;

fear of homelessness and starvation,

has replaced bullwhips and chains,

fear of losing what little one has,

provides the new slaves of choice,

who patiently wait for crumbs

from the Massa’s table;

the new Massa’s come in all colors,

but they all have one color in common;

green, is the color

of true power and domination,

green is the color of the new Massa;

America has always been about color.

.

.

Doctrine

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.   Romans 16:17-18

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.   Ephesians 4:14-15

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.   2 Timothy 4:2-5

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay own his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.   John 15: 12-17

entire sanctification,

speaking in tongues,

special discernment,

gifts of the spirit,

self-declared knowledge,

man-made wisdom,

vanities of the heart;

mysterious new doctrines,

emotional roller coaster rides,

puffed up words,

fading with the dust;

one truth,

one Lord,

one kingdom;

in the end,

all that will be left

is love;

for now we see with imperfection,

peering through a fog shrouded mist,

unable to find clarity or

complete understanding,

one day the fog will roll away,

the doubt will be removed,

we shall see through eyes of perfection,

we shall know perfect truth,

we shall experience perfect love;

Lord I am so unworthy,

I am so inadequate;

go away from me,

for I am a sinful man;

tear out my sin-filled eyes,

burn my lips and tongue

with hot burning coals,

let the whole world be silent,

before Your magnificent

and holy presence;

let every knee bow,

let every heart confess,

that You and You alone,

are Lord and King,

that to You and You alone,

does all glory belong;

let me escape false teachers,

who no longer follow sound doctrine,

rabid dogs who know not truth,

nor allow others to follow its path,

fading mists, speaking vain words

for itching ears to hear,

let me walk in Your light,

let me live in Your love;

let Your will be done

forever.

.

.

Do Not Fear

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.   Isaiah 41:10-11

alone in the shadows,

lost with no way home,

frightened and confused,

heading for destinations

unknown;

do not worry,

do not fear,

God is near;

in the darkness,

in the light,

within the sorrow,

within the joy,

through the suffering,

through the pain,

through times both

good and bad;

do not worry,

do not fear,

God is near;

all things pass,

all things fade,

but His mercy endures forever,

His love knows no bounds,

so rest your tired head,

my troubled and

frightened child;

do not worry,

do not fear,

God is near.

.

.

What We Have Become

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.   II Timothy 3:1-5

easy to mock now,

no more barriers,

no more inhibitions,

godlessness avant-garde,

cool, hip, chic;

truth irrelevant;

poetry an abstraction,

a train wrecked shambles,

a self-indulgent journey into

self-imposed decadence,

masturbation of the mind;

without rhyme,

without reason;

snotty, excitable little twits,

so full of themselves they can barely walk,

writing about things they understand

even less,

fluffy little balls of bullshit,

stuck in the diarrhea of their words,

political correction and self-satisfaction,

going hand in hand;

a religion for the masses;

everyone is a poet today,

everyone a self-made god,

everyone is okay and getting better,

everyone capable of greatness,

everyone a master of their own fate;

it is our culture,

it is our society,

it is our psychology,

it is our national anthem;

it is what we have become.

.

.

A New Day

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.   II Corinthians 12:9

the sun rises on the

distant horizon,

a new day dawns;

searching for so long,

running from masters served,

surrounded by darkness and despair,

caught in unseen traps and chains,

a prisoner, in this body of flesh

and blood,

fighting a war I can never win;

do the battles ever end?

then Your spirit quietly speaks,

the peace and joy return,

the fear and doubt fade,

the darkness retreats,

hope grows;

a slave no more;

the pain melts away;

falling like the evening stars,

Your light shines upon me,

like a beacon in the night,

there is You, and nothing

else matters;

Your glory is all there is;

Your grace is enough;

look down on me now Lord,

see the weakness hiding within,

forgive the compromise and betrayal,

remove the evil standing before me,

raise me above the destruction,

carry me through the growing storm,

protect me from the enemy waiting

just outside this door;

bring me home to You.

.

.

He is There

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 8:38-39

the time draws near,

the journey almost at an end,

home is just beyond the distant horizon,

lying only a heartbeat away;

and I am ready;

He is there waiting,

ready to make all things new,

removing the darkness,

wiping away every tear;

the pain will pass,

the doubt will be removed,

the suffering will be no more,

the night will be turned to day,

the joy shall be forever;

and He is there waiting,

ready to make all things new,

removing the darkness,

wiping away every tear;

the words fade away,

time passes like a dream in the night,

these prison walls crumble into the dust,

all things will be as intended,

all things will be made right;

He is there waiting,

ready to make all things new,

removing the darkness,

wiping away every tear.

.

.

tsunami

in a dream,

I saw the water rising,

I felt it’s power,

ripping and pulling,

breaking and destroying,

smashing and killing;

swallowing everything

in its path;

I awoke,

gasping for breath,

overwhelmed by the sheer

magnitude of it all,

terrified by the raw power,

overcome by the suffering;

you asked me what

was the matter,

just a dream, I whispered,

a bad dream,

about the future;

when? you asked;

soon, I replied.

.

.

Power

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. I Corinthians 4:20

Your power is beyond anything

this world can comprehend,

like a philosophy or psychology,

we try to minimize You,

sweeping You under man-made rugs,

placing You inside man-made boxes,

restraining You with man-made

laws and traditions;

never comprehending,

never acknowledging,

never able to fully understand,

that everything we are,

everything we know,

exists only by Your

unfathomable mercy and grace,

through the unlimited power

of Your Word alone,

that every breath taken is a gift,

which can never be repaid;

through Your power,

I am given a taste of a world

free from sin,

a world of love and hope,

stripped of all its suffering and fear;

without hate,

without lust,

without greed;

through Your power,

I begin to understand,

through the Holy Spirit,

I start to see,

a world which my mind

cannot fully grasp,

an indescribable place,

prepared from the beginning

for those who love You,

a world that leaves me humbled;

perfect and pure,

beyond words,

without compare;

a world where I can only

fall down before You

and whisper;

my Lord,

my Master,

my King;

my Everything.

.

.

Final Stand

the sun begins to set,

the night does approach,

it is here by your side,

where we shall face all that it

has to bring,

it is here where we shall make

our final stand;

no more running,

no more hiding,

no more interference,

no more pretending;

no more fear;

traveling the miles and years,

without understanding or direction,

without purpose or clarity,

uncertainty passes,

all that is not important

begins to fade,

withering roots come back to life,

brave new universes lie patiently in wait,

seeking shelter, within cool pockets

of summer shade,

the land of promise lies ahead,

for this moment we have searched

all our lives;

we have come home

to live,

we have come home

to die;

take my hand,

together we will survive

the destruction,

together we shall face

the storm;

together, we shall

make this final stand.

.

.

Trap

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.   Ecclesiastes 1:9

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8

the fear grows,

the panic sets in,

another tyrant,

another war,

another group of

evil doers;

pointing fingers,

assigning blame,

passing judgment,

plotting retribution,

giving in to emotions,

deceived by the illusion;

falling into the trap;

nothing has changed,

nothing is new,

just a different name,

just another place,

what sad, pathetic fools

we are;

blinded by our own self-worth,

slaves to our preconceived ideas,

prisoners of our dying flesh,

controlled by our irrational fears,

forever repeating history,

forever trusting in our imperfect

and limited comprehension;

forever falling into the trap;

everyday Your grace begins anew,

everyday You open the door,

everyday You help me to rise,

everyday You teach me more.

.

.

Just Believe

Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler “Don’t be afraid; Just believe.”   Mark 5:36

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”   1 Kings 19:11-13

in the middle of the night,

I awake,

gripped with fear,

overcome by the immensity,

afraid of the unknown road ahead,

thinking of all the possible dangers,

unable to control even the smallest detail,

completely inadequate and out of control,

heading on a collision course with disaster;

then I remember the places from

where I have come,

all the doors that have been opened,

all the chains which have been removed,

the love and grace that has brought me

to this place,

and I hear His soft, cool voice,

gently whispering in the nighttime darkness;

“Don’t be afraid, just believe.”

the fear fades away,

the doubt dissolves into nothing,

the darkness turns to light,

there is only love,

there is only Him;

and that is all that matters;

in the deepest depths,

on the highest heights,

He is there,

guiding my path,

showing the way;

the Friend who stands by my side,

closer than a brother,

the King who laid down His life,

that I might live;

the One who I will love,

forever.

.

.

Any Less

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”   Mark 9:35

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.   John 13:12-17

it’s easy to love Jesus,

when you drive a brand new F-350 diesel,

while vacationing for the winter

in Gulf Shores, Alabama,

in your 100 thousand dollar RV,

taking charter bus trips to Biloxi,

for a night at the casinos;

easy, when you live in middle-class America,

surrounded by all your healthy, happy children,

and plump, giggling grandchildren,

with your body free from pain,

not twisted and grotesque,

by diseases like aids and cancer,

not panting and short of breath,

from clogged arteries to the heart,

because you have health insurance,

and can afford the best medical treatment available,

with all the specialists and bypass surgeries

money can buy;

yes, it is easy then;

not so easy,

when you go through life worried and afraid,

worried about feeding your children,

worried about providing a shelter over their heads,

worried about the lump growing on your child’s arm,

unable to get it tested,

because you have no health insurance,

praying for the strength to get through one more day,

as you go to your low paying job,

where America’s elite treat you like a hired servant,

because they have money and drive diesel powered F-350s,

with ‘I Love Jesus’ on the front license plate,

and you don’t;

some day we will all be the same,

standing before a holy and righteous God,

I wonder how they will answer then,

when they see themselves speaking with

derision and disgust,

to the person working for minimum wage,

because their cheese was sliced

a millimeter thicker than requested,

or because they had to wait more than

5 minutes in the checkout line,

I wonder who will be blessed then,

I wonder if their diesel powered F-350s,

with the ‘I Love Jesus’ front license plates,

will mean anything then;

then He speaks to me;

reminding me that He walked this earth

with nothing,

despite being the King to whom

everything belongs,

that He endured humiliation and torment,

without complaining or hating,

that even though He was the greatest,

He became the servant of many,

laying down His life for all,

paying a cost only He could pay,

doing the will of the Father,

despite the suffering and pain,

giving us the example to be followed,

proving that He loves us all,

unconditionally and without favor,

even those who drive brand new F-350s,

with ‘I Love Jesus’ front license plates;

and He asks me;

“Is the servant greater than the master?”

as I quietly (and humbly) think to myself,

should I do any less?

.

.

All That is Left

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.   John 15:13

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”   John 15:18-19

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.   1 Corinthians 13:1-13

love is not about telling

someone what they

want to hear,

not about being positive,

or keeping your mouth shut,

not happy thoughts or

living in fantasy worlds

which do not exist;

love is telling someone

what they need to hear,

whether it means they

will love you in return

or not,

love is sometimes

struggle and pain,

sometimes sorrow

and tears;

sometimes torture

and death;

the world does not understand

love such as this,

just as it does not understand

that someday,

when the flesh has withered

and decayed,

when knowledge and wisdom

are gone,

when hope and faith serve no

purpose;

all that will be left

is love.

.

.

A Time For Everything

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.  What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him   Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 8:37-38

in the early morning silence,

You softly speak,

revealing mysteries and truths,

I cannot fathom,

surpassing all my understanding;

Your ways are not my ways,

Your thoughts are not my thoughts,

You are the vine,

I am just the branch,

all my ideas,

all my words,

are nothing without You;

there is a time for everything;

a time to be born,

a time to die;

everything You do,

endures forever,

nothing can be added to it,

nothing can be taken from it,

death does not end it;

nothing shall separate us

from Your love.

.

.

this dream

the moments come and go,

just a different twist,

a fairer fate,

another turn,

a better choice,

life and death,

darkness or light,

nothing and everything,

something else;

we come so close;

83 dead,

the silence shattered,

as the gunman reloads,

Louisville in mourning,

there are things never

forgotten;

who is to say?

who is to know?

does it never end?

the sun rises,

a new day’s heat begins,

suffocating and choking,

flesh melting like

yesterday’s butter,

chard and putrid,

fresh rubber sizzling,

like bacon in grease,

on the soft asphalt surface,

one more on the road,

out of the frying pan

and into the fire;

another one tastes the dust;

take it away,

let it be no more,

bring about an end,

take it from my eyes,

take it from my mind,

this whisper,

this hush;

this dream.

.

.

Days Like This/Behind the Crimson Door

desperation breeds invention,

creativity the key to survival,

it’s hard to give, when there’s

nothing left to offer,

even harder to take, when you’ve

taken all there is to take;

we’re all just holding on;

today was a picture perfect day,

not a cloud in the sky,

not too hot,

not too cold,

cool gentle breeze blowing,

sweet and pure;

days like this are the worst;

the sadness comes seeping to the surface,

the yearning for escape softly whispers,

the need to anesthetize cries out;

days like this, always make me

want to get buzzed,

days like this, always make me

want to forget;

so many traps,

so many snares,

so many one-way roads,

with destinations leading

nowhere;

never going down that

path no more;

darkness lives,

just outside this crimson door,

waiting like a stranger in the shadows,

slithering as a snake,

back into its hidden hole,

purpose has no meaning here,

clarity just a slip of the tongue,

silence fills the endless void,

words die like falling leaves on a tree;

days like this

never end;

the obsession grows,

steady and slow,

without beginning or end,

distant clouds on the horizon,

wandering in this wilderness,

the enemy waits for the moment;

the storm is never far away;

outside, there is talk of change,

as some hold on to the hope,

still others grow cold,

either way the sun rises and sets,

with or without our consent;

when the Son of Man returns,

will there be any faith

to be found?

this moment no longer moves,

out here, among the frozen wasteland,

dark and endless,

forgotten and alone,

cold to the bitter bone,

old voices fill the air,

cries of the raging beast,

secret sanctuaries

hiding within the chaos,

butterflies flowing on the wind,

lost somewhere within nighttime shadows,

waiting for something more,

madness my old friend,

I can no longer deny your sweet touch;

it always begins like this,

it always ends as something else;

like the lead character

in a Fellini film,

wandering through fields

of golden nonsense,

swept away by the growing hush,

traveling a hundred miles

to move an inch;

the crimson door

knows no pity.

.

.

Never Was

out here, in this wasted space

of no-man’s land,

no one hears the silence,

no one knows the loss,

alone and holding on,

waiting for imaginary rescues,

among lost and broken places,

hiding behind enemy lines,

crawling on hands and knees,

between burned out bunkers,

full of dry, empty words;

never quite reaching the mark;

old debts return,

tears rain down, like

sweet summer sweat,

holding on until

there is nothing left;

without hope,

without chance;

beautiful dreams flow like a river,

on their way to imaginary seas,

dancing like butterflies

on the morning wind,

echoing sounds of magic,

within the caverns of

mindless souls;

one more time,

traveling down this

long and lonesome road,

searching for a home,

inside lost and empty ruins,

running from fantasies

that never were,

living within upside down dreams,

which come and go;

over before it began;

my eyes have seen, what others

have not,

my heart has known that,

which no heart should;

sometimes the greatest love

is that which never was.

.

.

Gulf Shores (9 November 2010)

in the morning,

we walk the beach in silence,

hand in hand,

bathed in sunlight,

surrounded by a blue, cloudless sky,

waves lapping rhythmically,

hypnotically,

echoing the heartbeat of life;

this must be heaven;

images and words,

flow like electric current;

“I should have brought something

to write with,” I tell her,

“I’ve written an entire poem

in my head, but I’ll never

remember it;”

I’ve lost so many that way,

slipping through my fingers

like liquid glass;

gone forever;

we watch a pod of dolphins,

fishing just off shore,

slowly breaking the surface,

bobbing and weaving,

the way it has been

for thousands of years,

the talk on the news is about

oil, economic crises and recovery,

but the dolphins don’t seem to care;

and neither do I.

.

.

Not Much

it may not be much,

but it’s mine;

not some teachers,

not some mentors,

not someone else’s idea

of good or bad;

it is mine;

it tears them apart,

knowing they spent years,

learning all the rules,

all the techniques,

all the proper pronouns,

all the perfect suffixes,

paying all the dues,

establishing all the provenances,

only to find out,

it’s all bullshit;

it’s either there,

or it isn’t;

I have seen their lies,

their hypocrisy,

their almost truths,

I have bought into

their system,

I have accepted their penalty

I have paid their price:

I am free.

.

.

Drama

she sits on the edge,

comfortably away from the fire,

safely out of the battle zone,

throwing round house punches,

taking cheap shots,

hitting below the belt

whenever possible,

protecting her cynicism

at all cost;

resting securely in cloaks of MFA s,

drowning in sheets of academic nonsense,

staring down her preconceived nose,

at anything outside her ‘reformed’ mind,

jaded by the master,

poisoned at a very early age;

more than a childhood lost.

.

.

The Way of Truth

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

lost in this sea of darkness,

sentenced to die

from the day we are born,

guilty as charged,

eternally separated,

forever gone;

the dreams of men,

are like birds on the wind,

shifting and rearranging,

living and dying,

here today,

gone tomorrow;

there are many roads in life,

leading to far away,

unknown destinations,

creating their own specific

brand of justification,

finding their own particular

version of truth,

but no matter how many

truths we create,

no matter how many

different ways,

we want to believe;

there is only one truth,

there is only one way,

there is only one road;

it does not bend,

to fit our ideas or desires,

it does not go in the direction

we demand it to go,

it is final,

it is absolute;

that is how truth works;

enter through the narrow gate,

for wide is the gate and broad is the road,

that leads to destruction,

and many enter through it,

but small is the gate and narrow the road

that leads to life;

and only few who find it.

.

.

truth

Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:  ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’?  Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed”   Luke 20:17-18

truth;

from where does it come?

to where does it go?

rattling around inside,

bouncing back and forth,

like some misguided missile,

and just when you think

you have the answer,

you come to the stark,

brutal realization;

you've only scratched the surface;

truth;

so seemingly simple,

yet so profoundly complex,

separating darkness from light,

bringing dawn to the fading night,

cutting hard and deep,

with surgeon-like precision and skill,

providing comfort and mercy,

while dispensing perfect judgment

and justice;

truth is absolute,

truth is forever,

truth never changes,

truth never compromises,

truth is condemnation,

truth is salvation,

all rolled into one,

truth is the stone,

upon which everyone who falls,

will be broken to pieces,

but he on whom it falls,

will be crushed;

truth is Jesus Christ.

.

.

Seige

outside this worn,

and battered fortress,

the enemy patiently waits,

laying siege to these

crumbling walls,

setting traps and hidden snares,

offering enticing lures and

self-gratifying baits,

silently probing and testing,

continuously searching for

weakness and flaws;

preparing for the final assault;

within the darkness,

I seek Your face,

through the long lost night,

I wait for Your presence;

rise up O mighty Lord,

defend me from unknown enemies,

free me from unseen bars,

fill me with Your holy fire,

bathe me in Your glorious light,

overwhelm me with

Your Holy Spirit;

You are all that I desire,

You are all that I need,

You are the center of my hope,

You are the answer to

every question;

You are all there is;

in You shall I find relief,

through You shall I overcome,

in You shall I have victory,

through You shall I be delivered;

stay with me forever,

strengthen my weakening defenses,

prepare my heart for the coming battle,

let me be triumphant in the face of defeat;

bring me home to You.

.

.

Deliver Me

within nighttime dreams,

I walk in cold, forsaken places,

dark, dead lost places;

far beyond the reach of hope;

I listen to the suffering,

I hear the sorrow,

I feel the pain,

I know the emptiness;

they are places through which

I have walked before;

when I awake,

You are there,

standing by my side,

never letting go,

never walking away,

renewing and healing me,

blessing me when I deserve nothing,

forgiving me,

when I cannot forgive myself,

reminding me that without You,

I can never overcome;

deliver me O Lord,

from dark, dead places,

lost and forgotten places,

hidden within the shadows

of dreams;

take away the emptiness

as only You can;

hold me now,

bathe me in Your light,

fill me with Your love,

surround me with Your glory,

let me belong to You forever;

my Savior,

my King,

my God,

my Everything.

.

.

Next

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”   Matthew 14:28-33

one more lesson,

one more obstacle,

one more weakness,

one more time, I begin

to sink below the surface;

once again, You grasp

my hand,

once again, You pull

me from the depths,

once again, You teach me

to overcome,

once again, Your power sets

me free;

the world continues on,

wars and rumors of wars,

death and destruction,

joy and laughter,

greed and self-satisfaction,

vanity and pride;

none of that matters now,

the flesh slowly dies,

only a fading mist,

a disappearing shadow,

I am finished with it all,

there is nothing more

I need,

there is nothing more

I want,

all that matters now is

what comes next,

all that matters now,

is You.

.

.