Friday, January 31, 2014

Never Been To Prison

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.   Ephesians 6:12
never been to prison,
but I feel like
I’ve been behind bars
since the day I was born,
never seen the desert,
but I think I have been
planning the trip
all my life;
now my life
is almost over,
dried up
like an abandoned well,
a gentle mist,
a fog shrouded vapor;
see it fade,
see it change,
see it rearrange;
movement becomes hard,
pain a way of life,
everything is gone,
everything is different;
everything is new;
we reap what we sow,
and I have sown the seeds
of perversion,
wallowed in the ways of lust,
fulfilled the desires of the flesh,
reveled in the excesses,
partook of the debauchery,
delighted in the thrills,
I have lived for the moment,
searching for forbidden fruit;
I deserve nothing;
all my life,
I have lived in worlds of fantasy,
trapped by delusions and
non-existent details,
all my life,
flirting with madness
and disasters beyond
mere magnitudes of mortality,
searching for finality,
witnessing untold destruction,
forever knowing,
continually waiting,
for moments that came
and went like liquid glass;
the night belongs to those
who have nothing else;
sadness is an art
known by only a few,
understood by none,
without beginning or end,
without mercy or compassion,
techniques and classifications
have no hold here,
no amount of money
can buy membership here,
words can save,
words can kill;
turn around
before it is too late;


once more,
the darkness closes in,
once more,
the abyss lies before you,
calling, beckoning, caressing;
save me Lord!……………
.
.


Without You There Is Nothing

here within the silence
of nighttime shadows,
lie unexplored depths,
mountains ready to climb,
dreams worth dreaming,
unspoken words
waiting for discovery;
without You
there is nothing;
for everything there is a price,
unseen costs and unknown tolls,
untold suffering and unspeakable sacrifice,
invisible lines and barriers without relief,
more than we can comprehend,
fantasies beyond the realm of possibility,
symptoms of the fear,
part of the process,
payment for services rendered;
without You
there is nothing;
trapped within the truth,
hiding among the enemy,
running from the end,
searching for secret sanctuaries;
they can take it all,
they can strip the clothes
from your back,
but they can never take this,
they can never take You;
so much lost,
so much forgotten,
so much unknown,
so much farther to go;
without You
there is nothing.
.
.


For The First Time

I read their poems,
I feel their rage,
I see their sadness,
I understand their frustration,
I know their darkness,
I have been on that side
of the fence;
I have been where they are;
like a giant vacuum,
it sucks you into
the deep, murky mire,
echoes from below
cry out within,
as visions of madmen,
standing on the platform,
waiting for a train
that never comes,
flash before your burned out,
cynical eyes;
I have been to their edge;
this body fades,
for the first time
words come to life,
for the first time
the possibilities
far outweigh the
realities;
for the first time
I am clean;
he pain grows,
as you hold it inside,
like a deformed child,
locked away,
out of sight,
out of mind;
no one listens,
no one sees,
no one understands;
but You.
.
.


Completely

in the night,
I remember places
I have been,
I remember forgotten things,
small things,
things which only
You know,
and I feel Your wondrous touch,
Your magnificent
mercy and grace;
all my life
You have led me
to this moment,
and now I am ready,
now I can comprehend,
now I am Yours completely,
now I will belong to You
forever;
do not let me be a well
without water,
do not let me be a dark, angry cloud
within the approaching tempest,
do not let me walk down paths
leading to death,
do not let me be pious
for piety sake,
let me be a living spring
from which all may drink,
a mighty raging river,
let Your unconditional love
flow from within,
as a brightly blazing beacon
set upon a hill for all to see,
let Your marvelous light shine forth,
fill me with the splendor
of Your precious spirit,
allow me to be a messenger
of Your glory and truth;
Jesus,
praise Your holy and beautiful name,
my King,
my God,
my Savior;
my Everything.
.
.


An Uneasy Interruption

in the end,
I will fade away
like the early morning dawn,
quietly changing from darkness
into light,
without a sound,
without a fight,
a passing whisper
in the middle of the
dark, crisp night;
we all do,
we all will,
we simply have
little choice;
words will mean very little,
relationships even less,
memories but a brief moment,
an uneasy interruption,
a passing vapor
in a world of swirling mist;
I have been to the mountaintop,
I have peered into the oblivion below,
I have heard the small still voice,
I have known the touch
of His calm, cool hand;
words will never be enough.
.
.


Thursday, January 30, 2014

A Discussion About The Enemy

          I want to talk about the enemy. "What enemy is that?" you might ask. I am talking about an enemy who is very powerful, very cunning, very deceitful; an enemy who on our own, we would not stand a chance of overcoming. I am talking about Satan and the power of darkness. Most people (Christians) feel very superior on this subject, 'oh, him, he doesn't fool me, I recognize his tricks' ha, ha!  Really? Do you really? Lets take some examples from the bible and see if we are justified in this 'confidence'. In Matthew 4, after fasting for 40 days, Jesus is confronted by the tempter (Satan). If you read this passage carefully you will see that Jesus never talks directly to Satan, but quotes scripture each time he addresses him. Why do you think that is? Do you think it's because Jesus can not match Satan in a battle of words? Of course not, the Lord is more than capable of matching anything Satan has to throw at Him. As is the case in many instances in the Gospels, Jesus is setting an example for His followers. While Jesus can match Satan, we cannot (not even close). For us to try and battle Satan with anything other than the Word of God is very dangerous. I guarantee you that Satan is much more adept in using words to create whatever situation or illusion he desires to create, than you or I. Not only that, he knows scripture better than you or I, so don't think having a little bit of biblical knowledge makes you safe. If you notice in Matthew 4, after Jesus quotes scripture to Satan, he then uses scripture as a counter-attack. In fact quoting scripture out of context, or for a purpose other than what it was intended is something you see used all the time in the world and by many so called, televangelists.

          Last night, while doing our bible study, my wife and I studied the 'Transfiguration' described in Matthew chapter 17. One of the questions in our study guide asked 'What do you think was the purpose of showing Peter, John and James this event?' After some thought, an idea occurred to me that I had never thought of before. Jesus took the three men who were to become leaders of His flock to see this event because He knew they were going to need all the strength and faith they could muster, to overcome the enemy after He had left them. They saw the Lord in His heavenly glory, they stood in the presence of God Himself and heard His voice from a cloud! Now think about this; even after seeing such a glorious and amazing event, Satan was still able to fill them with enough doubt and fear that they fled when Jesus was arrested, and Peter denied even knowing Jesus not once, but three times. So my question to you is this; if Satan is capable of creating doubt and fear in someone who has actually stood in the presence of God, what chance do you think you have on your own? I think you can answer that on your own. Fortunately we do not have to overcome Satan on our own, we have a God who has already done it for us if we are wise enough to accept His love and protection. I would liken it to a baby buffalo calf and a pack of wolves. If the calf is smart enough to remain with it's mother and the herd, then it is relatively safe. However if it wanders from that protection then it most certainly will be destroyed. That is exactly the tactic used when a wolf pack hunts. It will try to separate a calf from it's mother and herd.

          So should we live our lives in fear of Satan and darkness? Absolutely not, but by the same token we must not forget that on our own, Satan would sift us as wheat just as he would have sifted Peter if the Lord had allowed it; “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32. On our own we can do nothing. We must do as the Apostle Paul talked about in his Epistle to the Ephesians: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.   Ephesians 6:10-20

          We must never forget this and we must never laugh at or mock things that are beyond our understanding or wisdom. I believe this is what Peter was warning about in 2 Peter 2:10-12 ; This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. 2 Peter 2:10-12

          In closing I hope you will think on what I have said here. Please pray about it and ask the Lord to guide you.

not a clue

I have been at the top,
I have been on the bottom;
I have been every place
in between;
so don’t judge or condemn,
don’t assume you know
who I am;
you haven’t got a clue;
forever two steps ahead,
continually one step behind,
the days come and the
days go,
while the nighttime hides
within gathering midnight
shadows,
and still you remain
on my mind;
you haven’t got a clue;
I have tasted the suffering
of tomorrow,
I have known the misery of
one more day,
I have been where you can
never be,
I have seen the gathering dawn
as it silently waits for the
privileged few,
I have heard the sound of nothing
as it calls out for more;
you do not know,
you do not care;
you haven’t got a clue.
.
.


They Always Know

somehow,
the experts always know,
they know the when,
they know the how,
they know the why;
they make knowing their
life ambition;
they know why Sylvia put
her head in the oven,
they know why J.D. disappeared
into the remote woods
of New Hampshire,
they know the truth about
gods and other man-made,
self-taught, traditions and
myths;
they know better
than friends and family,
they know long after
knowing has ceased to matter;
egotistical bags of pus,
charlatans of the deep,
keepers of destructive dust,
purveyors of lost lust,
grubby little cock roaches
grasping at forgotten fables,
they know it all;
they know nothing;
just one clear breath,
sensitive and deep,
truth beyond the
know-it-alls and
self-imposed experts,
just one small glimpse
past the illusion,
no reasoning without honor,
no philosophical babble
rising from the decay,
no self-righteous,
self-serving
bullshit;
no how,
no why,
no when,
no knowing;
only cool, quiet thought
within the madness.
.
.


Angel

today,
I saw the mind
of a mindless
killer;
devoid,
bottomless;
he stood
in the supermart,
looking at
ice cream cakes,
our eyes met,
I felt
the emptiness,
the cold heartless
calculations;
I turned away;
last night,
I saw a wandering
angel,
lost and alone,
afraid
of what
he had become,
searching
for a way back
home;
I gave him ten bucks;
he said he’d pay me back,
but I know he never will.
.
.


The Night

cold and barren,
the windswept fields,
dark and gray,
in the moonlight,
walking
through wooded
meadows;
she calls
and I must
go;
her voice
beckoning my soul
to come
lie at her
feet;
she washes my face
with raven hair,
wet with teardrops
from things
unseen,
unknown;
in her arms
I know no
fear;
she is the night,
when she calls
no man
resists her voice;
she is the darkness
living in us
all.
.
.


HA! (A Zen Philosophy)

Aiya des tiubon
Elopon
Ist mo mai
Flen does bupoe
Frevgli wast inuei
Rusten brai drajda
Pleastu di vo waben
Yidda mog sharban oplle

Restu!

Quellen revlick torgen
Yackoo it viellen
setsu gigen fligen
Ostoe doeit crupu
Plaggen
Ebbem goulaggen dredden
Brooden flegs
Ascotu really perten
Werbit patwod gimsch
Litwit nig
Suscko matter quozo?
Fley


HA!
.
.


I don't know how Stephen King does it

good news!
I can be a published poet;
and;
it’s only gonna cost
fifty bucks!
I always wanted
to be one of those;
just sign the dotted line;
I’m in;
oh,
don’t forget the check;
oh well,
it’s a small price to pay;
only in America,
isn't it wonderful?
memberships:
life?
personal or philosophical statements:
what? (I guess that says it all);
other writings:
yes!
current occupation:
being human?
whew!
it’s not easy
being published;
I don’t know how
Stephen King does it.
.
.


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Merrill Lynch

ticker tapes
ticking,
investments
dropping,
quiet whispers,
deadly serious,
panic,
downcast eyes,
the future
looking black;
god, please,
don’t tell us
we’ll have to actually
work again;
here’s the investment tip
of the week!
……… You ready?
Okay,
here it is;
psst! ………. 44 MAGNUM
(keep it to yourself);
AK 47s don’t look bad either;
I’d shy away from Uzis though,
(not enough penetrating power)
.
.


Monday, January 27, 2014

The Only Way Out

“The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”   Matthew 21:43-44
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
I am tired,
really tired;
tired of fighting to
prove my worth,
tired of trying to be
something I will never be,
tired of caring what
the world thinks of me,
tired of being afraid,
tired of wondering what
tomorrow might bring,
tired of being a slave,
tired of the fantasies
and illusions most live under,
tired of listening to the
self-righteous,
stick your head
in the sand,
I’m ok, you’re ok,
look at me, aren't I special,
individuals who think
that this world,
and the people in it
are basically good;
because they’re not;
human history
has proven that
over and over again;
this world was broke
a long time ago, and
there is only One Way
it will ever be fixed,
it will take a power
far beyond anything
this world will ever
possess;
truth?
real truth does not
change,
it never has,
it never will,
real truth is absolute,
it is irrevocable
it is final,
it is beyond human
comprehension or thought,
it is a rock upon which
all who fall will be broken,
and all upon whom it falls
will be crushed,
only man-made truth
changes with the wind,
bouncing from one
theory to another,
one self-created god
to the next;
what sad, pathetic fools
we truly are,
created with so much
potential,
yet settling for so much
less,
selling out for a few brief
moments of pleasure,
caving in to fears and desires,
trading truth for myth,
light for darkness;
life for death;
within the fear and decay
there remains One hope,
a light set upon a hill,
an escape,
a reprieve,
a small, still voice in the
cold, dark night,
do not harden your heart;
do not turn away from the only
way out of this life.
.
.


An Apology

the night quietly gathers
one last time,
as the sun slowly disappears,
I will never see your
vast, luscious valleys,
never taste the sweetness
of your swift running streams,
never hear the sound
of your softly rustling leaves,
blowing in the cool, gentle, breeze,
never find the peace of your
distant, fading solitude,
never know the mystery of your
intoxicating touch;
again;
should have left well enough alone,
should have let it die,
a friend indeed is far better
than a lover gone,
yet sometimes weakness
overcomes strength,
sometimes dreams are more
than can be resisted;
some things really are better
left unsaid;
and that is all
which can be said,
now it shall be no more,
just as so many others
which were but are not,
nothing, nothing at all,
simply a fading mist,
a slight murmur among
the daily buzz,
goodbye my love
that is but never was;
I am sorry.
.
.


Stolen Ground

I have tasted heights so high,
I have swam depths so deep,
touching things along the way
which were never mine to keep,
traveling beyond all there
was to know,
yet still there is more,
so much more to go;
confusion and sorrow color
these early morning skies,
answers lie hidden
among alternatives and
cascading lies,
places once called home
crumble into the far-off fading light,
faces once called friends
disappear into the approaching black
of this forever growing night;
take my hand,
lead me from this land,
hear my voice,
help me make a stand;
darkness grows above,
storms rise from below,
over-fed pretenders
prepare for the final show,
in this never ending battle
which can never be won,
raging just beyond
all that can be overcome;
into the nighttime void a
whisper does sound,
shadows of tomorrow looming large
across this stolen ground,
mistakes of yesterday forever lost,
innocent blood shed,
freedom at such a staggering cost;
take my hand,
lead me from this land,
hear my voice,
help me make a stand.
.
.


The Great Conundrum

the problem with the past
is yesterday and tomorrow;
you can’t undo yesterday,
and you sure can’t
guarantee tomorrow;
the problem with the present
is yesterday and tomorrow;
you can’t undo yesterday,
and you sure can’t
guarantee tomorrow;
the problem with the future
is yesterday and tomorrow;
you can’t undo yesterday,
and you sure can’t
guarantee tomorrow;
feelings fade,
sliding out the door
like unwanted
house guests,
fleeing into the
surrounding wilderness
never to return,
never to be seen again,
the pain comes,
the pain goes,
here today,
gone tomorrow,
just a passing moment,
piling upon a mountain
of yesterday’s moments,
cascading into fresh moments
of today,
patiently waiting for
new moments of tomorrow,
which in the end
mean very little, because;
you can’t undo yesterday,
and you sure can’t
guarantee tomorrow.
.
.


now it begins

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.  
Revelations 8:1
night does approach,
dreams do fade,
silence awaits,
time no more;
now it begins;
love fades,
hypocrisy rises,
iniquity abounds,
self-proclaimed children of light,
fingers of judgment,
objects of wrath,
calm,
cool,
arrogant;
no mourning,
no shame,
no remorse,
sitting as a queen;
in one day her plagues
will overtake her.
.
.

not enough

what else can I say?
what else can I do?
what else is there?
you are inside;
like blood,
like bones,
like teeth,
like skin;
you move with
the wind,
swaying on
the breeze,
rising and falling
like the tide;
not enough;
living,
dying,
eating,
dreaming,
crying,
speaking,
writing,
spiting,
chewing;
not enough;
not enough;
I breathe you like
oxygen,
I want you like
tomorrow,
I hide you like
a secret,
I whisper your name
like an ancient society,
I consume you like
a pear;
not enough,
not enough;
I love you.
.
.


Tired

life was silent this morning,
distant and confused;
I am tired of the pain,
I am tired of the suffering;
yet still You raise me up,
even now You carry me forward;
without You there is nothing;
the dreams grow,
the time is almost here,
the moment rushes forward,
payment past due,
the taste becomes bitter
inside this dry and dying
cauldron;
I am tired of the pain,
I am tired of the suffering;
yet still You raise me up,
even now You carry me forward;
without You there is nothing.
.
.


Only The Wind Remains

your beauty fades,
the darkness of night
does approach,
there is no truth left,
no more hope before
the dawn,
this moment of ordinary
clarity disappears,
chance encounters inside
realms of creative laughter;
another answer,
another possibility;
only the wind remains;
words flow like delicate swans,
wrapping themselves in
royal robes of comfort,
deep within the sound of
your breath,
soft and secure,
speaking unknown mysteries and
telling tales of untold valor,
staggering like drunken sailors on
maiden voyages,
weaving inside blurred lines
of forgotten innocence,
lost upon midnight dreams,
unable to grasp even the
fundamentals;
the window is closing,
the time almost here,
the silence roars without a sound,
the hour upon which it
stands grows near;
only the wind remains.
.
.


Sunday, January 26, 2014

Wasted Days and Wasted Lives

today was one of those wasted days
where you have the time
to do so many things but yet,
you wind up doing nothing,
laying around in your pajamas,
as grass and weeds which need
cutting and trimming, quietly
grow outside;
you go back to bed and
sleep until one in the
afternoon,
you eat your wife’s Reese’s Cups
and Kit Kat bars,
then feel guilty and tell yourself
you’ll run to the store later
and buy some more,
but you only leave the house
to take the dog outside,
as you take a double shot
of insulin to try and keep
your blood sugar under 400;
yes, a completely wasted,
unproductive day;
you try to write,
so the day won’t be
a complete loss,
perhaps provide a little
redemption for wasting
an entire day,
but it doesn't help,
you think about things
you haven’t thought about
in a long, long time,
you think about people and
places which have come
and gone,
about plans and dreams
that never seemed to
work out;
you think about life,
you think about death,
you think about lies
and hypocrisy,
all the bullshit in this life,
all the nonsense and chaos,
you think about monsters,
dark and evil,
who steal the innocence
and faith from young
children,
taking all they have,
leaving them to grow up
with nothing left to give,
you think about all the lives
wasted by wars and greed,
all the suffering in the name
of ego and pride,
you think about truth
and know that there is
only One;
and all the wasted days and
wasted lives are the
only proof you’ll ever need.
.
.


Saturday, January 25, 2014

Hope?

“Life is a tale told by an idiot – full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” – William Shakespeare.
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
“See that I am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. Deuteronomy 32:39
we live,
we die,
we laugh,
we cry;
there is nothing new
under the sun.
all the accomplishments of man,
all the clever, flowing words,
are but meaningless dust,
vanities and vexations,
twisting and blowing,
scattering on the shifting wind,
dark mists of evaporating vapor,
clanging gongs of raucous sound,
deep reservoirs of hopeless hope,
obstinate children,
full of excess
and self-glorification,
pompous celebrations of mediocrity
and drivel,
early morning shadows,
disappearing with the
noon day sun,
here today,
gone tomorrow;
they are nothing,
nothing at all;
not one can bring
life from death,
not one can escape the grave;
without You there is no meaning,
without You there is no truth,
without You there is no light;
without You there is no life.
.
.


A Cult Of The Ordinary

the dark night does approach,
silence fills the unending void,
there are consequences
for careless words spoken
in haste,
prices to be paid for
miscommunications and
mistaken identities,
we have crossed unknown
lines and barriers
without any thought
for tomorrow,
settling for pennies on the dollar,
creating monuments of our
own misgivings,
putting eternal wheels in motion
which cannot be undone,
winning victories,
but in the end
losing the war,
the last breath
waits feverishly
on the wings
of majestic crows,
black and sleek,
seeking refuge among
the lost and forsaken
rubble which
congregates just outside
these prison walls,
waiting for no one,
seeking nothing;
nothing at all;
they never see past the veil,
this charade,
this hideously pathetic impression,
for most it is
business as usual,
part of the routine;
a cult of the ordinary.
.
.


What Love Really Is

some get it, most don’t,
they think they do,
but they don’t;
their comments and words
give them away;
but it really is ok,
some of the time
I don’t get it either,
I just put on a knowing look
and pretend with all the rest;
not knowing is bad enough,
admitting that you don’t know
even worse,
it does get hard though,
listening to all the know-it-alls
and self-proclaimed experts,
rambling on and on about
this and that,
as you patiently listen, nod
and smile,
all the while wondering
what you will eat for dinner
when you get home,
or why the One who
does know it all
puts up with all the
vanity and bullshit,
why He doesn't just
speak and make it all
go away;
and it’s moments like that
when you realize,
what love really is.
.
.


Waiting For The Show

the sun beats down
at 102 degrees,
as you silently wait for
the show to begin,
it is always like this;
a pause,
a cost,
a loss;
there is no other way;
the knife cuts deep,
you seek a finish,
a final place of rest as
it comes upon you cold
and wet,
rushing and wild,
strangely familiar;
empty and final;
there are things bigger
than fear or lust,
bigger than insecurities
or satisfaction,
places where the night
gathers once more,
and it is never what it seems,
never what is expected,
licking every last drop,
leaving nothing behind,
raging like a beast
with no hope for tomorrow,
purging every second
for all it is worth,
ripping flesh into
mountainous shreds,
scattering forgotten remains
upon the blowing wind,
howling until the morning
dawn;
a place which no one can see,
a land that no one can understand.
.
.


Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Face of True Evil/Prepare Yourself

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.   Matthew 24:24
Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.   Revelation 13:11-18
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.   Matthew 24:9-13
I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”   Luke 18:8
true evil has no face,
it shifts and moves,
swaying back and forth
like grains of desert sand
in a gently blowing wind,
quietly infiltrating its way
into minds and souls in high
and mighty places,
enticing and alluring;
irresistible;
the ultimate chameleon,
making changes so subtle
they are barely perceptible;
deception in the name
of innocence;
taking shape without
worry or care,
then disappearing like magic,
into the thin night air;
yes,
true evil has no face,
it goes by many names;
eminent domain,
manifest destiny,
for god and country,
true religion,
the chosen race,
national pride,
the final solution,
genocide;
to name a few;
and when it has come and gone,
none but a few even realize
it has passed their way
at all;
the time is coming,
when everything you think
you know,
everything you believe
to be true will be
challenged,
turned upside down;
the world,
technology,
science,
reality,
your eyes,
your ears,
even your very mind,
will tell you that
what you believe cannot
possibly be true,
deceiving even the elect,
if that were possible;
will you still have your faith
then?
what is right will be wrong,
what is up will be down,
what is righteous will be evil;
when they torture and kill,
they’ll believe they are
doing God’s work;
will you still have your faith
then?
“prepare yourself” sayeth the Lord.
.

.

Monday, January 20, 2014

All That Will Be 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 and
living in a fantasy world
that doesn't 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 love
will be all that is left,
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.
.
.

Bare Essentials

we are reducing life down
to the bare essentials,
at least that is what we call it,
some would say it is
predetermined starvation;
others call it being homeless;
for some it comes naturally,
for others it is a constant struggle,
it’s not easy throwing everything away,
it requires constant attention,
it takes honest effort;
it demands due diligence;
just when you think you’re there,
some young, compassionate do-gooder,
from the state office of
social consciousness,
hands you some subsistence check,
or food stamps,
or welfare;
it’s not as easy as you might think;
homelessness is the last great
American adventure,
the final frontier,
the ultimate showdown,
I have listened to the self-made experts,
I have searched through the intellectual,
bourgeois bullshit, deep within the
galactic spheres of driveling drivel;
they are all the same;
spewing out giant mental epitaphs,
while sputtering palpitating piss
from swollen rectal tumors;
give them what they want I’m told,
shove it so far up their chute
they won’t know up from down,
but still I hang on to the good ole days,
always just out of reach
of right or wrong,
afraid of being on one side
of the fence or the other,
yet landing right in the middle
just the same;
please don’t ask me what
that all means,
because I don’t know.
.
.



Give and Take

looking out over grey,
snow covered fields,
I know there are unspoken words,
unknown ideas,
unfulfilled dreams and
untold stories,
slipping away like ships
passing in the fog of night;
and the world goes on
just the same;
I know that time passes with or
without our permission,
I know that there is nothing new
under the sun,
I know that we live in a
give and take world,
designed to be perfectly in balance
between the two,
a world where what you take
should equal exactly
what you give;
but this is not a perfect world,
this is not a world where
things go as designed,
this is a world
where those who can    -     do,
and those who can’t      -    don’t,
a place where those who take,
take more,
and those who give,
give more,
until there is no more
to give or take,
and those who have given it all
simply die or disappear,
never to be seen or heard
from again,
while those who take
look around for fresh victims
upon which to feed;
this is a world where children
starve to death
while great banquets and feasts
are held just around the corner,
a society where old people
freeze to death in cold, dark houses,
while fortunes are spent on electricity
for Christmas decorations and lights,
a land where money makes you right,
and lack of it makes you wrong;
despite being denied
from church pulpits everywhere;
yes, it is a give and take world,
but the day is almost here
when the scales will be balanced,
it’s just a matter of simple physics;
what goes in,
must equal what comes out.
.
.


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