Angel

today

I saw the mind

of a mindless

killer;

devoid,

bottomless;

he stood

in the supermarket

looking at

ice cream cakes,

our eyes met,

and 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.

.

.

now I know

now I know,

why junkies stick needles

in their arms and lie dying

in back street alleys;

now I know,

why death comes

before the body

actually dies;

now I know

what Christ felt;

now I know,

where people go

when there is

nothing left;

now I know,

just how black

the darkness of the night

can be;

now I know,

just how deep

the bottom

really is;

now I know,

and the needle,

and the powder,

and the shots of whiskey,

and death,

only make it

legitimate;

now I know,

and have lived

to tell about it.

.

.

New Creation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.   2 Corinthians 5:17

no longer the same,

no longer a slave,

no longer a victim,

no longer trapped by

fear and death,

something different;

a new creation;

born of the spirit,

a foreigner, walking in

a foreign land,

a child of light, called out

from the darkness,

a chosen vessel;

a son of God;

let me walk in Your holy

righteousness,

teach me how to grow,

fill me with Your endless love,

guide my steps down the path

leading me home to You.

.

.

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.

.

.

Slaves

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.   John 1:1-5

products of our own choices,

masters of impossibilities and

empty desires,

creatures of cold-hearted witness;

slaves to life,

slaves to death,

slaves to everything,

slaves to nothing;

such is our destiny,

such is our fate;

followers of a far distant night,

lost travelers upon forgotten

highways and endless destinations,

eventually everything

loses its value,

everything fades,

everything fails,

everything crumbles back

into the dust from

where it came;

I want to be free,

I want to breathe

once again;

life is as temporary as

the moment,

as fragile as the

morning dew,

when it has all passed;

there will be only

You.

.

.

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 prison bars,

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 never 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.

.

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Knowledge of God

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.   Romans 11:33-36

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.   Proverbs 1:7

wandering alone,

destroyed by the moment,

overcome by the magnitude,

afraid of the consequences;

eternally gone;

I have fallen short,

I have been less,

I have not been

all that You created

me to be,

I don’t comprehend the reason,

I can’t explain the why,

I only know through You

it will all work out

in the end;

without suffering and pain,

there would be no relief,

without sadness and sorrow,

there would be no happiness and joy,

without darkness and evil,

there would be no light and

righteousness;

without You,

there would be no hope;

thank you Lord,

rebuke me when I am wrong,

discipline me as a beloved son,

praise Your holy name forever,

to You belongs the glory;

to You shall I belong

forever.

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