tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-224910792024-03-08T11:43:50.191+11:00Pickle-osophy'I think it is of Thee the sparrows sing' - Oscar WildeLynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.comBlogger1142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-73046793346539475392021-12-27T16:17:00.002+11:002021-12-27T16:17:10.765+11:00Unto us a Son is Given<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unto us a son is given:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In a home birth, far away from home,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Birthweight unknown, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apgar score unchecked,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and Love speaks in a weak, thin newborn cry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unto us a son is given,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And they came.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not the respectable townsfolk, reputation-wrapped,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But the rough guys from the sheep pens<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Knives in belts,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And accents thick as grease,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Clomping their way into the Holy Place,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tongue tied and awkward<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Muttering of angels,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Seeing something there<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That overwhelmed strong men.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unto us a son is given:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the deeps of the night<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cutting the starlit silence<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While men slept their banal sleep<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And only angels watched<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unto us a son is given.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When he came<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We did not know what to do with him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Indifference, doubt,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rejection, torture, death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Only a few<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Shaken from sleep, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Saw the whole thing through<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazed with much amazement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unto us a son is given<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given still<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That we might come<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Come see what God has done<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What God is doing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And what God will do<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Through the most ordinary<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Love breaks through<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And we are born anew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-764599786066507492021-12-26T15:21:00.004+11:002021-12-26T15:21:53.455+11:00For the Nerdy Girls<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This one is for the nerdy girls<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With their heads in books, and books inside their heads,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bored with the tea-time chatter about things of no concern,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Their minds dancing with questions,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Their hearts dancing with wonder,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At a world too big for words.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is for the girls whose tongues trip over words<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Read but not heard;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who try hard not to laugh<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At accidental puns,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who get lost because they were thinking<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of something else entirely.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who, when warned “men don’t like brains”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Can’t imagine why they’d care.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is for the girls who cannot flirt<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because saying something you don’t mean<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Is a paralysing confusion;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">People and feelings matter<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And they don’t understand the game,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Girls who feel their awkwardness<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As deep as a disgrace<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But still choose to be themselves<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At any price.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is for the girls who can forget<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One hundred “supposed to’s” in the grips<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of a great idea that sweeps them off the earth<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Into the rarefied realms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Girls whose hearts<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Turn cartwheels while they trip over their feet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And this is for the girls who learned to live<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Through books,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The girls who had no other teachers,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who grew and left their early angst behind, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who found their feet, and found their hearts and smiled,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And never, ever, ever ceased to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-79099351635593789432021-09-20T10:03:00.001+10:002021-09-20T10:03:17.391+10:00Lockdown Devotional -- Psalm 121<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Help!!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What do you do when you can’t manage, when things get too
hard? How good are you at asking for help when you need it? Everybody’s different,
aren’t they? We’ve all met people who would cheerfully sit back and let
everyone else do everything for them. Equally, there are many people who will
never admit to having any need at all. Most of us are somewhere in between, or,
more likely, we know how to ask for help in some areas of life, but not others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I was in primary school (and maybe I’m showing my age
here!) we learnt a poem called Gordon’s Creed, by Adam Lindsay Gordon, which
said (in part):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Question not, but live and labour<br />
Till yon goal be won,<br />
Helping every feeble neighbour,<br />
Seeking help from none</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">;”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I think this reflects something in the Australian psyche: a
pride in our self-sufficiency, a disdain for not being personally strong
enough. There is a certain self-contempt for the weakness of not standing on your
own two feet. Yet the truth is that we are all human, and we are not
all-powerful or all-wise. We are fragile, we are mortal, and nothing in this
world is certain. All of us need help at some point. If we don’t admit our need
and look in the right place for help, we end up looking in the wrong place, and
clinging to things that can’t really help us at all. So where do we find the
help that we really need?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Psalmist asked the same question in Psalm 121:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my
help come?<br />
<b><sup>2 </sup></b>My help comes from the Lord, who made
heaven and earth.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He will not let your foot be moved; he
who keeps you will not slumber.<br />
<b><sup>4 </sup></b>Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor
sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">5 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Lord is your
keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.<br />
<b><sup>6 </sup></b>The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the
moon by night.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">7 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Lord will keep you from all
evil; he will keep your life.<br />
<b><sup>8 </sup></b>The Lord will keep your going out
and your coming in<br />
from this time forth and forevermore.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is worth noting that this psalm is one of the “songs of
ascents” – psalms that were traditionally sung by pilgrims on their way to
Jerusalem for one of the great feasts of the Jewish calendar. Jesus and his
disciples would have sung these psalms on their way to Jerusalem for the
Passover.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you’re like me, you look at the first line of the Psalm,
and wonder why he’s looking at the hills. It seems an odd place to start, but
scholars suggest 3 possible reasons, and I think there is something we can
learn from each of them:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
is gazing at the wonders of creation and is reminded of the Creator. Surely the
one who is powerful enough to make the universe, (including these towering
hills), and so glorious that he makes them awesome, and so loving that he makes
them beautiful; surely this God is one we can utterly depend on?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Old Testament makes frequent reference to the “high places”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were hilltop shrines to pagan idols
where the Israelites would sneak off to worship the Canaanite gods even if they
also brought their sacrifices to the Temple in Jerusalem. But you can’t have an
each way bet with God. As Joshua said long ago to the Israelites (Joshua 24:15)
“Choose this day whom you will serve!” We all have to choose our allegiance:
shall it be the gods of this world or the Creator of heaven and earth?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
hill country which one had to pass through to get to Jerusalem was a dangerous
area. Robbers lurked in the caves on the cliffs, and so did wild beasts. The
Psalmist looks up and sees the dangers ahead of him but presses on because he
has put his trust in God’s protection.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And God is our help and protection. He is our solid ground,
our rock our foundation; if we stand on him our foot will not slip (verse 3).
He watches over his children continuously, he neither slumbers nor sleeps
(verse 4). You may recall the story, in 1 Kings 18, when Elijah had a showdown
on Mt Carmel with the prophets of Baal, to see which god would respond by
sending fire from heaven. When the prophets of Baal prayed for hours with no
result, Elijah mocked them by suggesting that perhaps their God had gone to
sleep. Not so with our God, he watches over us constantly, so we can sleep with
confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And the God who keeps us is “the shade on your right hand”,
we are under the shadow of his wings, as, for example, in Psalm 36:7 <i>How
precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in
the shadow of Your wings</i> or Psalm 63:7 <i>For You have been my help, And in
the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. </i>And our God protects us from both
the sun (physical danger to our bodies such as heat, thirst and sunburn) and
the moon (which was thought to be associated with lunacy, so this is about our
mental and emotional well-being). And, of course, the sun and moon were almost
universally associated with pagan deities, who were often assumed to put curses
on people if they were not appeased, so this is about our spiritual well-being
as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He is the God who cares for everything, for every aspect of
our lives, our going out and coming in (verse 8). He stands between us and the
evils that would destroy us. He is the one we can always turn to for help.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, none of us today are pilgrims walking up through the
hill country to Jerusalem (especially while Covid travel restrictions apply!),
but we, too, are pilgrims, for we are seekers after the city which is to come
(Hebrews 13:14), and our true citizenship is not on earth, but in heaven
(Philippians 3:20).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we don’t do it
on our own. We walk the road together, supporting one another on the journey,
as pilgrims have always done. Most of all, we do it with Christ, who commanded
us to “take up your cross and follow me”. And, though the journey may sometimes
be hard, it is not something we need to be afraid of, for he has gone before us
to make a way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We do not need to fear that God is unwilling to help us,
because the cross is the proof of how far God is willing to go for our sakes.
We do not need to fear that God is unable to help us, because the resurrection
is the proof that God is all powerful. And we do not fear that we need to walk
alone, because he has given us his Holy Spirit to live within us, and he has
promised that he will be with us always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, the core issue here is: where do we look for help when we
need it? Where is our security found? In ourselves? That will take us so far,
but then we hit a brick wall. No human being has the power to overcome calamity
on his own, let alone conquer over death and judgement. Do we find our security
in having money in the bank and a roof over our heads? Jesus had something to
say about laying up our treasure where moth and rust can destroy, or thieves
break in and steal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a better way. The writer to the Hebrews put it this
way (chapter 12):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us, <b><sup>2 </sup></b>looking to Jesus, the founder and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of
the throne of God.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-17732936286724877092021-09-07T09:01:00.001+10:002021-09-07T09:01:19.343+10:00Lockdown Devotional: John 14:1-6<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Comfort for Confused disciples<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you knew that you were going to die in the next 24 hours,
what things would you really want to say? What would you want people to
remember? Everything you chose to talk about at that point would be what really
mattered to you. I admit that I have a certain fascination with people’s dying
words and what they reveal about the people who said them. Here are some
examples:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“In peace I will sleep with him and take my rest” -- Monica,
mother of Augustine<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Oh God, have pity on my soul. Oh God, have pity on my
soul." – Anne Boleyn<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we
shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as (I trust) shall
never be put out." – Hugh Latimer, one of the Oxford martyrs, about to be
burned at the stake<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Only one man ever understood me. And he really
didn't understand me." – Hegel, the German philosopher (hmmm)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Build me a hut to die in. I am going home." –
David Livingstone <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't
said enough!" – Karl Marx<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death.
One or the other of us has to go." – Oscar Wilde<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Above all, I charge the leadership of the nation and
their followers with the strict observance of the racial laws and with
merciless resistance against the universal poisoners of all peoples, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_conspiracy" title="Jewish conspiracy"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">international Jewry</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">." – Adolf Hitler<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I know this beach like the back of my hand." –
Harold Holt<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Don't cry for me, for I go where music is born." –
Johann Sebastian Bach<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And that’s only a small sample. There are pages of them you
can find online – some profound, some banal, some horrible, and some that just
leave you scratching your head. Death comes to people in very different ways;
and meets with very different responses. Some are prepared, many are not. Only
a minority know exactly when they are going to die.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When we come to Jesus, he knew exactly what was going to
happen to him, and so, the night before he died, at the Last Supper, he was
trying to prepare his disciples for what was about to take place, telling them
the things that they really needed to understand, and trying to comfort them in
their confusion. (And, if we’re honest, all of us know how it feels to be a
confused disciple at times.) Here’s a portion, from the beginning of John 14:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;
believe also in me. <b><sup>2 </sup></b>In my Father's house are
many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare
a place for you?<sup>]</sup> <b><sup>3 </sup></b>And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself,
that where I am you may be also. <b><sup>4 </sup></b>And you
know the way to where I am going.” <b><sup>5 </sup></b>Thomas said to
him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the
way?” <b><sup>6 </sup></b>Jesus said to him, “I am the way,
and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes. Their hearts were troubled. Just before this section of
John, Jesus had told them that he was going away, and they couldn’t come with
him. And just a little before that, he had told them that one of them would
betray him. You can imagine the turmoil they were in! Despite Jesus having
predicted his death to them on several occasions before, it still hadn’t added
up for them. And the solution he offers? “<i>Believe in God; believe also in me”.
</i>Yes, as pious Jews they believe in God, but now he is asking them for the same
level of faith in himself. They must trust him when he is no longer physically
among them, just as they trust the invisible God. His love for them will be
every bit as real. He is not abandoning them, even though it might look like
it; in fact, it is exactly for their sakes that he is going away. And God does
not abandon his children, see Hebrews 13:5 (“<i>I will never leave you or
forsake you</i>”), or Psalm 94:14 (“<i>For the Lord will not forsake his
people; he will not abandon his heritage</i>”). Just because they don’t
understand what he is doing, doesn’t mean it isn’t the very best thing he could
do for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And why is he going away? He tells them that he is going to
prepare a place for them in his Father’s house. And that is exactly what he is
doing. If Jesus had not left them, to go to the cross, the grave, and then his
resurrection and ascension, neither they nor ourselves would have any place in
his Father’s house. It is his death on our behalf which will make it possible for
us to come where he is going. Our true home is the Father’s home, a home where
there are many rooms (literally “abiding places”), room enough for all who will
come. The very one who on earth had no place to lay his head has provided a
place for all of us. And only after this has been accomplished can he return
for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is another image here as well. In those days, when a
son got married, he would first build an extra room onto his father’s house.
Only when it was complete would he come for his bride and bring her to the place
he had prepared for her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And they know the way to the Father’s house, even though they
don’t think they do, because they know Jesus, and he, himself, is the Way. He
is the only way, that is the whole point. That is why he must do what he is doing
and go where he is going. There is a seemingly unbridgeable gap between who we
really are in our sin and failure, and the perfection of love and joy that is
in our Father’s house. Jesus is about to lay down his life to become the bridge
across that chasm. He is the way. We must walk in it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And Jesus is the Truth. We live in a relativistic age where
people talk about having their own “truth” – whatever works for them – as if we
were so powerful that our preferences could change reality! No, they can’t, because
we are not God. Certainly, we can each make up our own religion, like choosing
a selection from a smorgasbord, but there are consequences; because one day our
flimsy fantasy spiritualities will collide with the solid realities of life,
death, and judgement. Or, to change the metaphor, we have a choice between
standing on the firm ground of truth (building on the rock, Jesus), or sinking,
and eventually drowning, in the quagmire of human make-believe, which
originates with the one whom Jesus called the father of lies (John 8:44).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And Jesus is the Life. He had already explained this at
Lazarus’ tomb, earlier in the same gospel (John 11:25-25): “<i>I am the
resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he
die, yet shall he live, <b><sup>26 </sup></b>and everyone who
lives and believes in me shall never die</i>.” Where did life come
from in the first place? From God, who spoke all that is into being. We were
the ones who brought death into the world, way back in Genesis 3, and the whole
Bible is the story of God’s redemptive plan to restore us to life in all its
fullness, lived with him for all eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We all experience the darkness of confusion at some point.
Just when we think that the path ahead is smooth, we get tripped up. Just when
we think we’re standing tall, we get ground down. But we have a place to take
our troubled hearts, to the one who has gone ahead of us, through the terrible
darkness of death and hell, to prepare a place for us in our Father’s house. He
is the way, he is the truth, he is the life, and he will carry us all the way
home.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-70190508712044834732021-08-29T08:38:00.003+10:002021-08-29T08:38:26.060+10:00Lockdown Devotional 1 Peter 2<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Do You
Know Who You Are?<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Of course,
I know who I am,” you reply. “I know my name, address, date of birth,
occupation, marital status, qualifications …” You know what you like to eat,
your taste in music, your favourite colour. You know whom you love best, and
who you are loved by. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You know that you
are good at word puzzles and hopeless at jigsaws. (Ok, that one is me, not
you.) If we dig a little deeper, you can name your dreams and your
frustrations, and the moments in your life which have defined you. What makes
you laugh? What makes you cry? What are you secretly really scared of? Do you
see yourself as a winner or a loser?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now let’s
ask a different question. If you learnt something about yourself which you
didn’t know before, how would that change you? What if you discovered that you
were a descendant of royalty, or criminals? What if you realised you had a
skill in an area you’d never tried before? What if, through sickness or
accident, you lost an ability that had always been important to you? Now some
of these scenarios are less likely than others, but we all know that life
changes us, or at least impacts our understanding of ourselves. Once we were a
lot younger than we are now. Once we didn’t even know some of the people that
we love the most. Once we didn’t have skills that we now see as integral to our
self-understanding. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Entering
God’s family by believing in Jesus also changes our identity in enormous ways,
but we can take a long time to truly understand who we are in Christ and how we
should live because of it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1 Peter 2 has
something to say about this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As you come to him, a living
stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, <b><sup>5 </sup></b>you
yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to
be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ. <b><sup>6 </sup></b>For it stands in
Scripture:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Behold,
I am laying in Zion a stone, <br />
a cornerstone chosen and precious,<br />
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">7 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So the honour is for you
who believe, but for those who do not believe,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The
stone that the builders rejected<br />
has become the cornerstone,”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">8 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“A stone
of stumbling,<br />
and a rock of offense.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">9 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But you are a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his
own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called
you out of darkness into his marvellous light. <b><sup>10 </sup></b>Once
you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received
mercy, but now you have received mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">11 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Beloved, I urge you as
sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the
flesh, which wage war against your soul. </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now the
first thing this tells us is that we are living stones. That seems a
contradiction at first, since we often use stone as a metaphor for what is
hard, cold, and dead; but we are living stones in a very specific sense. We are
being built together as a spiritual house, that is, a dwelling place for the
Holy Spirit. The dwelling place of God amongst his people is no longer (since
the veil of the temple was ripped in two at Jesus’ death) a physical building
made of dead stones, or bricks and mortar, but it is in God’s people themselves,
God’s living people, no longer dead in sin. And there is a process involved in
this building.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In verse 4
we see that first we must come to him (i.e., Jesus), because the very one who
was despised and rejected of men is our cornerstone, the foundation from which
the whole building takes its orientation. There is no other way. Those who will
not be subject to him and aligned to him will, in the end, stumble over him,
because he is the centre of all things, and there is no way around him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But to create
a building, we don’t just pile the stones any old how on the foundation. First,
we must take our alignment from him, but then we must be built together in a
right relationship with each other. And the Builder, himself, must carefully
shape us so that each one fits exactly where he wants to put it. And because we
are living stones, with all sorts of feelings, sometimes the process of shaping
is painful. But only think what he is making you become! And remember that
every single stone is precious, and he is polishing it to make each one of us
more beautiful than we can dream or imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next
thing we are called is “a holy priesthood”, that is, <u>all of us</u>, not just
a special class of Christians. What does it mean to be a priest? It means to
have direct access to God (through Jesus, our Great High Priest). We don’t need
another human being to stand between us and God. It means that we have a holy
calling to serve him in every aspect of our lives, not by doing weird things to
make ourselves different, but by bringing every part of our lives under his
lordship in humble, faithful, everyday obedience. And it means that we are his
representatives to a world that does not know him, not by pretending to be
better than we are, but by living out the gospel as repentant, forgiven people,
showing to others the amazing love with which God first loved us. Further
(verse 9) we are a “royal priesthood”, something that was an impossibility in
the Old Testament, since kings and priests came from different tribes. But now
we, who are priests, are also in the service of the King, and given the task of
expanding his Kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And there is
another sense in which we are royal. Everyone who believes in Jesus has been
adopted into God’s family. We have a new lineage, and a new status. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoever we are, wherever we come from,
whatever we may have done, we no longer need to crawl around, crushed under a
burden of shame. We are the children of the King, forgiven and set free, and we
should not allow anything to pull us into captivity again. The Bible itself
(Romans 8:21) speaks of “<i>the glorious liberty of the children of God</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And look at
what else Peter says in verse 9. We are a chosen race: no longer do you have to
be an Israelite to be one of God’s chosen people, it’s for all of us. And each
one is loved. Likewise, we are a holy nation, gathered from every tribe and
language and people, set apart to belong to God, to be his own possession for
all eternity. This is who you are. You are someone who has received mercy
(verse 10).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And how
should we respond to all of this? Well, in these verses, we are given two
specific ways. Firstly, in verse 9, we are called to “<i>proclaim the
excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light”. </i>What God has done for us in Jesus is so wonderful, so
extraordinary, that the more we understand, the more we must praise him. When
we look at what he has done for us, our hearts should be so overflowing with
awe and gratitude that we cannot help ourselves. And we cannot keep it hidden,
it must be proclaimed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Secondly, in
verse 11, we are told to “<i>abstain from the passions of the flesh, which
wage war against your soul.” </i>Why? Because God has changed us, given us new
identities, we are now <i>sojourners and exiles</i> in this world. While we are
here, we work for the good of this world, but it is not our real home, we are
citizens of a far better place, and we are to live that way. We are empowered
to say no to the voices that clamour at us to satisfy every indulgence our
imagination can contrive. We do not need these passing satisfactions for our
appetites or our egos, there is something so much better to press on to. And
God is with us every step of the journey.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-68841624836669458002021-08-21T15:19:00.004+10:002021-08-21T15:19:37.465+10:00Lockdown Devotional -- Psalm 46<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When the earth gives way<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In February 2011, we were in New Zealand. After time spent in
the lovely little town of Akaroa, we returned to Christchurch for the last days
of our holiday before flying home. It was only a week after our return, before
we’d even had time to sort our photos, that disaster struck that city. An
earthquake devastated the city, killing 185 people. The beautiful cathedral
where we’d attended a service was in ruins, the carpark under a cliff where
we’d gone to look at the sea was strewn with car-crushing boulders. Our hearts
ached, but we were safe and sound. How much worse was it for the people who
lived there?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Natural disasters are a horrible reality in this world –
earthquakes, fires, floods, tsunamis, cyclones – the list goes on. But there
are other kinds of disasters that rip our world apart as well – famines, wars,
plagues, droughts etc. And then there are the personal disasters that can upend
our lives – bereavement, sickness, accidents, financial loss, chronic pain,
broken relationships, and so many others. We are delusional if we think we can
be totally secure in this world, in fact Jesus told a story to that effect (in
Luke 12) about a man whose harvest was so large that he decided all he had to
do was build bigger barns to hold it and sit back and enjoy it. Jesus, you may
remember, called him a fool! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, where can we find security?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Psalm 46 addresses this very thing:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">46 </span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God is our refuge and strength, a very present help
in trouble.<br />
<b><sup>2 </sup></b>Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives
way,<br />
though the mountains be moved into the heart of
the sea,<br />
<b><sup>3 </sup></b>though its waters roar and foam, though the
mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a river whose streams make glad the
city of God,<br />
the holy habitation of the Most High.<br />
<b><sup>5 </sup></b>God is in the midst of her; she shall not be
moved; God will help her when morning dawns.<br />
<b><sup>6 </sup></b>The nations rage, the kingdoms
totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.<br />
<b><sup>7 </sup></b>The Lord of hosts is with us; the God
of Jacob is our fortress. Selah<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">8 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he
has brought desolations on the earth.<br />
<b><sup>9 </sup></b>He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;<br />
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he
burns the chariots with fire.<br />
<b><sup>10 </sup></b>“Be still, and know that I am God.<br />
<a name="_Hlk80190355"> I will be exalted among the
nations, I will be exalted in the earth!</a>”<br />
<b><sup>11 </sup></b>The Lord of hosts is with us; the God
of Jacob is our fortress. Selah<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a matter of interest, this was Martin Luther’s favourite
Psalm, and the inspiration for his famous hymn <i>Ein Feste Burg</i> (“A Mighty
Fortress is our God”). You can see why. It’s a Psalm for hard times, and for
battling through situations we wouldn’t have chosen to face.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike some Psalms, which start with a lament for the
Psalmist’s problem, this one starts from a position of confident faith. God <b>IS</b>
our strength and refuge, for all time and in all situations. He is the one who
will uphold us with his righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). He is the one who
gives strength to the weary (Isaiah 40:29). His name is our strong tower (Prov
18:10), which we can run to and be safe. Therefore, even in times of absolute
calamity, we do not need to cower in fear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most of the time, in most of our lives, we manage our
problems ourselves. We have processes, we have techniques, we know (or think we
know) how to cope. This is part of our difficulty, some of us can be so good at
“coping”, that we have very little practice in being truly dependent on God.
But there are no coping skills that will carry you through when the earth gives
way, and the mountains are moved into the heart of the sea (v2). We need a
refuge then, and God has given us one. Himself. He is the one who has told us
to come to him when we are weary and heavy laden, and he will give us rest. It
is his everlasting arms which are underneath us. We have an eternal security in
Christ which is beyond our understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But more, God is a very present help. He is not far away from
us. We do not need fancy rituals to reach him, he is as close as the breath of
a prayer. We do not need to make ourselves perfect to come to him, we cannot;
but we stand in the righteousness of Christ, and we are fully accepted. We do
not need to go on arduous pilgrimages to find him, he is here already, and what
is even more wonderful, his Spirit dwells within us. There is nowhere we can go
where he is not already present.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Psalmist then goes on to talk about the city of God,
which is immovable, with a river running through it. This, at first glance,
might seem like a change of subject, but it isn’t. Two New Testament scriptures
illuminate this. The first is Revelation 22, which speaks of the glorious city
of God which is to come. There is river in the midst of it, named as the River
of the Water of Life, and it waters the Tree of Life whose leaves are for the
healing of the nations. It is a beautiful picture of God’s healing and renewing
presence giving life to his people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The second one is from John 7:</span><b><sup><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;"> </span></sup></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">38 “<i>Whoever believes in
me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water.’” <b><sup>39 </sup></b>Now this he
said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to
receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus
was not yet glorified. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This makes it personal, and here-and-now. Every Christian is
indwelt by the Holy Spirit, every Christian has access to that sustaining and
empowering river.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The world is a scary place at times. The nations rage, and
sometimes the baddies win. The kingdoms totter and the earth melts. Our hearts
cry out in horror, fear, and pity. The Psalmist enumerates these things (verse
6), there is no pretence that horrors will not happen. But there is a larger
perspective, a bigger picture, when we put God back in the frame, because none
of these things can defeat him. No virus, no natural disaster, no wicked army
has the final say. God does; and he is in charge, and he loves us. Evil may
flourish for a season, but don’t be deceived, its time is short.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the context of verse 10, one of those “famous” verses
that everyone knows. “<i>Be still, and know that I am God</i>”, and note that
it continues “<i>I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in
the earth!”.</i> But what does it mean to be still? It isn’t referring to some
sort of meditative pose. The Hebrew word means to be weak, or to surrender;
some translators put it as “stop striving” or “stop fighting”. It is the same
word as Jesus used when he stilled the storm. It is not a passive mental state,
it is an active choice, by faith, to entrust ourselves to God and let him deal
with the things that are beyond our power. It means giving up the myth that we
are in control, it means laying down the pride that says we must be
self-sufficient. It means letting God be God and being in awe of who he is and
what he does. The victory already belongs to him, we just haven’t seen it yet.
But while we wait, we are safe in his hands. He truly is our refuge and
strength.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-21138070140466300902021-08-17T09:01:00.002+10:002021-08-17T09:01:11.691+10:00LOCKDOWN DEVOTIONAL: JOHN THE BAPTIST<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What do you see?<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What do you see when you look at something? Let me explain
what I mean. Two or more people can be looking at the same thing, yet each sees
something different. When Alastair and I went away (remember when there were
such things as “travel” and “holidays”?), we would go to the same places, do
the same things, and come home with completely different sets of photos we had
taken. Often when we looked at each other’s photos we would say, “I never even
saw that!”. Our eyes, our hearts, our minds all focus differently, and
interpret differently. Where one person sees a cup half full, another sees a
cup half empty. Where one person sees hard grind, another sees an opportunity.
Where one person sees a weed, another person sees a flower. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And this applies to how we see people too. To take one
example, for many people crowds are something to be avoided (even when Covid
wasn’t in the equation). But when Jesus saw the crowd, what did he see? Matthew
9:36 tells us, “<i>He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd</i>.” Is that what you see? Is
that what I see?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s take two further examples. Both have to do with john
the Baptist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first is spoken by Jesus,
about John, in Matthew 11, after Herod had put John in prison.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">7 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds
concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to
see? A reed shaken by the wind? <b><sup>8 </sup></b>What then
did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear
soft clothing are in kings' houses. <b><sup>9 </sup></b>What then did
you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a
prophet. <b><sup>10 </sup></b>This is he of whom it is written,
‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way
before you.’ <b><sup>11 </sup></b>Truly, I say to you, among those born of
women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is
least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We all know who John the Baptist was – the cousin of Jesus
who wore camel’s hair and ate wild honey and locusts (there’s an interesting
debate on whether that means the insects or the fruit of the “locust” tree,
which could be something like the carob tree). He described himself as a voice
crying in the wilderness. His call to repentance was heeded by some and
rejected by others. To Herodias, the wife of Herod, he was the enemy, because
he condemned their marriage as unlawful (she had previously been married to his
brother), and she eventually had her revenge by having him put to death. To
many he must have seemed like a celebrity preacher who had his time and then
ended up in prison because he displeased those in power. But what did Jesus see
in John? John wasn’t just “a reed shaken by the wind”, something that
flourishes for a season and then dies away in winter and has no strength of its
own. No, Jesus declares him to be a prophet, and “more than a prophet”. He was
the one sent by God to prepare people’s hearts for the coming of Jesus. In
Jesus’ eyes he was a great man.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What do we see when people speak God’s uncomfortable truths
to us? Are we willing to look past our own discomfort, search the scriptures,
pray, ask trusted counsellors if necessary, and, if it passes those tests,
accept it with gratitude? Or do we simply dismiss such people and take no
notice because they haven’t made us feel good? Are we humble enough to be
willing to learn and grow? Are we willing to see God at work in situations we
don’t like?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The second example is John the Baptist meeting Jesus for the
first recorded time. It’s found in John chapter 1:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">29 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next day he saw Jesus coming
toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world! <b><sup>30 </sup></b>This is he of whom I
said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before
me.’ <b><sup>31 </sup></b>I myself did not know him, but for
this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to
Israel.” <b><sup>32 </sup></b>And John bore witness: “I saw
the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. <b><sup>33 ,</sup></b>I
myself, did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water
said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he
who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ <b><sup>34 </sup></b>And I
have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Can you imagine the scene, down at the Jordan River? We’ve
all seen artists’ attempts to portray it – the river, the groups of people in 1<sup>st</sup>
century clothing standing around, probably a couple of Roman soldiers keeping
an eye on things, probably a couple of priests keeping an eye on things in a
very different sense, and in the middle, the figure of John in his camel’s hair
and leather belt, looking like a bit of a wild man and holding everyone’s
attention. Then he suddenly points to an unknown person in the crowd (Jesus had
not yet begun his public ministry) and declares, “Behold the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!” Imagine the reactions, the confusion! Imagine
how every head would turn! What did they see when they looked?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some would have been interested because they took John
seriously (These would include the ones who very soon afterwards became Jesus’
disciples.) Others who were there either for entertainment value or to
criticise, probably didn’t even take it in. But John, in that moment, saw Jesus
with absolute clarity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
knew that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.
So, he knew that Jesus was sent by God to fulfill God’s purposes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
knew that Jesus had come from God in a unique way, in verse 34 he recognises
that Jesus is the Son of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
knew that what Jesus had come to do was to be the ultimate sacrifice for sin,
replacing all those uncountable lambs, kids, calves, and pigeons whose blood
had been shed on the altars of the temple for more than a thousand years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
knew that to be the Lamb of God, Jesus had to be pure, perfect, and sinless. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
knew that sin, separating us from God, was mankind’s biggest problem, and Jesus
was the one who had come to solve and save.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
knew that Jesus had come to give his life, that the ultimate purpose of his
coming into the world was to die in our place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 115%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
knew that Jesus had come to deal with the sin of the whole world, Jew and
Gentile alike, for all times and for all peoples and for all sins.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">John saw and proclaimed in that moment things about Jesus’
person and purpose that the disciples were still struggling with three years
later. Though later, when he was imprisoned, he struggled with doubts and
questions (because he was human), in this moment he saw Jesus as he truly is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And the question for us, the most important question in the
world, is to ask ourselves: what do we see when we look at Jesus? Is he just a
good teacher, a good example, or someone irrelevant to our lives? Or is he our
only hope in life and death, our salvation, our Lord and our God?<o:p></o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-15936689523874737372021-08-08T11:09:00.000+10:002021-08-08T11:09:11.069+10:00Lockdown Devotional: 2 Peter 1<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">THE GROWTH EQUATION<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How do things grow? Let’s start with something simple (or
not, if you don’t have a green thumb).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You plant a seed in the right soil, give it the right amount of sun and
water, fertilise if necessary, and, hopefully, it will grow into a lovely
plant. (Strangely, weeds don’t require any of that care!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How does a child grow? It needs to be fed, cleaned, and kept
comfortably warm, and, also, needs affection and appropriate social
interaction. For healthy, mature growth, the child also needs to exercise and
to master the skills appropriate to its developmental stage. There are things a
parent does for the child, and things the child must learn to do itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How does a Christian grow? Right now, spiritual growth might
feel like it’s all too hard with our normal lives upended, but the apostle
Peter had something to say about this. Remember, he was writing to a persecuted
church in an environment that was awash with false teachers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His divine power has given us everything we need
for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his
own glory and goodness. <b><sup>4 </sup></b>Through these he has
given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you
may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the
world caused by evil desires.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">5 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For this very reason, make every effort to add to your
faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; <b><sup>6 </sup></b>and
to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; <b><sup>7 </sup></b>and to godliness, mutual
affection; and to mutual affection, love. <b><sup>8 </sup></b>For if
you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from
being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. <b><sup>9 </sup></b>But whoever does not have them is
nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their
past sins.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">10 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make
every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these
things, you will never stumble, <b><sup>11 </sup></b>and you will
receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first thing to notice is that God has already given us
everything we need for a godly life (v3). It doesn’t matter where we’re at, or
what’s going on around us, our primary resource is God himself, and our life
and growth come from knowing him. He has not left us as orphans (John 14:18),
his Spirit dwells in every believer, revealing Christ to us “<i>through our
knowledge of him</i>”. This growth may not happen as quickly and easily as we
would like to imagine; but happen it will if we continue to walk with him and
feed on his word. Our goal should be just like that of Paul:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“ </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his
death, <b><sup>11 </sup></b>that by any means possible I
may attain the resurrection from the dead” </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Philippians 3: 10-11)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, we feed on his word and grow in him, and put our reliance
on his “great and precious promises”. God promises, in many places in
Scripture, that he will redeem us, sanctify us (make us holy) and bring us home
to himself in a glorious eternity. The more we learn to understand his promises
and fix our eyes fast on them, the more our faith will grow, and the more we
will grow in Christlikeness, because the temptations of the world and our own
“evil desires” will have less power over us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just as a parent brings a child to birth, and feeds it and
shelters it, so that it will live and grow, so God has given us life through
his Spirit and feeds us on his word. But for a child to not merely survive, but
to mature into a functioning adult, their comes a point where they must be
active participants in the process, willing to exercise their minds and bodies.
And so it is in the spiritual realm. God, and God alone, has made our salvation
possible, through Jesus, but we have a part to play as well in reaching our full
maturity. Otherwise, (to change the metaphor), we will be people living in
spiritual poverty while our bank account holds riches beyond our wildest
dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And this is where the growth equation comes in (verses 5 –
7). Peter introduces us to a process of addition which we must participate in.
(If you want to go into other realms of biblical maths, you could try
subtracting sin, multiplying the church, and rightly dividing the word of
truth!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We start with faith, that is, faith in Jesus as our only hope
of salvation, which is the entry point for every believer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To faith we add goodness, which means moral uprightness,
choosing to do the right thing, the best thing you can, rather than cutting
corners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To goodness we add knowledge, specifically the knowledge of
God. We let his word saturate our thinking, so that we may see him more clearly
and understand better his character and his will for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To knowledge we add self-control, a fruit of the Spirit’s
work in us. This is the ability to say no to our own desires and impulses when
they are not in line with the will of God, to resist not only what is obviously
sinful, but also those subtler temptations to indulge and prioritise our own
interests at the expense of others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To self-control we add perseverance. The best intentions in
the world will not achieve anything if we give up the moment things get
difficult. The Christian life is often more like a marathon than a sprint, and
we mustn’t underestimate the importance of just keeping going, through easy
times and hard ones. This is where fixing our hope in God’s “great and precious
promises” is so important. Our earthly goals will often get frustrated, but
God’s promises stand unchanged, and if we make those our anchor point, we can
ride out any storm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To perseverance we add godliness – our goal in all of this,
the goal of the Spirit’s work within us, is that we should become more like
Christ, and walk with him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To godliness we add mutual affection. The Greek word used
here is <i>philadelphia</i>, literally love of the brothers. We start here by
learning kindness and generosity of heart towards each other in the family of
God’s people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To mutual affection we add love. This is what we are aiming
for, the love which God commands us to have towards whoever has need of us (i.e.our
neighbour), the love which is clearly described in 1 Corinthians 13. But it is
important to note that we can’t get to that place without the other steps Peter
mentions. There are no shortcuts, but nor is there any need for discouragement.
God has given us all that we need: our salvation, his indwelling Spirit, his
word with all its wisdom, and the infinite riches of his grace. Even in
lockdown, deprived of some of the forms of community that encourage us, these
things are still ours in abundance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-79331120366922094552021-08-05T20:48:00.003+10:002021-08-05T20:48:49.455+10:00Lockdown Devotional: Psalm 100<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">HOW TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When Burke and Wills set off on their ill-fated expedition in
1860, aiming to travel from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, they regarded
themselves as very well equipped. They started out with 19 men, 23 horses, 26
camels, 6 wagons and about 20 tonnes of equipment including a Chinese gong (no,
I can’t figure out why!) and a bathtub – clearly what you need to traverse the
dry inland of the driest continent! Their attempt ended with their tragic
deaths, probably from vitamin deficiency. Clearly, they didn’t know as much as
they thought they did about what was needed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These days, when we need to go somewhere (when not restricted
to a 5 km radius), we usually go in a car and use some form of GPS, or at the
very least a map. And, even then, there can sometimes be confusion – the sort
that is incredibly frustrating at the time but makes a great story later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But what about a different sort of “journey”? What about when
our “here” is exhaustion, or despondency, or boredom, or disappointment, or any
of the other things that people feel during lockdown (or other times too)? What
if the “there” we are aiming for is joy, the joy that comes from God? What do
we need to find our way? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Psalm 100 gives us a practical map of how to get there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A Psalm for giving thanks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!<br />
<b><sup>2 </sup></b> Serve the Lord with
gladness!<br />
Come into his presence with singing!<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><sup><span style="line-height: 115%;">3 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Know that the Lord, he is God!<br />
It is he who made us, and we are his;<br />
we are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><sup><span style="line-height: 115%;">4 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Enter his gates with thanksgiving,<br />
and his courts with praise!<br />
Give thanks to him; bless his name!<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><sup><span style="line-height: 115%;">5 </span></sup></i></b><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">For the Lord is good;<br />
his steadfast love endures forever,<br />
and his faithfulness to all generations. </span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The psalmist starts by encouraging us to joyfully praise God.
This is something we are called to do many, many times in the Bible,
particularly in the Psalms. It is the right response to recognising who God is
and what he has done. It is the awe of the saints on earth and the song of the
angels in heaven. It is the hope and joy of the redeemed as they make their
pilgrimage, whether the road takes them through green pastures or the valley of
the shadow. But sometimes, especially when we don’t have the encouragement of
joining together physically with other believers, it can all seem a bit further
away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But the psalmist lists some steps to give us a roadmap to
that place:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Start by recalling and focusing on who God is (verse 3). What
does it mean to say the Lord is God? We live in a world full of wannabe gods,
all making their claims on us, whether they be obvious false gods, like the
ones Elijah battled on Mt Carmel (1 Kings 18), and whose equivalents we see
today in other religions and New Age spiritualities; or the more subtle, but
very potent, gods of money and status and pleasure and popularity; or, perhaps
the most powerful of all for sinful humanity, our idolatry of getting our own
way. But no, it is the Lord (i.e., Yahweh, the God of the covenant) who is God,
and he alone. All other powers, all the temptations of our own desires and
egos, fall away into nothingness before him. He is complete and he is eternal.
Turn your eyes and your heart towards him, let his reality change your
perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Next, remember that he is our Creator. Not only did he make
the universe, in all its glory and beauty, but each human being is his special
creation, fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps 139:14). He knew you before you
were born. This God, great beyond anything we can imagine or understand, knows
you personally. Further, you are his. He wanted you so much that he was willing
to pay an unimaginable price, battling death and hell on your behalf, so that
you could be his child, his friend, and his worshipper forever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Further again, we are to focus on the wonder that we are the
sheep of his pasture. He is our Good Shepherd (John 10:14), the one who laid
down his life for the sheep. He is the one whose goodness and mercy will follow
you all the days of your life, and who will guide you in paths of righteousness
(Psalm 23). He is the one who says that he will search for the lost and bring
back the strays, bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. (Ezekiel 34:16).
He is the one who tells us that it is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom
(Luke 12:32). And we are his sheep who have all gone astray, and the Lord laid
on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). Redeemed, cared for, treasured –
how can we not respond with wonder and gratitude?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And our God is good (verse 5). In fact, he is the only one
who is good (Luke 18:19). Concepts like holiness and righteousness can
sometimes be hard to fully come to grips with, but we all know what goodness
is. Our God is never capricious, or unfair, or uncaring; he never stops doing
what is right for us. Even in hard times his mercies are all around us. His
steadfast love and fidelity towards his children are forever (verse 5). We are
not toys that he picks up one day and discards the next. His promises stand for
all eternity, and we can stake our lives on them. We are loved by the one who
had every right not to love us because our sin set us against him, “<i>but God
shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us</i>” (Romans 5:8). This is who God is, this is what his heart is towards us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These things, when we focus on them, when we consider what
they mean, should bring us, as they brought the psalmist, to a place of joy and
gratitude, even when our circumstances pull us down. The prophet Habakkuk knew
this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Though the fig tree should not blossom,<br />
nor fruit be on the vines,<br />
the produce of the olive fail<br />
and the fields yield no food,<br />
the flock be cut off from the fold<br />
and there be no herd in the stalls,<br />
<b><sup>18 </sup></b>yet I will rejoice in the Lord;<br />
I will take joy in the God of my salvation</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;">. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And, as we rediscover this joy, we “<i>Enter his gates with
thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!”</i> (verse 4). To the
psalmist, of course, this was at the literal temple in Jerusalem, but for us “<i>do
you not know that you are God’s temple and God’s spirit dwells in you?” </i>(1
Cor 3:16).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And this is a joy that no one can take away from you.</span><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-56068779211372645862021-07-24T16:15:00.001+10:002021-07-24T16:15:12.655+10:00Paris to Helen (thinking about the Trojan war)<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Say there were happy days<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Till sorrow came to call.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As playthings of the gods,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How could we know at all?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet now our doom comes fast:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It will destroy us all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Say there were happy days,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That all was not in vain,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Say there were happy days<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before devouring pain<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Struck at the root of things<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Again, again, again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Say there were happy days!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Your beauty was divine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Crazed as a man athirst<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I had to make it mine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But now I am as numb<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As drunk on Lethe’s wine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Say there were happy days.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Say you recall them well:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sweetness to recollect<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As we descend to hell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once, dear, we touched the stars,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before we fell … and fell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Say there were happy days!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I now go out to die.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Did you once love me well,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Or were our lives a lie?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Can I find any joy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In our last, strained goodbye?<o:p></o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-32353917667824272462021-07-14T11:23:00.003+10:002021-07-14T11:23:36.744+10:00Faithful Grieving<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let our tears be honest tears, there is no pretending,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here, there, or anywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let the truth be spoken<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Starkly, or whispered,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But it must be said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There must be room for lamentation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let us be done with the piety of plastered smiles,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of bravely quivering voices,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Prayers with subtext, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Agendas to rebuild our pedestals<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With all the papier-mâché we can cobble, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From our scant treasuries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Would we be those<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Who have their reward already?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(And that’s all.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let us come<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To the olive gardens where the broken kneel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let our fragments fall<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Without curation;<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally acknowledging<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It doesn’t matter, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And it never did –<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Everyone else could always see the mess.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is no healing for sock puppets,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or marionettes with painted grins,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And staring eyes that cannot shed a tear.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is not the hour of trumpets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We are not home yet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Feet blister,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And the world becomes a burden<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Too much for us to lift.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is more grieving.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In a grain of sand<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Than all our measured words.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Look in the cracked mirror,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let its shards cut you!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">See how you bleed,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You are not made of cardboard.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He breathed, he spoke, you were.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Live in his image:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A man acquaint with grief!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Walk in his footsteps:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Despised? Rejected? Yes!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And also raised<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On the far side of tortured loss and shame:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is no other path.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-75189783008377851612021-07-06T09:14:00.001+10:002021-07-06T09:14:18.862+10:00Beauty<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You have always been my other name for God<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(In whom all beauty dwells),<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Flashing across my terra-formed heart,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Singing of other worlds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How you confront me!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I see you in a petal’s perfect curve,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You sing the song of running waters,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dancing in every nuance of sunlight;<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cutting wide open<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Every last defence,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then gather me up with hands of tenderness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My first teacher,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Preparing me for worship,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Capturing a child’s attention<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With knife-sharp loveliness,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Whispering a story<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That I could almost hear.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shattering my heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You play in so many places:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Connection and healing,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Reconciliation,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The making and the breaking,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Humility set free,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The candle flames of truth that shine like stars,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Scattering our darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You made me pilgrim:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From the muck and the trash<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Towards treasure<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Found in the Father’s heart,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Waiting forever<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Where call and response are one.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-44779116297954919292021-07-02T11:04:00.000+10:002021-07-02T11:04:04.799+10:00Cross of Sticks<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The winter night curls round me like a cloak, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The rain outside falls heavy, hard, and stark;<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And I lift up this simple cross of sticks,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And finger the rough texture of its bark.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Its prickling on my skin encourages,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because a cross should not be comfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The least response should be a great dis-ease,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And my defences all made breachable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This world – it overflows with suffering,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">While I sit warm and dry and snug and fed,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With all my needs supplied so easily.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have no fears about my daily bread.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From snug to smug is but a little stroke,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A line too easily crossed by such as I.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh may this cross stand as a warning fence,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lest I should shrug it off without a sigh!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May I be taken back (again, again)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To that stark, dreadful place where God and man<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Collided with such cataclysmic pain,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And see once more the truth of what I am.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And know that I can never make it right:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Exposed there as a useless, broken thing,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yet one that God will never cast aside.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He holds me close through all my wandering.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He holds me close. And he lifts up my head,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Till all I see is love enveloping,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And reaching to embrace this whole mad world,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The only grace that holds up everything.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And thus their pain is mine, and mine is his.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This little cross must teach me how to pray:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">No gilding here, no fancifying truth,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But only stark, pure mercy every day.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-69111186122771709362021-06-27T10:24:00.002+10:002021-06-27T10:24:37.779+10:00Born on Concrete<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> I was not born on soil; I was born on concrete.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sterilised, silenced, hooked<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To too many machines, and nobody heard my screaming.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nobody heard at all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A detached generation:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Separate from soil, from life, from another,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Not knowing our own selves in the frantic hunger<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To fill up the gaping hole,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To release the boredom<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of our near non-being. Here, even the sting<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of salt on the lips<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Is a sense of coming home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In that concrete world<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trees had no names, and leaves were only for sweeping;<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gardens were pruned so tight that you never saw flowers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bees hummed in vain, sweetness effectively banished,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Children were seen and not heard, and scarcely for seeing – <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Turned in on ourselves, ‘incurvatus in se’,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lost and alone, alone, in the jungle of emptiness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tears turn to pebbles<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In that rigid place, straitjacketing the soul.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Concrete so soon becomes a prison cell, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And covers and hides the living, springing soil.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A grim society<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of automata tramples the open earth,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Treading it down so concrete can be poured. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Can even sacred tears bring life from this?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Teach me to weep the tears that dissolve stone:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To weep for others,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For the pain of all things broken,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For wingless birds and homeless children,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For the fist in the night and the words that shred,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For forests turned to deserts,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And hearts turned to stone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let me see a larger world,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The bars removed,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The walls come tumbling down.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Give me courage<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To walk across the rubble and embrace<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All that my parents feared.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To learn that wings<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Are there, but only unfurl<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When you’re willing to actually fly;<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And that the Love that lifts us all<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Can hold us in entirety,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Carrying all that is.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-64945323814624594062020-12-07T11:26:00.002+11:002020-12-07T11:26:19.979+11:00Vigil<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">I
sit in darkness in the brilliant sun<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Deep
in the shadows of an ancient fear<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">And
I shall taste its bitter, salty cold<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Till
you are here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">All
of mortality sits in each breath,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">I
cut myself on every broken thing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">And
wonder that my soul has life to bleed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Or
nerves to sting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">How
does this desert squeeze out frozen tears,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">While
my whole self is tensioned into prayer?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;"> I raise a candle in my inmost heart<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Till
you are there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Still
mercy holds and weaves each shaking strand<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">Into
a cloak to wrap my fearful heart<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif;">A
place of safety till this wait is done,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif;">No
more apart.</span> </p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-84449437974971884332020-08-31T15:07:00.003+10:002020-08-31T15:07:54.566+10:00Suddenly Spring<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suddenly spring –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sing like the birds of promise!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lunatic angels, revel with new-found hope,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As soft as under-feathers,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet as sure<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As little beaks that drink from gurgling streams!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suddenly spring – <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sun, be no more a strange!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Flirt with the breezes, laugh with the ever-sky!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hold fast to empty air, and find it lifts you<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Above the doldrums of a deadened sea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suddenly spring – <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Flowers remember music,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bending each perfect petal in a curve,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chattering songs as old and new as morning,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While bitterness departs into the gloom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suddenly spring – <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Taste, o my soul, the perfume:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Symphonic jasmine cascading delight<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Into our blossomed senses, our skin yearning,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For the bare warmth of air, sweet in its tasting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suddenly spring – <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the dance of ages,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Stepped out afresh, even age does not weary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tumbling with laughter, we are become as children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suddenly spring.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-51542953102797902092020-06-03T16:38:00.002+10:002020-06-03T16:39:47.270+10:00Prayer for Today (3/6/20)<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Holy Word of God, be our breathing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rock of ages, be our anchor point.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">May mercy infuse us,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Grace reclaim us,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And may justice flow like a mighty river.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Teach us to listen to you, and to one another.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Open our ears to the stories of the least,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And the tears of the exhausted,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And the whispers of the fearful.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Open our eyes and our hearts, and teach our hands to do righteousness;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And may your cross point out to us the road to peace.</span>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-62171060314527994172020-06-01T12:43:00.004+10:002020-06-01T12:43:33.279+10:00I will sit and listen<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I will sit and listen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You do not need my words to
speak your pain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who am I to commandeer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A place I have not been?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who am I to appropriate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A path I have not walked?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who am I to presume<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">To make this about me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Your words are strong words<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Etched deep by the acid of
corroding grief,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Scored upon hearts and bodies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">By wounds with too-long
history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let me listen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let me learn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Till I can earn the right to
weep with you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Acknowledging my privilege<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Even as I claim equality<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(A claim you have rights to
scoff.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let me learn from your anger,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Born of too-long patience,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Needing a Samson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">To topple down the pillars<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of all that imprisons you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Show me where I take away your
power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As I sit and learn,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let us breathe together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The promises of justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-67727481651604160252020-05-19T20:30:00.003+10:002020-05-19T20:30:29.384+10:00Mercy Flows<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Down through the streams of earth;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Through the warp and weft of our being<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Through our breathing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our breathing in and out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Through our laughter,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brittle as crystal,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Robust as flesh<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Hearts that can break and heal,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hearts that replenish)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And through our tears<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Acid or clear pure water).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Through touch that is reverent, gentle,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Touch that is holy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Touch that touches us<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Down in the secret places.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Through words grace-chosen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Shaped with a jeweller’s care<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For precision healing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gentle as mercy’s self.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From the stars in icy glory,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The life-burn of the sun,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">White-opal moon,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And shadows under trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From mercy’s self, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Holding all aspirations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In one transcendent love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From mercy unto mercy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Breaking us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In order to replenish and to heal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mercy flows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-81041177048086819222020-05-18T13:54:00.002+10:002020-05-18T13:54:34.058+10:00Come!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The door is standing open,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Come, Holy Spirit come!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bread of my heart here broken<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For you, and locks undone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here, in the chrismed silence,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I wait your slightest word<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To silence my heart’s chatter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Profundities absurd.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These bones that creak their dryness:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bid them arise and sing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sing of the love that made them,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blessing through everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Undo my false assumptions,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Shatter timidity,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Weave ragged threads with mercy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Until I can stand free.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-57424212824272895572020-05-14T12:35:00.001+10:002020-05-14T12:35:37.363+10:00O Let us Sing of Turtles<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">O let us sing of turtles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That flourish in the deep<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And rise like ships of wonder,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bring joy-dreams to our sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">O let us sing of turtles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With wisdom in their beak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Complete within their silence<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazing if they speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">O let us sing of turtles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">O let us dance and sing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And open up our living hearts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To joy in everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">O let us sing of turtles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who glide green through the sea<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For they have added magic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To the world of you and me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-35927929458913423522020-05-13T06:59:00.002+10:002020-05-13T06:59:08.546+10:00Chaos theory<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">They say,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(Or so I am told)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That the tiny flapping<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of the wings of a butterfly,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Somewhere in the Amazon,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Leads to the mighty chaos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Of a wild tornado.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But when I see a butterfly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Move like a blossom’s
heartbeat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I see all chaos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Resolved into a moment’s
beauty,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Light quivering.</span>Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-20777189248575237162020-05-04T12:38:00.002+10:002020-05-04T12:38:37.730+10:00The Rejected<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She
pulled her old coat tighter around her as she stood there in the bitter rain.
Through the window, misted with rain and her breath, she could see them inside,
warm and dry, seated at long tables laden with food and drink. She so badly
wanted to be inside, but she did not dare. She remembered the times she had
tried before, different rooms but the same sort of scene. She had stood there,
forlorn, alongside the diners, but they had crowded up together and refused to
make room for her. Once or twice, in those painful memories, she had dared to
take a vacant seat, unnoticed until she reached out for food. Then they had
turned on her. Who did she think that she was? What made her imagine she had
any right to be there? She had no answers, and under their onslaught she had
retreated outside where only the darkness could see her tears.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Why would it be any different this time? But she
had to try, she was so, so hungry! Her wet, trembling fingers could hardly turn
the door knob, but desperation drove her. Timidly she crept into the room and
stood against the wall, taking in the scene. At least it wasn't raining here,
but as she looked at these warm, well-dressed people, she realised how
bedraggled and unkempt she looked by comparison. Who would want to sit next to
her? At the nearer end of the room there was a table with several empty seats.
If she sat down at the end, surely no one would mind? At least she could rest
her legs, and there would be just a little food within reach.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">But just as she reached that forgotten seat,
there was a commotion at the other end of the table. A man was rising from his
place and walking towards her. Was she going to be thrown out again?. But no,
he was smiling at her like no one had ever smiled at her before. "Come
with me," he said, "you belong up here." Too astonished to
protest, she let him take her by the arm and lead her to the seat next to his
own. Only then did she notice that his chair was a throne. And as she sat down
beside him, he tenderly reached across and wiped the tears from her eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-79981076520585134662020-04-07T21:05:00.003+10:002020-04-07T21:05:12.950+10:00COVID at Easter<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This is an Easter like no
other!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We cower, solitary,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Without fellowship or
celebration,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With fear and grief in too
many eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Remember the first one?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">They cowered too,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Quarantined in the upper
room,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Afraid for their lives,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Afraid of being targets,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For the viral hatred of the
day;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Feeling hope drip helplessly
through their fingers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Like a broken egg,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Making a mess of their
hideout,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Without any expectation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This loss could be restored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Until they heard a rumour,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Too amazing to believe,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That the world had changed
forever<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Are we so different then?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Is our faith greater than
theirs?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Do we live in holy
expectation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">While we flounder in our
fears?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Remembering death is dead,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Do we take hold of hope’s
coattails,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Or paralyse our grasp?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Do we let salvation penetrate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The heart’s cold corners?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Do we still sing hymns of
wonder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When our voices rasp?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">He who hung in darkness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When the midday sun was gone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Is the light of all the world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And of our darkness too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22491079.post-38097802429947859942020-04-06T14:53:00.003+10:002020-04-06T14:53:31.702+10:00Cleansing the temple<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He comes to overturn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The tables of our dealing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With ruthless, ruthless grace<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Devoid of proper feeling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He comes to strike undone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our comfy compromises,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Allowance for the times,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And cunning mind-devices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He comes to manifest<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This kingdom of his Being;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To rip our blinkers off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And show us what we’re seeing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He comes to challenge all<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our easy ways of living;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Call us to costly love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And drown us with forgiving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He comes to liberate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From all false sacrifice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The love, his love, is free,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And his the given life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lynnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10982043538182690871noreply@blogger.com0