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How often I lose my way…(Poem)

When I have exhausted all of my words

when each phrase I utter sounds the same

waning on like some sort of warning siren…

when the motions go out without a shout 

of purpose, and all I do with these hands

is caress sweet longings for tomorrow, 

when constant sighs replace the frequent ‘amens’

then I will know I am lost again.

When strength of spirit evaporates 

faster than moisture in the desert, 

when the hallelujah’s pack their bags 

and leave on the eve of morning 

then I will know that I’m lost again.

When my prayers fall short of the ceiling 

when each word on the pages of scripture

fail to capture glimpses between the blurs 

and the worry…then I will know that I am 

lost again.

Seek me and find me Lord…

for how often I lose my way

how often do I take back my burdens

again and again 

when only then do I realize

I’ve picked them up from the place 

I surrendered them to you…

How often do I pick up the hammer 

and nail every time that I fail 

casting my eyes on the storms

rather than the storm tamer? 

How often do I try and try 

in failing strength to do it my way

then each day facing my own 

dejected spirit, broken and hollowed out…

Seek me and find me Lord…

for how often I lose my way

how often I need deliverance anew

refinement and renewal 

restoration and recompense…

it all makes sense now dear Lord

every word that you say to me

encouraging me, delivering me 

Seek me and find me Dear Lord…

for how often I lose my way.

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In the hopefully’s and the maybes (A Poem)

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Walking past the old mailbox

and thinking of how many times 

I’ve traversed there to collect 

the metered mail, the junk mail

the birthday cards and solicitations, 

it’s raining again today

making it feel like an old sock 

worn too thin with holes in the heel 

the sun has yet to make an appearance 

as another round of thunder peels off

into the distance like an encore far away 

yet close enough to hear…

in these solemn moments

when all is silent in the house

stepping back into it, making the door

creak shut, trying not to disturb

the slumbering home with its constant

creaks and whirrs and electric hums

brick and mortar snoring in this sleepy  

corner of the block.  

Casting one last glance outside

I imagine far different days than these

days in which we try to grasp, 

hold onto for dear life, treasure deeply

breathe in their fragrances 

yet they disappear far too soon

but the magic is never too far away

it still resounds, a myriad of choral sounds

beckoning us back to a place that will never

come.

Still we sigh, casting out our hopes and dreams

into a net of maybes and hopefully’s as I shut the door

tomorrow steps up to the front stoop

and begins its knocking.  

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“Teach us to number our days”

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  • 37 years
  • 444 months
  • 1,930 weeks
  • 13,514 days
  • 324,336 hours
  • 19,460,160 minutes
  • 1,167,609,600 seconds
  • You were born on a Friday
  • Age in Dog Years: 161.0
  • Age in Galapagos Turtle Years: 17.6

This is exactly how long I’ve been alive on this planet.

When I look at the time that has passed me it really has an impact on me.  I think of all of the wasted time, the ‘down time’, the time that I let slip through my fingers…But I also think of the miles stones in my life too.  The day I proposed to my wife which was

  • 14 years
  • 177 months
  • 772 weeks
  • 5,405 days
  • 129,720 hours
  • 7,783,200 minutes
  • 466,992,000 seconds

Ago.

I think of the days when my children were born all four of them…I recall the significant friendships that I’ve forged along the way…the meaningful connections of humanity that I’ve had the privilege to partake in and these cross roads that intersected with two or more human beings at one very specific time or place.  I have been a blessed man so far!

TWO VERSES: 
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Says;
“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live  and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

And…

Joshua 24:15 says:
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

We have this one life and my prayer is that we don’t waste it!  We have so many distractions in this life, so much wasted opportunities and wasted time…but don’t take this life for granted or watch it fly by without taking each and every moment to make a difference in this world and to serve the Lord!  We are called to be Christ’s ambassadors in this world don’t be ashamed of the gospel and don’t forget our calling!

Psalm 39:4 “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.”

How many days have you been alive?  How many minutes…Galapagos Turtle Years?

Use them or lose them…let’s all choose to use them and take each and every moment without regrets!

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“Walk in the Light” Sermon Podcast

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Click on this link for Sermon Podcast:  Walk in the Light (Sermon Podcast)

1 John 2:1-6 (NIV)
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

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A Prayer (Poem)

If I hide you will find me Lord

where can I go that you aren’t there?

I know that you require from me 

my heart, my life, my everything 

show me dear Lord what that entails.

I don’t want to be empty

I don’t want to be lost

find me, love me, keep me 

safe in your loving arms

Here I am again.  

Fill me, renew me, and guide me

oh Great Jehovah!  

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‘The Way’ or the ‘LOST’ way

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They gathered there in the stained glass chapel, the final meeting of a group of people from all walks of life.  The stain glass depicted various cultural and religious forms, from Jesus to Buddha, to the prophet Muhammad…they gathered there and reflected, realizing they were dead and they would enter eternity together as the lost members of Oceanic flight 815.  

I absolutely love the show ‘LOST’, I enjoyed the plots, the characters and the notion of being stranded on this amazing deserted island in the middle of the Pacific ocean.  It kept me coming back for more until…This series finale of the show ‘LOST’ which left me with a bitter taste and heavy heart.  Still to this day I look back at this finale and shake my head, ask myself “did I understand that right?”…I tell myself they ended the show poorly…an amazing journey only to end in some cosmic universalistic afterlife experience which pleases everyone from every religiosity yet offers no consequence or judgement upon evil and wrongs…I recognize redemption and acknowledge the plight of man, but this finale truly bothered me.  It bothers me still to this very day because there’s a lie involved within the premise of the final show and I don’t buy the lie!

The lie is “All roads lead to heaven”…this lie is so immersed in our culture today that many blindly accept it without looking deeper.  It’s an attempt to be all inclusive and yet muddies the waters of morality, ethics and theology.  I don’t buy the lie because I’ve read the words of Jesus when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  Jesus said I am THE WAY, not one of the ways, or just another path to the Father.  

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Do I believe that Jesus is THE WAY?  You bet I do!  I believe that there is only one path to God and Hindu, Islam, Buddhism or any other ‘ism’ aren’t paths leading to God.  Our Creator and loving Father wants us to accept Him and that of His one and only Son Jesus who is the only way to the Father.  

One day we will see Him and all will know the truth of Christ’s words.  Don’t buy the lie and get ‘Lost’.  Just a thought for today. 

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RSVP: Reserve Space for Victory in Paradise!

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David… Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near…You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:1-3,6,12) 

 

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What do you do when you are invited to a party?  You send the RSVP or call in your RSVP and you confirm (if schedule allows) that you will attend.  Your response is required so that the party host will know who will attend and how many to plan for.  It’s not only polite to return your RSVP, it is an important response and action on your part…in essence you are saying “I will be there!”

In the above passage of Isaiah, the invitations for forgiveness have been sent out by God.  He wants to make what was broken whole again.  The prophecy of Messiah (Jesus) is evident in two key verses two chapters back:

 Isaiah 52:13 “See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.” &

Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Forgiveness is at hand, the RSVP has been hand delivered to all of us, and the Host of this Redemptive party is awaiting our response.  The most telling portion of chapter 55 in Isaiah is verse 6…it says “Seek the Lord while he may be found...” It is a frightening proposition here because He seems to be saying to us, ‘make up your minds while you can.’  The implication is that our RSVP has an expiration date and we ought not postpone our response.

Forgiveness and redemption is ours, the Host of Heaven stands at the front door inviting us in…what will your response be?  Either we enter and accept His love and forgiveness or we don’t because soon that door will be closed…soon we will all be standing before Him, and in contrast, probably the most frightening passage in all of scripture is Matthew 25:31-46 when Jesus himself states clearly that the day is coming  when the King will separate the sheep from goats and He will say to the goats (those who have not accepted His invitation to forgiveness and redemption)  “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'” (Matthew 25:41)  

We have this contrast of those who will accept the invitation and those who will not.  Yet there is hope…there is time, but if you haven’t accepted the invitation, don’t let this time slip away.  Redemption draws near, your RSVP is requested…what will your answer be?

 

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“Like-minded…but not like the Borg!”

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” -Philippians 2:1,2

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What does ‘being like minded’ mean?  I’m a science fiction geek I freely admit it!  And I recall the old Star Trek Next Generation when the Enterprise faced off a number of times with the terrifying aliens called the ‘Borg’.  The thing that stood them apart and made them so dangerous was that they were of one mind.  They were all connected to the ‘collective’ and they would absorb and assimilate other cultures and worlds, thereby gaining knowledge and understanding.  The Borg were terrifying and yet effective because of the ‘like-minded collective.

But truly, science fiction aside, what does being like-minded mean?  Are we to be God’s “collective” here on Earth?  Not for any evil purpose mind you, but for His Holy purpose?  What does being like-minded mean?  Especially when we see so many church splits, divisions and varying thoughts of ideology.  How is it that what began as one body of believers coming together to worship, testify and make other disciples has ended up being many bodies and many sets of worship practices?  Is this what Christ had in mind?  If I were to take it a step further, if this wasn’t what Christ had in mind then did He make a mistake?

The answer to both of those questions is ‘NO’!  His prayer ‘that they may all be one” (John 17:21) is still a prayer for us today.  The problem with this earthly body of believers is that we have free will.  When it comes to deciding and making our choices in worship and practice, we fall short of attaining this unity.  Let’s be honest, church has in the past, present and most probably the future been run by those within the spectrum of human authority.  Sure God has been present within churches, but not all decisions made by man have been God led or God honoring.  It is safe to say that politics is alive and well within the Church.  Both on the large and small scare this is true.  From leadership selection to the color of the carpet in a chapel there is politics involved.  I think Paul had experienced politics that was of selfish intent through various towns and cities when he went on to say in this same passage, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” -Philippians 2:3-4

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Unfortunately the down side is that some, not all, leaders are bent to self and selfish motivations.  It’s the nature of humanity that is not fully surrendered which becomes evident through the choices of man sugar coating it to be what God has intended.  But I am confident that God can take that which man has marred, that which man has broken, that which man has truly messed up and turn it into something remarkable.

It’s not that I  willingly place my faith and trust in leaders who lead this way, but rather in my submission to the Father in Heaven.  So that when I say “Thy will be done” I really mean it even if I am subjugated to a system or to leaders who are fallible and often make decisions based politically rather than biblically.

Paul implores us all to serve selflessly rather than selfishly.  When we can actually practice selflessness in word and in deed then being like-minded can actually occur within God’s body here on earth.

Confession time:

I too struggle with this in my life.  There have been times when I have made decisions based on how it will impact me rather than others.  Sometimes that full surrender isn’t made complete in me.  It’s a daily thing that must take place, in which we force our selfishness back in the box, we kneel before the Father and give Him the box again and we allow His love to shine through us instead of the light of selfish intentions and moral failings.

I want to be a transformer in my world how about you?  I want to be like-minded with others who are in the truth but this can’t be done if I’m looking out for me, myself and I.  If we are to function and thrive as His ambassadors we have to stop playing church politics and the selfishness game and instead face the mission of Christ that He beckons us to.

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A Survival Guide to the Storms of life

“Make haste, O God, to deliver me!  Make haste to help me, O Lord!  Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek my life; Let them be turned back and confused who desire my hurt.  Let them be turned back because of their shame…” -Psalm 70:1-3

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Is there a storm brewing?

Do you have burdens?

Are you going through a storm right now?

How do we get through these situations?  How do we overcome them, when possible? These are difficult questions and unfortunately there aren’t any easy answers here.  But what I do know and what others know is that going through the storms and surviving requires a supernatural power to journey with us.

Cue Bob Marley and his song “Don’t Worry About a thing – three little birds.”  We need to understand that when we are aligned with God’s will and his power that our burdens and our problems become His burdens and his problems.  That makes it so much more clearer then when we read what Jesus said about our burdens and his burdens:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) 

What Jesus is essentially saying is that though burdens exist, though we face them, that if we allow him access to them and surrender them we will experience a lightening of our load and our worry.  We were never meant to carry these things on our own.

Here are three prescriptions that will help us when we face and weather the storms of life.  If we adhere to these prescriptions we will survive and even thrive!

1) Prayer!

Don’t think for a minute that prayer is a last resort or that prayer is like casting out wishes into the universe and hoping that someone will hear you.  It is not like being on a deserted island and throwing a message in a bottle out into the sea hoping someone will find it…no!  Prayer is so much more powerful than that!  Prayer isn’t just hoping someone will hear you utter some desperate words, prayer is knowing we aren’t alone and that God’s power is accessible through all of life’s situations and mysteriously and amazingly they transcend time and space.  Meaning if there was one thing that could penetrate the science realm of space and time prayer is it.  God doesn’t work the way we do via a linear approach, God is outside of time and space and will intercede and protect us even before we utter the prayers that keep us connected to him.  When we pray, make sure it’s not just prayers in crisis…but pray to Him as a daily, even minute by minute conversation.  As difficult as this may sound, communing and conversing with him can lift many a burden before the storms arrive.  Do not underestimate prayer and its essential nature, nor its power.

2) Intercessory Prayer & the Fellowship of the Believers:

We are not alone in this world…so why do we continually think that we cannot share our burdens with other Christ followers in whom we trust?  Do we fear ridicule?  Do we fear being vulnerable before others?  We need the body of Christ more than just in the storms of life, but we ought to recognize that if the early church and its Apostles needed support then who are we to assume that we do not need help?  The fellowship of believers is vital to our continuation in the faith and another prescription by which we can weather the storms.  Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  It’s pretty clear isn’t it?  We are in this together and so we should be there for one another through thick and thin.  Do you have a home church?  Do you trust other believers within your church to help you?  If you don’t have a church or a fellowship in which you belong you are missing out on the amazing support and care that comes with the connected body of Christ.

3) Service

I know, it sounds strange.  How can we serve when we are riding each ebb and flow of this present storm surge?  The answer is faith.  If we have this continued prayer conversation with our Lord, and we have or are continually surrendering our burdens to him in the midst of the storm then what service does is put feet to our faith.  What we are essentially saying is that despite the storms we will serve the Lord.  We can’t stay stuck or static in the process of the tumult.  We have to get on with it and serve him the best that we can.  Service in the storm is two fold: a) We let his praises be glorified despite our circumstances and we acknowledge that it’s not about us but it’s about him.  b) We will be so immersed in serving God that there will be times that we will forget about our present storms.  This isn’t to say that they will go away if we ignore them, but rather when we are serving him, we are fulfilling the Lord’s prayer when we say the words ‘your will be done’…we are living it in this manner.

These are just three prescriptions to help us amidst the storms of life.  There might be more helps along the journey, but these are central to our victories through the power of the storm tamer – Jesus Christ.

Here’s to survival and to thriving in the midst of our burdens and storms:

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in (victory) triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

 

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Can’t wake up!

It is morning again and I find that my head is full of stuffing…its no fun waking up still groggy and head thumping away.   As I pour my first cup of thick black coffee I try to breathe deeply its fragrance, the earthy spell that weaves itself around me and knocks insistently at my still slumbering conscience with its wisps of spiraling steam and faint offering to the coffee gods.  

I am the slumbering zombie today, eyes vacant staring out into nowhere, slumping awkwardly in a chair trying to bring the coffee from hand to mouth…quick get the IV drip ready full of this coffee stuff because I fear I won’t make it to noon.  With far too much to do today and with my fuel of self and motivation running low…help?!  

Perhaps you have been where I am…I can’t seem to move faster than the speed of slow.  If I don’t post here later today…wait until tomorrow.  🙂   

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