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.

May 20, 2013 0

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

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.

May 20, 2013 0

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!

May 17, 2013 0

‘The Way’ or the ‘LOST’ way

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.

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.

May 17, 2013 0

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. 🙂

May 14, 2013 0

At the door…Salvation comes. (Poem)

Dear Lord,

you know these feeble hands

and waning strength

ebbing away as the ticking hand progresses

You know my thoughts

and how they stray wondering

further then a troubled runaway…

I can’t pretend in your presence

I can’t put up a front before you

You see right through me like

a window pane freshly washed

this house is open, doors unlocked

I cannot hide from you

not deny any skeletons yet residing.

yet you come to me

you still come to my level

and embrace me like everything

is alright…I know it’s not

and yet you remind me again

that your sacrifice has made me clean

you have made it right

made it right for me…

how can I accept this?

when I know i’m a mess?

How can I agree to this

when I can’t forgive who I am

the battle isn’t about what you are

and what you’ve done

but what I am and where I’ve been…

how can I let you in?

How can I let you see me like this?

Yet your grace, your face

your love your hope

surrounds me completely.

It’s too good for me and yet

you let me see that you grant

this gift to me freely!

Such amazing love,

such unmerited grace

falls upon me in this place

and I am whole again

I am so much more than I used to be

you have mended me

you have set me free…

and so I no longer let you stand

at the door on my front porch

but I let you in and let this

salvation thing in me begin.

May 13, 2013 1

Ashamed? Hell No!

2 Timothy 1:5-8 (NIV)
⁵I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. ⁸So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,

I hope I didn’t offend you…not my purpose. My purpose in my title is to ask which do we prefer Eternity in Heaven or Eternity in Hell. My choice? Hell? NO! Heaven? Yes! From this perspective I will not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ! I know in whom I have placed my trust and I will not back down from that!

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy to remind him to carry on the mission of Christ…to fan it into flame to ignite others and to never be ashamed of the Lord. I can imagine the early Christians facing all kinds of ridicule, mockery, imprisonment and death…Paul’s words go beyond basic embarrassment or shame it picks at the very heart of being a Christian. We are to be in essence gate keepers of heaven…guides if you will to the one who holds the keys of heaven and eternal life – Christ himself.

When we shy away from this role, when we passively allow injustices to occur and we look the other way because we’re afraid to get involved or how it will look we may as well be gate keepers of hell. I know that sounds pretty harsh but we have to stand for something or else we’ll fall for anything or allow anything to go in this life. And if we’re wise in our understanding of scripture we ought to acknowledge that scripture certainly doesn’t endorse an ‘anything goes’ notion in this life.

Timothy took up the gauntlet from the Apostle Paul. He did continue in spreading the word of Christ to all the world. He was a pivotal early church leader.

In our lives are we ashamed of Christ? Are we afraid to share our faith of Him to those we meet? I’m not talking about handing out “Get Saved Or Else” pamphlets here. I’m talking about developing trusting relationships with people so that when you present the gospel you are making a lasting impact on them. Being unashamed is a part of the role of a Christian. We can’t do this in our own strength however. We need the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to get it right and to be effective.

Ashamed? If we allow hell to prevail…I say Hell no! Stand up, be bold, be unashamed..and heaven Yes!

May 13, 2013 1

Sermon Podcast: A Mother’s Heritage

Sermon Link via Podomatic:

http://scottstrissel.podomatic.com/entry/2013-05-12T13_07_09-07_00

Also podcasts are a available free by download via iTunes: key word: brainerdcorps
Sermon Scripture Passage:

2 Timothy 1:3-8 (NIV)
³I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. ⁸So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,

3 Marks of Love (A Mother’s Heritage to pass on to her children):

1) Knowledge of a Savior

2) Knowledge of the Scriptures

3) A Passion to Serve!

May 12, 2013 0

Jesus Wept

Jesus wept…

did He weep for me?

Was He weeping

for Himself?

Was He afraid

knowing the path

that lay ahead…

it says he sweat

like drops of blood

was He conflicted

before the tree?

Was it a conflict

that He should die for me?

Two simple words

that pierce my heart

carrying with it a weight

of power and a wealth of love…

was I on His mind – with future

edging in, threatening Him?

Jesus wept…two words

that form on my tongue

and creep deeply in my soul

knowing in His tears he

carried my burdens

and washed them away.

May 9, 2013 0

Whispers or the love song? (Poem)

There is a whisper

breathless and full of repine

counting down the ifs

the and couldas and the shouldas…

the well is full of these regrets

with night as black as coal

and eyes that stare menacingly back

as if in reproach and in contrition.

Were it so and the hands of time

were to cooperate

the hands of man might undo

that which enslaves the mind, body and soul.

We are all slaves.

Shackled, broken, held against our

will, our identities wiped away

how wretched it must be

to remain if freedom loomed

with open door and nail pierced hands.

Though the whispers may continue

we do not have to listen anymore.

For there is a far better song

a lyric sewn with love

webbed with compassion

and grafted like our blood line

to our Father.

Yes, the whispers might continue

but give ear to the song of love

for it beckons and grants a much kinder

destination without chains or remorse.