Faithful Lines

What did the prophets do 

After they gave their last message

Did they continue to hear from God 

On a personal level? 

Or did the line go dark? 

Did they strive in hope 

Of just one more encounter? 

Because hope is active

To hope is to wait and seek

Don’t let distraction

Keep you from hope

For hope does not have a side gig

There is no plan B

Side plans of the flesh

Will always cause strife 

Division

Discord with the spirit of hope

How can you wait well

Oil in your lamp

If your eyes are too busy to wait and seek? 

But this I call to mind

And therefore there is hope

Therefore I wait

Therefore I seek

Great is His love

Great is His mercy

Great is His faithfulness

This is the worst job

I’m 100% not needed

Extraneous 

No one could move this rock

And it’s been days

No one would want to move the rock now

The smell would be horrendous 

Rotting flesh

I gag just thinking of it

These Jews sure made a fuss of this man

This one man

I’m sure the gods are laughing

Maybe if Jesus had come to our temple

Sacrificed to Jupiter or Juno

He would still be alive

But, no skin off my back

Though there certainly was skin off his

Man they whipped him with vigor

Maybe if Jesus

Had just learned to get along

He would still be alive

And I would have a better post

Who in their right mind would come now

To roll away this rock

It’s done

It’s over!

Caesar will make peace

Among the nations

Whoa, what’s that? 

A tremble, a quake! 

A light! A god?

Now I tremble

With fear of this angelic being

My heart is fainting within me

The stone!

It is rolling away! 

But the body

It’s gone! 

I’ve been guarding an empty tomb! 

The power didn’t come from without

The power came from within

Let not my heart

Be far from You

Let not my voice

Forget to sing Your praise

You are from beginning to end

Within You is no sadness

No darkness

Purity beyond comprehension

How great are Your works! 

Your deeds are mysterious

Yet remarkable

How You desire

My companionship

Is an aspect of Your love

That I will never grasp

Thank you from the depths of my soul

Though linked to this frame

My soul longs for freedom with You

Let not my hope

Fail in the waiting

Let my hands remain strong

In service to You

Let my feet

Walk in Your way

Your way is truth

Let not my heart

Be far from You

May I ever rest

In Your sovereign grace

A spoken statement

Evidence or proof

A recounting of a supernatural experience

Often viewed from the endpoint

The finish line 

The testimony

Of entering the promised land

The testimony

Of being saved from the fire

The testimony

Of the calmed storm

And yet

There is another type of testimony

It is from the one

In the wilderness

In the fire

In the storm

It is from the one

Who praises in miraculous awareness

Of the presence of God

The cloud by day

The fire by night

It is from the one

Who understands 

His protection

Nothing is burning

It is from the one

Who is being rocked and buffeted 

But keeps their eyes on the Savior

The evidence of within this moment

He holds all things together

The proof of peace

That steps beyond the normal experience

It is 

With Him and through Him and to Him

The daily testimony

A life enveloped in Christ

Never forget

You pray

To THE God of the universe

The one who spoke forth light

From His open mouth

Never forget

To pray 

Constantly, never ceasing 

Let every breath

Waft its way to the throne 

With an utterance of praise

Thankfulness and confession

Never forget

Your most important prayer

The one where you invite the Lord

To be the Lord of your life

Now He is savior, provider, friend

Never forget

The Spirit will give you the words to say

When prayer seems useless

When the twists and turns

Are muddled and confusing

Never forget

Exclaim to the Lord

Help my unbelief

Give me sight

Heal my heart

Morning light is growing

The trees in their blackness 

Trace the sky

Like ink dripped and pulled

On soft gray paper

But the stars are still there

The ones that held your attention

In the middle of the long hours of darkness

Glimmers of hope

Beckoning you to look beyond

And think past where you have been and known

Past the push 

The life that in all its glory

Rolls in a momentous fashion

Sometimes sweeping you into its chaos

Sometimes placing you gently on the bank

It’s good to have a focal point

When the world seems to be shifting

In every possible dimension 

There is hope

There is always hope

Will you

Fight for Me?

Will you

Take back the land

Of your heart

Remove the idols

From your home

Take up the sword

Of the Spirit

To speak truth in love

Will you

Fight. For. Me.

The backwards battle

Helping hands 

Loving actions

In place of bloodshed

Fight for me

By practicing justice

And removing others from harm

Will you fight for Me?

Keeping watch

Marching and shouting for joy

I don’t need

The Lord to scatter me

I do well enough of that

On my own

Running this way and that

Forgetting to first

Look to the source

I try in my own mind to find solution

Resolution, absolution

And when all that fails

The Spirit brings to mind 

The reason for my hope

What God scatters

And allows to scatter

He can correct and collect

When I get lost in the middle land

In what we often think of as

Gray area, waiting time

Between holy times

The Spirit brings to mind again

It is all holy time

All things are sacred

Pray for Him

To open the gates

On your heart

To renew the oil

In your lamp

To strengthen your hands

As you gather up your

Scattered thoughts and ways

Like Ruth collecting grain

Unite what has fallen

For purpose

And be fed

You are faithfulness

You never leave 

A seeking soul

In the wilderness 

You desire 

For your people

To have the best

Yet, do not leave me

In comfort

Too long

My heart will stray 

My ego build

I’ll neglect my saintly duties

My knees will forget

How to bow

Lord, give me just enough

More of You

But just enough 

Of everything else

Balance my way

Leave me

Hungry

For You

To know the parts

That go together 

To connect the coast

To the coast

Yet, even in this place

Even with this ability

It is impossible

To force His presence

Draw near to the surf

Pray for the waves to wash

Wash over you

Time and time again

To connect you

To the hosts of saints

Here, one says

I learned how to bear this grief

So that I 

May now help you

I wonder

If Simon (of Cyrene)

Had a job

Moving lumber

We think of the great return

Of the exiles

We think of their grief

Transforming to joy

But, there were those 

Still weeping

There may have been

Those in great discomfort

Here, here is where I sinned

Against the Lord God Almighty

Can I walk

On this holy ground again? 

Is redemption truly

Part of my story? 

The anticipation

The sadness

I’m back

But to what end?

Healing is a daunting path

So stop walking

And wash wash

Wash wash wash

Wash wash

Obedience is healing

My God our God

You have not forsaken us

The mercy of your Spirit

When embraced

It binds us together

It connects

It strengthens our frame

And, we know