Monthly Archives: November 2014

Happy Hunting

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A shotgun or rifle, the choice is yours.  What are you trying to do?

Bundle a number of pens together, to write each word red to blue.

Infect all men with urgent notice, or to great strength save but a few.

If the former fits your hunting skills,  by all means give it a whirl.

If the latter is more your liking, then be careful with every swirl.

A writer for Christ is he who attempts, to add to the number of men.

It is not his duty to be in the trench, where His soldiers pray loud amens.

There is room for the net, the spear, and the hook.

But let God’s wordsmiths use careful look:

At where he is sent, and what purpose may be.

As he serves the Christ Jesus, “Eternal Majesty”.

By His Grace

The Son and the Moon

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Man cannot look at the Son without wincing.

But delight is found in the early morning moon.

For He was born in the fires of summer.

While the moon reflects His Glory forever.

Let the world find its place of shade.

Let His people bask in His majesty.

They can tear at reflection from their darkness of sleep.

But He they will never touch again!

By His Grace

The Sulking Slave

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My skin and flesh,

My brain, heart and home.

0′ meager, insufficient friend,

Where are you going

With your head hung so low?

What displaces your joy with trouble?

Is it I?

You pout with the tears

Of a teenage girl.

Yet I only ask you in taunting;

It is not as if I care, or dare,

To lift up your expectations.

You will serve me well,

Long past your desire.

You will rise to retrieve:

What gives my feet wings.

You do not provide me food or water,

Though I feed you and quench your thirst.

Your place you cannot accept.

There is no abandon in your chores.

There is no spring as you drag your feet.

For I will not give you

What you think is yours.

So then, where are you going,

My desperate, lonely friend?

To work with you,

And then the grave,

That is your mortal end.

You are not worthy to clothe me;

You are not prime for His Glory.

I’ve shown you your place,

I’ll demand your attendance.

Until your replacement is found.

By His Grace

The Well Worn Door

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The more prominently they are exposed, the more likely their fall.  And the noise of their fall turns heads for miles. 

Necks snap in the direction of the noise.  Eyes widened with joy.  Legs that were poised to spring, explode into action.

Not for the weakness of righteousness,  but because the weakness of man.  So is the imminent crash of greedy desire.

Better to live in a cave in the deepest of woods.  Better to live in the shadow of obscurity.

Better to thrash about with wild animals than to contend among the pride of man.

But who can convince the young and gifted, when so many rise to fame?

The desire to be somebody outweighs common sense and wisdom.  Their attention is fixed on their own name.

And when the one is thrown down from his position, because of some common sin, those who desire his place are the first to attack his throat.

“Devour” waits for the hungry.  He lurks in the grass of the hunting field.

Unseen and crafty, powerful and deftly agile, with eyes that see weakness before it develops.

Mercy lives in obscurity.

As the blessing of God is given to the prayer uttered in a secret place, the mercy of God finds its best deployment among the humble.

“Devour” does not desire the gaunt.  There is no fat in their skin.  The meat on their bones is sparse and tough.  Diligence has spared them great anguish.

Humiliation and humility are brother and sister of the same God.  But one is a servant while the other is of the family.

One goes out to take, the other lives to embrace.

Each man makes his choice of friend at the door of opportunity. 

There is no lock on either door.  Enter as you will.

Those who desire wisdom desire the family of God.  Those who desire precarious folly desire His servant.

So it has been written since the day of Adam.  So it has been established from eternity.  So it will not be removed until the last day of this place of testing.

How can a man tell the difference between the door of humiliation and the door of humility? 

On the one, the knob is dented and loose.  On the one, the wood at the edge is severely worn. 

So many have passed through here that the door shows exceedingly great wear.  Care for the things of others is dismissed among those rush to humiliation.

But the door of humility is pristine.  It is polished to a shine and greatly cared for.

Those who have entered in have used careful fingers.  You would not think it is used at all.

At the door of humiliation is glee and celebration.  The great noise of joy can be heard on the other side.

The door of humility is entered into by those who are unnoticed.  And once inside there is no noise to be heard.

Through the one door is a flat open space.  Through the other, are a myriad of staircase.

It would be better to resign from your place, and walk among the humble, than to climb the stairs of profitability and fame.

But what good are these words to those whose hands are greedy?  It is an easier task to tear loose the prey of a lion, then to rip greed from the hands of the proud.

By His Grace

The Hardest of Things

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What is the hardest aspect of Christianity?  Contrary to popular belief, the hardest thing in Christianity is not found in the do’s and don’ts.  Even the ridicule and shunning of society is a trifle compared to the hardest thing in Christianity. 

If one can master this most difficult aspect, Christianity is a lovely place to live.  No matter what comes against us, either from within or from without, mastery of this aspect makes us invulnerable.

Making the decision to follow Christ comes after the most difficult choice.  And this choice does not fade over time.  It remains the most difficult of all Christian things.

What is the most difficult aspect of Christianity? “Believing.”

By His Grace

Chaotic Building Materials

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He who would save his life will lose it.  Yes, the Lord said that.  But did you know there’s an absolutely logical reason for it?  The saying is not a threat from God.

Nothing man can build, in the way of a life, can last.  The only items he has in his hand to build with, come from chaos. 

He gathers and digs, and scrapes together items that form his life.  Where did he get these things?  He got them from the mass of chaos that is this world.

It can be compared to a man trying to build a house out of rotten and twisted lumber, rusty nails and screws, and a tape measure that was drawn by a child.  He tries to build a straight house on a foundation that is crooked and rough.  To top it all off he builds in a place prone to storms.

Chaos is chaos, it can’t be anything else.  Such a life is bound to explode into futility, and horrible frustration.  The one who desires to save this life, will find himself busy in repair forever.  So yes, he who desires to save his life will certainly lose it.

But the life that God offers is not built on chaos.  God offers a man the things that are built on eternal life.  By their very nature, they are perfectly unshakable.

Here’s the rub my friends.  All we have ever known is a life of constant repair.  We have been duped into believing this is life.  Pathetically, we are secure in this belief. 

When the offer of life from God arrives, it is perceived as another form of chaos.  It threatens to tear down the sweat and blood house we have built.   Since a man is already busy, beyond his ability, repairing what he has, there is an automatic rejection of more demands.

Only those people who recognize the futility of their life, receive God’s gift readily.  But God is insistent.  “I’m trying to give you life.  Let go of what you have and you will live a joyous and full life.”  So a struggle unto death becomes.

The resulting war is no joke at all.  A God born faith is required, as if a man stares down a hungry lion.  But the battle will not relent.  The only closure to this war, is the grave itself.  Sadly, many millions have gone to the grave, embroiled in this battle but never receiving God’s grace. 

Not every man perceives these things.  Most often the battle is rejected without consideration. 

Look at it this way, you will fight a war with something until the day you die.  Why not wisely pick your battle?

The Apostle Peter addressed this: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”  (1 Peter 4: 12)

Give up and live.  Strive to retain what you have and you will die. 

Chaos cannot give birth to life.  Life cannot give birth to chaos.  The two are forever opposing.  Chaos will destroy itself.  Life lives forever.

Christ Jesus offers life.  But who will take it?

By His Grace