There may be one or two people in this world who’s pride of life I have not yet insulted. Please comment here and I’ll do my best to accommodate your pride.
Category Archives: personal
Our Personal Altar
I wrote this in 2012. By his Grace, my wanderings have brought me back to the spectacular. May The souls of my brothers find cool water here.
Picture borrowed from http://www.westhighlandbaptistchurch.com/
Jesus, my God and King. I stop here to lay a white stone on the top of my altar of life. As a child I started this altar with little balls of mud I rolled in my hands as I encountered the truth of Your Holy ways. Each little ball represented a firm truth that was only perceived, not yet learned to live out in my ways. But each one gave you Glory for Your perfect teachings.
Next came the smooth little pebbles I found on the edge of the River of Life which you took me to go see from time to time. You let me drink from the edge as was wise according to Your endless wisdom. Then you drove me back to where You found me to have advanced. In this You watched to see what I would do with what You had given.
Then You drove me to the edges of that vast desert of life among men. Walking out a half day’s journey, I received what you offered to prove my heart. Dryness, loneliness, stark reality appeared before me as a living image of the relationships between man and man, and God and man. Jagged rocks began to be placed on this altar of Glory to You.
You gave me strength I did have. You gave the strength of Sampson from time to time. And I placed immense boulders on the altar as You brought me to them in “The Way”. You did not let me go around them. Rather You bid me pick them up and stack them for Your Glory. Amazement and worship filled me as each bolder of trouble was removed and placed on this Holy testimony to Your eternal love.
And now I reach in my pocket and pull out a smooth white stone. With loving fingers I place it atop the great and growing pile of worship to You. Through prayer I let it go to see where it will rest. Little noises come to my ears as it finds its way to rest amid this pile of testimony. And I watch it disappear into the pile. As it became Yours, it now is hidden from sight. Only You know where it now lay. And all the more is Your Glory. For You will testify that it has been laid within the altar which can never be torn down.
Glory is Yours! For You see what we cannot. Even the understanding You give us finds its place in our heart. We perceive where You placed it. Yet, even as we perceive it the understanding disappears into the man You are causing us to become. Only You know where it lay. And on the day You cause us to appear before You, You will expose each response to what You have done. All Glory is Yours. And this will be so forever.
These words are Yours. They come from a servant You have blessed with life. I testify to man. But You see the testimony that even Your servant cannot perceive. Thus all Glory is Yours Forever; and that to the Glory of Your Father who Lives in unapproachable light! You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God, are worthy of every possible good word. May all who call on Your Holy Name do so with a trembling soul. For You are given Immense Beauty from the God of all things. You are worthy! And Your worth is stamped with the approval of the Father of Life. Amen!
Forced to Speak!
The compulsion to share the Gospel of Christ everywhere, is not a sign of a righteous man. It is the sign of a man who has been forgiven a vast multitude of sins.
It is the sign of a man who knows what the end of his life would have been without Jesus the Christ of God. And such a man knows that this potential loss belongs to everyone!
The more vividly we see the end result of sinful lives, the less likely that fear will silence His Holy words.
Loss is a perception based on a foundation of potential gain. (Think that one through)
“Christ has saved me from Eternal and sure destruction. What consequence is it to me if Man despises the words of praise I have for Him? And what strength belongs to any of their threats?”
People speak about what they adore. People readily warn about the greatest of dangers. Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.
Public Note to Self
Define purity.
Three men appeared to Abraham. At that time a marvelous blessing was given to Abram. And at that time, a horrible declaration was understood (surprisingly quickly). They were in route to visit Sodom for the sake of Destruction.
As two of the men left to their destination, Abraham detained the One with questions about justice. And I read these words, “Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening”.
When I read the words I didn’t have a slice of time to wonder. I knew. The Majesty of God will never set foot in the place of Destruction. It is enough that He should hear the reports and send emissaries for the sake of His will.
If you wonder why Jesus, the very word of God, appeared among us (in our place of destruction), it’s because Jesus was sent as an emissary – for the sake of his Father’s will, and for our salvation.
Do not take these words at face value. Think as deeply as the Lord’s wisdom will allow.
Consider this, and answer with truth, define purity.
A Letter
“Dear” demons:
I write this letter so that others will know you are still around. Your buddies have done a pretty good job of convincing people that you don’t exist. So I think it’s only fitting that I should send out notice.
Sometimes it takes me awhile, but I always seem to figure out whose vile thoughts plague my mind. It’s you.
I know you can’t manipulate me. You can only whisper sweet nothings to the wickedness that’s already in me. That gives me some joy. It’s good to know that you can’t do anything to me unless I agree. And it’s good to know that you only play on the parts of me that have nothing to do with my Lord Jesus.
You are wicked beyond the human imagination. And apparently you have no ability to bring pleasure to yourself. Frankly, you’re nothing more than a vicarious vulture, just waiting for the desire for God to languish.
All this is fine. The Living God has made contingency for you and for me. It’s good to remind us that he is Hope in Jesus. And somehow it makes me feel better to remind you that your end is destruction.
Have a hopeless day.
Sincerely, Me.
Sad Songs?
Pretty much all the songs I play on guitar are sad songs. Pretty much all the songs I love are sad songs.
Some may wonder why I don’t play happy music. The answer is, I don’t have it in me. If my heart has joy, it is held in reserve for the place when I see his beautiful face.
You see, the sadness in me is caused by an understanding of what I’ve done with my life. And not only the things I have done with my life, but the things I see others do also.
In my heart there is a comparison between the gorgeous and beautiful love of God and the horror that belongs to Man.
The price of sin is unspeakable by the Implements of Man’s communication. We don’t have the words to describe the sorrow of Eternity as we destroy one another. There are no notes on Earth that can depict the true mellody of death.
They may wonder why I can only play sad songs. What would they say if I could lay my hands on the saddest of melodies that belong to God?
Words From There 