Beaten


Beaten!  His skin ripped open to show what’s beneath.

The shame of rotten lips assailed His ears.

They hung Him exposed.

Then they railed at inaction.

Silent of protest, the Lord endured.

Like a lamb He was led to the slaughter.

The understanding of His Father filled Him.

From the foundation of the world, was this Lamb accused.

For you He endured.

For you He obeyed.

For the Father’s wisdom reaches out into eternity,

And does not flinch from truth.

What is written is written, both scorn and love.

What will you say with your flesh blessed life?

Will you say you can add to this perfect torment?

Will you work to gain what Jesus offers?

What horrible beating will you invent that you might ascend?

Jesus paid the price in full.

“It is FINISHED!”

 

Glory is His Name!

He delivers what cannot be known.

The conscience is quickened.

The heart is reborn.

Good is seen against the bad.

And hope springs up from desperate thrashing.

What is the response from those touched by this hated One?

Shall we fight along side He who was considered too ugly to live?

Shall we washed hogs return to the mud?

Though the answer can be spoken here.

The answer remains in the actions and thoughts of those who receive.

He is Glory!

And He is allowed to judge all.

For He is WORTHY!

By His Grace.

Where do I Stand?


c. 1632

Image via Wikipedia

Many look at the Lord Jesus and say, “That’s nice.”  Most hear of Him and His expectations for His people and turn their heads another direction.  Some hear of the Lord of Glory in Jesus and reach into their pockets to give alms to those who appear to serve Him.  And some study their entire life to learn of His secrets.

But a few will lay down pride and gain in this world to receive the Glory of His promise.  Some have given all they own to be a part of His Testimony.  Some are looking at Jesus and pondering what all this “giving of self” means.  And they are about to cast in all they own to join the Glorious war of God.

Where do I stand?  What have I left that can be thrown down for His sake?  What do I hold dear in this world?  How close am I to being counted as one who threw it all away for His Glorious Name?

To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom.   But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.   And who is adequate for such a task as this?  (2 Corinthians 2:16 [the Living Bible])

By His Grace.

Swarm of Words


“What is the Kingdom of Heaven like. . . ?”  Why did the Lord say that?  Was He not sure?  No.  He was sure of His vision of where He had come from and where He was going.  But, “How shall I describe it?”  He was speaking to men of this world, who had never seen what He was describing.

I consider the vision He has allowed my mind to conceive.  How shall I describe this meager vision?  It is meager because I can only behold His words through the mind of man.  And I speak to the mind of man.  So what shall I say?

I wish to speak words of beauty.  The words that describe the joy He instills within my soul.  So:

Fill me with a swarm of words Lord!

Caress my soul with tools of Your beauty!

Allow me to speak what is true and eternal, to men of my own blood.

I sit enthroned in this tent of flesh.

And I see things radically “other”.

How shall I describe, and to what shall I liken, this beautiful vision You give?

 

By His Grace.

The Swatter is Coming.


Common house fly (Musca domestica).

Image via Wikipedia

The fly buzzes my head.  And he gives no thought that he is irritating me to violence.  He does not notice as my hand reaches for the fly swatter.  And he takes no notice of how I have dressed myself in patience for his destruction.  I will wait for him to lite in a place of my convenience.  Then I will unleash his end.  What was tethered in patience will become a lightning end.

So it is with the wicked against the Lord.  They give no thought of how irritating they are becoming to the Lord.  They do not notice how their lives are headed toward a place the Lord has established, the place of their destruction.  They speak and rail against Him while they take no notice of how He is dressed in an eternal patience.  They are the ones who count the minutes.  The Lord only counts for the sake of those who number, for eternity has no number of days.  He waits for them to lay down in the dirt; their days spent in rebellion and hatred for His Righteousness.  And then, He unleashes His perfect and Righteous Judgment upon the wicked.

By His Grace.

I’m Not the King.


Delivery Truck

I presented a witness to you.

And you thought you mocked me.

I stood before you and spoke.

And you shot your hatred at my head.

I did not flinch, nor did my soul respond.

While the dust of your words passed me by.

I knew, without doubt, that those words you cast out,

Were not meant for one such as I.

The dust of your words left no trace upon me.

Every speck has landed somewhere else.

It is the Lord you’ve insulted.

I am only His messenger to your face.

And how foolish to dash the messenger,

Then turn and boast that you have killed the King.

 

By His Grace.

News Flash


Elephant in the St. Louis Zoo

Image via Wikipedia

An Elephant woke one morning to see a convoy of trucks passing by.  His tiny brain got an idea.  With smiling eyes, he lumbered over to one of the trucks.  His deft trunk reached into the truck and plucked the driver out of his seat.  Then, to the double amazement of the driver, the elephant began to try to get into the driver’s seat.

This is to all men, women and children.  You can imagine yourself as anything you want.  But the nature of our condition determines who we are.  You can call yourself a Pilot.  But unless you actually can and do fly a plane, you’re just fooling yourself.  You can imagine you’re a Chicken, if you wish.  But unless you’re really that small, feathered, beaked, and stupid, you’re still a human.

You can call yourself a Christian.  But unless the Lord causes you to be one, you’re just making noise with your lips.

“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalms 127:1)

11For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  12Now if any man builds on the foundation with
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13each man’s work will become evident; for the day  will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself  will test the quality of each man’s work. 14If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians)

“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spiritgives birth to spirit.” (John 3: 6)

Go ahead.  Go to church.  And, as is your custom, continue in sin when you leave that place.  You think the sign you hang over your head causes you to be something you’re not?  Remember the Elephant and the Chicken, and the Pilot.  God is deadly serious about His Holy demands for mankind.  Only the wise will continually reach up to Him for that transformation He demands.  No man will find himself justified by his own desire.  Justification and eternal life are from the hand of the Lord.  Open your hard heart.  Drop your pride of life.  Listen to what the Lord has said.  The verdict on all men has already been rendered.  There is no life other than that which the Spirit of God builds in man.  And there will not be one shred of man’s accomplishments which will enter Heaven.  Unless the Lord has accomplished it in you and through you, you have accomplished nothing.  Pride of man is an ememy of God.  The name you give yourself is less than nothing in the eyes of God.

By His Grace.