Tag Archives: love

Shod Feet

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I don’t have to work hard to prove how desirable a good pair of shoes can be.  If I were talking to women, there would be no need to say that at all!  What women know about shoes would be useful among any crowd.

(Just between you and me: when it comes to shoes, women seem to have an uncanny knack.  At this point, men usually just bow their head and leave.  There are some things in life that simply say, “Do not touch”.)

But let’s switch gears just a bit.  Let’s go back to the time of Adam.  All that was necessary for the creation of the first shoes, was an encounter with the first thorns.   Simple math: Foot = vulnerable ergo, protect!

Man is designed to require protection for his feet.  All our weight rests on two small pieces of skin.  And these are no ordinary pieces of skin.  They can feel the tiniest pieces of dust on a hardwood floor.  Immeasurably more intense is the feeling of sharp objects.  So we clothe them out of utility.  We clothe them out of desperation. 

But desperation has multiple definitions.  Vanity appears on the scene and destroys everything.  What was originally intended to protect us from pain, became perverted to protect us from the judgment of others.

Soon men noticed how they were regarded by the type of shoes they owned.  Soon, ornate replaced utility.  Soon, shoes carried more than the body.  Soon shoes carried the pride of man.

So it has been, even with the clothing of men.  But shoes receive special prominence.  They have become a reflection of the man’s intent.  They carry him to the place of his desire.  They perform what the man considers valuable. Most often, they are a reflection of his character.

Is he an obscure working man? 

His shoes will show where he has been. 

Is he one who desires fame and profit? 

You will see your own reflection in them.
                ~
There are shoes that scream out “fun”. 

There are shoes that say, “Get-er done”.

Shoes that advertise,
“Look what I own”.

And shoes that say,
“You’d better leave me alone”!
               ~

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Boots of pride
That kill with neglect. 
As they approach
There is no “howdy”. 
They carry a head
That remains in the clouds;
Aloof from the pain of others.

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Sandals of humility,
Come to embrace with life.  As they approach,
You are their intent. 
They carry a head
Created to wear
A crown of thorns instead;
Forever mindful
Of the pain of others.
He is Lord, and rightly so!

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'”  (Isaiah 52: 7)

Jack me down or hold me up. 

I prefer a leader of latter.

Become like him,

Or reside within.

I choose to climb His ladder.

By His Grace

Lust and love

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Where there is lust there is sin.  But as much as a man has love sin is taken down.

To love is best.  But if a man lacks the fullness of love, let him at least employ a restraint for the sake of love.

By His Grace

The Useful Singer of Truth

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The one who constantly quotes the Bible to others is not likely to be well received.  If this is the thrust of his “ministry” to God and His people, he is likely to become a rather burdensome companion.  Consider how the Bible is treated in most households.  This one will be given the same honor.

But the one who does what the Bible says, this one is prone to be somewhat accepted.  But doing what the Bible says doesn’t mean that man’s testimony will be heard everywhere he goes.  Such a one might just selectively pronounce the Gospel, according to his own faith.  He might be accepted.  But he might also be rather a useless “Singer of Truth”.

Yet there is the one who does what the Bible says, listens to the timely and focused prompting from the Holy Spirit, and delivers a “living word”.  This one is acceptable.  This one sings the song of Truth with power and usefulness.  This one will find legitimate persecution.  This one is useful to both man and God.

Such a one won’t have to wait long for the world to hate him.  They already hate the One who drives him onward.  And, beyond description, this one will encounter hard resistance from the majority of the family of God.  Not because he is an irritation, but because he speaks what is true to the moment.  Not because he is quoting what is past, but because he brings the written, and blood honored, Word to the present.  The Wisdom of the Living God drives his willing heart.

Let the resounding gong and the clanging cymbal think this through.

Mental Fog

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When something really bad happens to us, there’s always a few moments of disbelief.  It’s like our brain goes into fog mode. 

Depending on the severity of the problem, that fog mode can last a couple of seconds, or up to a couple of weeks.  Some people never return to normality.

There are millions of people depending on Jesus to save them.  But they do nothing in return.  I guess they figure they’ll just walk through unscathed.

It’s impossible for me to come away with that kind of response to the gospel in the Bible.  There so many warnings to the faithless, the fearful, and the thankless.  One warning that stands out, really tall, is: “Cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers”.

How can you read that and have no response?  How can you read that and have no fear; the kind of fear that motivates?

I don’t claim to know what happens after death.  But I wonder if that mental fog will fall on those who don’t get what they think they’re going to receive.

Will there be a moment of incoherent oblivion, as the angels come and snatch him up?  Coherent thought returns just as he falls down into the pit.

If you won’t serve the Lord out of love, at least let fear motivate you.  We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  It would be wise to begin somewhere.

You won’t serve Him in fear long.  He told us, and I testify it’s true, My Father will honor the one who honors me”.

By His Grace

Continue

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“He allowed no one to oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:
Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets no harm.” (1 Chronicles 16: 22)

The Glory of the Lord has gone out as a testimony through His people.  But who, among the world, has listened?  Who, among his people, has believed?

The world does not perceive the Holy power of God among men.  And so they continue in their way.

They hate God, for they perceive he interrupts their joy and ambition.  They cannot touch him so they reach out to his people.

In the past God has reached out to such men.  First to warn them.  Then to restrain them.  Finally to destroy them.

The promises of God are sure.  And all his judgments are righteous and lasting.  The Holy One is the same yesterday, today and forever.

While patient endurance escapes those who hate the Lord, they are brought back to sanity by the power of His Holy hand.  As it was in centuries past so it shall be forever. 

But who among men is wise to perceive what is?  They attribute misfortune to the chaotic ways of this world.  They do not perceive what is, as it might come from the Living God.

This is of their willing blindness.  This is of their stubborn rebellion.  They are blinded in their unholy desire.

Come then, and continue on with what you will not cease.  Despise, ridicule and litigate against the Lord’s people.  He is strong enough to cause all men endurance; the evil endure in their evil ways.  While the righteous endure with holy perseverance.

His promise is true for those who diligently seek His face.  His promise is also true against those who hate him and despise his rule over them.

Come then, and continue on with what you will not cease.  If you love him, then continue.  If you hate him, then by all means, continue.  Both groups will see the end of God’s Just response.

By His Grace

To Marvel is no Proof at All

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What value is the man who only marvels at Christ Jesus?  We are told that every man who ever lived will do that.  Even the most vile of humanity will bow his knee and give glory to Christ Jesus.

What can be said of the man who marvels and obeys?  We are told there are few who will ever do that.  What makes the difference between the few and the many?

We can do nothing without him.  And what we do is an extension of who we have become.  What can be said then of the man who marvels, yet becomes nothing?

If I see a king and marvel at the things he has, I need give him no respect in order to marvel.  But if I adore the king, I think it right and just that he should be adorned in royalty.  Yet how can I adore him if I do not know him?

The wicked man may look on the riches of the king and desire them out of greed or envy.  But the righteous servant will love the king, and rightly desire him to be blessed.

The wicked man will be a difficult citizen of the land.  But the righteous man will be a blessing to the one who rules.  True righteousness then, is not a product of citizenship.  True Christianity is not a membership in a club.

As such things are so here, they will be vastly more so in heaven.  If you do not love the Lord Jesus, it would be good for you to fall in prayer and confess.  Let him dress you in love, as he reveals who he is.

The wicked man will never hear, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant”.  But the one who is taught to love the Holy Lord,  can look forward to such a kiss in his ear.

This transformation is not something a man can conjure up from his own mind.  If that were so, the ingenuity of man would make the few many.  It must be received; it must be revealed from the Lord Himself.

No man has ever truly loved a woman he has never met.  How can a man be married to no one?  But let the man meet the woman who rings true in his soul, and he will love her unto death.  A willing love is provided by true respect.

This provokes the difference between religion and “The Faith”.  This provokes those coveted words from the Holy One on that great day.  This makes the difference between the few and the many.

By His Grace