Gospel

Sharpening

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How can I comfort those who mourn
Unless I learn to mourn myself?
For fellowship with those forlorn,
I must be taken from the shelf.
For there I sat so safe and calm,
But there I also gathered dust.
If this, my life, would be a balm,
Then I must learn that God is just
Not just in times of peace and rest,
But in my sorrow, sickness, strife.
If I would follow heaven’s best,
I will not have an easy life.
But through my broken heart, he speaks,
And through my suff’ring, Christ is seen.
If soon, with death, my body reeks,
My soul, by grace through faith, is clean.
So why would I avoid the pain
If, through the turmoil, faith is grown?
The struggle leads to priceless gain
As man’s despair is overthrown.
All things do work together for
The good of those He called in love,
And though we walk the road of war,
God reigns in sov’reignty above.

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Christmas

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The king was troubled in his soul
As news was told of kingly birth.
He spawned a plot to keep control,
Consumed with thoughts of his own worth.
But even in his selfish ploy,
He could not stifle heaven’s plan.
Despite the sons he did destroy,
He did not stop good news to man.
For God so loved the world.
For God so loved the world.
From long ago the Lord has said
That he would send a saving son
To stand upon the serpent’s head
And bring new life to ev’ry one
Who followed after Adam’s way
In breaking heaven’s holy law.
Messiah came to bring the day,
To rescue men from sin and flaw.
For God so loved the world.
For God so loved the world.
Though earth was lost in darkest night,
The souls of mankind dead and still,
The darkness saw a holy light
It did not, will not, cannot kill.
Now gone: defeat, despair, and death,
For hope and life and peace he brings.
He fills our lungs with living breath.
With triumph, ev’ry voice now sings:
For God so loved the world.
For God so loved the world.

Truth and Heresy

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There never was a “then” when Christ was not,
Only begotten God of God on high.
The Gospel story ever was the plot:
The spotless Lamb for spotted sheep to die.
By nature, men do sin and stand in need
And lack the merit morally required.
And thus, the holy call, “Take up and read,”
Can offer life so lovingly acquired.
The Word was written that we might not sin,
That living branches might bear fruit for life.
Yet when we falter, there is hope again
As Christ called Peter thrice from Peter’s strife.
We read and write for right theology,
That saints would not be swayed by heresy.

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Idolatry and Redemption

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The bride has pledged devotion to
A love more perfect than she knows
A groom more faithful, strong, and true
Who saw her flaws and still her chose
He cleansed and cured her sores and scars
He bade her break her bond with death
He set her free from prison bars
Imbibed was she with saving breath
His love surpassed what she had known
When she was bound to broken ways
His bond to her was set in stone
He vowed to love her all her days
Yet she was found in bed with those
Who left her broken in the dirt
She threw away her true repose
To grasp at harlotry and hurt
Perfection was too low for her
Her heart, too weak to recognize
His name, his life, he did confer
To make her pure before his eyes
She well deserved to lose her place
He had the right to cast her out
But she was met instead with grace
His faithfulness removed all doubt
His love was found not in her flesh
Nor in her goodness, grace, or worth
He, by his nature, did refresh
And in his holiness did girth
And she, though not made perfect yet
Experienced a change of heart
And though her past she won’t forget
She walks in light of this new start

The Devoted Doctor and the Perfect Physician

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Not long ago, while driving around Austin, TX with a few friends, I noticed that the car in front of us had an Imperial insignia and a Triforce attached to the bumper. I pointed these out to the guys and was immediately called a nerd. When I joked that I had never been called that before, one friend simply responded, “That’s doubtful.” We all laughed because we all knew the truth: I’m a huge nerd. There’s no denying that fact. Furthermore, I always enjoy looking for spiritual parallels in the geekiest of stories. That definitely makes my day. Continue reading →

Singleness, Marriage, and Devotion to the Lord

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I’ve jokingly referred to 2015 as “The Year of Weddings.” We’ve just recently hit the eight month marker, and, thus far, the vast majority of my friends from college are now newly married, engaged, or are in relationships that are heading toward marriage. As the year goes on, more join that group. Relationships are forming and solidifying on a near epidemic scale. The single boat is apparently sinking, and most people I know are partnering up and jumping ship. Continue reading →

Though Man May Die

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The scalpel in my Father’s hand
Doth fill my soul with hope and dread:
Hope for the good that he hath planned;
Dread for the loss of what is dead.
Afflicted with a fearful faith,
The foreign and familiar fused-
The actions of the holy wraith
Obscured by actions unexcused.
Yet I am not accused by God,
Despite the sins I still commit.
I fall before the meas’ring rod,
But, by his grace, he doth remit.
His right hand of omnipotence
No longer waits with wrath for me:
The God-man, breathing holiness,
Bore holes and wrath upon the tree.
Now he upholds with righteous arm
The souls now saved from Sodom’s fate.
He works his purpose through each harm
As for his work we watch and wait.
So banish now these fleshly fears
And fear the holy God most high.
His work, though wrought with many tears,
Brings life to man though man may die.

Thoughts from Psalm 8 and John 2

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How can it be
That he would see
From heaven’s highest throne
A broken man
With fallen plan
And call him for his own?

The earth and sky
Before his eye
Submit to his command,
Yet by his grace
This human race
Is set above the land.

This God above
Is rich in love
And stoops to care for men.
He came in night
To shine his light
And save our souls from sin.

Oh mystery
Of sov’reignty
Who knows our mortal state:
The Lord of life
Embracing strife
To change the sinner’s fate.