Stained with sin but for your grace, I
Long to look upon your face. Thy
Never-failing word commands my
Failing heart to focus. Faith is
Crying, “Father, stoke us. Take this
Weakened will in your hands.” Of his
Life and death and life again, I
Sing, a breath midst strife and sin. Thy
Son resplendent understands my
War with this temptation. Such is
Life till death’s cessation. In this
Hope my salvaged soul stands, all his.
Today is my birthday. Birthdays are great excuses to spend quality time with family and friends, and I cherish those times. But birthdays are also great times to reflect on one’s life. Here are a few things I’ve noticed as I’ve reflected on my life this year. Continue reading
We place our memories upon the tree
Along with colored lights and tinsel spheres,
Traditions carried on through many years
Displayed for ev’ry passerby to see.
Together with our friends and family
We celebrate the end of earthly fears
Proclaimed by angels unto shepherd ears,
The Gospel passed along to you and me.
As days pass by, these trees are brought and burned.
We gather ’round the bonfire and are warmed
As friends and fam’ly fellowship again.
More blessed still, the God whom we have spurned
Has sent his son to save the world he formed,
And in our songs, this truth is our refrain.
These fleeting frustrations can fill me with fury;
The littlest loss can produce a lament.
Please pardon this person so lost in the flurry;
Prevent me from spurning this chance to repent.
Let not limitations incite my impatience.
Impertinent thoughts – let them perish from me.
For I am a man unaffected by penance,
Provoked by the splinters I happen to see.
Yet you have forgiven my vilest offenses.
You made me a son though I spit in your face.
God, break down my barriers, dash my defenses,
And teach me to live by your mercy and grace.
Let me learn to better reflect your perfection.
Let sanctification reach every part.
Let my life bear witness to thy great salvation
As patience and peace rule my critical heart.
My eyes behold a sight so terrible
And lovely I cannot but stand in awe
And dread at knowing now what others saw,
The truth perceived in part through parable.
The Lord of all that is, in love and wrath,
Has ev’ry right to rid his world of me.
And I, now seeing him, do suddenly
Abandon all excuses for my path,
This road which led me to my own demise.
I am a sinful man deserving naught
But righteous condemnation without end.
Yet now I hear a spotless lamb’s last cries,
And now I learn my worthless life is bought,
And now I know that Christ has called me friend.
I wonder whether I am growing here,
Or whether I am day by day the same.
I bow before his Spirit showing fear
While sin is showing me the way to shame.
Surrendering to sanctifying love,
I seek to know you by your book of truth.
Appearing as a heart defying dove,
You help my heart ‘scape ev’ry hook of youth.
Yet still I wonder, God of glory bright,
How can I know that you are here to stay
When messages of gospel music fight
To work their way in to my ear of clay?
Might I gain access to your kingdom then?
To find the ev’dence, I must look within.
The Israelites were a hardheaded bunch of characters. I’ve been reading through the early books of the Bible (I just recently started on Deuteronomy), and I’ve noticed that the Israelites seem to rarely be content. No matter their situation, they always want something more. When they are miraculously delivered from captivity, they complain that their food situation isn’t adequate. When God miraculously provides bread, they complain that they don’t have meat. When God miraculously provides meat, they soon begin to complain that they’re tired of the meat. Throughout the wilderness wandering (which came about due to the people’s disobedience), Israel shows herself to be a fussy people. Continue reading
God, guide your Word like a sword for my reckoning,
Wrecking all hopes in my heart for this waste.
Cut to the quick for the purpose of quickening
Works of your Spirit to sever the sickening
Sludge that I sought in my haste.
Clauses like claws are accustomed to scratch away
Any remainder of wretchedness here.
Tear away sin and, in so doing, tear a way
Through the commotion that coaxes my heart astray
Till I have learned how to fear.
Let ev’ry phrase of your holy book break my heart
For ev’ry way I dishonor your name.
Never relent; pierce my soul from the very start
Till I reflect your resplendence with ev’ry part,
Living as proof of your claim.
Every season, the three teams that finish last in the Barclays Premier League get relegated to the Championship, meaning they lose their place in the top twenty teams of the BPL. This makes for a really intense football season, because even the best teams can quickly drop into the relegation zone. The danger is real, making the football season a fight for survival for some of the lower teams. Those slots can be filled with teams from lower divisions, but a team has to fight to earn a place in the elite twenty BPL teams. This system makes for some great football. But it’s a horrible system for theology.
Continue reading
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Christians, myself included, love these two verses. If you type “Proverbs 3:5-6″ into Google and click the “Shopping” tab, you’ll find this passage printed on bookmarks, bracelets, post-it notes, pillows, iPhone covers, rings, shirts, coffee mugs, key chains, dog tags, posters, canvas art, chalkboard prints, and those hip, plank-board wall decorations. You can even get this verse printed on a skateboard deck (Yep, you read that right). And while we don’t expect to receive any divine revelation just by drinking from a Proverbs 3:5-6 coffee mug (nor do we expect a Proverbs 3:5-6 skateboard to always roll us where God would have us go), we love to be reminded of God’s promise to direct our steps.
as i learn to walk 