Life isn’t always easy.
provision
Reorienting
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Some can feel like all.
Perspective and Provision
Frustrated by my failure to perceive
The movement of the invisible one
Whose work, though purposeful, leaves me undone
Till no one save the Savior can relieve
The longing my soul feels to find its home.
I both believe and struggle to believe
That hope endures because of heaven’s Son,
That fears will fade, that victory is won;
And in this moment, I cannot conceive
How this cross leads beyond a catacomb.
I see I am shortsighted, prone to think
No sign of water means no future drink.
Such circumstances hold a hollow taunt.
God is my shepherd. I shall never want.
Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash
Thanksgiving
You give us the ability to give,
For all we have to give, in truth, is yours.
The very breath we breathe, the days we live,
Our daily bread — each comes from heaven’s stores.
Lord, let us not forget that all is grace,
That we have earned not one of all our joys,
And let us fix our eyes upon your face
Above all earthly troubles, tasks, and toys.
Forgive us when we want more than your love,
And fit us to receive and be content.
Yours is the universe and all thereof.
The proof of your provision is Advent.
In thanks, we rest and look toward the Son,
Dependent on the independent one.
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
Seeds
He knows our needs.
He promised to provide.
So worry not
Nor let your courage fail.
Flow’rs grow from seeds
After the seeds have died.
You will not rot.
In Christ, you will prevail.
Photo by Elijah Hail on Unsplash
Fulfillment
Elusive fulfillment, promising much,
Master of anticipation and lust,
Warping a want till it feels like a must,
How many more must be crushed in your clutch?
Questioning you grows progressively more
Treacherous, for you twist my desiring
From pure motives in holy retiring
To meaner modes. I cease to see the war.
Awaken me, O Spirit. Help me hear
The still, small voice reminding me the way
To fullness is to seek a higher end.
My God, you reign. Teach me to love and fear,
To trust in your provision for this day,
And to abide in thee, most faithful friend.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Presence
The presence of my shepherd is my peace.
His goodness to me day by day, my song.
His love for me bids all my worries cease.
He over ev’ry enemy is strong.
I lack no needed thing, for he is here
In deepest darkness as in brightest light.
Amid my enemies, I do not fear,
For God, my father, watches through the night.
No storm or sword or snake can separate
My soul from the Almighty’s sov’reign grasp.
This body may decay, these doubts berate –
Still I remain within my father’s clasp.
True life is life lived at the shepherd’s side.
I make it thus my aim to there abide.
The Tricks of Idolatry
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that a person’s relationship status can easily become an idol. Individuals sacrifice time, money, and emotional well being to serve this ever hungry god, finding again and again that the idol can never truly be appeased. No matter how much you give, you will find this false god always demanding more. Continue reading
Lust: The Ugliest of Pokemon
“Pokemon Go” came out this past week in app stores, and, consequently, twenty-somethings all over are reliving their childhood calling to “catch ‘em all!” By using smartphones, we can now see the teeming masses of Pidgeys and Rattatas that pepper the landscape as we hunt the elusive Scyther on campus (no exaggeration; NOBTS is covered with Pidgeys and Rattatas). I have to admit that I’m sucked into the craze. For a simple enough game, “Pokemon Go” delivers hours of fun.
Continue reading
You Sneaky Sin
The Ten Commandments.
When you read those words, you probably thought about one of three things: The Law of God, Moses, or Charlton Heston. It’s possible that you pictured Christian Bale, but I’m assuming there aren’t many who made that specific connection. Regardless of what your mind associates that title with, I doubt that the Ten Commandments are totally foreign to you. You may even be trying to count how many you know from memory, listing them off in classic King James Version English (“Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal,” etc. (Exodus 20:13-15, KJV)). Continue reading
as i learn to walk 