The First Gleam of Dawn

 I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and who ever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (Jesus, John 11:25)

Live

even though you are dying.

Live

in the twilight hours

between two ages.

 

Some say

"Life is not a dress rehearsal."

But it is!

In life we can get busy living

or we can get busy dying.

Practice makes perfect.

Is it sunrise

or sunset?

Will you embrace

the coming darkness

or the coming dawn?

Die.

Let it go.

Die

to whatever keeps you from life.

Die

even as you embrace life

in the One who lives.

His words to you

will speak you through

all manner of death

into resurrection.

His breath

to fill your lungs

and his belief

to keep your heart beating.

Always.

And forever.

 

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (Proverbs 4:18)

 

 

Make a Way

 I am the voice of one calling in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord." (John 1:23)

A desert may not be the best place to gather a crowd, but it may be the best place to make disciples. We can learn from being hot and hungry when the lessons are about real food and drink.

In preparing, we find our way. Perhaps the best preparation is realizing we what we are doing is not satisfying our hunger or thirst.

Before we hear a voice that calls, "Follow me," we will hear a voice that calls, "Make straight the way." Leaving one path will open our eyes to another one.

But beware of visuals. Often the voice calls out in the darkness. "Too much" and "too many" can clutter the way. The desert can open our ears and eyes to the silence and solitude it brings.

 

It is the dry places and times in our lives that need the water most. This is hard, because they are dry for a reason. But it is also easy, because the dry land drinks most readily.

 

All that is gold does not glitter;

Not all who wander are lost.

The old that is strong does not wither.

Deep roots are not reached by the frost. (Tolkien)

The Way Out

The snare has been broken,

  and we have escaped. 

-Psalm 124:7

Faith is reaching out

             to the hand

             that breaks the snare

             and sets us free

             to become

             who and what

             we were meant to be

             as individuals

             and as a people.

It begins with a trusted word

               of a distant place of hope

               and a means

               to travel there.

It is a quality more than a decision,

       a discovery more than a doctrine,

       a yearning with its careful calculation,

       and a road with its shining destination.

In the end, our faith is

          what we believe

          is the only way

          out

          of this mess.

What fault did your fathers find in me,

  that they strayed so far from me?

They followed worthless idols

  and became worthless themselves.

-Jeremiah 2:5