Unexpected

Resurrection

is the answer

we weren’t expecting

when we called out

for relief.

New life

is not the hope

we looked for

when we wanted to rebuild

the old one.

Abundant life

is not getting our heart’s desire

but a new heart instead 

learning to desire

so much more.

This gift

may not be 

the expected one

but it is Jesus’s life

we are given

this day.

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)

 

 

Jesus Fills the Scriptures

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Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2)

I looked up the Greek word for "fulfill" and found play-rah'-oh, which means in this case to meets the demands and fulfill the promises of the Law and the Prophets. The real question comes when I ask, "How?"

The thought that God brought to me before I looked up this information is that Jesus fills up the Scriptures with his very being and life. That is why he could tell the Pharisees that even though they study the Scriptures because they think they will find life in them, what they really need is to find Jesus and have life through him. This implies that Jesus himself is the life of the Scriptures. So I think of him filling them with life, animating them.

This fits well with the idea in Matthew 5:17 of Jesus fulfilling the demands and the promises of the Law and the Prophets. Instead of Jesus fulfilling them merely through an exchange of his life for mine, he also fulfills them by infusing his life into mine in such a way that the Scriptures become something I can truly live and not merely read. His salvation then becomes not merely and exchange or a bargain, but a way of living.

But even more helpful for me was the comfort of the Bible being full of Jesus. The truth of the matter is that I can enjoy him and his presence through the words of the Bible. Although I may be tempted to neglect the Scriptures for a variety of reasons, all I do is find myself distanced from Jesus and knowing him less. For this journey, my days of weariness and sadness are days that I need more of him, not less.

Drinking deeply of his presence through the written Word comes most through short phrases and single ideas. I am comforted by the idea that Jesus did not come to destroy the written word or devalue it, but rather to make it a grand path to his life, his heart, and his mind. Certainly it is not enough in itself, as the Pharisees found out, but it is sufficient to be used mightily by Jesus in my life. I love the Bible, but not merely for itself, but where it comes from and where it leads me to.

Lord, even if no one else wants to drink from the cup of Scriptures, which are full of you, let me not grow weary or discouraged. A while ago I gave in and said I would be a "fanatic" for you and your written word if you wanted. I have seen you use it to reform my mind and change my heart by teaching me to delight in hearing you through the Bible more than delighting in being right through it. Keep my heart pure. Amen.

Prayer as a Hike

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For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light. (Ps. 36:9)

The very spring of life as well as the very source of light come from God. Prayer seeks the source of light and life by following them closely. Finding a spring almost always involves a climb. Coming out of the forests or caves into the sun takes a hike. Such is prayer on many days - a climb, a hike.

In my experience prayer is work like a climb or a hike, but it is not merely work. I find vistas on the ways. The work warms me as I seek the sun. It is not all cold drudgery. God is faithful to make even the work pleasant.

If we follow light and life, we will, of course, be carried along in love. Love is the manner in which we go. It is the pounding heart, the effort to go on, the laughter on the way, and the anticipation of getting closer to the goal.

I am reminded of what prayer is: a journey along the streams of life to its fountainhead, breaking through the forests to the warm vistas above tree-line. We drink as we go and the water is sweeter every day. We see one vista only to be surprised by the next. Love is the sweat and work, the wonder and pleasure, the company and conversation.

Let us not tire of prayer. It is work, hard work. But not unpleasant or impossible. As we go, we will find what we need and those who will journey with us. They are already on the trail, too.