The Staff in Your Hands

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:10-14)

photo credit: AMBOO WHO?/FLICKR

The gospel
        sings from the pages
        of the Bible
        even in the Exodus:
"The Lord will fight for you;
you need only be still."

Why can I not
be still?

Be still, my child
         my beloved,
         my joy.
Be still and know
     that all you need is already there,
     that the battle's already won,
     that your life is a victory,
                          not a defeat.
Be still and know that I am God:
      I intend what is good

                    to be done in great ways.

      Your salvation today

               is part of my masterpiece

               as well as my master plan.

      Your enemies are real -

               they oppose you and me

               but you will overcome them.

               My wind is at your back,

               my staff is in your hands,

               their trap will become my path

               their army will become my triumph.

Lord, why can I not

          be still?

Your war has taken your peace.

Your fear has taken your hope.

Your doubt has taken your trust.

Your worry has displaced your prayer.

Surrender to the peace only I can give.

    Remember your hope.

        Build your trust.

            Come near in prayer.

And your stillness

                will lead you forward

                                      into victory.

A City Prepared for Me

They admitted they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16)

I looked to the hills,

the mountains called out to me.

A spirit of wandering invaded my soul,

but with no spirit of fear in it,

rather a longing

for pilgrimmage.

A stranger to everyone,

I sometimes don't recognize myself,

when such longings find me

and I give them shelter.

They come

and beckon me onward.

They say, "You don't belong here."

Often I have let these voices

move me to self-pity

instead of energize me

to seek that far country,

that fair country,

which is my own

and which owns me.

No, the longing and its voice

calls me outward and onward

and I may need to pack and prepare

for this journey today,

but I do not need to hide and escape

like some criminal or refugee

running for my life

in fear and anguish.

That's not leaving at all

but just delving deeper

into what 

I need to leave behind.

I take in hand my staff,

the discplines that discipline me

for the long walk

by steadying my legs

and strengthening my hands

for a better place,

a richer country

with less things and worries

and more heart and hope.

It's not really a place at all

but finding my place.

The song of mountains and hills

calls out to me

and reminds me

that my place is elsewhere

not forever running away from

what is in front of me,

but running further on

a path set before me,

where the air crackles

with possibility,

where the ground itself moves

me forward,

and the sky announces,

"I am not ashamed of you

or ashamed to be yours."

Pilgrimmage

means there's a place ahead for me

in the here and now,

means I am a stranger

but not an outcast,

means there's a journey,

but not an escape,

means a city prepared for me

not one I have to build,

but one I need seek and discover.

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)

 

 

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

 

All My Fountains

“I delight in your lovingkindess,

not in your sacrifice.”

You speak to the miser in me

       who treats devotion like a calculation,

                   worship like a duty,

                   kindness like a burden.

I count and carefully keep track

  of each penny I give to you

  while pouring my abundance elsewhere.

Oh, the tax law I have made of my devotion

       making sure I come out in the right,

       with a foolproof justification of selfishness.

This wrinkled, grubbing miser in me

        needs a great conversion

                   a brand new vision

                   of the ocean of love

                   before each and all of us,

        instead of the dribbling drops

                     of a squeezed belief

                     wrung out like an old dishrag.

“I delight in you knowing Me,

not in your burnt offerings that burn you out.”

You speak to the sacrifices I hold close to my heart,

       what I’ve done for you,

       what I think I deserve.

But you hold something else dear:

       the moments I truly heard you,

       the times I was close to your heart

             which was breaking to be known,

             so that I might share in your life,

                                               that eternal life.

It was not my giving up you treasured,

    my self-important sacrifices

                                 from scarcity

                                 and gritted teeth.

It was my up-giving you longed for

    an overflow of an abundance from you,

                            a hundred-fold soil,

                            riches begetting riches,

                            a glory both given and achieved.

The little coal of worship duty

       blazes into adoration fire.

The slight taste for devotion fear

       becomes the unquenchable thirst for the living God.

The kindness calculated for appreciation

       is now a treasure shared without thought or worry.

Every movement
      is a dance.

Every thought

       is a delight.

Every word

       is praise.

Every moment

       is a wonder

              at what you are saying

              and what you are doing.

“What can I do with you?

What can I do with you?”

You speak to each coming and going day,

                      evening and morning.

Will you look and see that it was good?

When the cool of the day comes

           And you say, “Where are you?”

           Can I only say, “I was afraid, so I hid”?

Speak into my heart new words:

           “Oh God, you are my God!”

           “Search me and know my heart!”

           “You are my Shepherd,

                    I lack nothing.”

           “You have made known to me the path of life,

                    you will fill me with joy in your presence,

                    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

           “All my fountains are in you!”

Let me seek you

      by the quiet streams

                 where I am not swept away by noise and hurry,

      in the green pastures

                 where I have all I need of peace and rest,

      at the source of living water

                 where all my fountains of love flow freely,

        through and beyond the valley

                   of the shadow of death

                   where there is joy in the morning.

        I will not fear,

        No, I will not fear,

                 though the earth give way,

                 for you are with me.

You have made the way,

                          the one way,

       for me to be with you

                          always, 

                          even to the end of the age.

His name is Jesus.

Savior of the Dark

I walk the dark road.

I have not been here before.

I am unfamiliar with the terrain.

What I am supposed to do?

Every day brings new fears.

The battle is thick here.

Yet I can still sleep.

I can still get up again.

I am called back to your side

even though all my time is shattered

into a meaningless pile of moments.

 

 

You are here in the dark.

I cry like a child left alone,

but I realize I am not alone

even in the dark.

Is there comfort here

that is not on the brighter paths,

moments of quiet when the tears have stopped

and your hand is upon me?

I am alone, locked in this basement

and yet I am more alive to you

when the tears and fears pass.

What my enemies meant for my ruin

and my humiliation

becomes moments of truth

when I find

"I am not afraid of the dark"

because I am not alone

even when everyone else

is afraid and wants

me to fear.

No, I am not afraid of the dark

because it will not hurt me,

it will shroud me

with silence

and I will seem dead

for a time,

but the fear stops coming

and I can hide here

under your wing.

I am being protected here

in the dark

with the real storm outside,

people wailing and moaning

with grim determination

unable to stay

quiet in the dark.

I hear them and I am afraid

of their fear

but you are here

and the dark is quiet

even as I am alone.

My shelter, my deliverer,

my shroud, my death to fear,

my answer to tears,

my Savior of the dark.

Guest of the Poor

by Samantha Filer

Audio (song)

The Guest of the poor came to me 
I found I could not let Him in 
Poor as I was 
I was a miser of sin 
My hands, they were rich in blood 
And my mind, it was rich in lies 
So I wallow now in a wealth of mud 
Yet the Guest will wait for me 

The Head of the mourners passed by 
His face was lit with joy 
And a song rose from the chorus behind 
They danced even as they cried 
The Shepherd of the meek led them on 
Gentle were His hands and His eyes 
When one fell down He lifted them up 
And carried them besides 

The carrier of water sat near 
A glance He drew from a few 
But one or two to Him they flew 
And gulped His pure waters anew 
The Healer of mercy reached out 
His touch was that of a child 
I wondered again that He would feel 
The wounds of a leper's skin 

The Teacher of peace walked among 
Proclaiming light to the dark 
I listened and knew beyond reason or thought 
He spoke of what He knew 
The Lord of the persecuted cried out 
From His mouth came water and blood 
And it was there that I first understood 
Here was one who really loved 

The Guest of the poor returned 
I fell on my knees at His feet 
I emptied my heart, and I Gave Him my life 
For I recognized Him as my King 
The King of pure hearts knelt beside 
Embraced me as one of His own 
Now I dance with the mourners, am led with the meek 
And I welcome Him into my home

Be a Voice

In this dark, cold world
a voice cries out.
Just a city on a hill,
I am a lamp being lit,
not the light,
but another blind man
needing sight.

In this dry, barren world
a voice cries out.
Just speaking to the rock
of living water,
and just as thirsty, I say,
as every other wanderer
finding this one way.

In this empty shell of a world,
a voice cries out.
Just a word made flesh
dwelling among other men,
I am only a messenger,
not the speaker,
also desperate for the good news
to each Kingdom-seeker:
being found.

Cry out
in this wilderness world.
Be a voice,
just a voice,
for the Man.


One of the greatest freedoms in life is knowing what you don’t have to do.  It focuses the mind on what is necessary and saves me from just trying to get people to do what I want them to.  Like Mary, I want to find the “one thing needed.”  For John and myself, I see I am not the light, but only a witness.  I need not be so concerned with what people believe, but with what people see that I believe.

(Mediation on John 1:8)

Hallowed

It is your name

Your name alone

that calls out to me

even as I call it out.

Not to me, not to me,

but to your name

be all the eyes and ears,

cries of joy, thankful tears.

Let the burden roll off my back

Into an empty tomb:

that weight off my frame,

that drudgery of my empty name.

When the sound of your name

fills my breath, passes my lips,

It is not just words, but your heart,

that entrances me into self-forgetfulness.

Your name, your name,

never the same.

Always teaching, always healing

always commanding, always walking beside.

Let it be your name,

your name alone,

that haunts my house

with its unseen presence 

of joy.

I dropped my name.

I let it fall,

when yours came by

and filled my sky 

with hope.

It is not the syllables, the sounds,

the tunes, the rhymes that make it live,

but finding you never more 

than a breath away

in your name.

I bury my face in your robes,

I touch the hand that touches me.

Can I say it without shame?

Can I speak it with truth and love?

Your name.

Don't Worry, Relax in God

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Relax.

Relax and worry will leave you.

The value of your life is so much greater than the food you eat or the happiness you get.  The beauty of your body is so much more than the clothes you wear or whatever you accomplish.

Soar like an eagle on the breeze.  With ease and confidence.  God will carry you like the wind carries that bird.  God will feed you like he feeds each bird.

When you work, do not work for mere food.  God will take care of that.

Remember, worry cannot add anything to your life.  It only takes away.

Turn your face to the sun like the flowers.  They do not need to work for its warmth and energy.  God will shine on you like the sun.  His light will reveal the beauty and accomplishments of what you do.

When you work, do not work for mere outward appearances.  God will take care of that.

Remember, worry does not show your care, but your faithlessness.

First things first.  Worry gets it all mixed up.

First, make it your business to know God's business.  Nothing escapes his notice.  He cares for birds and flowers.  He cares even more for your life and your body.  His business is to watch over you.  Let yourself be watched and known to him.  We do not owe him.  This is just what he does.

Align yourself with his watch-care.  Let your life be his to care for.  Know that his care extends to everyone.  Everyone needs to let themselves be known and cared for by this God.

care2.com

When we are cared for, we can relax.  Relax with God.  Relax with each other.

When we are cared for, our life and our bodies are provided for.  We all can find sustenance and happiness.  We all can find protection and significance.

Relax and tomorrow will not be scary.  Be cared for and today's challenges will not be overwhelming.

Relax and worry will leave you.

Relax in God's care.

(Meditation on Matthew 6:25-34)

Fall at His Feet!

Fall at his feet; fall at his feet!
When evil overcomes your life,
fall at his feet!

 Fall at his feet; fall at his feet!
When your daughter lies dying,
fall at his feet!

Fall at his feet; fall at his feet!
When under illness and strife,
fall at his feet!

They may say to him,
"Please leave us alone."
They may crowd him
yet leave him untouched, unknown.
They may wail and cry,
and sneer at his hope.
But you, fall at his feet!

Fall at his feet; fall at his feet!
Tell them how much he has done for you
and fall at his feet!

Fall at his feet; fall at his feet!
Go in peace, from suffering freed,
and fall at his feet!

Fall at his feet; fall at his feet!
Don't be afraid, just believe,
and fall at his feet!

Fall at his feet; fall at his feet!
He'll take your hand, raise you up.
Just fall at his feet!

(Meditation on Mark 5, The Healing of the Demon Possessed Man, and A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman)

The Other Side

Across the lake lay the darkness of unbelief.
On the lake was the darkness of the storm above, the deep below.
On the shore the tombs put out the darkness of possession.
"Let us go over to the other side," he said.
We followed, even into the darkness.

The wind and the waves obeyed him.
The demons feared and lay before him.
Even unbelief was challenged by him.
"Let us go to the other side," he said.
We followed, and he overcame.


Only doubt would ask if you cared.
Only evil would fear torture from you.
Only unbelief would ask you to leave.
"Let us go over to the other side," he said.
We followed, and were rejected as well.

At the end of the day, the storm was calmed,

The tortured man sat quietly at your feet in his right mind,
The people gained a witness of God's mercy and power.
"Let us go over to the other side," he said.
We followed and found hope.

(Meditation on Mark 4:35-5:20)

Lord, going over with you to the other side brings fear and even resentment in my mind.  What can I say?  I will follow you.  Let me find hope in you.  Amen.