Sweet Savior,
A confused fugitive,
I tend to run from You
wasting precious years and months,
loping, darting, scurrying, dashing, gliding,
and foolishly attempting to hide from You --
You, the Source of all joy and life and peace.
I looked away.
I sought all else.
I clung to worthless idols.
I owed and owed You so very much.
My debt was so immense that I feared Your wrath --
not a holy fear, but an ominous and disquieting dread
that kept my feet running and running as far away from You.
O, joy of all joys!
You planted in the ground, on a glorious Friday,
an old rugged cross soaked with Your redeeming blood,
an impregnable wall that halted my dizzying and zipping feet.
There, I stopped sprinting and yielded my running shoes to You.
There, I found life in You -- You who interceded on my behalf,
You who paid the price for my sins and turned my feet northward,
rendering them beautiful and prepared to carry the gospel of peace.
By Your grace, I will run no more.
Through Your love, I will no longer flee.
Wrapped in Your embrace, I will be still and satisfied.
For Your glory and honor, I will live and sing and testify.
You are my Home.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Home
Ostinato -- a term that signifies a continually repeated rhythmic pattern.
Usually, people discuss the above term in music. Notwithstanding my own musical life, I have learned to recognize "ostinato" in my life in general. The "continually repeated rhythmic pattern" that seems to plague my life on this earth comprises many things, including:
- tears
- trials
- torments
- temptations
Every day, it seems, the stars align to pounce on my mind, body, and spirit with a series of attacks that threaten to undo me. In fact, a friend recently teased me with this question, "Are you applying for Job's position?"
"No, I couldn't possibly fill his shoes," I responded.
Yet, deep inside, I know how easily I plunge into the "Woe is Lou" mindset. Gratefully, divine grace prods my ever-aching heart to accept the tears, trials, torments, and temptations that come my way as daily reminders that I am a sojourner in this world -- I am not yet home.
I long for my true Home.
I yearn for my blessed Hope.
I crave the Heartbeat of Heaven.
Attentive to the stirrings within my breast, Christ's voice comes to me and says, "My beloved, weary and heartbroken though you are, as long as you come to ME with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, you are home right now, in this world and the next, because I have already overcome the world. I AM your HOME."
He is my HOME!
Oh, how I hate to admit that I do not always see it in that light!
Sheer honesty reveals the impossibility of my coming home -- loving Christ with ALL my heart and soul and mind and strength. On my own, I find myself clinging to worries and warts that are too unsightly for the beautiful, holy, and amazing HOME that He is. Hence, He leads me with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and He becomes to me as one who eases the yoke on my jaw, bending down to me and feeding me His unfathomable grace and favor.
Indeed, it His grace that will lead me HOME.
So, today, I pray for the perspective and strength to surrender my longings, yearnings, and cravings to Christ, the Hound of Heaven. Through His gracious love, may He continually pursue me through the "ostinato" of tears, trials, torments, temptations, and whatever else this world hurls or throws at me!
Usually, people discuss the above term in music. Notwithstanding my own musical life, I have learned to recognize "ostinato" in my life in general. The "continually repeated rhythmic pattern" that seems to plague my life on this earth comprises many things, including:
- tears
- trials
- torments
- temptations
Every day, it seems, the stars align to pounce on my mind, body, and spirit with a series of attacks that threaten to undo me. In fact, a friend recently teased me with this question, "Are you applying for Job's position?"
"No, I couldn't possibly fill his shoes," I responded.
Yet, deep inside, I know how easily I plunge into the "Woe is Lou" mindset. Gratefully, divine grace prods my ever-aching heart to accept the tears, trials, torments, and temptations that come my way as daily reminders that I am a sojourner in this world -- I am not yet home.
I long for my true Home.
I yearn for my blessed Hope.
I crave the Heartbeat of Heaven.
Attentive to the stirrings within my breast, Christ's voice comes to me and says, "My beloved, weary and heartbroken though you are, as long as you come to ME with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, you are home right now, in this world and the next, because I have already overcome the world. I AM your HOME."
"Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary, come home
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling
Come home, O sinner, come home."
Extracted from Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling by Will L. Thompson
He is my HOME!
Oh, how I hate to admit that I do not always see it in that light!
Sheer honesty reveals the impossibility of my coming home -- loving Christ with ALL my heart and soul and mind and strength. On my own, I find myself clinging to worries and warts that are too unsightly for the beautiful, holy, and amazing HOME that He is. Hence, He leads me with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and He becomes to me as one who eases the yoke on my jaw, bending down to me and feeding me His unfathomable grace and favor.
Indeed, it His grace that will lead me HOME.
So, today, I pray for the perspective and strength to surrender my longings, yearnings, and cravings to Christ, the Hound of Heaven. Through His gracious love, may He continually pursue me through the "ostinato" of tears, trials, torments, temptations, and whatever else this world hurls or throws at me!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Is there a Cure?
There is a common occurrence I have observed through the years -- in our interactions, we either easily dismiss those whose core beliefs are different from our own or we mindlessly nod simply because we perceive their beliefs to be similar to ours.
I am burdened to speak about beliefs because human behavior IS a direct reflection of long-held beliefs, whether conscious or unconscious.
Belief affects behavior.
Behavior reflects belief.
Belief
We eat (because we believe food is essential to our sustenance, maintenance, and advance).
We speak (because we believe communication is vital to the efficient functioning of a community).
We sleep (because we believe rest is a sine qua non ingredient in the recipe of overall human wellness).
Behavior
We eat sugar-loaded and greasy foods because, despite what we declare to family and friends, we secretly believe it is fine to forgo the warnings of nutritionists . . . until obesity, heart failure, high blood pressure, and the like force us to pay attention.
We speak vicious, reckless, slanderous, and harmful words because, despite what we assert to one and all, we inherently believe it is no big deal to destroy and demean other human beings . . . until divorce, separation, or estrangement leads us to see the light.
We sleep too much or too little because, despite what we publicly affirm, we seriously believe our sleep patterns are inconsequential . . . until serious health concerns arise (in the case of not enough sleep) or until the loss of a job (in the case of too much sleep).
A Matter of the Heart
Today, I invite to examine yourself to see where you stand.
Are you conscious of your beliefs?
Do you know why you do what you do?
Are you aware of your behavior?
Do you know what your actions reveal?
Would you open your heart and consider the following with me?
Joy.
Hope.
Peace.
Do you ever wonder why as homo sapiens we long for the above three and other such virtues when day in and day out the world exhibits grief, anger, despair, apathy, cruelty, angst, discord . . . and a slew of other human oddities and malfunctions?
One compound word for you:
Self-transcendence
Deep within, you and I sense and know we were made for something better. Even when we are seemingly satisfied or distracted by lesser joys, hopes, and peace treaties, we aspire for a higher state of mind, a better condition of the heart, and a healthier functioning of the body.
We want to grow.
We want to improve.
We want to become more.
We also recognize that the best of intentions amount to less than nothing unless they turn into actions. And so, we tire ourselves out seeking to come up with the panacea, the solution that will cure the ills of the world.
Sadly, with each invented or man-made panacea come newer ways for mankind to practice evil:
Government. Originally intended to protect and defend people, it has unfortunately been used frequently to do the exact opposite.
Money. Famously seen as a means to eradicate poverty in the world, the greed money grievously engenders all too often becomes the mother of all other vices.
Education. Understandably regarded as a most laudable answer, it too has failed to solve the world's problems. Too often, the very knowledge acquired dangerously turns into a way for the learned to feel puffed up without building up the illiterate.
A Place of Need
Barely touching on the above would-be answers, honesty invites us to recognize that, owing to our advances, we have merely evolved into sophisticated predators, clinical extortionists, well-read belittlers, invisible voyeurs, unfeeling murderers -- doing evil with greater skill and less remorse, greater speed and less consideration. And this escalating, engulfing evil keeps us ever more needful and desirous of self-transcendence, wanting to reach the holistic wellness that lies above and beyond this fatal malady.
We are thus unhappy and dissatisfied when we are left to fend for ourselves. And since we need joy, hope, and peace, help must come from somewhere else.
I need not, cannot rely on myself.
I need to rely on a rich-solid foundation come rain or shine, sickness or health, enmity or friendship, poverty or wealth, divorce or marriage, infertility or fruitfulness.
That undisputed need is one of the vehicles driving me to believe in God. As of yet, no philosophy provides the workable, pragmatic, corresponding, and coherent solution I find in Scripture:
God is the Source of all life (I will never fully know how it all functions but He does perfectly).
Humanity is in dire need of everything God provides (including joy, hope, and peace).
Only God is the panacea, the solution that can cure the ills of the universe (I can grow only if I accept His healing hand daily, hourly, all the time).
Humanity will, one day, with God's help, transcend this base state of repetitive evil and live with ever-growing fulfillment.
I recognize and acknowledge my need.
Do you, my friend?
May you and I grow and grow in the grace of God!
I am burdened to speak about beliefs because human behavior IS a direct reflection of long-held beliefs, whether conscious or unconscious.
Belief affects behavior.
Behavior reflects belief.
Belief
We eat (because we believe food is essential to our sustenance, maintenance, and advance).
We speak (because we believe communication is vital to the efficient functioning of a community).
We sleep (because we believe rest is a sine qua non ingredient in the recipe of overall human wellness).
Behavior
We eat sugar-loaded and greasy foods because, despite what we declare to family and friends, we secretly believe it is fine to forgo the warnings of nutritionists . . . until obesity, heart failure, high blood pressure, and the like force us to pay attention.
We speak vicious, reckless, slanderous, and harmful words because, despite what we assert to one and all, we inherently believe it is no big deal to destroy and demean other human beings . . . until divorce, separation, or estrangement leads us to see the light.
We sleep too much or too little because, despite what we publicly affirm, we seriously believe our sleep patterns are inconsequential . . . until serious health concerns arise (in the case of not enough sleep) or until the loss of a job (in the case of too much sleep).
A Matter of the Heart
Today, I invite to examine yourself to see where you stand.
Are you conscious of your beliefs?
Do you know why you do what you do?
Are you aware of your behavior?
Do you know what your actions reveal?
Would you open your heart and consider the following with me?
Joy.
Hope.
Peace.
Do you ever wonder why as homo sapiens we long for the above three and other such virtues when day in and day out the world exhibits grief, anger, despair, apathy, cruelty, angst, discord . . . and a slew of other human oddities and malfunctions?
One compound word for you:
Self-transcendence
Deep within, you and I sense and know we were made for something better. Even when we are seemingly satisfied or distracted by lesser joys, hopes, and peace treaties, we aspire for a higher state of mind, a better condition of the heart, and a healthier functioning of the body.
We want to grow.
We want to improve.
We want to become more.
We also recognize that the best of intentions amount to less than nothing unless they turn into actions. And so, we tire ourselves out seeking to come up with the panacea, the solution that will cure the ills of the world.
Sadly, with each invented or man-made panacea come newer ways for mankind to practice evil:
Government. Originally intended to protect and defend people, it has unfortunately been used frequently to do the exact opposite.
Money. Famously seen as a means to eradicate poverty in the world, the greed money grievously engenders all too often becomes the mother of all other vices.
Education. Understandably regarded as a most laudable answer, it too has failed to solve the world's problems. Too often, the very knowledge acquired dangerously turns into a way for the learned to feel puffed up without building up the illiterate.
A Place of Need
Barely touching on the above would-be answers, honesty invites us to recognize that, owing to our advances, we have merely evolved into sophisticated predators, clinical extortionists, well-read belittlers, invisible voyeurs, unfeeling murderers -- doing evil with greater skill and less remorse, greater speed and less consideration. And this escalating, engulfing evil keeps us ever more needful and desirous of self-transcendence, wanting to reach the holistic wellness that lies above and beyond this fatal malady.
We are thus unhappy and dissatisfied when we are left to fend for ourselves. And since we need joy, hope, and peace, help must come from somewhere else.
I need not, cannot rely on myself.
I need to rely on a rich-solid foundation come rain or shine, sickness or health, enmity or friendship, poverty or wealth, divorce or marriage, infertility or fruitfulness.
That undisputed need is one of the vehicles driving me to believe in God. As of yet, no philosophy provides the workable, pragmatic, corresponding, and coherent solution I find in Scripture:
God is the Source of all life (I will never fully know how it all functions but He does perfectly).
Humanity is in dire need of everything God provides (including joy, hope, and peace).
Only God is the panacea, the solution that can cure the ills of the universe (I can grow only if I accept His healing hand daily, hourly, all the time).
Humanity will, one day, with God's help, transcend this base state of repetitive evil and live with ever-growing fulfillment.
I recognize and acknowledge my need.
Do you, my friend?
May you and I grow and grow in the grace of God!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Owe One Thing Only
I voted yesterday.
I performed my civic duty.
I am a US citizen living in the US. No American, indeed no singer, is more thrilled singing the inspiring words of our National Anthem than I, happily touting "the land of the free and the home of the brave." Yet most of us are a far cry from being truly free, let alone brave.
We are not free.
We are not brave.
We are heavily restricted.
We are ensnared by a four-letter word.
Yet the one thing Scripture espouses in the debt category, we find all kinds of excuses to flee:
We don't love.
We shun.
We vilify.
We accuse.
We demean.
Owe one thing only.
The only debt that fulfills or satisfies is love.
Do you and I want to be free?
We need to spend less and love more.
Do you and I want to be brave?
We need to owe nothing other than love.
Love.
Love elevates.
Love liberates.
Love permeates.
Love is the only currency that sufficiently outperforms all others.
Genuine love heartens us to:
- spend money responsibly
- live according to our oaths
- have a healthy respect for time
- work with diligence and honesty
- recognize and thank our benefactors
- grow continually in our areas of giftedness
- take an honest look at our consuming habits
Love calls me to vote with my heart, not just a ballot.
Love beckons me to realize my human responsibility outshines any civic duty.
Love implores me to eradicate any filthy trace of debt (financial or otherwise), except the continuing one to treat myself, my neighbor, my country, my world, my God with respect and kindness and peace and humility and patience and grace and gratitude.
Love fulfills the law.
I performed my civic duty.
I am a US citizen living in the US. No American, indeed no singer, is more thrilled singing the inspiring words of our National Anthem than I, happily touting "the land of the free and the home of the brave." Yet most of us are a far cry from being truly free, let alone brave.
We are not free.
We are not brave.
We are heavily restricted.
We are ensnared by a four-letter word.
DEBT.
In fact, according to davemanuel.com, as of today's date "the current outstanding public debt of the United States is $17,535,731,914,061.53." Other than the 53 cents tacked to the trillions of dollars marking our indebtedness, my brain deems that amount unfathomable. I do, however, understand this one:
"Every man, woman, and child in the United States currently owes $57,717 for their share of the US public debt."-- a consensus reached by many financial analysts.
True statement.
We owe big bucks to China and Japan -- close to 2500 billion dollars. Whoa!
We owe money to other countries such as Belgium, Brazil, England, Taiwan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and others.
We owe money to mutual funds, pension funds, foreign investors, American investors, oil exporters, banking centers, etc.
We owe boatloads, shiploads of money.
We are not free.
We are not brave.
We are heavily restricted.
We are lulled to sleep in the den of vipers to the tune of cozy, personal debt:
Consumer debt.
Educational loans.
Mortgage and Auto payments.
Not only are we in debt financially (hello 2.33 billion per
day since 9/30/12!), but we have grievously added to our public and personal indebtedness:
We owe others our word.
We promise one thing, we do another.
We owe others our time.
We are tardy or absent for agreed-upon appointments.
We owe others our toil.
We do all kinds of unprofitable things on company time.
We owe others our thanks.
We keep our mouths shut after receiving gifts or treatments from others.
We owe others our talents.
We prefer to settle and slide by instead of honing our skills to their optimum level.
We owe others our health.
We engage in gluttony and licentious living, significantly hampering our holistic wellness.
We sacrifice every single value we possess on the altars of greed, ingratitude, entitlement, and instant gratification -- entangling our feet and hearts and minds with more and more debt than we could ever imagine or comprehend.
Yet the one thing Scripture espouses in the debt category, we find all kinds of excuses to flee:
"Let no debt remain outstanding,
except the continuing debt to love one another,
for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law."
Rom 13:8, NIV
We don't love.
We shun.
We vilify.
We accuse.
We demean.
Teach us how to love one another
Lead us to divine joy
Owe one thing only.
The only debt that fulfills or satisfies is love.
Do you and I want to be free?
We need to spend less and love more.
Do you and I want to be brave?
We need to owe nothing other than love.
Love.
Love elevates.
Love liberates.
Love permeates.
Love is the only currency that sufficiently outperforms all others.
Genuine love heartens us to:
- spend money responsibly
- live according to our oaths
- have a healthy respect for time
- work with diligence and honesty
- recognize and thank our benefactors
- grow continually in our areas of giftedness
- take an honest look at our consuming habits
Love calls me to vote with my heart, not just a ballot.
Love beckons me to realize my human responsibility outshines any civic duty.
Love implores me to eradicate any filthy trace of debt (financial or otherwise), except the continuing one to treat myself, my neighbor, my country, my world, my God with respect and kindness and peace and humility and patience and grace and gratitude.
Love fulfills the law.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Confessions
Looking up to heaven this morning, I heartily confess:
I deserve neither love nor marriage, fatherhood, family, friendship, and myriad such gifts.
I deserve neither shelter nor food, clothing, automobile, job, paycheck, and additional benefits.
I deserve neither compassion nor respect, kindness, patience, generosity, and other divine mercies.
I deserve neither intellect nor artistry, craftsmanship, memory, imagination, and a slew of supplemental faculties.
I deserve one thing only -- death.
"For the wages of sin is death . . ." (Rom 6:23a)
The white-hot holiness of the Father demands that i be executed for my filthy rebellion, vile insurrection, and foul disobedience against the purity of His truths and His ways . . .
Called to embrace wholehearted loving, instead I love God and neighbor very little on some days and at other times find no love at all for friend or foe.
Called to embrace a life of unceasing prayer, instead I neglect prayer all too often counseling my mind that I need not pray or that I have prayed enough.
Called to embrace authentic living, I live on the one hand with a dash of hypocrisy enabling me to sin more safely because grace abounds, and on the other with a basin of posturing that lulls my mind into receiving holy teachings regularly while living unholily.
Yes, according to the Law, I deserve nothing but death.
Yet (what joy this 3-letter word encapsulates!), there is grace.
Though I deserve death, Christ grants me life!!!!
". . . but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:23b)
I will not die.
I will but live.
I will live and live victoriously.
Sin and death will not prevail.
God's love for me will never fail.
I surrender to You, O Lord!
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Enough!
Enough!
We spend too much time counting our assets,
assessing and reconsidering our innate abilities,
measuring and testing our skills and natural strengths.
Enough!
We waste too much energy mustering our own courage,
relying on our own power rather than trusting God's hand,
dreaming that our accomplishments result from our rightness.
Enough!
We squander too many resources and opportunities,
despising instead of loving those different from our likes,
deconstructing rather than building up those who cross our paths.
Enough!
We hinder so much biblical and cognitive growth,
concealing a life of habitual sin and spiritual laziness,
dedicating the altar of our hearts for the worship of created things.
Enough!
We cover miles upon miles on the road of idleness,
not bearing fruit, not sacrificing, not feeling, not growing,
not submitting our minds to the transforming power of renewal.
Enough!
"Withdraw your hand," says the Lord.
Enough!
Isn't it high time we stop destroying ourselves with ingratitude, idolatry, apathy, hatred, pride, self-righteousness, entitlement, ingratitude, impatience, immorality, verbal homicide, spiritual suicide, and the like? Isn't it high time we drop our exhausted souls and weary hearts at the foot of the cross where Christ harbors no anger, no condemnation, no rejection, but offers abundant grace and inexhaustible mercy?
Day in and day out, the sword of sin slashes our hearts into pieces wages war against ou
Day in and day out, the sword of sin slashes our hearts into pieces wages war against ou
In the threshing floor of our hearts, the Holy Spirit stands ready to halt the sword of punishment we persist in inflicting upon ourselves. Instead, He offers and extends grace upon grace upon grace.
Won't we heed His hand today?
Monday, June 16, 2014
The Cross
I can weep.
I can cry.
I can mourn.
I can moan.
I can lament.
I can grieve.
I can hurt.
I can bleed.
I can feel the pain of earthly loss
and still keep my eyes on heaven.
Therefore,
in Christ
I can smile.
I can laugh.
I can rejoice.
I can guffaw.
I can giggle.
I can dance.
I can sing.
I can pray.
I can praise.
I can exult.
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